Danis Zaripov Cleared to Sign

The NHL announced that Russian winger Danis Zaripov has been cleared to sign with any team in the league as a UFA.  One big reason was that pseudoephedrine was one of the banned substances detected and that drug is not illegal for NHLers to use (it's what is in Sudafed).   Apparently he was also not allowed to testify at the hearing held by the IIHF.

His agent has made it clear he wants to sign a one year contract to "prove himself."   The Rangers have a little over $3 million in cap space.  If one wants to use Alexander Radulov as a comparison, the Rangers could have a cap issue as Radulov signed a one year contract with Montreal last season for almost $6 million.

Over his last four years in the KHL, Radulov scored at a .43 goals per game and  1.31 points per game pace.  In his last four years, Zaripov scored at a .38 goals per game and .99 points per game pace, not as good as Radulov, but good numbers.

One big difference is North American experience. Radulov played junior hockey in the QMJHL and also had success over a few seasons in Nashville.  Zaripov has not played on the smaller ice surface, though he played one season of junior hockey in Swift Current when he was 17 years old.  Obviously there is a huge difference in age, with Zaripov 36 and Radulov only 31.

Hopefully the lure of a Russian community in Brighton Beach and the chance to play on a winning team will convince him to try New York instead of Vegas.  There are 600,000 Russians living in New York City, compared to 12,000 in Las Vegas.   The borscht is better here too.  There should be a decision soon.

JEAN RATELLE

In other news, the Rangers announced that they will be retiring Jean Ratelle's number 19 in a ceremony on February 25 before a game vs. Detroit.  Ratelle is one of the top scorers in Ranger history and was the center on the famed GAG line with Rod Gilbert and Vic Hadfield.

In the 1971-72 the GAG line finished 3rd, 4th and 5th in scoring.  Ratelle had his ankle broken by a shot in the 63rd game of the season and he missed the last 15 games.  Even though he missed those games, he still finished 5th in goals (46), 3rd in assists (63), 3rd in points (109) and 1st in even strength goals (40).  He had a spectacular shooting percentage of 25.1%.  Though he returned late in the playoffs, the Rangers lost the Finals in six games to the Bruins.  Ratelle played all six games, but was a shell of himself with only one point in those six games.

It's not unreasonable to believe that the Rangers could have ended their Stanley Cup drought if Ratelle hadn't been injured.  He also stood a good chance to lead the league in scoring.  As it is, his 109 points were a Ranger record and stood until surpassed by Jaromir Jagr in 2006.  He definitely would have scored over 50 goals that season and would have been the first 50 goal scorer in Ranger history.

When the Rangers traded Ratelle and Brad Park to Boston for Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais, it was as shocking a trade as any in NHL history.  He went to the Finals with Boston in 1978 while the Esposito-led Rangers made the finals in 1979 (when a broken ankle by Ulf Nilsson arguably cost the Rangers the Cup).

Ratelle was a graceful skater and a gentleman who won the Lady Byng Trophy twice. Retiring his #19 is long overdue.  It is unfortunate that the team let so many mere mortals wear the same numebr including Mark Heaslip, Christian Dube, Nick Kypreos, Kris King, Blair Betts, Darren Langdon and the immortal Gord Labossiere.   Some of the better players to wear the number include Brad Richards, Scott Gomez and Brian Mullen.   At any rate, Jesper Fast will need to find another uniform number this season.  Congratulations to a great New York Ranger!

A Russian on the Horizon?

There are rumors swirling that the Rangers are a contender for the services of Danis Zaripov, a veteran of Russian hockey.   Zaripov is a 36 year old left winger who has been a consistent 20 goal and point a game scorer in the KHL.   Why is he suddenly available?  It's a strange story.  He was suspended for two years by the International Ice Hockey Federation for doping.  The KHL follows IIHF guidelines so he is suspended from KHL play for that period. He is appealing the suspension and claims to have never used any performance enhancing drugs.  His contention is that a masking agent was detected and he was suspended because of what the agent could have masked.

Since the NHL doesn't follow IIHF guidelines, his status as a UFA has to be cleared by the league, but that is expected.   At that point he can be signed by any team and the Rangers and Vegas Knights are rumored to be the top contenders.

Zaripov is a winner.  He played on four Gagarin Cup winners in nine KHL seasons.  In the most recent playoffs for Magnitogorsk Metallurg he scored 15 goals in 18 games (22 points).  Here are his career stats:

--- Regular Season ---  ---- Playoffs ----
Season   Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1998-99  Swift Current Broncos       WHL    62   23    8   31   33   6   0   1   1   6
1999-00  Chelyabinsk Mechel          Russi  37    5    7   12   16
2000-01  Chelyabinsk Mechel          Russi  42    9    7   16   20
2001-02  Kazan Ak-Bars               Russi  41    3    6    9   14
2002-03  Kazan Ak-Bars               Russi  48   16   10   26   18   5   0   0   0   0
2003-04  Kazan Ak-Bars               Russi  52    8    5   13   20   8   1   1   2   4
2004-05  Kazan Ak-Bars               Russi  56   13   12   25   16   4   0   0   0   0
2005-06  Kazan Ak-Bars               Russi  49   14   25   39   36  13   3   4   7   2
2006-07  Kazan Ak-Bars               Russi  53   32   30   62   32  14   8   5  13   4
2007-08  Kazan Ak-Bars               Russi  57   21   35   56   38  10   3   6   9  20
2008-09  Kazan Ak-Bars               KHL    56   34   31   65   26  21   6  10  16   8
2009-10  Kazan Ak-Bars               KHL    52   16   27   43   58   1   0   1   1   2
2010-11  Kazan Ak-Bars               KHL    40   18   19   37   18   9   4   3   7   2
2011-12  Kazan Ak-Bars               KHL    53   25   20   45   48
2012-13  Kazan Ak-Bars               KHL    46   19   17   36   14  12   4   2   6   8
2013-14  Magnitogorsk Metallurg      KHL    53   25   39   64   32  21  11  15  26  34
2014-15  Magnitogorsk Metallurg      KHL    60   24   40   64   40  10   5   6  11   2
2015-16  Magnitogorsk Metallurg      KHL    60   22   32   54   26  23   6   9  15  14
2016-17  Magnitogorsk Metallurg      KHL    56   16   29   45   16  18  15   7  22  18
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: www.hockeydb.com

Signing Zaripov doesn't solve the Rangers' need for help at center, but he would replace J.T. Miller on the left side as Miller moves to center.  He could also serve as a mentor to Pavel Buchnevich.  The league should clarify his status in a day or two and then we will see if the Rangers can clear the cap space and entice Zaripov into playing on Broadway.

A Future Contender, the Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers were a huge disappointment in 2016-17.  Their season peaked with ten-game winning streak that ended in mid December.  At that point, the team had a record of 19-10-3 and was sitting comfortably in playoff position.  The rest of the way, they went 20-23-7 and were one of the earliest teams to be eliminated from the post-season.  Entering the post-season, the Flyers were ready to retool on the fly mainly by introducing an influx of young players, by looking for comeback seasons for their key veterans and by continued growth of their young stars.

CAP SPACE

The Flyers currently have about $5 million in cap space. They have 13 NHL forwards under contract and five NHL defensemen.  They have two NHL goalies signed.  Don't look for the Flyers to go out and sign any veterans leading up to training camp as they have a number of young prospects under entry level contracts who should contend for playing time. Basically, the Flyers don't have a lot of cap flexibility.  What you see is what you get.

DEPARTURES

A number of familiar faces no longer wear the Philadelphia jersey.  Brayden Schenn, one of the team's top forwards was swapped to St. Louis for Jori Lehtera and two first round draft picks. Schenn will be missed as he scored 25 goals (second to Wayne Simmonds) and was an important part of the power play.  Forward Nick Cousins was dealt to Arizona in a move that should have little impact as he was slated to be a part-timer anyway.  They lost Marc-Edouard Bellemare to Vegas in the expansion draft and lost departed free agents Steve Mason, Michael Del Zotto and Andy Miele. Forward Roman Lyubimov saw limited action and signed a 3 year deal to play in the KHL.

ARRIVALS

The key addition to the Flyers will be the number two selection in the 2017 Entry Draft, Nolan Patrick.  He's young (turning 19 in September), but is expected to be an impact player.  Sidelined most of the summer by a facial infection, he missed most of last season due to a sports hernia.  It'll be interesting to see if he lives up to the hype.  To replace Steve Mason, the team signed Brian Elliott to be their number one goalie.  Elliott is one of the controversial goalies in the league with a lot of disagreement over his status.  Highly thought of in St. Louis, he was dealt to Calgary and was supposed to be the answer to their goaltending woes, but struggled there and the Flames chose to let him walk.  It will be interesting to see if the Flyers end up ruing what was in essence a swap of Elliott for Mason (who signed with Winnipeg).    Jori Lehtera was acquired in the Schenn trade, but the Blues had to add two first round draft picks to make the deal work.  How much his numbers were dependent on linemate Tarasenko will be discovered pretty quickly.  Lehtera's numbers have dropped steadily throughout his three year career and the Flyers will see if they will regret taking on his $4.7 million annual cap hit. The only other new face is minor league forward Phil Varone who most recently got into seven games for Ottawa

FORWARDS

The forward lines are mostly set for the Flyers.  Assuming that Nolan Patrick makes the team there is only one slot open and that should go to collegian Mike Vecchione who was signed out of  Union College and got into two games in the NHL.  At age 23, he is NHL ready.  The Flyers are also high on Oskar Lindblom who came over from Sweden and signed with Philadelphia. The 21 year old left winger averaged almost a point a game for Brynas in the SHL, the best league in Sweden.  How he adapts to North American ice will tell if he makes the big team or get some AHL experience first.

New faces aside, the Flyers will need Claude Giroux to improve on his 14 goal season.  His 44 assists did rank in the top 20 in the NHL, but his goal total was the worst of his eight full seasons. At any rate, those numbers don't justify an $8.2 million cap hit.  The same goes for Jakub Voracek who had a typical season at 20-41-61,   Voracek is another $8 million dollar man, the recipient of a bloated contract after his breakout 2015 season when he notched 81 points.  Since signing the big deal, his numbers have not justified the pay. The Flyers have to thank their lucky stars that Wayne Simmonds is locked in for two more years at a salary more than half of what they are paying Giroux, while Simmonds is coming off a 31 goal season.  

After the big three the Flyers forward lines fill out with a number of serviceable forwards including the likes of Travis Konecny. Sean Couturier, Matt Read and Dale Wiese.  There's no question that the Flyers live or die on the performance of Patrick, Giroux, Voracek and Simmonds.

DEFENSE

The Flyers backline is highly thought of throughout the NHL, mostly due to their top three defensemen: Shane Gostibehere, Ivan Provorov and Andrew MacDonald.  It's true that most NHL teams would be happy to have the Ghost and Provorov and MacDonald is a serviceable second line defenseman, but beyond those three you are left with a combination of prospects Travis Sanheim, Samuel Morin, Robert Hagg and Philippe Myers along with young vets  Radko Gudas and Brandon Manning.

I'd hesitate to call the Flyers defense overrated, but unless they strike Gostisbehere gold with one of their prospects, it could be a long season for the Flyers.

GOAL

The Steve Mason era has ended and the Brian Elliott era begins.  With Michal Neuvirth as backup the Flyers will have a serviceable pair, but until they can develop a top tier netminder, the Flyers will go nowhere.  Brian Elliott has gone from great to average season to season so it would be tough predict where the team will end up.

SUMMARY

There's a lot to like about the Flyers and their potential in 2017-18.  There are also a lot of questions.  If the team wasn't in the stacked Metropolitan Division, their playoff prospects would be much better,  but when you compare them to the Blue Jackets, Penguins, Capitals and Rangers they lag behind, much like the Islanders.  It's safe to assume that they will be in the hunt.

THE FUTURE

Ron Hextall has been stockpiling draft picks so the youth movement will continue.  The team is cap constrained for the next two years, but don't have any big deals to get done anytime soon. Voracek's cap hit won't look so good in 2023 when he is 34.  They locked Gostibehere into a six year deal at a reasonable $4.5 million and Provorov won't be looking for a big payday until 2019.  If the draft picks pay off and the established youth continues to improve, Philadelphia will be a contender for years to come....but not in 2017-18.

Colorado?

So, Alex Kerfoot took an extra day and ended up choosing to sign with the Colorado Avalanche. I guess he felt that the Avs were his best option for a quick road to the NHL, much quicker than if he had picked San Jose or New York.  Looking at the Colorado blogs, they weren't thrilled with the signing.  Good news for Lias Andersson, I suppose.

At least this gave us a reason to think about the Rangers and training camp, still a few weeks away.

Speaking of training camps, the Devils have signed Jimmy Hayes to a PTO so take him off the Rangers' radar.  All of you Kevin Hayes non-fans can breathe a sigh of relief.

The Rangers are apparently bringing 28 year old former Devil Bobby Farnham to camp (according to Larry Brooks).  He is best known as an agitator and tough guy.  He played three scoreless games with the Canadiens last season, but had 17 penalty minutes.  His best season he played 50 games with the Devils and had 92 minutes in penalties, while scoring eight goals. Consider that Chris Kreider led the Rangers in PIM last season with 58.  Can anyone spell Tanner Glass?

Coming shortly, a look at the Philadelphia Flyers.

Rumors Afoot about Alex Kerfoot

Taking a break from our team previews for a bit of Ranger news.  Larry Brooks reported today that the Rangers are one of the finalists for Alex Kerfoot, a collegiate free agent along the lines of Kevin Hayes and Jimmy Vesey.

The report is that he has narrowed his interest down to three or four teams with the Rangers one of them.  A Vancouver native, he has talked to the Canucks, but the Rangers have some good reasons for him to move to Broadway.  First off, Kerfoot is a center which is a weakness for the team.  If he produces in training camp, he has a decent shot at making the big team.  Second, Kerfoot was Jimmy Vesey's center at Harvard.   Here is what Vesey wrote in the Players Tribune about Kerfoot:

"And for the next seven months, you truly gain 29 brothers. At Harvard, we all live within a one-mile radius of each other. I mean, my linemate, Alex Kerfoot, has one of the biggest muffins in the league; we live in separate dorms at school, but he could probably stand in his room and hit my bedroom window with a wrister. We eat together, we walk to the rink together, take classes together, go out together and on Friday and Saturday nights, we battle together. College is an ultrastressful environment — we’re balancing school, hockey, internships, our social lives and so many other things. When you’re part of a group as close as a hockey team, being able to lean on your teammates and the feeling of, “We’re all in this together,” gives you a little bit more assurance going into each day."

You have to believe that Vesey is lobbying Kerfoot though if someone can explain what the "muffin" remark means, please do.

Alex Kerfoot is 23 years old so he would be an older rookie and more NHL ready.  He scored over 30 points the last three seasons at Harvard, averaging over a point a game.  In his senior year he scored 16 goals in 36 games.  He could slot in nicely as the third line center.  He's not big...5'10", 175 lbs. He was originally drafted by the Devils, so signing with the Rangers would be even sweeter.

Kerfoot's agent has said he will make his decision by the end of day, Tuesday.  So, stay tuned.

Another piece of news is that the newest Ranger, Tony Deangelo, posted a picture of himself at an Eagles pre-season game on Twitter.  Decked out in an Eagles hat and t-shirt, I am sure that his affection for a Philadelphia team  doesn't sit well with Ranger fans and there has been some pushback on social media.   He comes from Sewell, NJ, a suburb of Philadelphia so cut the kid a break.  Kevin Hayes is a huge Patriots fan (which is more irritating to me), but it doesn't affect his play and we shouldn't be looking for reasons to have an issue with Deangelo (who is reportedly a bit of a head case).  Last, I think it is Tony and not Anthony Deangelo.  That is his Twitter account, Tony Deangelo....@TonyDee07.

Addendum:  Thanks to Marc Nathanson...a "muffin" in the hockey world is a weak shot, probably deriving from calling the puck a "biscuit."  A biscuit is hard and a muffin is soft....so there.

Tavares Land

I think being an Islander fan could probably be the most frustrating role in sports.  Another year of missing the playoffs, though they finished with a record of 41-29-12 and were playoff contenders until the last weekend of the season.  Now, they are consumed by the John Tavares situation, a problem that threatens to derail any of the positives that came out of last season. Going into the off-season, the assumption was that a Tavares deal would be done, but now it appears that he will go into training camp as a lame duck with UFA status looming.  It could get ugly.

CAP SPACE

The Islanders are in cap hell.  They currently sit with $3 million in cap space. They have 14 NHL forwards under contract, eight NHL defensemen and two goalies. They are paying the price for some bad contracts. Andrew Ladd is making $5.5 million for the next six years.  He will be 37 when that deal expires. Johnny Boychuk is making $6 million annually and will be 38 when that deal ends in 2022.   Even Nick Leddy at $5.5 million for the next five years looks excessive.  After losing Matt Martin to free agency, the Isles signed third and fourth liners Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck to contracts that pay them each in excess of $3.3 million for years to come. The two combined for 13 goals last season.

Even worse, next season they will have Tavares, Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson, Calvin De Haan and Thomas Hickey all as UFA's with Anders Lee and Jordan Eberle one year later.  Yes, the Islanders have a cap problem.

DEPARTURES

The Isles will have mostly the same team as least year, minus a couple big names.  Travis Hamonic was dealt to Calgary for a first rounder and two second round picks in a pure dump of his $4 million salary.   The Islaes were the beneficiary of an Edmonton salary dump when they swapped Jordan Eberle to the Isles in exchange for the potential of Ryan Strome.  Strome, the former 5th overall pick, was one year from RFA status and makes a reasonable $2.5 million.

Also leaving was Mikhail Grabovski as part of a convoluted deal with Vegas.  The Golden Knights took J.F. Berube in the draft who was exposed with the guarantee that they would take Grabovski, prospect Jake Bischoff and a 2017 first rounder and a 2019 second rounder. Though the Isles are in good draft positions in the coming years, it seems like a lot just to get out from under the $5 million Grabovski contract (and he did not play at all in 2016-17 due to concussion issues).  Nutty.

There were some minor leaguers who departed including forward Carter Verhaeghe who was traded to Tampa, 36 year old Bracken Kearns and defenseman Jesse Graham who signed with Colorado.

ARRIVALS

Not many new faces on the team.  The biggest pick up was forward Jordan Eberle who came from Edmonton in the trade for Ryan Strome.  The Oilers needed to clear cap space to sign McDavid and Draisaitl and the Islanders were looking for a star forward who could mesh with John Tavares. Coming in the trade from Tampa was minor league goalie Kristers Gudlevskis.  The Isles also signed free agent defenseman Seth Helgeson who has appeared in 50 games over the last three seasons in New Jersey.

FORWARDS

It's clear that the primary goal for Garth Snow and the Islanders is to make John Tavares happy enough that he will re-sign with the Isles.  They acquired Jordan Eberle for the sole purpose of finding a winger to complement Tavares....something that hasn't happened in his eight years in the NHL.  This season it will be Eberle and Anders Lee flanking Tavares.  The problem is the next three lines.  While Josh Bailey, Jason Chimera and Brock Nelson are solid forwards, the team will really be dependent on some young forwards.  Josh Ho-Sang will hope to improve on an impressive debut and the Isles hope that prospect Matt Barzal will be ready for the big time. There will be a lot of pressure on the Tavares line, the question is whether that will be incentive for him to stay.

DEFENSE

The Islanders go into the new season with the same defense corps from last year. The only change will be the replacement for Travis Hamonic who should be Adam Pelech who was signed to a four year contract this summer.  That is hardly an upgrade. There will be a lot of pressure on Johnny Boychuk who will be turning 34 this season along with Dennis Seidenberg who just turned 36.  Ryan Pulock is the Isles best defense prospect and will be given a full shot at making the team.

GOAL

The Isles go back with the same goaltending tandem of Thomas Greiss and Jaroslav Halak.  They did subtract J.F. Berube so that bizarre three goalie rotation is a thing of the past.  Greiss looks to be the number one goalie with Halak his backup until they can dump Halak next season when he becomes a UFA.

SUMMARY

Will be or won't he?  That is the whole season in a nutshell.  As the waiting goes on, the angst will grow.  There are so many factors in the decision-making process, not the least being where the team will play and who will be running it.  The other big issue is the Connor McDavid contract.  At $13 million a year, you can be sure that Tavares will be looking for dollars in that neighborhood and there is no doubt that the Isles will be willing to pay, but those other factors will loom large. 

Tavares issues aside, the Isles will be much the same team as last year.  The offense should be a little better, but the defense may lose a step.  Probably the biggest positive for the team will be that they will have Doug Weight as coach for the full season.  If the team plays at the same level as they did the forty games he coached for the entire season, they would be in the range of a 105 point season.   That would place them in the playoffs and ahead of last year's Rangers. 

Key to Islander success will be some improvement in a few areas.  First, their power play was abysmal last season at 14.9%, ranked 28th in the NHL.  The team wasn't good in overtime. In 19 games that went to overtime or shootout, the Islanders won seven. 

THE FUTURE

The Islanders have stockpiled a boatload of draft picks, a blessing considering the longterm, big dollar contracts they are locked into.  2016 saw the first entry into the NHL for some of the prospects from years of drafting.  Ho-Sang, Barzal, Pulock and Pelech are all recent draftees who are graduating to the big time.  For five years from 2012 to 2016 the Islanders drafted 34 players.  Out of that group, they have played 258 games in the NHL and scored 24 goals.    The Rangers in the same period drafted 29 players who have played 288 games in the NHL, scoring 39 goals.  Both pale in comparison to the Edmonton Oilers who drafted 38 players who have played 872 games and scored 168 goals.  So, for all of the recent draft picks, not much to show for it. 

Next up....the Philadelphia Flyers.

  

Columbus: Contenders or Pretenders?

Time for the third team in our series of Metropolitan Division profiles.   Today, a look at the Columbus Blue Jackets.

For a perennial playoff also-ran, 2016-17 was a spectacular success for the Columbus Blue Jackets. For a team that had made the playoffs twice in 15 years and had never finished higher than 7th in their conference, to finish 3rd in the East and make the post season was a dramatic turnaround.  The season was highlighted by a 16 game winning streak that catapaulted the team into contention for first place. Unfortunately, the team descended to its normal level by being eliminated in five games in the first round of the playoffs by the Penguins.  You can talk about the Capitals' playoff futility, but the Columbus Blue Jackets have made the playoffs three times in 16 years and have yet to win a series. In those three series, they have won the grand total of three games. Ouch.

THE TORTORELLA FACTOR

Our old friend, John Tortorella, won the Jack Adams Trophy as best coach (for the second time). For his outstanding work, the Blue Jackets gave him a ONE YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION, meaning he will be under contract through 2018-19.  Wow, that's a huge vote of confidence.  Tortorella lasted almost seven full seasons in Tampa, winning a Stanley Cup in his fourth year. As Rangers coach he last four and a half seasons, making the Finals in his third year.   He then followed with one mediocre season 36-35-11 in Vancouver.  This is his third full season so if he is true to form (excepting the Canucks season), the Blue Jackets will make it to the Finals this season and possibly win the Cup.   Of course, that means he will be booted  before his new deal expires. Don't believe those stories about a kinder, gentler Torts.  In February, the team had a closed door meeting with the coach and asked him to be "easier" on them as they weathered  a rough patch. If the team gets off to a bad start, look out.

CAP SPACE

The Blue Jackets have almost $13 million in cap space. They have 11 NHL forwards under contract and eight NHL defensemen signed.  They have two goalies under contract.  There are still two unsigned RFA's that need deals.  Alexander Wennberg and Josh Anderson are still working on deals with Wennberg expected to make over $4 million annually.   Anderson will get less, but will do well. Both are young and important members of this team so they will be signed.  The only rumor has been that one or both could be part of a package to Colorado for Matt Duchene.   We'll see about that.

Cap space will become an issue soon.  Only two players on the team are over 30 and key players like Cam Atkinson, Jack Johnson, Matt Calvert and Ryan Murray are UFA's next season and will be looking for big paydays. Atkinson is the biggest bargain in the NHL, a 35 goal scorer who makes $3.5 million. As with every team in the NHL, the salary cap will force the Blue Jackets to gut their core as they fight to retain their best players.  Even though they bought out Hartnell, he will cost them $3 million next year...further hampering their efforts to re-sign some key players.

DEPARTURES

For a highly successful team, there were some significant departures.  Four forwards who played over 78 games are gone. The biggest name was Brandon Saad who was traded to Chicago for Artemi Panarin.  Also going to Chicago was goalie Anton Forsberg.  Center Sam Gagner signed with Vancouver for big bucks after finding success with his fourth team in four years. Vegas snapped up center William Karlsson in the expansion draft.  Interestingly, Columbus bought out the  contract of Scott Hartnell who then went out and signed with Nashville. Hartnell played in 78 games and had his least productive season with only 13 goals and 37 points.  More important, he was making $4.75 million....money needed to sign Wennberg and Anderson.

On the backline, deadline rental Kyle Quincey signed with Minnesota and minor leaguer Ryan Stanton signed with Edmonton.  Vegas has a distinct Columbus look as they not only drafted Karlsson, but also signed goalie Oscar Dansk and forward T.J. Tynan and also took on the contract of retired David Clarkson.

ARRIVALS

The biggest name coming to Columbus is the "Bread Man,"  Aremi Panarin.  A skilled goal scorer, he was acquired to be the offensive weapon the team was lacking in its first round loss to Pittsburgh. Not as defensively responsible as Brandon Saad, Panarin is one of the top snipers in the game, only two seasons removed from a Calder Trophy win.  Also coming over in that deal was forward Tyler Motte who should be an AHL call-up. Jordan Schroeder came over in a trade with the Wild after they didn't tender a contract offer.  A former first round pick of the Canucks, he has been bouncing between the NHL and AHL for the last four years, never scoring more than six goals in a season.  The team picked up some depth with minor league defensemen Cameron Gaunce from the Penguins and Andre Benoit.

FORWARDS

The Blue Jackets boast a solid group of forwards, led by scorers Panarin, Atkinson and Nick Foligno. Brandon Dubinsky is the veteran in the group at the ripe old age of 31.  While Panarin will easily make up for the loss of Saad and his 24 goals, the 37 goals scored by Hartnell, Gagner and Karlsson will have to come from increased production from youngsters Wennberg, Anderson and Boone Jenner.  To round out the forwards, the Blue Jackets will need prospects Sonny Milano, Markus Hannikainen and Oliver Bjorkstrand to step up and second year forward Lukas Sedlak to improve.

Columbus boasts two pretty scary forward lines, but they will be relying on some uproven young players to flesh out the roster.

DEFENSE

The Columbus d-corps is young, solid and mobile.  Most NHL teams would be happy to have the starting six Blue Jacket defensemen.  Led by seasoned pros Seth Jones and Jack Johnson, budding stars David Savard, Ryan Murray and Zach Werenski will only be getting better.  Markus Nutivaara is the sixth d-man and is a stellar prospect coming off an impressive rookie season. Minor leaguer Scott Harrington (formerly of Toronto and Pittsburgh) is there for depth.

GOAL

The signal biggest factor for the Columbus Blue Jackets is in goal where Sergei Bobrovsky is the reigning Vezina Trophy winner and First Team All-Star.  As Bobrovsky goes, so go the Blue Jackets. If the goaltender with the .931 save percentage and 2.06 GAA shows up, the team will be great.  If it is the Bobrovsky of 2016 (.908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA), Columbus is in trouble.

SUMMARY

The parallels between the Blue Jackets and the New York Rangers are pretty remarkable.  Their goalie is their best player, they have a solid group of forwards with some new faces to round out their depth and they boast one of the best set of defensemen in the NHL.  You can say the exact same thing about the Blueshirts.   That's why it could be a dogfight between New York and Columbus for top spot in the Metropolitan Division.  If they click on all cylinders, the Blue Jackets could be the fourth straight President's Trophy winner from the Division.  A good start will be key for this team as they seek to end a history of regular season mediocrity and playoff futility.

THE FUTURE

Columbus is a young team and that brings cause for concern, all related to the salary cap.  They were able to get Panarin because Chicago wanted salary certainty.  Saad is signed for $6 million for the next four years.  Panarin makes the same amount, but will be looking for a huge payday in just two years.  Columbus is already massaging the cap, dealing Clarkson's contract to Vegas and buying out Scott Hartnell.  Next could be Brandon Dubinsky who makes almost $6 million a year on a contract through 2021.  2019 will be the showdown year for the Jackets as they will need to sign Bobrovsky, Panarin and Werenski a year after ponying up big bucks to Atkinson, Johnson and Jenner.  It's a daunting task.  On the draft front, they have kept most of their draft picks over the next three years.

Whatever happens, 2017-18 will be a really interesting season for Columbus.  Their "window" opened last season and should be open for at least the next two years.  Will Tortorella implode before that time?  All we can do is sit back and watch.

Next up, that other New York team, the Islanders.

The Washington Capitals....Window Closed

I'm looking at the other teams in the Metropolitan Division as we weather the dog days of August. After writing today's post, as a Ranger fan, it is easy to be thankful about the state of the Blueshirts, as flawed as they are.


It is time to turn our attention to the repeat Presidents Trophy and perennial playoff disappointment, the Washington Capitals. This is a team that has seen their Stanley Cup window open and close.  Hampered by bloated  contracts, the team was forced to unload some key components and couldn't even attempt to retain some crucial cogs from the best regular season team in the NHL.

I've gone over the playoff record fo the Washington Capitals quite a few times as it gets updated every time they get eliminated from contention.  It's incredibly frustrating for Caps fans and my sense is that they are ready to give up.  At any rate, two straight years with the best record in the NHL resulted in squat.  How Barry Trotz keeps his reputation as a coaching wizard when he cannot get past the second round of the playoffs is a mystery.  Someone once called banners like the President's Trophy banner "dirty laundry."   They have a point....there's a lot of dirty laundry hanging at the Garden, not just the Verizon Center.

Cap Space

As of today, the Caps have about $4 million in cap space as they head towards training camp.  That would be okay, but they only have ten NHL fowards and five NHL defensemen under contract.  The only area that they are set in is in goal. Barring free agent signings, it appears that the roster will fleshed out with at least five players making close to the NHL minimum.  Even those five contracts will eat up most of their remaining cap space.   The insanity of signing T.J. Oshie for $5.75 million year through 2024 when he will be 36 will haunt the team for years.   It was just two years ago when they were criticized for signing Brooks Orpik to a four year deal at $5.5 million, expiring when he will be almost 39 years old. Similarly, Matt Niskanen will be making $5.75 million a year when he is 34.   The fascinating one is Alex Ovetchkin who is making almost $10 million a year and will continue to do so through 2021 when he will be 35.   Coming off his least productive season in years, when he scored "only" 33 goals, is there any wonder that the unthinkable notion of a trade was making the rounds?   The team will remain cap constrained for the coming years, with few big ticket contracts coming off the books.  Ouch.

Departures

Cap issues led to the giveaway of Marcus Johansson to the Devils. Imagine, they traded a 27 year old left winger who scored 24 goals and 58 points for two 2018 draft picks (2nd and 3rd round).  Note that the picks were not the Devils picks, but were acquired by trade so will be later in the rounds.  His 24 goals would have been third on the Rangers and his 58 points would have been second.  He had more goals and points than Derek Stepan.  The key number for Johansson was his $4.5 million salary. Another solid forward who has departed is center Daniel Winnick who has been rumored to be possibly be Broadway bound.  The last big piece of the forwards picture is Justin Williams who signed with Carolina.  Williams was signed because he was the guy who never lost in the playoffs...so much for that reputation. Though 35 years old, he did score 24 goals (48 points).  The final departed forward is Paul Carey, a minor leaguer who signed with the Rangers.  Subtract the 60 goals scored by those three players and the team drops from third overall to 24th.

If you think that the Caps forwards were crippled by departures, the defense was absolutely devastated. Gone are regulars Kevin Shattenkirk, Karl Alzner and Nate Schmidt.  While Shattenkirk was a deadline rental, Alzner was an important piece of the D, signed by Montreal to replace Andrei Markov. Nate Schmidt will be a regular for Vegas.

Arrivals

There are a number of new faces on the roster.  The only name you will recognize is Devante Smith-Pelly, who was bought out of his contract by one of the worst teams in the league.   Smith-Pelly will be joining his 4th team in seven years after scoring four goals last season. Bolstering the forwards are career minor leaguers Anthony Peluso, Tyler Graovac (from Minnesota),   They also added collegian Mason Mitchell from Anchorage-Alaska.  Their best new face is Hampus Gustafsson from Merrimack College, a Hobey Baker Award finalist.

On the backline, there is some hope that Kristofer Bindulis from Lake Superior State can help, but with only one year of college hockey that could be a pipe dream.

To greet these new names with a collective "who?" would not be unreasonable.

Forwards

Before we stick a fork in the Capitals, it has to be noted that any team with Alex Ovetchkin, Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuztnetsov can be expected to be competitive.  Other returning forwards include Lars Eller, Andre Burakovsky, Tom Wilson, Brett Connolly and Jay Beagle.  Along with the aforementioned Smith-Pelly, those are the 10 forwards guaranteed a slot.  Three more players are needed to round out the forward group.  Look for prospect Jakub Vrana, minor leaguer Nathan Walker along with Gustafsson to be the best shots to make the team.  If Nathan Walker makes the team, he will be the first Australian player in the NHL...but at 5'9", 190 lbs. it will be a challenge.

Defense

The five defensemen under contract are Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik, Dmitry Orlov, John Carlson and Taylor Chorney.  Brooks Orpik played 79 games last season, but turns 37 in September.  He will be expected to anchor the defense.  I can say right now that if he gets injured, the Caps are in big trouble.  To round out the defense, there are a few prospects (Madison Bowey, Christian Djoos, Tyler Lewington, Colby Williamson) who can make the jump, but none are blue chippers.   Look for the Caps to sign a UFA veteran defenseman or two during training camp.  There are still quite a few left like Cody Franson and Roman Polak, but they will have to be bargains.

Goal

The team is set with Braden Holtby as their starter and Philipp Grubauer as the backup.  Holtby remains one of the best in the league and there is no reason to expect any kind of decline, although his numbers are destined to get worse due to the state of the defense in front of him.  He could ask Henrik Lundqvist for advice about how to deal with that.

Summary

That sound you heard on May 10th was the window slamming shut on the Washington Capitals.  The team rolled the dice and went hard for the Cup, but hampered by an overrated coach and ill-advised regular season excellence, they exited in the second round yet again.  Yes, they took the eventual Cup champions to a seventh game, coming back from a 3-1 deficit, but they went quietly in the final game, shut out 2-0 and only getting six shots on goal in the third period.

The Capitals will be a contender, but for a wild card spot instead of first place. Any injuries to key personnel could result in a season like the Lightning just experienced, on the outside looking in.  At any rate, it could be a long season for Capitals fans.

The Future

 It's time for a retooling, but saddled by a collection of unrelenting longterm contracts, it will be tough for the Capitals to do it on the fly.  Even more alarming is that the players that they will need to re-sign in the next two years are their younger players like Burakovsky, as their locked in contract players get older.  On a positive note, they are in a good position for the upcoming drafts.  They traded away their top three picks in the 2017 draft and their first round selection in 2016, defenseman Lucas Johansen will be in Hershey this season and is thought to be a year or two away.  

Next....the Columbus Blue Jackets and the question of when the "Tortorella Effect" will begin.

A Look at the Penguins

Time to look at the competition.  Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be taking a look at the Rangers rivals in the Metropolitan Division and then in the Atlantic. Rosters are still not set, but one can get a pretty good idea of the teams that will be taking to the ice in September.  We will start with the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions (my God, doesn't it just suck to have to say that?), the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Pens are the epitome of a team that took advantage of a Stanley Cup window.  Two years ago, when acquiring Phil Kessel and awarding big contracts to some older players, the smart thinking was that the Penguins were built to win, but were too thin overall due to those big contracts.   How wrong we were. However, the Pens made some incredibly fortunate moves that help shape the team that won the Cup. First was the firing of coach Mike Johnston and the hiring of Mike Sullivan.   The choice of Sullivan was crucial.  As the coach of their AHL team, he was familiar with the Penguins' minor league players and was able to promote players like Conor Sheary, Derrick Pouliot, Tom Kuhnhackl and Bryan Rust. These athletes all played key roles in the road the Cup.  If Jim Rutherford had gone outside the organization, it's unlikely that a coach unfamiliar with the minor league system would have been able to adroitly utilize those young players the way that Sullivan did.  Second, the trade for Carl Hagelin recharged the teams forwards, creating a third line of Hagelin, Bonino and Kessel that thrived and took full advantage of Phil Kessel's skill.  His acquisition had been a failure up to that point as he failed to mesh with Crosby or Malkin.   Finally, the concussion that sidelined Marc Andre Fleury a week before the playoffs started was fortuitious as it propelled Matt Murray into the starting role.  Murray was another graduate of Sullivan's Wilkes-Barre team.

As I've mentioned before, Keith Yandle said in an interview that the Rangers assumed that they were going to handle the Penguins easily in the first round, especially when facing Jeff Zatkoff as the starting goalie of the first game.  How wrong they were.  Jim Rutherford deserves all of the credit for assembling the team and making that series of smart and lucky decisions.

Okay, enough history, The 2017-18 Penguins are a different team as the salary cap is playing a big role in the immediate future of the team.  This team took a step backwards, but with two of the best players in the world and a solid roster sprinkled with youth and experience, it is impossible to rule them out as a contender.

CAP SPACE

As of today, they have a little over $3 million in cap space.  They have 13 NHL forwards under contract and seven defensemen under contract.  They are set with two goalies signed.  Their roster is pretty much set and they have no more contract work to do.

DEPARTURES

 The Penguins lost a number of key members of their Cup winning teams.  First on the list is Marc Andre Fleury, but his replacement Matt Murray is better than the Flower.  No loss there. The team lost Nick Bonino' 18 goals to Nashville and heart and soul guy Chris Kunitz (37) was deemed too old to keep and signed with Tampa.  Matt Cullen's (signed with the Wild) departure further weakens the fourth line. Depth forwards Oskar Sundqvist and Kevin Porter are gone.  On the backline, the team lost regular Trevor Daley to Detroit and deadline rentals Ron Hainsey and Mark Streit.  Also gone are depth defensemen David Warsofsky and Cameron Gaunce.

ARRIVALS

The incoming names are not that impressive.  Bonino and Kunitz are being replaced by Ryan Reaves of St. Louis, more known for his fists than his scoring.    He came over in a bizarre deal with the Blues as the Pens gave up Oskar Sundqvist and a first round pick for him.  Minor league depth forwards signed include Jarred Tinordi, Adam Johnson and Gregg McKegg.

On defense, former Ranger Matt Hunwick came over from Toronto to take a regular role on the Penguins.  Another former Ranger, Chris Summers, leads a squad of minor league defensemen picked up in the off season including Kevin Czuczman. The team also set a NHL record by signing two defensemen named Zach (Trotman and Aston-Reese).  Zach Aston-Reese was an undrafted college player who had an oustanding season for Northeastern.  He will get a full opportunity to make the big club.   They also signed Swedish defenseman Lukas Bengtsson who is older (23) and got in some playing time in the AHL late last season.

In goal, the Penguins signed Antti Niemi who is coming off a pretty awful season for Dallas.

FORWARDS

Losing Bonino hurt.  Kunitz is old, but brought intangibles to the team.  On a positive note, the team is looking forward to more growth from players like Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust.   As noted, any team with Sydney Crosby, Evgeny Malkin and Phil Kessel is a team to be reckoned with. Add in Conor Sheary,  Patric Hornqvist, Carl Hagelin along with Guentzel and Rust and the forward group is pretty solid.  It doesn't appear that there is going to be a rookie cracking that group.

DEFENSE

Kris Letang is healthy and that makes the Penguins defense much better. Justin Schultz and Brian Dumoulin and Olli Maata are solid.  The loss of Trevor Daley will hurt, though Hunwick is better now than he was in New York.    Ian Cole rounds out the top six and Bengtsson and Aston-Reese will get their chance in training camp.

GOAL 

Matt Murray is very good and has won two Stanley Cups.  Enough said.  Niemi is the Pittsburgh version of Ondrej Pavelic.

SUMMARY

The Penguins are weaker than they were last year, but not by much.  It seems that they pull a rabbit out of the hat every year that fills a gaping hole.  Guentzel last season, Sheary and Murray the year before.  The well appears dry, but you cannot discount this team.  Look for them to contend for first place in the Metropolitan Division.  The key question is how two long runs in the post-season will affect the players.  We all know the toll it took on the Rangers.

THE FUTURE 

The team's cap hit will be pretty much the same in a year.  The only big ticket free agent they will need to sign will be Patric Hornqvist.  They won't be getting out of any big dollar contracts. On the RFA front, they will need to find dollars to sign Rust, Kuhnhackl and Scott Wilson.  With a solid core, the Penguins will be a contender for years to come.  Oh well.

180 Degrees

It's amazing how perceptions of a team can change with a couple of roster changes.  One year ago, the Ranger defense was a leaky ship while the cadre of forwards was being lauded as one of the deepest and best in the league.   Dan Girardi and  Marc Staal were senior citizens, Nick Holden was unknown, Brady Skjei was potential, Dylan McIlrath was a disastrous first rounder and Adam Clendening was just depth.  The Ranger defense was basically Ryan McDonagh and a steady Kevin Klein.

Twelve months later and hockey insiders are calling the Ranger defense one of the best in the league with the additions of Kevin Shattenkirk and Brendan Smith and the jettisoning of Girardi and Klein. McIlrath is on his second team  (Detroit) since leaving NY and Clendening has taken his Norris Trophy-worthy game to the second worst team in the league (Arizona).   The  Coyotes are the seventh NHL team to take a flier on Mr. Puck Possession.  Brady Skjei is one of the best young defensemen in the league, McDonagh is the same top tier player, Holden had a breakout offensive year (though he was exposed in the playoffs) and Marc Staal could thrive buried on the third pair.  Anthony Deangelo is pure offensive gold (though reportedly a head case) and he has some company in the prospect pool in Russian Alexei Bereglazov and collegian Neal Pionk.  Steven Kampfer will provide experienced depth in Hartford.

Now, it is the forwards group that is "thin."  The team has twelve legitimate NHL forwards under contract and Jesper Fast will spend the first month of the season recovering from hip surgery.  That group includes Matt Puempel, who was a spare part last year.  All of this because of the loss of Oscar Lindberg in the expansion draft and the trading of Derek Stepan.  The team bid adieu to Brandon Pirri who will be playing with Klein in Switzerland.    The question of who will be the 12th forward when the season starts is up in the air.

This all means that training camp and the exhibition season will be incredibly important and will lead to some roster decisions with longterm ramifications.   Here is what to look for:

1. Bereglazov, Deangelo and Pionk will all be given a legit shot to make the team.  Add  minor leaguer Ryan Graves to that mix.  Bereglazov has a clause that allows him to go back to the KHL if he is not on the major league roster, so he may be on the team regardless.  Deangelo played 39 games for Arizona last season and he was the centerpiece of the Stepan deal, so he will get a long look.  Pionk is older (22) and is coming off a breakout year at Minnesota-Duluth, we just have to hope he isn't the second coming of Mat Bodie.  
2. Nick Holden will not be traded until the Rangers figure out their young defensemen. As a third pair defenseman, teamed with Marc Staal, Holden is better than adequate.  Then again, he is coming off his best season and his trade value is at an all-time high.  If two of the youngsters are ready,  Holden will be a goner, but not until after the beginning of training camp.
3. Lias Andersson , Boo Nieves and probably Robin Kovacs and Adam Tambellini will have a legitimate shot to make the big team.  All except Kovacs can play center, but except for the 19 year old Andersson, none are what I would call blue chip prospects.  
4. We may see a number of players coming to camp on PTO's. The Rangers still have over $3 million in cap space, but there are not many UFA's left who could help this team.  The only center still out there is Daniel Winnick.  There are a few UFA wingers who could be a positive addition, but they are pretty old.  The best of the bunch is Thomas Vanek (33 years old) and there are a slew of senior citizens including Jarome Iginla (40), Shane Doan (40), Jaromir Jagr (110, er 45), Mike Fisher (37) and Brian Gionta (38).   On the younger side, I could  see PTO's for Jiri Hudler, Drew Stafford or Jimmy Hayes. 
5. All eyes will be on the new backup goalie, Ondrej Pavelec.  He is coming off a mediocre season and should be expected to play around 30 games in the NHL.  If he gets off to a bad start, sound the alarms.  

So, in one year we have gone 180 degrees from a bad defense, excellent forwards team to an outstanding defense, thin forwards team.   The experts on NHL radio have been pessimistic about the Ranger chances....but I do believe that the Shattenkirk deal combined with a full season of Brendan Smith will more than make up for the loss of Stepan.  Don't forget that the Rangers scored the fourth most goals in the league with the 11th best power play.  The power play accounted for 18% of the team's goals.  Here's the percentage PP goals were of total goals for the teams with the best PP in the league:

                     Buffalo - 29%

                     Toronto - 23%

                     Pittsburgh - 22%

                     Washington - 22%

If the Rangers can get that percentage above 20% (and they should with Shattenkirk) one of the best 5v5 teams in the league will be even better.  And let's not forget that scintillating 8% power play percentage in the playoffs.  With a better power play, the Rangers beat Ottawa (the Blueshirts wer 2-24 in that series).   And that was an Ottawa team that took the Penguins to  double overtime in the seventh game.  And that was a Pittsburgh team that won a Stanley Cup while being outscored 9-2 on games 3 and 4 of the Finals.  Oh well.