Video: Alex Burrows Bites Patrice Bergeron

On the same day the NHL announced that Colin Campbell was stepping down as the head of supplemental discipline for the league, the end of the first period left something for the league to review.  Given the conflict of interest during the Stanley Cup Finals, NHL VP Mike Murphy was already handling supplemental discipline and Alex Burrows gave him something to review.

During a scrum to end the first period is certainly appears that Alex Burrows of the Canucks at least attempts to bite the finger of Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron.  Bergeron is clearly telling the officials he was bitten as he attempts to show the referees his bare finger before heading to the locker room.

In the past the NHL has suspended for such acts and should do so again if they deem that Burrows did bite, or even attempt to bite Bergeron even though this is the Stanley Cup Finals.

Video via Puck Daddy:

Rangers Acquire Tim Erixon From Calgary As They Continue To Stock Defense

The New York Rangers have acquired and signed defenseman Tim Erixon, son of former Rangers forward Jan Erixon, from the Calgary Flames.  Erixon, 20, was the 2009 first round selection of the Flames (23rd overall), but was not going to sign with Calgary prior to the 5 pm deadline today and would re-enter the draft.  There is speculation that had Erixon re-entered the draft he could have gone as high as the top-10 this year.  With Calgary only going to receive the 54th pick in the 2011 draft, the Flames moved Erixon along with a fifth round pick before the deadline to the Rangers for forward Roman Horak and both 2011 second round picks.  The initial reaction is that the price is steep considering the situation Calgary was in having to move him, but considering the talent they are acquiring it is worth it.

In Erixon the Rangers are getting a highly skilled two-way defender who has played the last three seasons in the Swedish Elite League.  He is known for his hockey IQ, being solid in both ends of the ice and his ability to chip in on the offensive side.  He is projected to be a top-four defender because of how solid he is in all aspects of the game and has experience quarterbacking the power play.  This past season he had five goals and 19 assists while playing nearly 20 minutes a night in his 48 games.  His 24 points were enough to rank him an impressive second in the league among defenders, trailing only David Runblad.

Erixon is ready to come over to North America this year and will definitely be able to challenge for a roster spot during the 2011-12 season.  If he does not make the club out of camp, then he could follow a Ryan McDonagh type timeline where he spends half the year in the AHL and comes up to the NHL level around midseason.

While defense is certainly not a pressing need for the Rangers, this is a brilliant move by GM Glen Sather to take advantage of the situation and acquire a first round talent at this price. While Calgary is has a very weak prospect pool right now, to acquire the number one prospect of any team is a good thing.  Erixon gives the Rangers yet another young defender in the arsenal and creates tremendous flexibility for the organization in the coming years when it comes to moving some of the surplus defensive players/prospects for more help in the forward core.

Free Agent Preview: Gagne Another Cheap Offseason Gamble For Rangers?

Over the past two summers the New York Rangers have had luck with players coming to New York having something to prove with Vinny Prospal and Ruslan Fedotenko respectively.  Both players came to New York on cheap one year deals and outperformed their salaries in various ways.  Can the Rangers strike gold for a third straight season and find another player that is looking to prove there is still more in the tank than many might think at this stage of their career.  One such player to consider would Simon Gagne of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Gagne is someone that Rangers fans are very familiar with from his years with the rival Philadelphia Flyers and has the skill to be a top six winger on the left side and provide the Rangers secondary scoring.  In his first season in Tampa, Gagne recorded 17 goals and 23 assists in 63 games.  Over an 82 game season that is a very solid 52 point pace, but that is precisely issue with Gagne who cannot seem to stay healthy enough to play an 82 game year. 

Over the past four seasons Gagne has missed a total of 103 games and only played more than 63 games once.  The most serious of those injuries going forward is the concussion history of Gagne.  Gagne has had significant concussion and recently had another during this year’s postseason so counting on him for production could be detrimental to the team over the course of the season if he cannot stay healthy.  It is that injury history though that should make Gagne a reasonably cheap option for the Rangers to take the gamble on this summer, if they so choose.

Personally I would avoid Gagne this summer, but if the deal is for one year at $2 million or less, then the Rangers could certainly do worse than gambling on the potential upside of Gagne and the secondary scoring he could bring.

Should New York Rangers Trade Up In Draft For Game-Changing Forward?

For the past several years the New York Rangers have been a youth/homegrown talent movement that has seen them rebuild a depleted prospect core and have those players emerge into key roles on the NHL level.  In their forward core the team has Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov and Derek Stepan playing key roles at young ages.  On defense the team is highlighted by Marc Staal, Michael Sauer and Michael Del Zotto from the drafted core while Dan Girardi, an undrafted free agent, and Ryan McDonagh, acquired in a trade, also play key roles for the Blueshirts.

The once depleted prospect core has much more on the way with the potential of Chris Kreider, Dylan McIlrath, Christian Thomas and Carl Hagelin among many others with NHL possibilities.  The one thing the Rangers are really lacking however is that game changing talent in their young group of forwards.  This is partially because the Rangers have not picked higher than 10 in the past six years and have only selected one forward in the top 12 since 1999.  While the Rangers NHL and prospect forward rankings boast significant depth, other than potentially Derek Stepan, there is not much hope for a true game changer in the group.

There are likely to be many fine options to select at number 15 if the Rangers stay put there, but the question is whether now is the time to take a chance and move up looking for a player that could become a consistent producer.  Without that game changer the Rangers are bound to be in many ways similar to what they are now, which is an honest, hard-working team that is comprised of mainly second line talent.  With the depth in the ranks and young talent coming up on the roster now might be the time to look for the splash and a move up in the draft to select a player more likely to develop into a first line player.  The cost of trading up into the top 3 of the draft to select a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Jonathan Huberdeau is likely to be too expensive for the Rangers to consider, but a move into the 6-8 range is something that might be more doable. 

One player that the Rangers could target in that range would be Ryan Strome of the Niagara Ice Dogs in the Ontario Hockey League.  In 65 games this season Strome put up an impressive 33 goal, 73 assist, 106 point campaign.  The 6’1” 183 pound center is considered a tremendously talented offensive player that has strength as his biggest flaw and continuing to develop his defensive game, but there is no questions about his offensive skills.  While there are questions about his strength for the NHL level at this point there is nothing that suggests he plays a soft game as he goes to the dirty areas to make plays and initiates a lot of contact.  He has plenty of time to put mass on his frame as he will not even turn 18-years-old until after the draft on July 11.

The New York Rangers have done an excellent job of rebuilding their prospect core and having it produce more and more at the NHL level over the past few years.  Now is the time for the team to take a chance on moving up and getting that missing potential star player to go with all the quality two-way players they already have within the organizational ranks.  Obviously cost would play a factor in whether they actually make the move or not, but Strome is among those worth paying a price to move up for this year.

Highlight Video:

Some scouting reports:

Rangers To Qualify John Mitchell

Per Bruce Berlet at CTWhale.com, Rangers Assistant Coach/Assistant GM Jim Schoenfeld in discussing the contributions of the Whale to the New York Rangers 2010-11 season last month said that the team will qualify restricted free agent John Mitchell this summer.  

“I was really happy with him,” Schoenfeld said. “Here’s a guy that had a knee injury and missed seven weeks and then broke his foot (in Hartford), so one thing that was hurt was his conditioning. And yet he’s a big body (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) with skill, and he’s competitive and intelligent. So this is a very important summer for him in terms of his commitment to conditioning. He’ll get a real good look as far as becoming a Ranger.”

His skills lend him the ability to make the team as either a fourth line center or an extra forward that they carry in case of injury.  Mitchell was acquired at the trade deadline from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 7th round draft pick in 2012.  The qualifying offer for Mitchell will be $761,250 and because he did not play 60 games last year, or 180 NHL games in the past three years that qualifying offer can be a two-way deal instead of requiring a one-way contract.  Given those factors, the decision to qualify Mitchell was one that seems easy for the Rangers to make as he either makes the Rangers at a very reasonable salary or becomes a solid AHL veteran to mix with all the young prospects that will be infused into Connecticut next season.

Hat tip to Dave Shapiro over at Blue Seat Blogs for finding this.

2011 NHL Draft Prospects: Ty Rattie

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 and their potential fits for the Rangers.

Yesterday we looked at Sven Bartschi of the Portland Winterhawks in the Western Hockey League and today we will examine his teammate Ty Rattie.  Rattie is not as explosive as Bartschi, but he did manage to put up 28 goals and 51 assists in 67 regular season goals.  Like many of his Portland teammates, Rattie had a very good playoffs with nine goals and 13 assists in 21 games.

Kirk Luedeke of Bruins Draft Watch’s:

Small but creative playmaking winger hit the wall a bit in the second half, but is still a solid first-round prospect with upside. The Albertan isn't a blazer, but is very strong on his skates and highly elusive, able to slither through defenses and would-be checkers in full control of the puck. NHL scouts tell us that his second WHL season was so much more impressive than his first, when he seemed to spend more time trying the flashy play and forcing things. This season, Rattie was much more patient, working with his linemates better and not trying to do it all himself. His 79 points were third on the team behind Ryan Johansen and Bartschi, and look for Rattie to push for 90 to 100+ points next season.

The Scouting Report (Ranked 20, midseason):

Since his huge October, he has seen his point per game total dip after posting 23 points in 12 October games. There is no question that Rattie has the potential to be a top 6 forward in the NHL one day.  Rattie is an above average skater who sees the play extremely well and is very skilled at creating quality chances in the offensive zone.  He also has the scoring touch to finish off those opportunities.

Elite Prospects:

A forward with a good hockey sense. A decent skater but has improved lately. Has very good hands. Works hard and takes care of his defensive duties. Has a good attitude. Needs to improve his skating and gain strength. (Matias Strozyk)

Rattie is on the smaller size and is not the fastest skater, but he makes up for his lack of explosion with agility and elusiveness on the ice.  He can do this because of his hands and ability to handle the puck.  He adds to that excellent vision which he uses for himself and to set up his teammates.  Having a player who can create for others as he has done this season for Bartschi and plays with an edge is something that the Rangers could use, but the organization does have a few small forwards already in the system so his size could be an issue selecting him. The Rangers should consider Rattie at 15, but he could likely be had slightly later in the first.

Del Zotto Working Hard This Summer To Regain Past Form, Roster Spot

Al Bello/Getty Images

According to Andrew Gross of NorthJersey.com Michael Del Zotto is looking to put his forgettable sophomore season behind him and look ahead to being an impact player for the Rangers during the 2011-12 season.

“Last year was last year and I’m not thinking about it,” Del Zotto said. “I have to move forward. It was just a bump in the road. I believe that I have a long career ahead and I want to help this team out. I have to come back with confidence and the mind-set that I do belong in New York. I’ve got to come back with that swagger. I kind of lost it but I know I have what it takes.”

It was clearly early on last season that the swagger he had during his successful rookie campaign of nine goals and 28 assists was missing and Del Zotto never found a way to capture it again during the year.  The fact that he believes that he can get it back, that he belongs at this level is something that will be critical to him actually proving those things are the case again.  He will not be handed anything this time around and it is good to see that he recognizes that fact.  

 Asked if he felt he would get a fair shot to reclaim his roster spot in training camp, Del Zotto said, "I believe so, but, you know what? Who knows? It's a business out there. I'm just coming in with the mind-set of trying to make the team."

Fair or unfair there are those who believe that his rookie season left Del Zotto with a sense of entitlement to his place in the lineup and caused for a lack of effort last summer to prepare for this year.  I do not know if that is true, but it certainly appears that some of the struggles this year, and his demotions to the minors, have shaken him of any of those notions and the effort will be there this summer.

The fact that Del Zotto is going to spend time this summer studying some of the best point men in the league in Nicklas Lidstrom and Dan Boyle is an exciting prospect for his future, especially for those who have questioned his desire or work ethic.  The only issue that could come out of that negatively is that Del Zotto continues his pattern of attempting to do too much on the ice.  In that sense he could learn a lot from watching and studying the guys within the Rangers organization.  None of them have the offensive skills of a Lidstrom or Boyle, but before Del Zotto tries to imitate some of the best to ever play the position he needs to learn to play the simple game.  If Del Zotto can take the step of just taking what the opposition is giving him whether it be handling the puck, making the simple outlet pass or shooting when he has the lane, then he will make significant progress in his development and his natural talent will take over from there.

2011 NHL Draft Prospects: Sven Bartschi

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, and Joel Armia and their potential fits for the Rangers.

We kick off this week with a look at a supreme talent that is unlikely to be there when the Rangers pick at 15 in the form of Sven Bartschi from the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League.   Bartschi, much like fellow Swiss forward Nino Niederreiter did last season in Portland, established himself as an offensive force with his 34 goal, 51 assist output in 66 games this year.  He kept up his efforts during the playoffs with 10 goals and 16 assists in 20 playoff games.

The young left winger is slightly undersized at 5’10” and weighing 180 pounds, but that does not stop him from going to the dirty areas of the ice.  The best attribute for Bartschi is his hands which using for his tremendous shot and he pairs with excellent vision and a very good hockey IQ to be a force on the ice.

Kirk Luedeke of Bruins Draft Watch’s:

Swiss forward and 34-goal scorer has a wicked shot (rapid release and powerful, accurate drive) and elite offensive instincts. He formed a highly effective trio with fellow draft candidate Rattie and Cunningham when the latter came over from Vancouver at mid-season. Not an explosive speedster, but knows how to get from point A to B. Played a more effective game in junior this season than he did at the WJC. Solid kid and easygoing personality, but could stand to pick up the work ethic at times. Highly skilled winger will likely be a top-15 pick, but he's a finesse guy who could stand to take the puck to the net more than he does. Bartschi is deadly with that drive of his, but it's tough to score from the outside consistently at the NHL level, no matter how much pop you have on your stick.

The Scouting Report (Ranked 12, midseason):

Bartschi has really come out of nowhere this season, but has quickly made a name for himself playing in the latest North American hotbed for Swiss prospects. Does a good job of going to the net and playing hard despite being undersized. Has a good touch around the net and has found a lot of chemistry with linemate Ty Rattie this season. Defensive zone play needs some improvement as Bartschi needs to be more aware of his responsibilities in zone.

Bartschi would be a gift for the Rangers if he was to fall to New York at 15, but I would look for the dynamic winger to be gone in the at the latest to Calgary with pick 13, and potentially sneaking into the latter end of the top 10 based not only on his season, but his playoff performance.

Rumor: Stephen Weiss "Plan B" If Rangers Fail On Richards

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It is clear that New York Rangers GM Glen Sather has Brad Richards atop his offseason wish list, but with every plan there must be a backup in case the plan falls through.  According to Larry Brooks at the New York Post that fallback option could include 28-year-old center Stephen Weiss of the Florida Panthers.

Speaking of which: after watching Nathan Horton's breakout playoffs, who doesn't wonder who Stephen Weiss might play for if freed from the shackles of Sunrise, where the sun always sets on the hockey team?

Slats, perhaps, if Brad Richards can't be signed? 

The idea of trading for Weiss is one that I looked at back in February before the trade deadline and the point about Horton’s breakout during the Stanley Cup playoffs this year is an interesting addition to the case for Weiss.  Weiss is a slightly different case than Horton given him being older at the time of the move, but there is something to be said for playing with better talent around him and in more meaningful games.

Weiss is a quality NHL player who scored 21 goals and added 28 assists in 76 games this past season with the Panthers and their talent deficient lineup.  Weiss has experience as a top line player and facing the best competition of the opposition each night, along with having a very reasonable contract set to pay him $3.1 million per for the next two seasons.  His best attributes on the ice are his speed, vision and passing ability, but he is also able to score. It is tough to full gauge whether that is a result of the lack of overall talent in Florida or speaks to where Weiss actually is. 

Beyond his offensive capabilities, Weiss is excellent on faceoffs, wining 53.9% of his draws, which would be a considerable upgrade for the Blueshirts.  There are questions about whether Weiss is truly a number one type center on a contending team or better suited for a supporting role.  There is also his no-movement clause that could allow him to block any move and he has said in the past that he wants to be part of the solution there.

With the lack of talent on the Florida roster and the cheap contract for what Weiss brings them it means the price tag to acquire him could be high.