Rumor: Rangers Had Deal In Place For McCabe?

There has been a lot of talk about the Rangers and defensemen that might be available through trades.  The hot name right now is Florida’s Bryan McCabe and that talk got more intriguing today with the report from Andy Stickland on his blog at True Hockey in which he wrote that multiple sources confirmed there was a deal in place between the Rangers and the Panthers before McCabe broke his jaw.

The New York Rangers are still looking for a D-man. It will be interesting to see if they re-visit a deal that almost went down with Florida’s Bryan McCabe several weeks ago.

A broken jaw to McCabe prevented the trade from happening but multiple sources confirm a deal was in place between Florida and the Rangers. Panthers GM Dale Tallon would love to still move McCabe who will take full advantage of his no-move clause. Word is McCabe is very selective as to where he would go.

With McCabe now back in the lineup and the Rangers presumably still looking for a defenseman it is likely that these talks will be re-visited, but one has to wonder how much the other trades in the past few weeks might have changed the demands from the Panthers in order to trade McCabe away.  One must also wonder if in the wake of Gaborik’s concussion if the needs for offense might take precedence over acquiring a defenseman right now.

Rangers Should Pursue James Neal.

With just one week to go before the NHL trade deadline rumors are only going to intensify, some that will involve the New York Rangers and many that will not.  This morning there was one that does not directly involve New York that caught my eye.  Chatter has it that James Neal might be available via trade from the Dallas Stars.  If the Rangers are going to make a move, this is the kind of move they should be making.  For whatever reason this is also the kind of player the Rangers are rarely connected to in the trade market rumors, rather they are always connected to aging or over the hill veterans.

Neal, 23, would fill a need the team has had for a long time in the role of a true power forward that can score upwards of 30 goals in a season.  Last season in 78 games Neal scored 28 goals and had 27 assists.  This season he has 21 goals and 18 assists in 59 games which puts him on pace for similar numbers.  He has one year remaining on his contract at a cap hit of 2.875 million and will be a restricted free agent.

The rumor involving Neal this morning per Darren Dreger in his Dreger Report:

It's believed the Pens are willing to move defenceman Alex Goligoski for the right forward, and a trade involving Stars winger James Neal has been discussed.

The deal makes sense for both sides as Pittsburgh obviously needs offensive help with their injuries and their depth on the blueline makes Goligoski more expendable to acquire a top end power forward like Neal.  On the Dallas side Goligoski is seen as a very capable offensive defender, but he does have defensive holes in his game. 

If Neal truly is available it is a move that Glen Sather has to kick the tires on and while we do not have a player currently at Goligoski’s level, Michael Del Zotto is the one guy who has that kind of upside to intrigue the Stars with the same defensive warts.  I have repeatedly said that I am opposed to moving Del Zotto despite his struggles this season, but this is the kind of talent you consider moving him for.  Since Del Zotto is below where Goligoski is you would definitely have to add more in the way of picks/prospects whether it be another defensive prospect like Tomas Kundratek/Pavel Valentenko or a forward prospect like Evgeny Grachev.  Who knows if the Stars would even consider that to be enough.  Parting with young players is one of the hardest things to do for those that follow them closely, but when doing you have the possibility to do it for an established young player who has proven he can perform at this level sometimes you have to pull the trigger.

It is likely that the Stars would push for Ryan McDonagh to be included in the deal instead of Del Zotto, which I would not do at this point.  Neal is a huge upgrade for the team, but the loss of McDonagh would be considerable right now as he has been the Rangers best defender recently and only shows signs of getting better.  In the end the Stars and Rangers likely wont come together on a deal for Neal, but it is certainly one that Sather should be calling about.

Have Rangers Lost Their Identity?

The New York Rangers are at a crossroads right now where they must decide who they are and define what the result of this season will be.  The thing that made the Rangers first half so special was not the record or how they overcame the vast number of injuries they were plagued with.  What made the first half so special and this team different from previous Rangers clubs was that they had an identity.  This team was never going to be pretty or flashy, but they were going to outwork their opponent and by staying together with the system they would in the end find a way to get the win.  Playing that way got the Rangers out to a 29-19-3 record through 51 games despite playing undermanned and without their full complement of pieces the whole way.  Since that point, one game before the All-Star break, the Rangers have played to an abysmal 2-7-1 record that leaves them at 29-26-4 overall.  Can the Rangers regain that identity to let the original version come back out or is this who they really are deep down?

During the struggles the team has the feel of someone who has lost their way, their core if you will and they cannot seem to get back to their center.  The team does not forecheck with the same intensity or consistency.  They do not have that next man up mentality in the same way.  They do have a new hero every night in the same way they did before when things were going well.

Part of all of those things is because certainly players have hit the wall, along with others having underperformed and also the incorporation or reintegration of others back into the lineup has changed some of the mentality the team plays with.  The team seems to lack a sense of urgency right now about how important each game is.  Even worse they have an utter lack of focus.

So are the Rangers the team that was 29-19-3 or are they more the team that after going 2-7-1 is 29-26-4?

Unfortunately the answer is that they are both and neither at the same time.  This team when they play a focused game can play with any team in the NHL.  The problem is they have not gotten the memo that 60 minute efforts are what it takes to win in this league as they have built up this false sense of security that they can always rally in the third period.  That might have worked in the first half of the season, but it does not work as teams tighten up even more down the stretch while scratching and clawing for every crucial point. 

The breakdowns have been in all phases of the game and with nearly every player on the roster.  With the deadline quickly approaching and other teams making moves there is a sense of urgency for New York to make a move, but the best move they can make is trading this unfocused identity that fails to convert, takes bad penalties, loses defensive coverage, does not successfully forecheck and bringing back the other identity they had built the first 51 games.  The players were good enough then and they are good enough now, so it about playing the way they know how and with the urgency they did more than anything else.

Sunday Night Rangers Chat: Gaborik Concussion, Rumors, Playoff Race

Rumor: Rangers Will Pass On Souray, McCabe Top Target

Per Marc Spector of Sportsnet, the Rangers had another roundtable discussion concerning whether to put a claim in on Sheldon Souray on re-entry waivers and they have once again decided to pass.  This is great news in my opinion considering the reports coming out of his performances for the Hershey Bears in the AHL.  If you are too slow to play in the AHL, then there is no way that you are able keep up with the pace of an NHL style game.  His big point shot certainly intrigues many, but the combination of his lack speed and the 2.7 million dollars on the cap this summer were obviously too much for Sather and company to bite on.  Credit to Sather and his people for not taking the bait.

The other half of Spector’s tweet deals with the fact that now they have given up on Souray for good they are turning their focus to McCabe.  McCabe is someone that has been discussed before as I shared this morning, Pierre LeBrun at ESPN wrote that the Rangers are definitely in on Bryan McCabe, but that the Panthers are hoping the Kaberle deal set the market for McCabe and that the Rangers do not want to approach that price tag for the Florida veteran. 

Being back in the lineup certainly adds to the attraction, but price is going to be the key to whether Sather pulls the trigger.

Rangers Costly Afternoon: Lose Game To Flyers, Gaborik To Concussion

The New York Rangers came into today’s game looking to respond from their awful performance on Friday night and get a monkey off their back against the rival Flyers.  They were able to successfully pull off the former of those goals, for half the game at least, but they would fall to Philadelphia for the fourth consecutive time this season.  At this point it is not an exaggeration to say they own the Rangers and these dreams that many fans have that this team can beat Philly in a playoff series are more like fantasies right now. 

At some point the Rangers are also going to have to realize that against all teams, but especially the better ones, you have to play a 60 minute game if you want to win.  Instead what we had today was a game eerily similar to many of late where the Rangers trail by two after the second period, making a furious comeback attempt in the third and come up short.

New York came out like an inspired team early in the first period.  The team pushed the pace, got the forecheck working and creating a number of early scoring chances, which actually netted a reward for a change.   At 12:43 of the first period Wojtek Wolski would give the Rangers the first goal in the game for the first time in eight games.  Ryan McDonagh would fire a shot from the point which was wide on the short side and it would end up on Wolski’s stick in the slot.  His shot would tickle through Boucher, but Wolski would make it a no doubter as he got his stick on the puck again on the goal-line before Boucher could glove it.

After the goal the Rangers forgot they have to keep playing that way and the Flyers would dominate the rest of the first period.  With just over three minutes to play in the first, Jeff Carter would score and erase all the good work New York had done to that point in the game.  The goal itself was relatively lucky as the Flyer threw the puck at the slot and it went off Carter’s stick, through the traffic in front and beat Lundqvist five-hole.

Following the first period Marian Gaborik did not return to the game and after the game it was announced that he has a concussion, which is not thought to have been suffered in this game. 

The second period was abysmal.  The Flyers wanted everything more than the Rangers and unlike New York, when they got their chances they cashed them in.  The Flyers were given a gift power play just past the mid-point of the period when Wolski was given two minutes for boarding on an obvious dive.  Philly would score just 23 seconds into the man advantage when after Lundqivst made a tremendous save on Jeff Carter, Carter threw a beautiful backhand pass to Claude Giroux who lifted the puck over a downed Lundqvist.

The Flyers would add another later in the period, Dan Carcillo would get behind both Ryan McDonagh and Michael Sauer and slide a soft backhand shot by Lundqvist to make it 3-1.

Brian Boucher would go down just under five minutes into the period after taking a knee to the head from teammate Kimmo Timmonen, but he would stay in the game.  Just 34 seconds after that Derek Stepan would get a tap in goal to make it 3-2 with plenty of time remaining on the clock. 

Despite dominating the rest of the period the Rangers would fall and Versteeg would cap it with an empty-netter with 45.3 seconds left on the clock.

• Derek Stepan was everywhere today and his line with Wolski and Zuccarello was clearly the Rangers best as it was when it was together earlier in the year.  Hopefully they will be left together now.
• Ryan McDonagh keeps up his tremendous play.

More later when the Rangers announce the recall ahead of the huge game at Carolina on Tuesday.

Gaborik Out With Concussion; Has He Been Playing With It?

Marian Gaborik was held out of action today following the first period and after the game it was announced that the New York Rangers winger has a concussion.  Gaborik apparently went to John Tortorella after the first period and told him that he was not feeling well and he was subsequently held out of the rest of the game.

There has been no announcement as to the severity of the concussion and with these types of injuries a timetable for a return is always uncertain.  What actually disturbs me more than the injury news itself is some of the comments made by coach John Tortorella following the game about the injury.  Per Steve Zipay, when asked about Gaborik Tortorella said that “He's been off,” and that he was not sure when the concussion happened, but probably not in this game. 

While the fact that this might have been a longer term thing might ease some fans minds about his play for me it is very alarming.  I say that because it opens the door to the possibility that Gaborik has been playing through these symptoms.  I certainly hope that is not the case because there is no excuse for the team to be playing a player with symptoms or the player to hide symptoms to stay on the ice.  Concussions are difficult to diagnose and the symptoms can be tricky, but with the growing concern over these issues all precautions from all sides should be taken.

Update: Per Andrew Gross, it appears there have been conversations, but no concrete indications of issues with Gaborik concerning a possible concussion.

“Gaborik was playing along,” Tortorella said, adding Gaborik came out of today’s day after complaining of being off, which, Tortorella said, was the first time Gaborik had given the Rangers any concrete indication. “I know he’s had some conversations off the ice, he just wasn’t dead on. But that’s something we’re going to have to talk to him and Rammer (trainer Jim Ramsey) about.”

Trade Deadline Rumors: McCabe, Kuba, Souray, Neil

Rumors surrounding the New York Rangers are coming fast and furious this morning.  Some of the rumors concern what the Rangers will do before the trade deadline, but others concern what will happen with the team this summer and how it will impact next year’s cap situation.  Since there are so many here are the deadline ones first.

Concerning the trade deadline:

Pierre LeBrun at ESPN writes that the Rangers are definitely in on Bryan McCabe, but that the Panthers are hoping the Kaberle deal set the market for McCabe and that the Rangers do not want to approach that price tag for the Florida veteran.  McCabe returned to the lineup last night, after being out with a broken jaw, and would be a very good veteran addition to the team, but not at anything near the Kaberle cost.  The highest I would probably go McCabe is similar to what Brewer got, possibly our extra second and Gilroy.  The toughness, experience, ability to run a power play and big shot make Bryan a very attractive target, but price is key.

In the New York Post, Larry Brooks writes that it is unlikely the Rangers will claim Souray.  Hopefully this is right as the Souray was put on re-entry waivers yesterday with Edmonton hoping that a team looking for power play help would panic and bite on him.

Over at the Ottawa Sun, Bruce Garrioch  jumps on the idea that Larry Brooks floated earlier this week in the Rangers interest in Senators defender Filip Kuba.  I hate this idea the more I think about it, but here is the original report from Brooks and my thoughts on the move.  Garrioch also chimes in on the Rangers and their own defenseman Matt Gilroy saying..

New York doesn’t have any veteran blueliners and has been trying to move D Matt Gilroy all season.

Also, last night Jesse Spector of the New York Daily News passed along a report that had multiple sources claiming the Rangers have interest in Ottawa forward Chris Neil.

Rumor: Rangers Interested In Chris Neil?

Over the past few weeks New York Rangers have been connected to seemingly every defender that might be on the market, but now there is finally a rumor connecting them to a forward.  Per Jesse Spector of the Daily News, the Rangers have interest in making Chris Neil the next Senator to get out of Ottawa.  Neil, 31, has three goals and nine assists in 58 games this season.  The strengths in Neil’s game is not his offense, but his ability to be a fighter, and he has racked up 157 penalty minutes thus far this year.

If you recall the Rangers attempted to sign Neil when he was a free agent in July of 2009 offering him a four year contract, but he chose to go back to Ottawa.  Neil is under contract for two more seasons at $2 million per season.

I understand the desire to lessen Prust’s fighting responsibilities, which is a reason that Spector says the Rangers have interest, but John Tortorella is on record saying that he does not want players who only fight and right now fighting is the main skill Neil brings to the table.  It is tough to see which player he would replace in the lineup once Ruslan Fedotenko comes back and the salary hit is a huge problem, especially with the team already being on the hook for three more seasons of Derek Boogaard.  There are bigger needs for the club than another fighter, especially at this kind of salary commitment, so hopefully Sather will pass on this idea.

Is Erik Christensen's Shootout Specialty Worth Keeping Him In The Lineup?

Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

The curious case of Erik Christensen continues to turn for the New York Rangers and the frustration with him only mounts with each passing game.  Christensen has been given numerous opportunities at all levels of the lineup and continually fails to make a consistent impact on the game, at least in the first 65 minutes of action.  The only thing that he does do consistently is perform in the shootout.  Over the past few days I have been thinking about how much value a shootout specialist has in the NHL right now with the combination of the tight playoff races and how crucial the extra point can be at this time of year.  Obviously, come the playoffs there is no value to a player who cannot consistently produce during real action as opposed to the skills competition, but does Christensen’s shootout prowess save his spot in the lineup down the stretch until the playoffs begin?

My gut reaction is no because I want the best 12 forwards to be playing the first 65 minutes so I am not relying on the skill competition for an extra point.  Clearly he is not one of those 12 as since coming back seven games ago the point total is zero, only five shots have even hit the net and he has earned more than 11:06 in ice time just once. I would rather have less skilled guys like Kris Newbury who are going to give total effort in their roles during the game, then hope that a specialist like Christensen will be necessary at the end.

Last night for me was a clear example for me as Christensen had a downed goaltender and no defenders near him, but instead of being confident with the puck and taking his time to actually finish the goal he rushed and shanked it wide.  That miss was not the sole reason that the Rangers lost to the Devils, but it reminds me why the 12 guys to play the first 65 minutes of the game are what matters not a guy who is a specialist for an event the Rangers have only seen eight times this year, which likely equals the number of games Christensen has made an impact.  How many points would keeping him in the lineup for his specialty cost the Rangers in regulation as opposed to gain them in the shootout?  If the number is close to even, then he is not worthy having out there.

There is also the potential to market his shootout skill in a trade to a Western Conference team where they have some roster voids he might be able to be hidden and his prowess could be the real difference in making the playoffs or not.  I do not think the Rangers get that much for him, but a fourth round pick would feel pretty good for a guy who if we are lucky does something good every eight games or so.