Blog parameters:
Each person covered will be given a rating. Factoring into that rating will of course be his performance but another input is going to be performance versus expectation coming into the season. Much of the background I likely covered in my tear down blogs, so don't expect massive chapter and verse but possibly some quick hitting information if not already covered in those blogs. In addition, to create some parameters, a player will have had to play 20 games to get a grade. Anything less means there isn't a representative sample for which to make a decision, so Brady Skjei and Marek Hrivik, to name two, will not get grades.
Here is where it gets really funky and interactive. I want you the reader to comment on the blog as to the rating. But not just hey I think you are right on or you are crazy but to provide your own rating and rationale for it. So if you agree with what I wrote, great, say that. But if the belief is the rating should be higher or lower, then you have to provide the rationale accordingly. Plus and minus grades are allowed to enable a broader opinion. Before the next blog, we will see if the blog comments consensus rating mirrors mine.
In addition, to shake it up, I will jump around a bit, so not all the players of the same rating are listed in a row, same with positions. So in the immortal words of Forrest Gump, you never know what you're going to get.
Covered in this blog:
Viktor Stalberg
This is what I wrote on Part IV of my Rangers tear down and post-mortem blogs.
Stalberg was one of the better signings this offseason by GM Jeff Gorton. He showed he can be effective in either of the bottom two lines by using his speed and strong forecheck, tallying nine goals and 11 assists in 75 games. Stalberg, 30, counted $1.1 million against the cap and you sort of wish Gorton had given him more than one year. But coming off his buyout from Nashville, you can understand why Gorton only gave him one year. Hopefully he can lock him up for a reasonable price like he did with Antti Raanta, who re-signed for two years at $1.1 million.
Overall Grade:
C+ (Oscar Lindberg-Eric Staal-Stalberg was one of the Rangers' best lines when put together, yet that group didn't last long. In addition, the fourth line was most effective when Stalberg was placed on a line with Dominic Moore and Tanner Glass, ending some of the nightmarish combinations earlier in the season. Stalberg showed he could be effective on the third or fourth line and was somewhat miscast when tried in the top-six.
Stalberg to me is like Moore and Benoit Pouliot, two of the one-year signings by the Rangers that left you hoping they had locked up a bit longer. But Gorton was shopping at the dollar store last year - which may be the case again this season - and more than earned what he spent in Stalberg. The problem with bringing back Stalberg is what his salary expectations might be. Stalberg will likely be looking for 2-3 years at about $1.5 mil or more, which puts him out of the Rangers price range. While Jensen and Hrivik deserve a shot at filling roles on the fourth line, having Stalberg in tow would give the Rangers more of a sure thing and some depth in an area that struggled at times the past two seasons).
Players covered in prior blogs,
My grade,
Consensus Grade
Chris Kreider C+/C
Mats Zuccarello B+/B+
Kevin Klein C+/C+
Tanner Glass C/D
Rick Nash C-/C
Assistant Coaches C/C
Dan Girardi D+/C or C-
Derick Brassard, B/ B+
Larry Brooks wrote in today's
NY Post the following on the the Expansion Draft:
A source with firsthand knowledge of the regulations that would be in place for an anticipated 2017 NHL expansion draft told The Post that, contrary to initial information reported on Sunday, teams only would be compelled to protect players with no-move clauses (and contracts) that extend through at least the 2017-18 season.
That means that players whose no-move clauses (or contracts) that expire at the end of 2016-17 would not have to be protected.
That class of players would include Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi, whose no-move clause will become a modified no-trade clause as of July 1, 2017; Lightning goalie Ben Bishop, who is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on that date; and Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman, whose no-move and contract both expire after next season.
Spin the wheel and figure out what the NHL will do. First, it's those with NMC will have to be protected. Then, the key is the date, because if draft is in late-June and NMC becomes a NTC on July 1, that player has to be protected. Now, it's the end of the season that matters, which would allow G to be exposed in the draft. Between the above and then all the machinations as to how many players can/will be able to be protected, it's pretty clear the NHL is figuring all this out as they go along. Maybe a final call will happen around this year's draft or before free agency, since teams will want to know how best to proceed before adding any new players.
For New York, being to expose G would obviously be huge given others they would want to protect. But until this and all the other rules are finalized, it's almost impossible to figure out who would be on the list of those to be protected. Plus, it may depend on if it's just one team, which seems likely and will be Las Vegas, or two teams.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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