The Rangers continued their recent roll, improving to 14-5-1 in their last 20 and 9-3 since the win over the Blackhawks with their 4-1 win over the Islanders. Of course, much if not all of the action on the ice was superseded by the news just before game time that the Rangers had given Steve Bartlett, Ryan Callahan's agent, permission to talk to other teams to try and agree to an extension if a trade could be worked out. I will first touch on the on-ice results before moving again to the Callahan news.
While I hate scoreboard watching with a-third of the season to go, it's almost impossible not to. Especially when a win comes against a division rival, which could alter their thinking before the March 5 deadline, and has a material impact on the standings, looking at how other teams have fared becomes almost de riguer. That said, I am sure that the intensity in which I watch the scoreboard will only escalate after the Olympics and Trade Deadline passes.
Game Highlights
I won't touch on each player again, but will cover some players/lines again.
Boyle-D. Moore-Carcillo - once again the fourth line was key to the win. For all the criticism we give Boyle, he plays critical minutes on the penalty kill, wins faceoffs, and lately - possibly due to Carcillo - he has been more physical lately. Last night, he had a beautiful deflection to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.
Second and third line scoring - I wrote the other day that the Rangers needed Brad Richards and Chris Kreider to pick up their scoring. Friday, Richards answered the bell, taking a great feed from Ryan Callahan and beating Evgeni Nabokov five-hole. That goal made it 3-1 and earlier in the period, it was the second line, depending on your view of which line is which, with Derick Brassard taking a feed from Marc Staal on a play started by Mats Zuccarello to make it 2-1.
Girardi and McDonagh - once again the duo was solid against the Tavares line. The past 20 or so games, G has been the G from the past several years rather than the one who struggled so mightily earlier this year.
Marc Staal - while we have focused on the return to form by Rick Nash and Henrik Lundqvist along with the play of a Mats Zuccarello and rolling of four lines by coach Alain Vigneault for the Rangers recent hit streak,sometimes lost in the shuffle has been Staal. To me, a healthy and productive Staal has been as big as those other reasons for the hot streak and possibly even a bigger reason. Having Staal able to play consistent second pairing minutes and contribute offensively as he has lately has taken the pressure off the top duo and made the Rangers that much more difficult to play against.
Lundqvist - at the top of his game. Another solid game, at times bordering on the spectacular, seen on the save he made on Josh Bailey, when he went post-to-post to rob him. All the worry and consternation over Hank's poor start to the year has dissipated in a sea of glove, pad and blocker saves. He is back to being the Vezina Trophy candidate we all have come to expect from him.
Power play - if there is one concern, it's the man advantage. The Rangers are 0-for-20 on PP last five games with little movement and too much passing. You have it wonder if Vigneault will shift things around to get the power play started again.
Callahan:
The situation is becoming like a soap opera. He wants to stay but they may want him to go, the team has allowed his agent with other teams yet the player knows nothing about it. His teammates are asked their view while the coaching staff and fanbase have to wonder if their Captain will suit up either Tuesday, Thursday or Friday or he will still be a Ranger by then. Stay tune for the next edition as 'these are the days of the Rangers Captain's life.'
The latest news, per Pat Leonard, is
Only one of the NHL teams that reportedly had received the Rangers’ permission to discuss contract extension details with Callahan’s agent had phoned Steve Bartlett as of early Saturday evening....The team that contacted Bartlett is unknown, but it was not the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team that ESPN had reported on Friday was showing interest." Bartlett said that he remains 'optimistic,' that Callahan will make the final decision and he is not closing any doors.
Sather is playing what could be a dangerous game of chicken. He obviously is expecting no GM to be willing to meet the terms that Callahan wants and/or be able to to do that and give the Rangers enough of a return to warrant the team making the deal. As Cranford93 pointed out, Sather is forcing Callahan's hand, and also by leaking the offer, which many believe is fair, he sways perception a bit towards the Rangers rather than the player's side. Of course, it only takes one of the other 29 times to be willing to give Callahan what he wants and Sather's ploy backfires.
If that happens, then a big portion of the team will be torn out. You are talking about dealing the captain, the heart and soul of the team, one who is beloved by his teammates, as seen by Derek Stepan's comments, and a major shift in the chemistry of the squad. The question Sather will have to decide is if the years and dollars difference is worth breaking up a team that has now found its stride. Granted, we all think they need a big forward, which is why the talk for Chris Stewart, who was moved back to the top line in St. Louis, possibly as a showcase, makes sense but as a supplement not substitute for Callahan, and another blue liner, but removing Callahan could possibly so badly tear apart this team, they might not recover this season.
To add some perspective on this, the last several captains, Chris Drury, Jaromir Jagr, Mark Messier, Brian Leetch etc. all relinquished their captaincy following the seasons. Larry Brooks points out in his Sunday column that "the last time the Rangers traded a captain in-season was on Nov. 7, 1975, when Brad Park was sent to the Bruins with Jean Ratelle and Joe Zanussi in the seismic deal that brought Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais to Broadway."
Blueshirt Banter summed up how many of us feel, as it's battle of heart vs. head. The problem is that a GM must think with his head while the fanbase can think with their heart, but doing so can also have a deleterious effect on your team moving forward. An example of such is many of us thought with our hearts that signing a player like Chris Drury and Scott Gomez made sense given what the meant to other teams and how they were winners, but if we looked at their production coupled with the years and dollars with our heads, we would have realized then how much folly that was.
During this process we make connections with the team in ways that doesn't make sense in our brain (when you boil it down) but our heart tricks our brain into believing it. Want to know why so many fans love Ryan Callahan? Because they associate his on-ice work ethic with themselves. Do you know how badly fans wish they could play for the New York Rangers? I can't articulate it here properly, which is OK because you all understand. And if I ever got the chance to, I would give my all every second I was on the ice, do anything asked to help the team win, fill any role. That's Callahan, so fans their hearts tie to him, he becomes a fan favorite and suddenly people can't conceive of a world without him on Broadway
The question becomes what's more important, years, dollars or are both so intertwined that they can't be separated. If the rumors are true, the Rangers gave offered Callahan five years and close to $30 million while Callahan is believed to be adamant about received seven years and $42 million. Assuming the Rangers offer is accurate, they years take Callahan to his 34, so as Pete pointed out he can sign another deal at that time, so while he won't get 12 mil over the two years, the variance will be less than the 12 mil. Of course, that only could happen if his style of play and propensity for injuries won't render him completely ineffective at that time, which is something Ranger Nation pointed. It may be for that reason that Callahan wants the longer term deal with a high AAV per season.
The posturing has only just begun and Friday at 3pm is the deadline. Settle in, it's going to be a rough ride.
Listen to the latest edition of Metro Buzz with columnists Bill Meltzer, Dan Petriw and Jan Levine. Recorded 2/2/14
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