Free Agent Preview: Is Ville Leino A Solution For Rangers Secondary Scoring Issues?

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With less than a month left until the frenzy that is free agency begins and the New York Rangers will certainly be looking for offense when the market opens on July 1.  In looking ahead to the free agent market there have already been looks at Brad Richards for the first line center role, James Wisniewski as a puck-moving defender that could also aid the power play, Brooks Laich as a top-six forward and Simon Gagne as another potential cheap gamble and Anton Babchuk to be a bomber from the point.

With the Rangers need for offense being a priority the focus shifts back to the available forwards on the market this year with Ville Leino.  After struggling to consistently crack the Detroit Red Wings lineup Leino was moved to Philadelphia during the 2009-10 season where he found his legs at the NHL level.  During the Flyers run to the cup, Leino had seven goals and 14 assists in 19 games. 

The 27-year old Finnish forward built on his strong playoff run from the season before en route to a career year in which he posted 21 goals and 53 points in 81 games.  Not bad for a guy who had 11 goals and nine assists in 68 career regular season games coming into the 2010-11 season.  There is no question that Leino is due for a substantial raise from his current salary (825K), but there can be questions about whether Leino’s production is a sign that he has truly figured it out or if he has been very lucking playing with Daniel Briere since joining the Flyers.  Making that determination is the key to deciding if Leino could work here in New York.  If his production was a product of playing with Briere, then he is not a fit because he will be paid based on that production and unable to duplicate it as the Rangers do not have a player with Briere’s skill-set here.  If Leino’s stick-handling and playmaking abilities are deemed to have been the real cause along with greater opportunity to consistently play, then you are looking at a player growing into the NHL at the prime of his career.

With the Rangers likely having a void on left wing next year in their top six forwards a player like Leino who could potentially fit in on a second line is an intriguing option.  If the market has him closer to $3 rather than $4 million it is someone the Rangers should consider signing to create depth in the forward core.

Video: Lucic Mocks Burrows Over Finger Biting

During Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Alex Burrows of the Vancouver Canucks bit the finger of Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins.  After not being suspended for the bite, Burrows went on two score twice, including the OT game-winner in Game 2.  During Game 2, Burrows teammate, Max Lapierre mocked Bergeron for complaining about being bit by Burrows.

Tonight in Game 3, it was the Bruins turn to get in on the mocking of the biting fiasco from Game 1.  Milan Lucic, following an Alex Burrows dive, punched Burrows in the head multiple times and towards the end of the scrum, with his gloves off put his finger towards the face of Burrows as if telling him to bite his finger this time.

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Video: Tim Thomas Throws Hit On Henrik Sedin

The NHL does a lot to protect goaltenders from getting hit by opposing players.  Tim Thomas decided not only did he not need to be protected, but that he was going to take the contact to Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks.  Sedin would have had a great chance to score on the play, but Thomas took the body to stop him.

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That is certainly one way to keep the puck out of the net.  One has to wonder if Thomas could have been called for an interference penalty because there was clearly no intent to play the puck.  If that is ruled legal, then one has to wonder if more goaltenders will start being more proactive in defending their crease as Thomas did.

Video: Brad Marchand Scores Spectacular Shorthanded Goal

With the Boston Bruins already up 2-0 midway through the second period of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Brad Marchand worked some magic while the team was shorthanded.  Marchand picked up the puck at center ice, played a pass to himself off the side boards which allowed him to get by Alex Edler and then he overpowered Ryan Kesler in the offensive zone and showed tremendous patience at the end to get Roberto Luongo down on his stomach before putting home a critical third goal with a shot upstairs.

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Video: Nathan Horton Stretchered Off Following Late Hit By Aaron Rome

Hockey is a violent and sometimes brutal sport, but the sight of Nathan Horton laying prone on the ice was a scary one early in the first period of Game 3 tonight. Mike Murphy will have another decision to make in this series concerning supplemental discipline, but this one should result in a suspension.

At 5:07 of the first period Bruins' forward Nathan Horton was laid out by a late hit to the head by Canucks' defender Aaron Rome.  The NHL installed Rule 48 last offseason to protect players from blindside hits to the head when they are defenseless. 

A lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact is not permitted.

Tonight was a prime example of what the rule was looking to remove from the game.  After moving the puck just outside the Vancouver Canucks’ blueline Horton was leveled by Rome who left his feet, made first contact to the head of Horton while he was defenseless.  

For those who want to claim that Horton was at fault for watching his pass there is the issue of just how late the hit was.  The standard for a late hit is .5 seconds, while this one was nearly 1 full second late. 

TSNRyanRishaug: According to TSN newsroom aces, release of puck to hit was 28 frames, 30 is a full second, so substantially late as NHL standard half second

Aaron Rome was assessed a five minute major for interference and a game misconduct for the hit.  I would expect the combination of the hit itself and the lateness of it will result in a significant suspension for Rome that could last into next season.

Horton laid prone on the ice for several minutes before eventually being taken off on a stretcher.

Update from Bruins: Update on Nathan Horton: he has been transported to Mass Gen Hosp and is moving all his extremities. No further update at this time ^BB 

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Sean Avery, the Horse, Wins Longfellow Stakes at Monmouth

The Rangers season might be over, but that does not mean that Sean Avery is not winning things.  Well, Sean Avery the horse that is.  Yesterday at Monmouth Park in New Jersey, Sean Avery improved his career record to 5-0-2 with his victory in the $75,900 Longfellow Stakes.  The 5-year old gelding is owned by John DeStefano of Black Swan Stables.  DeStefano is friends with the New York Rangers Sean Avery.

2011 NHL Draft Prospects: Matt Puempel

The 2011 draft now less than one month away, and the Rangers scouting and front office staff is looking through many prospects to see who they want to select with the 15th overall selection.  With the current state of the Rangers defense both at the NHL and prospect level one would expect that New York will look for offense in the first round of the draft hoping to find an impact scorer.  There are a number of offensive prospects that could be available at 15.  We have already looked at Mark Scheifele, Mark McNeill, Zack Phillips, Joel Armia Sven Bartschi and Ty Rattie for their potential fits for the Rangers.

Today we will look at a player who performed admirably given how bad his team was, but suffered a season ending him injury.  That player is Matt Puempel of the Peterborough Petes in the Ontario Hockey League.  Puempel put up 34 goals and 35 assists in just 55 games for the Petes despite being keyed on every night and having little other talent to work with. This was following his OHL rookie of the year winning 33 goal 31 assist effort in 59 games during the 2009-10 season.

Kirk Luedeke of Bruins Draft Watch’s:

The 2010 CHL Rookie of the Year followed up his 33-goal first OHL season with 34 goals and 69 points in 55 games (to finish with the team scoring lead even though he missed 13 games) before suffering a hip injury that ended his season. His production was laudable because he didn't get a lot of help on his Petes team, but still managed to remain a threat to score even with a lot of checking attention on him. He has just average size at 6-0, 190 pounds, but compensates for that with his skating, hands and heavy shot that has pinpoint accuracy. Smooth stride and can gain separation; will go into traffic and the places on the ice where he must in order to score. He reads and anticipates the play extremely well, and is one of those guys who just seems to find ways to get himself into scoring situations. When all is said and done, he's probably one of the more underrated players in the OHL class, because given what he's accomplished in two seasons offensively, he's not on the tips of many tongues when talking about the top-10 guys in the 2011 draft. Puempel has a slender frame and needs to get stronger, but there are no issues with his high-end skills. He's been dinged for going through streaky periods where he isn't involved as much as he should be, but the reality is- he played hurt in the Ivan Hlinka (back) and still managed to be productive. He's probably got more skill and talent than several of the players ranked ahead of him and could be another one of those steals who, people will look back on and wonder how he lasted where he did in the draft.

Stock watch: Steady- no playoffs for Puempel, which means NHL teams who draft him will have to be confident that he'll come back from his hip injury as good as he was before. Given the advances in medical science that allow full recoveries and other injured players who have still been taken high in the NHL draft with injury concerns, Puempel shouldn't drop very far because of that.

The Scouting Report (Ranked 5, midseason):

Puempel has been a faller in many people’s eyes this season, but we’ve been impressed by his ability to be a dominant offensive player on one of the weakest offensive teams in the OHL. He’s got an elite release on his shot and exceptional offensive hockey sense, but he’s also showed more of an ability to create on his own this season. Still guilty of disappearing for periods of a game, but his innate offensive ability would look good on the top line of an NHL team.

OHL Prospects:

Puempel's an interesting player available for this draft. I think the fact that he hasn't slid further in most rankings, is a testament to his talent level and potential. The Petes had a dreadful season and Puempel has to shoulder some of that blame (a large reason CSS has him lower on their list). Puempel also had to have season ending hip surgery, causing him to miss the Under 18's. But the good news is that the surgery on his hip isn't for a debilitating condition and he will recover. If Brett Connolly can still go high in the lottery with his injury trouble, Puempel has a chance too. Puempel is definitely one of the better goal scoring forwards available in this draft. Some guys were just born to be goal scorers. He's got a great shot and he can unleash it anywhere on the ice. He's also a very intelligent player and seems to find his way to loose pucks in front of the net. The next step for him will be improving his ability to take the puck to the net and create offense from that...like any good goal scorer does. He'll also need to refine the rest of his game (play along the boards, backchecking, intensity). But you can't teach the skills he has. I think whoever takes Puempel will need to be patient with him (much like the Coyotes have been with a guy like Brett MacLean), but he definitely has top 6 NHL ability.

The best thing you can say about Puempel is that he is a pure scorer, which is something that the Rangers definitely need.  You cannot discount a player who has back-to-back 30 goal seasons, which might make him come off the board earlier than currently projected.  As of now he is seen as someone that you could trade down to the early 20's, obtain more assets and still have on the board. 

Rangers, Dubinsky Need Each Other So Contract Will Get Done

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Larry Brooks of the New York Post wrote yesterday that Brandon Dubinsky was seeking $4.5 million per season during his contract negotiations this summer.  Many New York Rangers fans immediately sought to distance themselves from Dubinsky by seeking to minimize his contributions to the club because they thought the amount was too high and that it might lead to his departure.  The defense mechanisms are unnecessary as you can say that you don’t want to see the Rangers pay Brandon $4.5 million without discounting the value he has to this club or resorting to calling him greedy.

From Brooks…

Impending Group II free agent Brandon Dubinsky is seeking a multi-year deal at $4.5 million a year, we're told. But not only isn't he going to get it from Sather, his case became much, much weaker when Buffalo winger Drew Stafford -- whose numbers form a direct comparable -- re-upped a couple of days ago for four years at $4 million per.

I would agree that Dubinsky ends up near where Stafford did, but I would garner a guess that Stafford did not open negotiations at that number to end up there.  He probably began the negotiation process looking for more and the two sides concluded at the 4/16 deal.  To further the issue, Jesse Spector tweeted last night that any statements regarding the “demands” of the Dubinsky side did not come from him or his agent, which makes the whole thing a big exercise is nothing.

NYDNRangers: On the report out today that Dubinsky seeks $4.5M per year -- it didn't come from his camp.   

NYDNRangers: That doesn't mean he's not looking for $4.5M a year, just that it's not him or his agent taking the negotiations public. 

The one thing it did show however is that there is still a propensity for Rangers fans to think the worst of Dubinsky when it comes to contracts based on the holdout two years ago.  The immediate jump to blame him for what was said by Brooks and minimize his worth was frighteningly quick.  This is a player who led the team in goals (24), assists (30), and points (54) while playing part of the season through a stress fracture in his leg.  While his play tailed off in the second half, Dubinsky was clearly the team’s MVP during the first half when he played to a near All-Star level.  Having said all of that, the moment fans thought he wanted too much for his next contract he becomes useless?  We can do better than that as there is not another forward on this team who can help the team in as many ways as Dubinsky does on the ice, except for Ryan Callahan.

Furthering that if you look around the league, as was pointed out by RangerSmurf on twitter yesterday, the salaries of many comparable left wings in the NHL are very similar to the $4.5 million number that was floated by Brooks.  I am hopeful that the actual negotiations go smoothly and the Rangers can keep the deal under $4 million, but this is also what happens when you have a team that lacks offensive talent, as the Rangers do, as it makes each piece more valuable and creates some level of leverage.  The Rangers need Dubinsky for all that he brings them on the ice, and he needs New York for the opportunities he gets here that he would not get most other places.  The mutual need for each other is something that always helps in the end and when both sides see that it will be done.  In the meantime, take a deep breath and don’t jump off the cliff with every rumor, even if time is slow.

Rumor: Brad Richards Not Giving Discounts; Rangers Should Move On, Look To Trade Market

Larry Brooks of the New York Post is reporting that Brad Richards is seeking a long term contract at a minimum average salary of $7 million a season.  As scary as the dollar amount per season might be to many, the long term is what scares me more in any deal for Richards.  I would rather pay Richards extra up front to go away quick than even get him at a discount to stay longer.  It appears that Richards wants both the money and the length, and personally you cannot blame the guy. 

This means that, a) general manager Glen Sather will not be sending an asset to Dallas for the right to try and convince the 31-year-old center to sign before he hits the market; and, b) the Blueshirts already are pondering a Plan B to bring a first-line pivot to Broadway.

We're told by well-placed sources Richards has no intention of signing for a discount in order to reunite with coach John Tortorella, with whom he won the Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004. That's fine. If five years at $6.5 million per -- that's the number -- doesn't represent enough green to get Richards into a Blueshirt, then that's that.

There has been the fantasy notion for many who follow the New York Rangers that the relationship with Tortorella was going to somehow inspire Richards to take less to play here.  I have never bought into that idea or the idea that winning is the most important thing to Richards.  Sure, if the money is close between two places, then he would probably take the one with a better chance to win than the pure highest dollar amount.  Nothing Richards has said or done all season has given any indication that he wants anything other than the attention of being an unrestricted free agent for the first time, and the bidding war that will likely ensue. 

The fact that Richards is far and away the best forward on the market this summer gives him all the leverage in the negotiations as this is no fallback option available without a trade.  Brooks tosses out the names of Jason Spezza, Stephen Weiss and Patrick Sharp as potential fits in the trade market.  Of the three, Sharp is likely the best combination of player and contract, but he would cost significant assets to pry him out of Chicago and only has one season left on his contract before being an unrestricted free agent next summer.  Spezza is a supremely talented player, but his injury history and having four years at $7 million per left on his contract makes it a no go.  I discussed the idea of trading for Weiss as a plan B here.

If Richards is about money and not winning, then the Rangers are better off not signing the talented player this summer.  This organization has slowly moved away from the buying of talent to fill holes and towards developing youth to fill the roster.  Overpaying Richards would be a step back in that movement, even if it is an upgrade in talent.

Rumor: Rangers Considering Trading Down? Could Toronto Be a Trade Down Partner?

On Friday I pondered whether the New York Rangers should consider trading down in the first round in order to add more picks during the 2011 NHL draft.  Apparently I am not the only one having this thought.  Tom Gulitti of Fire and Ice is speculating that the Rangers would look to pick up a second round pick by moving back in the first round.

Keep an eye on the Rangers, who are scheduled to pick 15th and have no second-round pick after trading two second-rounders to Calgary in Wednesday’s trade for Swedish defenseman Tim Erixon. It will be interesting to see if Rangers GM Glen Sather will try to pick up a second-round pick for moving back a few spots in the first round. The Rangers and Coyotes have been frequent trade partners since Maloney left his post as assistant GM with the Rangers to become the Coyotes GM.

One such scenario to keep in mind would be trading back with the Toronto Maple Leafs as NHL.com is reporting that GM Brian Burke is looking to package one of his first round picks and his early second to move up higher in the first round.

"We're trying to move up, but haven't had any luck yet ... it's still pretty early," Burke said. "We own the 25th pick (from Philadelphia) and either a 29 or 30 from Boston (depending on the result of Stanley Cup Final), and we're trying to package 39 and one of those first-rounders."

Obviously there are issues with this scenario.  The first being how the draft unfolds and who is actually available when the Rangers #15 slot comes up.  If the player the Rangers are targeting is there, then they will stay and take him in the spot instead of risking him being gone by the time they would select again.  Also, in terms of the Toronto scenario, they could be looking to move higher than #15 and would also depend on if the player they want is there to be taken with the Rangers pick.

Burke continued…

"We're trying to identify all the ledges where the draft falls off," he said. "The way this draft is, we've got good bandwidth and a good feel that you could be getting the same player from No. 15 through No. 50. When it gets to No. 25 and if we still own that pick, you're going to see our phones start to ring from three different teams. They'll probably say, 'OK, there's a guy we really want at 25, would you trade down with us?' So we haven't ruled that out, either, in this draft. We've told our scouts, you have to have a gymnast ability to be flexible in moving up or down, so you'll see the phone ringing a lot on draft day."

As I said on Friday, the two main guys the Rangers should target and stay at #15 to select would be centers Mark McNeill and Mark Scheifele.  Both players are expected to go in the area surrounding the Rangers selection and for different reasons would be excellent fits for the organization.  However, if both are gone, the Rangers cannot discount the idea of moving down to get more picks to further deepen the prospect ranks.  A deal like what the Leafs are looking to do would make sense, even if the Rangers throw-in a minor league defensive prospect like Pavel Valentenko.