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Game 30: NYR 3 PHX 2, Gabby, Biron & Richards Step Up, Shorthanded D |
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Saturday's win over Phoenix, as thrilling as it was, is now a faded memory given the issues on the blue line for the Rangers. Yes, Marion Gaborik had two, including the 300th of his career; Brad Richards played Beat the Clock and did by .1 to win the game; and, Martin Biron played well enough to pick up the victory, but those two points while nice, mean little now.
During the game Steve Eminger injured his shoulder on a check by Martin Hanzal and is expected to miss 8-10 weeks. The Rangers opted not to promote Tim Erixon, who was called up last week when Eminger was dealing with aches and pains - I bet the team mildly wishes he had been scratched now - but was sent back down when Eminger was able to play, instead promoting Stu Bickel. That move might be due to cap concerns and wanting to leave Erixon down to get more experience, but that why bother calling him up last week when Eminger might not have played? Plus per Brooks, Staal and Wolski were placed on LTIR, so cap hit was not a concern. That now becomes moot as Jeff Woywitka is dealing with an injury that may sideline him, so the Rangers were forced to call up Erixon anyway. Maybe Bickel and Erixon, who played together for the Whale and per Nick Perri, were the most consistent pairing on the team, fit in like Eminger and Woywitka did as the third pairing and the Rangers are not forced into a panic move. In his review of the Whale’s first quarter, Nick Perri wrote:
As they say, so much for the best laid plans of mice and men. Before training camp opened, we all had Staal-Girardi as a pairing, McDonagh and Sauer as the second group; were hoping MDZ rebounded, and expected Erixon to make the team and Eminger to be the swing man. Then, Staal went down, so Slats went searching for a d-man. Campoli opted to go to Montreal, who waived Woywitka, who then joined the Rangers, and Stralman, who the team dallied with eventually signed for 900k, only to play one game and be scratched for two weeks. Girardi-McDonagh, MDZ-Sauer and Woywitka-Eminger were the pairings. Of course, that couldn’t last too long as Sauer suffered a concussion against Toronto, causing a new shuffling of the deck, with MDZ paired with Stralman and the other two pairings the same. That however, is also not lasting, because Eminger and Woywitka are now hurt. Now what?
The biggest questions have to be, when will Staal and Sauer return and can the Rangers tread water given their current pairings, if they are out at a minimum until January? The current trade freeze might actually be a benefit. Granted the schedule makers have done the Rangers no favors as they travel to face New Jersey tomorrow and the Islanders on Thursday, come home and play Philly on Friday and the Islanders on Monday (with the freeze ending Tuesday), then skate in Washington on Wednesday, Florida on Friday and in Philly for the Winter Classic on the 2nd, so much for a cake walk schedule. Why it might be a benefit as if the team can somehow arrive on the 27th in the same spot they are with good news on Staal, Sauer and Woywitka, Sather might not need to make a panic move. If not, and many think that this is more likely to be the case, then he needs to be the phones like crazy over the next week-plus.
Who might be out there? The top-favorite on the comments to my prior blog is Tim Gleason. Gleason is in the final year of a four-year, $11 million deal and with Carolina going nowhere, he might be available. Gleason compares similarly to Sauer, but acquiring him might be a clear sign that you don’t expect Staal and/or Sauer back for a while. Could Jesper Fasth and a pick be enough? Would you deal Ryan Bourque for an expiring d-man, who likely would not be back in NY next season?
What about getting Francois Beauchemin from Anaheim? More of an offensive d-man but could be a decent short-term fill-in, though his $3.8 cap hit is prohibitive. Kurtis Foster would have been a great pick up, but Lamoriello beat the Rangers to him. I think we all can rule out Fedor Tyutin due to the length of his contract as well as cap hit associated with it. Same with Bryan McCabe, mainly because of his poor play last year, plus, he is likely woefully out of shape. Of course, we can talk forever on getting Suter or Weber, but right now, those are pipe-dreams and Nashville is contending in the West, so both are likely unavailable. David Rundblad going to Phoenix could make Aucoin available, as I want no Roszival, Part III in NY, same with Derek Morris, Part II. Colorado could move Shane O’Brien or Matt Hunwick as well Calgary with Scott Hannan or Cory Sarich, but are either better than what the Rangers have now? They might be nice to have for depth, but cap hit has to be factor, especially with Wolski possibly back soon. There are probably lots of 5/6 options, as for now, Stralman and MDZ have been solid as the 3/4. Of course that could change in a minutes notice, as we saw with Sauer and Eminger, but unless willing to take on a long, bad contract, it will be very difficult to acquire someone of that ilk.
The news on Staal continues to be positive. Katie Strang tweeted: “Another step forward for D Marc Staal: wearing regular red jersey today for practice, ramping up participation with team…Staal is participating in team drills, although he has not yet been cleared for contact.” While this is great, I emphasize patience must be exercised and stick with my hope that he is back by March. On Sauer, the news is not as positive as he isn't with the team and per Torts, is still "a while off" from returning. This unfortunately is not a shock as I thought the shot he took from Phaneuf was worse than the one Staal took from his brother.
So where do the Rangers. If I am Sather, I try and pry Gleason from Carolina without giving up a ton, but if you have to overpay a bit, so be it. If not him, then stay pat and hope the patchwork blueline can continue to surprise until the Calvary comes back.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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