The Rangers off a disappointing 5-3 loss to the Islanders, a game in which they were outworked much of the contest, get back into action Thursday against the Blues. St. Louis is looking to regain some respect after being blown out 7-1 by New Jersey and have lost three of their last four contests. This is second meeting between the two teams, with St. Louis dominating the Rangers in the fifth game of the season with the Steen-Backes-Oshie line doing a good portion of the damage.
Obviously much of the discussion the past 24 hours has been on the trade of Michael Del Zotto for Kevin Klein with a good portion of the focus centering on did the Rangers get fair value, should MDZ have been dealt, the impact of not taking Cam Fowler and selecting Dylan McIlrath because they had MDZ as well as whether this signals the organization's view on if they can re-sign Girardi and/or Stralman. Thanks to all for the great comments and I will try and give my view on some of the questions I noted just above that many of you have weighed in on.
In terms of fair value and should MDZ have been dealt, that's almost impossible to answer. If taking it from a cap perspective, the numbers are fairly even $2.55mil for MDZ and $2.9 for Klein. What getting does give you is cost certainty for the future since he is signed for four more years at that rate. They are two totally different players, MDZ offensive minded and Klein a defensive defenseman, who can be physical and play on the penalty kill, which should help rest Girardi, McDonagh and Staal a bit. Del Zotto was likely always going to be in the doghouse and the whipping boy like Dubinsky was a few years ago. Some feel he never will reach his potential or match the play from his first two years. I am betwixt and between, on the one hand, I want him to perform well because I like MDZ and think he has the talent to do so. On the other, scared to death he will do and the trade will look horrible down the road. The best way to evaluate this is that the Rangers get the short-term gain while Nashville has the potential for a bigger one down the road. In addition, as I mentioned yesterday and what seems to be a bigger component of the deal today is the movement of John Moore from the right back to the left side, with the hope it unlocks his potential and he plays like he did after the trade. If that occurs, then the gain from Moore moving, who clearly was viewed by the organization as a better piece than Del Zotto, coupled with steadiness from Klein will push the deal in the Rangers favor.
A big reason given at the time as to why the Rangers did not take Fowler was because they had MDZ and they needed a big bruiser on the blue line. Of course, in hindsight, and to many of us then, in foresight, they should have taken the best player regardless of style of play, which was Fowler or Tarasenko. That said, as Glen pointed out, until this year, Fowler's numbers weren't great, as he seemed to regress after a solid rookie campaign, though last year, he regained some of his luster. This year, he has taken that next step, making the USA Olympic team because of his fine play, which to many of us who wanted him, is like a knife in the back. It's easy to say McIlrath is the wrong pick, especially given his health woes and slow development, which we knew at the time would be the case. Am I ready to give up on him? No. But with Conor Allen and Brady Skjei in the system, McIlrath has to prove his worth and quickly, and if either G or Stralman return, then McIlrath will face even more of an uphill battle, regardless on if Marc Staal re-ups.
Thanks to Old School for giving the Pierre McGuire moment in the blog pointing out that Klein was a teammate of both Callahan and Girardi on the championship junior team in Guelph in 2004. Callahan mentioned that as well when dicussing how hard it was to see MDZ go but see someone he knows come in. I can actually picture and hear McGuire telling Doc Emrick that fact :)
Girardi and Stralman are both UFAs. The Rangers have been giving signs lately that the want to bring Girardi back, and given his recent play, that would be a wise man, cost dependent. If he wants $5+ million per for five years, you may have to walk away, but if you can get him for four years at around $19-22 mil, I think it would be a no brainer. Same with Stralman, I agree with the view he is very underrated, but have pointed out that I think he was not great in the second quarter of the season, but seems to be better lately. With Matt Niskanen racking up points in Pittsburgh and possibly being the top target in free agency after Girardi but Stralman will be a nice fall back option. As I said, I would offer him three years and $9 mil now and hope he avoids free agency to stay here.
RANGERS
Kreider – Stepan – Nash Hagelin – Richards – Callahan Pouliot – Brassard – Zuccarello Boyle – Moore – Carcillo
McDonagh – Girardi Staal – Stralman Moore – Klein
Henrik Lundqvist (starting) Cam Talbot
Also: Can-Am’s marketing activation will be at Spectator Plaza in the stadium so fans can check it out during the games. Please stop by on Sunday! If interested, Can-Am is running a Facebook contest for a chance to win tickets to the outdoor NHL games in Chicago and Vancouver. Fans can enter here: http://www.facebook.com/CanAmSpyder/app_205431962978189.