Rumor: Rangers Could Select Defender Jamieson Oleksiak At #15?

The consensus assumption concerning the New York Rangers first round selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft is that they will use it on a forward due to their immense depth in the defensive ranks.  Jess Rubenstein at The Prospect Park is not sold on that assumption and discusses how the Rangers might be interested in Jamieson Oleksiak with their first round selection this month.  Oleksiak is a mammoth 6-foot-7, 245-pound defender who has received numerous comparisons to another Zdeno Chara, who Gordie Clark selected.
Do not discount for a second that the idea of sending out a 6'5 Dylan McIlrath with a 6'7 Jamieson Oleksiak is not making Jim Schoenfeld or John Tortorella smile. 2 monsters with heavy shots from the point while making life horrible for other teams.

Oleksiak, 18, who has already played his Freshman season at Northeastern recorded four goals and nine assists in 38 games while leading the team with a plus-13 rating.

While many would be disappointed to see the Rangers take yet another defender in the first round, Jess is right that you have to plan for anything with prospects and you are not drafting for today, rather for 2-3 years down the line when the player will actually see the NHL.  This is certainly not a selection that would be based on current need, but as we have seen the NHL is about having assets and if Oleksiak develops as he is capable he gives them another asset to allow them to move him or someone else down the road.

My personal preference is still for a forward if a high quality one the Rangers like is available, but I would not be at all shocked if they went defense and Oleskiak is not the only potential guy that could fit that billing either.

Scouts takes:

Elite Prospects:

A huge defenseman with terrific reach and strength. Moves very well for a man his size. Has superb agility and athleticism.  Oleksiak can deliver thunderous hits and uses his stick effectively to break up passes.  He also has great hands and puck skills, which could see him blossom into a very solid two-way defenseman

Bruins Draft Watch:

Jamie Oleksiak, D Northeastern University (Hockey East)
Huge kid at 6-7, 240 pounds and may not be done growing. Pretty mobile for someone so big, and more importantly, so young. Many guys Oleksiak's size are very gangly and still developing their coordination for their big bodies. He's already pretty much there and has a long, fluid stride and better footwork at this stage than most would think. He covers a lot of ground with the long stride and power behind it. Massive wingspan and long stick make it virtually impossible for opponents to beat him to the outside. Mobility makes it a challenge for them to go inside on him as well. With more work on his skating, could be even more mobile and difficult to beat. Working on his reads and progressions- still a work in progress who sometimes tries to do too much in his own end- needs to keep things simple. Decent passer on short to intermediate feeds, but on-ice vision is questionable and lacks the accuracy to stretch opposing defenses with long leads. As can be expected, has a big drive given all the power and torque he can generate on his twig. Needs to work on improving the accuracy and release. Important to avoid the lazy comparisons to Zdeno Chara or Tyler Myers because of size/mobility alone- those guys are more skilled with the puck and shooting skills than Oleksiak and he has a long way to go to reach that level. Oleksiak has upside, but may end up being more of a shutdown guy in the NHL. One thing he has going for him that most will never achieve no matter how well they are coached or how hard they work is that monstrous size. That should get him to the NHL, but still a wildcard in terms of what he's going to be at that level. Oleksiak will be a first-round pick, but based on what we've seen in multiple viewings this season, we'd take him at the end of the round instead of earlier. There is some risk that he'll be more Hal Gill than Chara, but he's at least made himself into a top-30 option with his potential, and Gill has fashioned a nice NHL career dating back to his league debut in 1997 with Boston.

Craig Button

"I saw Chara play at that age and Oleksiak is way more developed and does possess better coordination than Chara had," NHL analyst Craig Button told NHL.com. "A 6-foot-7 defenseman with the skill of Oleksiak doesn't come very often. There's a big development window in front of him. I could see three or four years down the road, NHL teams that passed on him might be saying 'We should have taken him.’”

Rangers Not Buying Out Wolski Is The Right Move

Along with the news of the imminent buy out for Chris Drury this morning, Jesse Spector of the Daily News is reported that a buy out of Wojtek Wolski is likely to happen this month. 

The Blueshirts also appear likely to buy out the remaining year on midseason pickup Wojtek Wolski's deal, saving another $3.3 million next season while incurring a $666,667 charge in 2012-13.

Update: Apparently the Rangers agree with my assessment as according to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the Rangers are going to keep Wolski for next season.

I would understand this more if the money was necessary to chase Richards or another top-line player this summer, but it really isn’t with the savings from the Drury buyout and the impending rise in the salary cap there is the money to chase a big salary and not make this move.  Besides if the Rangers do make this move, they still need to go out and sign another left wing to provide them with offense.

The benefits to the cap are clear if the Blueshirts decide to move on from Wolski, but the question becomes what can they can to replace him.  There are players like Ville Leino, Brooks Laich, Jussi Jokinen and Simon Gagne on the market, but it is unlikely that any of them would come for just one year and most of them will want more than the $3.8 million that Wolski is scheduled to make.

There is no doubt that Wolski has been inconsistent throughout his career, but is it better to have to potentially commit 3-4 years at approximately $4 million for the likes of Leino or Jokinen instead of just giving one more year of Wolski a chance?  Talent like Wolski is hard to come by and while flawed he has more potential and a lesser commitment than any forward not named Richards that is out there on the market this summer, so maybe sending him to work with Barbara Underhill this summer and having him playing in a contract year is just what the Rangers need to make the most of the immense talent Wolski has instead of taking the buy out and playing with what is out there.

Rangers To Buy Out Drury

Jesse Spector of the Daily News is reporting that the New York Rangers, as expected, are going to buy out the final year of Chris Drury’s contract thus ending his disappointing run on Broadway. 

"He's gone," the source said of Drury, who had one goal and four assists this season as he sat out 58 games with finger and knee injuries - more time than he had missed in his 11 previous NHL campaigns combined.
Buying out Drury would save the Rangers $3.3 million against next year's salary cap, with a $1.6 million charge to the Blueshirts' ledger in 2012-13. The Blueshirts also appear likely to buy out the remaining year on midseason pickup Wojtek Wolski's(notes) deal, saving another $3.3 million next season while incurring a $666,667 charge in 2012-13.

Drury signed a 5-year, $35.25 million deal in 2007, which has been an overpayment from the day it was signed, but has only gotten worse as the years have progressed and the decline in Drury’s offense has rapidly accelerated.  The contract itself is not his fault because it was Glen Sather who offered to overpay him so massively, but he also knew that he was never going to live up to those dollars on this stage.

If his knee is sound, expect Drury to catch on with another team and play a valuable role as a fourth line center, penalty killer and positive influence in the locker room though at a drastically reduced price.  Maybe now that he is gone Rangers fans can look beyond the contract and realize there were good things he brought to this team and organization over the last four years, even if he was massively overpaid while doing it.

The sound you hear with this news is the money truck parking outside of Brad Richards house as it gives Glen Sather even more space to go after Richards at all costs.  If that is what indeed happens, then it is possible that Richards will be resented in his last few years as much as Drury has been, even if he will produce more offense at the start of his deal.

Patrick Sharp Makes Most Sense For Rangers Of All The Options

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

The New York Rangers are an organization that has transitioned from one that sought to buy talent every year and hope that they could make the pieces work to an franchise that has developed their young core through the draft and select trades for youth over the past few seasons.  The result is that the team has a foundation of young talent to build from.  With the expected growth of the players that are already in the NHL and the continued influx of new talent big things are expected from the Rangers within the next couple years.  In order to get to that ultimate level of contending for a title however the team still needs to add a few top level talents to go with the core it already has.   

The chase for that elusive top-line talent is expected to center around Brad Richards come July 1, but with him reported seeking a contract upwards of $7 million per season for as many as 8 years there have to be questions about whether that kind of move would set the franchise back.  On the ice the talent addition would be excellent, at least for the first few seasons, but the question is whether the move to overpay, this time in years, would set the franchise back in the long run.  If the Rangers do miss or pass on Brad Richards this summer there are other options to consider.

One option that has been thrown out there would be trading for Patrick Sharp.  Sharp, 29, is a highly skilled forward with excellent vision, good playmaking ability and a lethal shot. He is coming off a tremendous season in which he scored 34 goals and added 37 assists in just 74 games for the Chicago Blackhawks.  This marked the fifth straight season of 20+ goals, fourth straight of 25+ goals and second time that Sharp has broken the 30 goal mark.  In the past four seasons Sharp has 121 goals and 122 assists in 297 games.  That breaks down to an average of .818 points per game or 67 points over the course of an 82 game season.
Sharp possesses the skills to help the Rangers anemic power play coming from a system that ranked fourth in the league at 23.1% effective.  A big part of that success was the 12 goals and 14 assists recorded on the man advantage by Sharp.  He can play down low or on the point on the power play, though he was primarily used on the point where his shot was a huge asset.

Another major asset for Sharp is his versatility.  He can play the center position or he could moved to the wing on either side and be effective.  If the Rangers decide that someone like Derek Stepan is able to answer the call as the top center, then Sharp could team with him and Marian Gaborik form a line not totally dissimilar to when Sharp is paired with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.

Sharp has one season remaining on his current contract at a salary cap hit of $3.9 million before hitting the unrestricted free agent market next summer.  The only reason that Chicago would even consider trading Sharp is because of their salary cap constraints that might make it difficult for them to keep him next summer.  That is not to say that the price of prying him out of Chicago would not be significant.  

While Chicago would likely have some interest in a Dan Girardi on the ice, the salary is not something they can afford to take on with the huge money they have tied up in their current top four.  The likely move for Chicago would be to look for young NHL forwards/prospects and possibly a young NHL/prospect on defense.  Even then the value of Sharp to the chances Chicago has of making another run to a title would make it very difficult for them to move him in a trade this summer.  It is highly doubtful given his role and importance to the Blackhawks that they would consider moving him and will make every attempt to re-sign him next year.

I know the urgency for many is to make a move now for next season, but depending on what happens with the salary cap for the upcoming season, Chicago could be hamstrung in trying to lock up Sharp long-term and it could mean he is a prize on the free agent market next summer with a lower price-tag than Richards and without having to trade assets for him.

Video: Tim Thomas Defends Crease, Fights Alex Burrows

With less than two minutes remaining in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals with the Bruins up 4-0 Tim Thomas showed Alex Burrows that he will not allow anyone to take liberties in his crease.  Alex Burrows chopped the goal stick of Thomas out of his hands, Thomas retrieved the stick and proceeded to chop the knee of Burrows.  Burrows spun around and started throwing punches at Thomas, but there was no backing down as Thomas started throwing right back.

In the last two games Tim Thomas has thrown a hit on Henrik Sedin and thrown punches with Alex Burrows.  At some point the Canucks are going to learn that Tim Thomas is going to defend his crease by any means necessary.

Rangers' Boyle Training With Barb Underhill Again, Recruiting Teammates To Join

Brian Boyle has a tremendous turnaround season during the 2010-11 campaign for the New York Rangers due in large measure to his improved skating from his work with Barbara Underhill last summer.  While answering fan questions for Blueshirts United he announced that he will be working with Underhill again this summer, which is great news for the potential of him repeating his season again because his skating improvement created so many opportunities for him.  Instead of being a second late he was able to get in on the forecheck better, use his physical size and strength more both on and off the puck and his improved speed allowed him to have more scoring opportunities. 

To further the good news, Boyle announced that he is getting some of his teammates to go with him.  He said that Wojtek Wolski is going with him and that both Brandon Prust and Michael Del Zotto are possible participants as well.  If Underhill can do for any of them what she did for Boyle it will pay huge dividends for the Rangers on the ice next season.  If I had to pick two guys to send to Underhill it would be Artem Anisimov and Brandon Dubinsky.  Both players are extremely talented, but both could use work on becoming better power skaters.  For Anisimov it is about strength on the puck and having a better foundation, which he also needs to get in the weight room to get.  With Dubinsky is more about refining his stride to improve his speed and cut down on the strain he puts on his legs with his current one.

It is welcomed news that Boyle is not satisfied with his career year and is still putting in the work necessary to get better.  Along with that it is encouraging both from a leadership standpoint and a team unity one that he is getting some of his teammates to get in on what worked so well for him and his career.

Check out the video of Boyle answering those questions and more:

Is Skipping Unrestricted Free Agent Market Best Move For Rangers Future?

For the past few summers fans of the New York Rangers have seen the end of the mega contract that eventually hangs around the neck of the organization like an albatross as they stare into the abyss of salary cap calamity.  Much of the reason for that is that the organization has been against the salary cap so the mega deals for huge money and significant years have not been something that has been possible for GM Glen Sather to make.  He has made some bad signings in the last two years as well in terms of the level of overpayment for some free agents, but the sheer dollars involved have been so much less that he has gotten away without the same level of scrutiny. 

That could change this summer with Sather having eliminated most of the worst contracts on the club’s balance sheet, and an expected rise in the salary cap.  Add in potential buyouts of Chris Drury, Wojtek Wolski and possibly Sean Avery and the Rangers could be looking at upwards of $25+ million in cap space to work with this summer.  Obviously a good chunk of that money will go to the new deals for Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Michael Sauer and Brian Boyle.  That said, when those five deals are done there will still be huge money left on the table and we know that Sather is not one to leave it there sitting idle.

There is no secret he will look for the big fish in this year’s market, Brad Richards, when July 1 comes.  The problem becomes whether he will revert back to the old ways and lock himself right back into another long-term deal (5+ years) for huge money ($7+ million) as Richards is rumored to be seeking.  Even scarier than that scenario might be what Sather could do with the money if he loses out on Richards.  In the unrestricted free agent (UFA) market Richards is the only elite talent there and the pool after that drops off significantly.  That scenario creates multiple bad scenarios for the Rangers.

The weak UFA market gives Richards added leverage in his own negotiations as there is no comparable alternative out there to spend the money in the market.  The other bad scenario is that the weak market means all the secondary options are likely to be overpaid in both years and dollars this summer.  Second and third liners will be paid more than they deserve because the teams that miss on Richards will be hungry to not walk away completely empty-handed.  This is why the best move for the Rangers is to stay out of the unrestricted free agent market altogether this summer other than some depth signings if necessary.  Other than Richards, there is no one in the UFA class that is a significant upgrade, especially in the forward group, compared to what the Rangers already have, yet they will get paid as if they are.

The main alternative to the UFA market is to look for the answers in trades, which as bad as Sather has been in his big dollar free agent contracts, he has been that good in the trade market.  This has been bandied about with different names already this offseason, some of which are more intriguing than others.

The other alternative that seems to be lost in the discussion because the urge is to fix the problems on the team is just to basically stand still and hope for the growth from the youth for next season.  The rebuilding process is one that has gone on over the past few years and while fans are itching to contend again as soon as possible, staying with the course and making the right moves is more important than just making a move you hope will work.

Whatever Sather does at this point, the goal should be to add top talent, not more depth to the core that already exists in New York.  If that talent is not available, for whatever reason, the Rangers should not be afraid to just take a pass and head into next year with the same core group from this past season.

Flyers Try Again To Find Elite Goaltender Trading For Rights To Bryzgalov

The Philadelphia Flyers had all the pieces of a championship team in 2010-11 except a goalie to get them to the promise land.  According to Bob Mckenzie the Flyers made a move in hopes of changing that fact by acquiring the rights to goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov in exchange for Matt Clackson, a 2012 3rd round pick and future considerations.  Bryzgalov would fill a long standing need within the Flyers organization giving them a legitimate frontline goalie for the first time since Ron Hextall was in net.

Bryzgalov might did not get the attention he deserved league wide because he was in Phoenix, but his numbers and game are among the elite in the league.  This past season he went 36-20-10 with a 2.48 goals against average and .921 save percentage.  If the Flyers can lock him up, which is an if given their current cap situation they will be a leading contender in the division and for the championship next season.  That will also partially depend on what the Flyers have to trade away to make room under the cap.

Video: Mark Messier Talks Leadership

Yesterday, Mark Messier visited with the "NHL on the Fly" the 2011 Mark Messier Leadership Award.  During the discussion they announced that the finalists for the award are Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins, Shane Doan of the Phoenix Coyotes and Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings.  All three are quite deserving of being nominated and are great leaders.

The discussion went far beyond the award itself and into what makes a great leader.  Having Doug Weight and Kevin Weekes there made it even more interesting as they shared stories of having Messier as their captain.  Good stuff. 

Aaron Rome Suspended Four Game For Late Hit On Nathan Horton

Early in the first period of Game 3 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, Aaron Rome of the Vancouver Canucks delivered a late hit to Nathan Horton of the Boston Bruins.  Horton was on the ice for several minutes before being taken out on a stretcher and transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was held overnight and released today.  He was diagnosed with a severe concussion and his season was over.  All that was left to find out is what, if any, action the National Hockey League would take against Aaron Rome for his hit.  Now we know.

The NHL suspended Rome four games, thus ending the 2010-11 season for the defender.  If the series does not go the full 7 games, then the suspension will carry over into next year.  The NHL has been widely criticized this year for their failure to get many of the suspension cases right and the inconsistency with which they ruled.  This is one of the cases where they made the right call.  An illegal hit ended the season of Nathan Horton and now Aaron Rome’s season is done as well.  

The NHL cited both the lateness of the hit and severity of the outcome in the decision.

"Two factors were considered in reaching this decision," said NHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy. "The hit by Rome was clearly beyond what is acceptable in terms of how late it was delivered after Horton had released the puck and it caused a significant injury."

Some will question whether factoring in the severity of the injury is the right move for the NHL to make.