The Rangers went into the start of free agency with several holes. Third line center and wing, depending on your view of which line is the third line, though the center and wing are on two separate lines. Fourth or sixth defenseman, who can shoot right handed and captain the power play. Fourth line center and wing. At the end of day two, they still lack that third line center or wing. New York filled the hole as the fourth or sixth defenseman, who can shoot right handed and captain the power play. The Rangers did re-sign their fourth line center, who could move up a line or two when needed, and added a winger, to the consternation of most of us. At the end of two days of free agency, I give the Rangers a C for what they have so far and don't feel they are better than the squad that ended the year. That said, they are slightly better than where they were at 11:59AM on July 1 before free agency, but still have lots of holes to fill. The Good, The Bad, The Ugly The Good: From the moves done by the Rangers on Day 1, the clear winner in the Good category is the re-signing of Dominic Moore. The Dan Boyle signing has good and bad aspects, based on who he replaced, and will cover that in a bit in both categories, but re-adding Moore is a win. Moore came at a slight discount compared to what was reported he wanted, signing for two - and not three - years for $3 million, which is about $500-700k less than expected. With Brian Boyle taking his talents South, the Rangers desperately needed someone who is solid in the faceoff circle and on the penalty kill. In Moore, they filled both needs. Moore won 54.3% of his draws and was a stalwart as one of the two-three duos when New York was shorthanded. In addition, his leadership and ability to play the second or third line when needed can't be overlooked. Dan Boyle's acquisition fills a gaping hole on the PP that was left by the departure of Brad Richards (no slide comments that having Richards there was the gaping hole). He gives NY someone who can control the puck entering and when in the zone on the man-advantage and possesses a hard shot from the point. Boyle had six of his 12 goals on the man-advantage and tallied 36 points in what was a down year for him. He struggled after a reported concussion earlier in the season and looked a lot slower, which is a concern heading into 2014-15. Boyle is right-handed, which is something we know AV wanted to balance out the lefty-righty duos. It's uncertain if he will play with Marc Staal or Kevin Klein will move up, leaving Boyle to play with John Moore. Boyle took less to sign with the Rangers, turning down anywhere from $1-3.5 million more for two years and a possible third year from another team, but received a full no-move clause. That's the good, the bad piece of the puzzle will be noted below. Not trying to sign Benoit Pouliot at those numbers. We all were rightly up in arms when it looked like Pouliot would get three years and $9 million from Pitsburgh. Many of us questioned if that would be going too high but also felt he could have been brought back during the year. Pouliot got five years and $20 million from Edmonton; with both numbers blowing us out of the water. Good for Pouliot to get the stability he wanted but no one way NY could match that. Also, good for Brad Richards landing in a sweet spot in Chicago. His contract was the reason why he had to be bought out. I don't see him as a second line center there, due to his lack of foot speed, but he can fill a role on the power play and see some time on the second or third line. Plus, at one year and $2 million, he is a bargain.
Signing Mike Kostka for $650k could be a nice move. He replaces Justin Falk and Raphael Diaz. Kostka is a right-handed shot who showed in the AHL he could run the PP, so at best, he is just depth, at worst, he could be an option if NY moves John Moore to get a top-nine forward. The Bad:
Losing Brian Boyle was expected when free agency started. But to lose him for the type of deal he signed is the bad. Boyle said on break up day that he wanted a bigger role, to which AV responded that he didn't see his role changing, but he is used in critical situations.
Now maybe it was Boyle's relationship with Ryan Callahan, aided by the rumored Callahan/Yzerman disdain for the Rangers, that resulted in Boyle landing in Tampa on a three-year deal for $2 million per season. What's gauling to most Rangers fans is that Boyle will most likely end up bad in the role he didn't play in NY. Two other possible factors are the lack of state tax in Florida, so the $2 mil is worth a bit more, plus Boyle may have felt that he was backed into a corner and couldn't go back on his word as to wanting to play on a different line. In addition, Boyle's wife, as he just got married, is from Orlando, so he my have wanted to relocate down there. Whatever the reason, losing Boyle removes a solid fourth line center, who was strong on face-offs and on the penalty kill and whose salary while slightly higher than last year wouldn't kill the Rangers, even though every little bit matters. Also, when you factor in the downgrade to Tanner Glass, it adds to the amount of the loss.
The second bad deal may be the move from D. Boyle to Anton Stralman. While Stralman may not have been much when he came to the Rangers and resurrected his career here, we saw how valuable he was in the playoffs. To me, he was the most consistent Rangers blue liner in he postseason. I know not everyone loves advanced stats, but they show just how strong Stralman was, based on his Corsi and impact on Marc Staal, not vice versa. The Rangers felt they didn't want to give five years to Stralman and more comfortable in going two with Boyle. hat may be because Girardi and McDonagh each have five years left and they want to block others in the system by going five years with Stralman. That only works if they sign Staal long-term, as has been rumored, if not, then this decision looks worse. In addition, for some reason, AV didn't think Stralman could run the PP, almost like Torts and Hagelin in that regard, so Boyle also fills that need. Last, losing Boyle and Stralman hurts the PK, putting more pressure on Nash, St. Louis, Hagelin, Stepan, D. Moore, Glass up front along with Girardi, McDonagh and Staal on the back line. The Ugly
In general, I don't think any of us liked the Glass signing. You could say that AV has some leeway given where he took the Rangers this year to bring in someone he knew and felt could aid the team. Even if you believe in that, think that his speed, willingness to hit and possible use on the PK make him better than his ridiculously low Corsi and puck-possession numbers show, giving three years in general to a player of his ilk seems ill-fated. Then when you factor in he is getting $1.45 mil a year, less than $600k less than Boyle, it looks even worse. For some reason, Sather loves signing goons, agitators or whatever term you want, as we saw with Asham, Brashear, Boogaard, but in this case, a lighter weight like Carcillo on a one-year deal would have made a lot more sense. Or just wait to see who else was there, as I doubt there was a rush to sign Glass.
The lack of a top-nine center and forward as well as overall depth. Getting Dan Carcillo last January gave NY depth that they lacked. One of the reasons for the Rangers playoff run was the forward and defenseman depth that allowed for inserting a JT Miller or Carcillo or Dorsett or Jesper Fast when Kreider was out or a player struggled. Similarly on D where Raphael Diaz came in for John Moore when he was suspended. Granted, there is time, but as now, the Rangers will be dependent on Miller, Fast and Oscar Lindberg to fill the three top-12 roles. For depth, Chris Mueller and Chris Bourque, who they signed, don't do much for them. Maybe Anthony Duclair is ready, though I highly doubt that. hurting the depth. On D, at least Kostka can step in while Mike Hunwick and Steven Kampfer can help out Hartford.
Salary cap space is at a premium. New York has $14.6 million in available cap space to fill out their roster and re-sign restricted free agents Mats Zuccarello, Derick Brassard, Chris Kreider and John Moore, each of whom got qualifying offers. Zucc originally stated he would take less to stay and security was a key, but then reportedly said he wants four hers and $20 mil, which actually could be less than he might get if he was a free agent, given what others have received.
With several players gone on the first two days, players such as David Legwand, Mike Ribeiro, Mike Santorelli, Steve Ott, Lee Stempniak, Derek Roy, Devin Setoguchi, Dustin Penner, Dany Heatley, Ryan Carter and Daniel Winnik are likely the biggest names left. Seeing the hole down the middle in NY, if they could get Legwand at a decent deal or Ribeiro, who has something to prove, that might be the first focus with someone like Carter or bring back Carcillo for the fourth line the second. I know may would just like to go with the kids, but as I have said before, intersperse them, but to depend on Miller, Fast and Lindberg as well as Glass for one-third of your roster looks like a recipe for disaster. That said, I do expect more moves as the summer wears on, with others possibly not occurring until training camp or even early in the season.
So as mentioned above, the Rangers get a C right now. Lots of work remains to fill out the holes in the lineup. While the Rangers do have to focus on the RFAs, given the paucity of UFAs remaining, trying to sign 1 or 2 while negotiating with their RFA seems prudent.