Will Colorado End Up Singing the Blues After Erik Johnson, Chris Stewart Blockbuster?

The St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche combined on a middle of the night blockbuster that would see Erik Johnson, Jay McClement, Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk change locations along with a couple of conditional picks.  This is one of those rare deals come deadline season that was not about one team being a seller to a team making a playoff run, but just about both teams trying to reshape their teams for the future.  Both of these teams had high hopes coming into the season, but for various reasons on each side have failed to meet those expectations and find themselves well out of the current logjam that is the Western Conference playoff race.  Frustrations with their standing might have caused both teams to be more willing to give up on pieces that were considered as potential cornerstones of their franchises just a few months back.  Let’s take a look at why each team wanted to do the deal and who wins.

Colorado:  The Avalanche get Erik Johnson, Jay McClement and a conditional second round pick.  Johnson, 23, was the 2006 first overall pick, who just last season seemed poised to take the next step to the elite level of NHL defenders.  That rise he appeared to be on at the close of last season has not translated over to this year with Johnson only having scored five goals and added 14 assists while playing at a minus eight.  Johnson is still only 23 years old so what the Avalanche are banking on here is that he can take that next step to the elite level, which paired with Matt Duchene would give the Avalanche a couple of prime talents to build around. 

"We are excited to be adding a top young defenceman in this league, a player who will have an impact on our blue-line for several years to come," Avalanche general manager and executive vice president Greg Sherman said in a release.

The other player part of the trade for Colorado is Jay McClement who is a solid checking center, which should help the Avalanche on their struggling penalty kill.

St. Louis: The Blues receive Chris Stewart, Kevin Shattenkirk and a conditional first round pick.  The key for the Blues has to be getting a developing power forward like Chris Stewart.  The Blues have had significant trouble scoring with the concussion issues to David Perron and the injury to T.J. Oshie.  Oshie is back, but Perron is not and now with Stewart they add a player who tallied 28 goals last season and started this year in All-Star form before breaking his hand in a fight. 

His production has not been the same since returning from the injury, but the 23-year-old Stewart still has 13 goals and 17 assists in 36 games so far this season.  The idea of combining All-Star David Backes and his power mentality with Stewart has to be one that makes the Blues front office drool involuntarily.

If Stewart was not enough for the Blues fans to get excited about they also get promising rookie offensive defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk.  Shattenkirk burst onto the scene this season and while the 21-year-old has certainly slowed down 26 points in 46 games for a defender is still an impressive total.

"We're very excited to acquire a young emerging power forward in Chris Stewart and a top young NHL defenceman in Kevin Shattenkirk," said Blues GM and executive VP Doug Armstrong. "These are two solid young players who will help us now as we continue to grow and improve our team."

Verdict:  Unless Erik Johnson reaches his potential becomes the Norris trophy caliber defender that people have pegged him as being down the road this one appears to a nice win for the Blues as they get a guy who is a premiere power forward and a developing offensive defender to add to their young core.  Johnson might be the biggest name in the deal, but I believe Chris Stewart will end up the best player in it.  Either way you have to love that two teams that are underachieving would take the risk involved in a move like this rather than just sit still and do nothing.  It will be a move that defines the fate of two franchises for years to come and the team that wins it, their GM will be a hero and the losing GM is likely fired.

Souray On Re-Entry Waivers, Can Sather Avoid The Temptation To Fix Rangers PP?

Nick Kypreos is reporting that the Edmonton Oilers have placed Sheldon Souray on re-entry waivers today, which is making me very nervous.  In the recent past the Rangers scouted Souray and eventually decided to take a pass on him, but as Jim Matheson reported a few weeks ago the Oilers were not going to put Souray on re-entry waivers until and unless they were sure that another team would claim him.  With all the moves that were made for defensemen yesterday and the anemic play of the Rangers last night it is not out of the realm of possibility that Sather could in some sense panic and grab Souray.

Souray might be the only way for Sather to acquire a possible help to the power play without having to sacrifice anything significant from young core or draft picks.  I still believe this is the wrong move and I am hoping that Sather resists the temptation, but there is certainly reason to believe that someone will claim Souray and that team might be New York.

Update: In the good news department, TSN's Bob McKenzie reports the following:

"EDM realizes dmen are hot commodity right now and hoping someone will see Souray as good value. A claim has not been pre-arranged, I am told"

The fact that no deal has been prearranged certainly helps out the cause and means that it is not guaranteed Sather or anyone else told Edmonton they would claim him, but does not change the danger of a panic decision.  It is the panic decision that Edmonton is playing on right now, which is why they were smart to put Souray up today after so many available defenders were moved yesterday.

Sather Only Willing To Pay His Price; Redden As Possible Callup?

Friday was one of the craziest trading days I have seen to the point where you had to wonder who wrote a memo that told the GM’s the deadline was on the 18th and not the 28th.  The New York Rangers were quiet as Tomas Kaberle and Eric Brewer, defensemen they were connected to, were moved off the board to respective Eastern Conference foes.  Some Rangers fans started getting anxious as the names they had been hearing about to sure up the defense were disappearing from the board with no response from Glen Sather.  I understand the trepidation, but I take the approach that with what was being paid for Kaberle, Brewer, and Ian White, that Glen Sather is making the right move in being patient and waiting out the market.  That opinion could certainly change based on what he finally does, but for now Sather is sticking to his guns in building around this core and not sacrificing the future.

This morning, Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants reports on his conversation with Glen Sather following the flurry of action.  Sather discusses that there is still time and players available and that the price he wants is what matters, not what they want.

“Lots of them,” said Sather, adding he’s been making phone calls to gauge the trade market for four months. “I’m listening, watching. It doesn’t matter what the asking price is. It’s what we want to pay.”

This is a critical distinction that leads to why on a busy day like Friday the Rangers made no moves.  Sather is standing firm to what he thinks a player is worth and protecting what he values in the Rangers system and I applaud him for that.  If in the end he either caves or ends up with a player that has a bad contract just because he was cheap, then I will likely slam him for that at that point. 

As usual, Sather said teams are inquiring about the Rangers’ younger talent. Typically, that includes players such as Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh. The Rangers may also not be eager to lose any high draft picks.

Nothing that is said to be on the market right now is worth the Rangers dealing any of those players away from their core and will not improve this team.

Also coming out of the conversation between Gross and Sather was the idea that Tomas Kundratek, Pavel Valentenko or even Wade Redden could be recalled to the Rangers if no move is made to give them a look.  I do not believe that either Kundratek or Valentenko are ready yet to be at the NHL level, but in some sense they cannot play worse than what the current third pair is doing between the three players that have been there.  Kundratek is the one that is better equipped to make the transition, while fans are enamored with Valentenko’s shot and desire to hit, but I am concerned with his speed at this level.

The idea that Redden could be recalled is one that will drive fans over the moon, but I do not see that as a legit idea.  The day that things get that bad around here is the same day that everyone in the building should be fired.  As great as Redden has been in his mentoring role there is no way he should ever set foot in Madison Square Garden again without a ticket.  It would almost certainly clear re-entry waivers, but could you imagine if someone else claimed him and the Rangers were left holding the bag for three more years at 3.25 on the cap they cannot get rid of?  Now that would be a worst case scenario.

For now Glen Sather is making the right move in waiting the market out, but until February 28th comes and goes we will not know how it finally played out.  Later I will take a look at some of the names still on the board now that a number of them are off of it.

Lundqvist Cannot Save Rangers As Team Mails It In Against Rival Devils

Watching tonight you would not believe that the Rangers were the team that was sitting in 7th place in the Eastern Conference and that the Devils were the team that spent months at the bottom of the NHL standings.  From start to finish the Devils outworked and simply competed harder the New York Rangers and if not for Henrik Lundqvist the final score would have been a lot worse than 1-0.  I thought this was the worst 60 minutes effort of the season and while I do not believe a whole lot in the shot totals, a 15 shot effort has to speak to that to some extent.  The lack of urgency in this game was a startling sight to witness and if it is not remedied they will get blown out Sunday.  This discussion about fatigue here and there is nonsense.  I am not going to waste my time or insult your intelligence, this was not just about a team that was a step slow tonight, this was about a team that mailed it in.

The first period started out pretty even with the first really good chances coming about 3:30 in as Erik Christensen would make a pretty feed to spring Mats Zuccarello, but Johan Hedberg would stop him multiple times.  As the play continued Zuccarello worked behind the net and fed Christensen out fron while Hedberg was down, but Christensen rushed the shot and missed the net.  The Devils would collect the puck and spring Brian Rolston on a breakaway that was turned aside by Henrik Lundqvist. 

The second half of the period saw the Devils utterly dominate the play and if not for Henrik Lundqvist the Rangers would have been down multiple goals.  The last shot the Rangers managed to record was with 7:03 left in the period.  Staal and Girardi had an awful first period and their lack of clearing the crease is only getting worse, especially when compared to how Sauer and McDonagh do it.

The early second period action saw the Devils continue the domination that marked the end of the first.  Sauer took an early penalty that the Rangers would kill off.  During the kill Marian Gaborik was out with the second unit and I understand they want to get him more ice, but you cannot put Gaborik out there to guard Kovalchuk’s point spot because he is certainly not getting in the way of those bombs.

Marc Staal’s rough night got worse just after eight minutes into the period as he failed to keep the puck in and the right point and when he tried to recover he stumbled down, which allowed Kovalchuk to have a clear breakaway and he cashed in by beating Lundqvist low glove side.  The goal at 8:18 of the second gave the Devils a 1-0 lead.  This was the seventh straight game and 11th in 12 that the Rangers surrendered the opening goal of the game.

The Rangers would get a power play right after surrendering the goal, but it generated nothing.  The team had little to no energy until late in the period when Mats Zuccarello would once again get feisty in front of the net challenging Colin White.  Have to love the heart and intensity that Zuccarello plays the game with as he has absolutely no fear.

The third period would see a better effort, where they hit the post in the opening moments of the period, but overall it was still a lousy effort by the team as a whole. 

• Mats Zuccarello was by far the Rangers best forward tonight, playing with more energy and fire than possibly the rest of them combined
• Marian Gaborik was invisible and only made to look worse by how dominant Kovalchuk was
• Vinny Prospal’s skating is getting worse as the games go on, not better.  The team is simply asking too much of him and I would not be surprised to see him take a rest soon.
• Staal from the opening shifts had no legs tonight and yet he still was sent out there 27:53.  This has to stop or he is going to be toast the final 10 games.
• Sauer and McDonagh were the best pair once again
• Gilroy played better tonight than he has of late as he started to jump in the play more
• Lundqvist was excellent in this one despite the result

Video: Mats Zuccarello Aasen Thanks Norwegian Fans

Rangers rookie Mats Zuccarello took some time out of Casino night earlier this week to send a message to all the Norwegian fans who have been supporting him so strongly as he adjusts to the North American game and the NHL.  I also want to send out my thanks to the all the Norwegian fans who have come to the site to read about my take on the Norwegian Hobbit and his work with the Rangers.

Rangers/Trade Deadline Chat

Kris Newbury Sent Back To CT Whale

According to the AHL transactions page, the New York Rangers have sent forward Kris Newbury back to the Connecticut Whale today.  The move was expected as Newbury was called up to take the place of the hurting Wojtek Wolski, but Wolski was able to play last night, which left Newbury as a healthy scratch.  In the end it was a tough break for Newbury, but I would take him being the first recall this time as a sign that if any injuries happen in the near future, ie before Fedotenko returns, it will once again be Newbury who comes up.  That can always change depending on which player is hurt and the role they need a callup to play, but this was a good sign of confidence in Newbury.

Stick salute to Dave Shapiro at Blue Seat Blogs for finding this first.

Grachev Showing Signs Of Developing, Will the Rangers and Fans Be Patient Enough To Wait?

Among New York Rangers fans there has been a great deal of frustration with 20-year-old prospect Evgeny Grachev.  The expectations levels were simply too high based on his performance in the Ontario Hockey with the Brampton Battalion.  There was this idea that he was going to come into pro hockey as a 19-year-old and dominate, forcing his way onto the Rangers NHL club where he would score a number of goals.  When that did not happen last year the groans began and they only intensified to start this season.  Reality is there were known flaws in his game before he turned pro last season and they were exposed in the AHL.  The willingness of many fans to give up on a talent like Grachev because he is not NHL ready does not surprise me, but shows how expectations cloud the judgment and patience that players are afforded in their development.

Today on NHL.com A.J. Atchue has a great feature on Evgeny Grachev's development in Hartford and how now, a year and a half into his professional career, he is learning what it takes to be a professional player and having his all-around game round into NHL form.

From Atchue's piece: 

Grachev, who turns 21 on Monday, stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 222 pounds, offering a towering presence wherever he is on the ice. Harnessing that size and strength and combining it with the ability to create offensive opportunities has been a work in progress, but he's beginning to show signs of turning the corner.

"He's certainly a strong skater. He has a big shot, and he's strong on the puck," said Rangers Assistant General Manager Jim Schoenfeld, who also serves as GM of the Whale. "He's starting to develop a complete game, which is one of our goals with him. He was a big scorer in junior, and he's worked hard at becoming a more complete player."

Grachev certainly was off to another slow start this year, but after a torrid January he has already surpassed last year’s goal total of 12, with 13 goals in 48 games this season.  In speaking to his all-around development he has gone from a minus 13 last season to currently playing at a team leading plus 11.

"I think he's made great strides in the past month and a half here," Whale coach Ken Gernander said. "All kids develop at a different rate, and sometimes the guys with physical traits such as Evgeny have to work on doing things a little quicker when they get to the next level. They can't rely so much on their physical skills where maybe they were able to get by at lower levels."

The real key to the change in Grachev’s game over the last couple of months has been Gernander using him on the penalty kill as it has kept Evgeny more involved in the game and allowed him to showcase his overall skill level.  It will be interesting to watch to see with most of the Whale are back in Connecticut with the Rangers getting healthy if Grachev can keep up the strides he made while they were gone and he had to be an offensive force for the team.  The signs are positive and in no way should the organization of the fans give up on this kid just yet.  Development is different for each prospect and for a fan base that cried out for young players and a youth movement the willingness to toss him overboard because he is not ready immediately is disconcerting to me.  It is that sense of urgency that had him rushed in the first place and now he is just catching up to where he should have been right now.  While I am willing to give Grachev more time there is still pressure on him though as he is being passed by other prospects in the system and more are on the way, so he will have to continue showing development or his chance may slip right on by.

Video: Christensen Pulls a Forsberg, Zuccarello Pulls Magic Hobbit In Shootout

Video: Tortorella "We've Got Some Balls"

Coach John Tortorella had another classic press conference moment tonight when talking about the tenacity and bounce back ability of this New York Rangers club, he was not shy in saying, "we've got some balls."

Watch the full press conference: