Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Remember that as you read on.
A few weeks back at Sabres prospects camp, I spoke with J.T. Compher, the feisty, skilled forward whom the Sabres selected in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Compher is a versatile forward in that he plays center and wing, which makes him more useful and valuable. In 2012-13, Compher skated and dominated with the USA NTDP U18 squad. He represented Team USA in the 2013 World Junior Championship tournament at Ufa, Russia. Team USA brought home the gold medal from that memorable tournament that saw Sabres prospects Mikhail Grigorenko (Russia), Joel Armia (Finland), and Rasmus Ristolainen (Finland) represent their respective countries. Compher was the U18 team's second-leading scorer, finishing with 18 goals and 31 assists in 55 games and was +12 with 53 PIMs. Thats Compher's value. When he's not scoring on you, he's stabbing you in the stomach with his stick and elbowing opponent's in the rib cage. He's a player of Sreve Ott-like stock. Not the most skilled guy, but will beat your up and down the ice with his dogged determination and his hard work. If he has to snow your goalie or accidentally, on purpose trip a D man in the corner, he'll do it. Compher is a smack talking, hard working pest. Sabres fans are going to love him when he finally makes it to the show a few years from now.
Fans in Rochester and Buffalo won't be seeing Compher in Amerks red, white and blue for 2-3 seasons. Compher has committed to playing for the University of Michigan, where his overall hockey skills package will be polished and refined. For now, Compher currently is in Lake Placed, NY at the Team USA 2014 World Junior Championships training camp.
Compher and Justin Bailey (Buffalo's other 2013 second rounder) , the pride of Williamsville, NY are favorites to represent Team USA at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships in Malmo, Sweden . The tourney begins December 26th. team USA is the defending gold medal winner, therefore, Compher and Bailey play at a high level at training camp now, on order to be selected to represent their country internationally later this year. must being put through their hockey paces. Team USA is being joined by Teams Canada, Sweden, and Finland. The teams will practice together and will play exhibition games against one another. Later today, Bailey and tea USA Blue will play Finland. Compher's Team USA White will play team Sweden later this afternoon.
Two days before Buffalo's annual prospect camp Blue & Gold scrimmage, Compher told me something that has resonated with me this summer. I asked him which if today's NHLers that he plays most like, or, follows as a hockey role model. Compher looked me in the eye, and without hesitation told me, "Ryan Callahan".
'Hmmm. Ryan Callahan, eh", said I to myself. I watched the Blue & Gold scrimmage more intently to see if Compher was blowing smoke. He wasn't. The kid was a freakin nightmare to play against that afternoon. He and Bailey played for the losing Yellow squad. Didin't matter to me that the Blue Team scored a 6-3 victory over Team Yellow. What mattered to me was that #41 in yellow was on of the best players for his team. Like Callahan, he was a pain in the ass in the faceoff circle. On more than one occasion, I watched Compher hack, chip, and even throw a head butt at the Blue Team's Zemgus Girgensons in the faceoff circle. I asked him afterwards why he's so aggressive on draws. "Thats my job. To win pucks. If I lose the draw, I have to do everything in my power to get possession of the puck". Like Callahan, and his other role model Jonathon Toews (Compher is an Illinois native, therefore, watches a lot of Chicago Blackhawks games'. Compher did just that during the scrimmage. he made life miserable for not only Girgenson, but for the four oak trees on the Blue team's blue line Rasmus Ristolainen, Jake McCabe, Nikita Zadrov and, Mark Pysyk. Compher more than help his own in puck battles and in corners with the four studs on the Blue team's D. I came away from the scrimmage with a very good feeling about Compher and his compete level. Like Rochesterian Callahan, Compher never stops working. Whats more, I love that Compher is willing to cross the line and face wash opponents and give them the stick to the ankles and teh unprotected part of the wrists. To be successful in hockey, players have to hate their opponents for 60-65 minutes. Be congenial and nice away from the rink. be a bastard on the rink. Compher is following Callahan's lead and its working for him.
Callahan would look great in Blue and Gold, wouldn't he?
Don't look now, but there's a real possibility that he can become a Buffalo Sabre in the very near future. The Rangers are like the Sabres in that they have a few high profile UFAs-to-be on their roster right now. Ryan Callahan is joined by Henrik Lundqvist and Welland boy Dan Girardi. The Rangers have yet to begin talks with their "Big 3". Scary, isn't it. Here we are in August, training camp opens in five and a half weeks, and the Rangers management are sitting on their hands, not calling the agents for Callahan, Lundqvist, and Girardi. The Sabres have their own challenges with their own "Big Three". Ryan Miller, Thomas Vanek, and Steve Ott are all scheduled to become UFAs on July 1, 2014. Miller and Vanek were not traded at the NHL draft, nor were they dealt away during the free agent festival in July. For now, they are Buffalo Sabres. Each will begin the season in Buffalo. My gut tells me that Miller will be traded at or before the NHL trade deadline, while Vanek and Ott will be signed to long term extensions to stay and lead the youthful enthusiam in the new-look Buffalo room.
Where Callahan, Lundqvist and Girardi land is anyone's guess at this point.
Technically, the Rangers don't have to do anything right now. They can sit tight and wait to re-sign their "Big 3". All are under contract through the end of next season. However, all are far too valuable to the Rangers to just let sit and collect dust over the summer. Each one is a serious (or nagging) injury away from throwing a monkey wrench in the Rangers future plans.
Rangers fans are just as miffed as Sabres fans that their team's management isn't showing the love, and heavy duty money, to the faces of their franchise.
Larry Brooks of the NY Post wrote this morning:
But there is nothing to be gained by stalling or procrastinating. There is nothing good that can come of allowing these players to go into this season without extensions or by negotiating during a season that’s going to be challenging enough even if all goes well.
And there most certainly is nothing good that would come with constant chatter throughout the winter focusing on Lundqvist’s future on Broadway.
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There’s no money to be saved by dawdling, either. Seriously, no one’s price ever goes down as free agency beckons. A guy has a bad season, he makes more. A guy has a good season, he makes a lot more.
The market is established. The Rangers are going to have to pay market value for each of these athletes, while staying within the tagging parameter for 2014-15, something that might complicate matters to some degree as the season evolves but is a lesser evil with which to deal than, say, the goaltender sniffing free agency.
One must ask, what is the market value right now for Ryan Miller and Henrik Lundqvist, the back bones of their respective teams? $6.5 million and $6.875 million per year, respectively? $8.5 million or $9.5 million per season? Will each goalie get a maximum eight year extension?
You can argue all you want about Miller's value on the open market, however, he and his agent are monitoring the Lundqvist situation very closely. If "The King" gets a ransom, Miller will ask for similar money. One NHL team will pay Ryan Miller Henrik Lundqvist-like money. Which team that will be? We don't know yet. Miller will get paid. If he becomes too rich for Buffalo's liking, then he'll be traded away for a treasure trove of shiny assets in the form of premium draft choice (1st and 2nd rounders) and young, talented player.
Brooks notes that Ryan Callahan and his agent are zeroing in on David Clarkson's recent lottery win as the baseline for their contract negs with the Rangers. The Toronto Maple Leafs went all-in on the UFA winger and are paying him $5.25 million per season. Will the Rangers go there to ensure that their captain stays and plays in Manhattan for 5-6 more seasons? How about the LA Kings paying their captain, Dustin Brown, $5.875 million per season? Or, better yet, Winnipeg lavishing Blake Wheeler with a gargantuan six-year mega contract worth $5.6 million per season? Wheeler's new salary is NOT a typo, folks. Nor is Joe Pavelski's new 5 year extension to stay in San Jose for $6 million per season.
Mark my words:
Ryan Callahan is going to break the bank with his next contract. Supply is low of playuers like him. Demand is very high. Terry Pegula has the kind of money that Callahan will be looking for. The Sabres currently sit #27th in NHL salary spending. They have $10.5 million in available cap space for this season, and that includes Miller and vane's contracts. In the next week (or two) the Sabres will likely commit $5 million of their $10.5 million in current cap space to RFAs Cody Hodgson and Corey Tropp. They will be in good shape on their cap as they head to training camp on mid-September.
Callahan will earn earn $4.275 million for the final year of his current contract. He's going to get both term and dollars in his next contract, just like Clarkson, Brown, and Pavelsi did this summer.
Perhaps Callahan becomes too rich to NY Rangers' liking. Perhaps they find a trade partner for Callahan. Perhaps he comes home to the "585" and "716" area codes.
Girardi will also get paid handsomely in his next contract. North of $5.5 million per season for 5-7 seasons. If an over rated D like Jay Bouwmeester just held up the St. Louis Blues for $5.4 million per season,a younger and more well-rounded Girardi will easily and command $5.5 to $6 million per season.
How the Rangers are going to do it? I don't know. They only have $2.1 million is cap space remaining for this season, however, they have yet to ink RFA center Derek Stepan to his new contract. They will have a ton of cap space available for next season as they only have 6 players under contract. They currenty have $37 million and change to work with. Signing all three of their rockstars to multi-year, multi-million dollar per year extensions will eat a huge chunk of that number. Imagine committing $20-$21 million of cap space for next season to Callahan, Lundqvist, and Girardi. That would leave $17 million to go sign 14 other players. Lets not forget that the Rangers are still on the hook for Rick Nash's $7.8 million per season (next 5 seasons) and Brad Richards' $6.6 million per season (becomes UFA 2010).
Regier has the exact thing that the Rangers lack in the system right now: young, gifted prospects with NHL upside potential. Trading Vanek for Callahan doesn't help the Rangers,as the Sabres' sniper will require a higher annual salary (north of $6 million per), which will put more pressure on the Rangers' salary cap. The Sabres have forward depth that will benefit the Rangers in a trade. They also have D depth and future second round draft choices to sprinkle into a Callahan trade proposal.
JT Compher might get his wish to play with Ryan Callahan afterall. Darcy Regier would be wise to put out feelers on Callahan now, before another GM beats him to it.
Imagine a line of Vanek-Hodgson-Callahan tearing it up in Buffalo for the next 5-7 seasons. I like the idea a lot. "Cally" is only 28 years old. He's seasoned, he's accomplished and he's respected. He'd add immediate value to an evolving Buffalo room and bench. He leads the young kids by example and he never takes a shift off. He's a role model for all vets and rookies to pattern their individual games after.
By opting not to use an amnesty buyout on Brad Richards earlier this summer, the Rangers leave themselves very vulnerable to losing a key contributor to their core. Richards played awfully for the Rangers last season. John Tortarella got the heave-ho after a dismal season, however, Richards deserves most of the blame. The GM and owner made their bed, now they have to lie in it. Buying out Richards would have opened up $6.667 million in cap space per season.Were it my decision to make, I'd have scratched Richards a check and said "Thanks for all you've done, you are a UFA now". I'd have then taken the $6.667 million and applied it to future extensions for Callahan, Lundqvist and Girardi. The Rangers opted to turf Torts and keep Richards, a decision that may just end up costing them Callahan in the end. You can't tell billionaires how to spend their money, can you?
Nome is where the heart is, Cally. Why don't you come home?
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