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Rangers to Likely Be Relatively Quiet as Free Agency Begins |
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Free agency, or as I like to call it, "the silly season," begins at 12 noon today. Of course, this year is a bit different as teams had two days to negotiate with players, so when 12pm rolls around, we may get a lot of signings.
All those big free agent splashes by the Rangers, many of which were ill-designed, forget them. With the Rangers needing to focus on re-signing their own free RFAa - Hagelin, McDonagh, Stepan and Zuccarello - along with saving money for Lundqvist, who is free agent after '13-'14 and limited cash available, there isn't the money to go out and make a big splash. That likely is a good thing, given Sather's record in free agency, so the team will be shopping in the bargain aisles.
Larry Brooks writes today that the Rangers have held discussions with fourth-line, checking-oriented center Dominic Moore, who is pondering a return to the league after sitting out last season after the death of his wife, Katie, who lost her two-year fight against a rare form of liver cancer on Jan. 7. The Rangers and Moore spoke last year before the lockout and his wife condition worsened. What Moore would give New York is a decent checking center, who sees plenty of minutes on the PK, which is an area of need after placing Darroll Powe on waivers.
If the Rangers don't sign Moore, other options may be Maxim Lapierre or Manny Maholtra, who believes he is still able to play but was let go by Vancouver, who believe his eye injury will not allow him to do so. Another name as pointed out in the comments lately is Boyd Gordon, but he may be too pricey. The names mentioned is likely the class of free agent the Rangers will attempt to sign in free agency, as the hope is that the youngsters will battle for roster spots rather than tying them up with veterans. That focus, and desire to clear some cap room for FAs and to re-sign their own FAs is why Aaron Asham and Darroll Powe were placed on waivers Thursday. As Broosk wrote, unless claimed (extremely unlikely), this will have no impact on the club’s cap space for the summer. If they are sent to the AHL Wolf Pack at the start of the season, Powe’s cap charge will become $142,000 while Asham’s will be $75,000. In addition, the Rangers can go 10% above the cap during the summer, so this move also may give them a bit more wiggle room cap wise.
The Rangers are letting Ryane Clowe walk because they don't have enough cao room to sign him after not buying out Brad Richards. As you know, I like Clowe, but I am fine with not giving him $+ mil for at least three years given his concussion history and declline in production. His absence though does make the Rangers a softer team. That means that Derek Dorsett now has an even greater importance to the Rangers and has to be better at staying out of the box and using his size and physical play wisely.
On defense, the Rangers right now have a seven-man group consisting of Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh (RFA, who should be back on a LT deal), Marc Staal (though rumors still swirl about hios availability and hopefully is recovering well from and ready to return from his eye injury), Anton Stralman, Michael Del Zotto (reportedly also on the block), John Moore and Justin Falk (RFA). The Rangers look to be walking away from RFAs Michael Sauer (not qualifies due to eye injury), Steve Eminger (who I wouldn't mind back as depth), Matt Gilroy and Roman Hamrlik. The Rangers do need depth, as we all don't believe Dylan McIlrath is ready to compete for a spot. one player out there, who a fellow HB reader and friend pointed out would be a great fit, though one that appears to have more interest and likely will bet more salary elsewhere is Rob Scuderi. He is solid positionally, would likely work well with MDZ or even McDonagh, to enable him to be more offensive. Rumors have him heading to Pitt or maybe even Boston, who can pay him more than New York. Also, Jonathan Blum, who was let go by Nashville and is right-handed, might be an option.
In the past, Sather has shocked us all making moves none of us saw. That may be the case this year as well, though if it does happen, it would be more shocking than usual, given the available cap space with which to work.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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