The Rangers finally made a move to shore up their suspect backup goaltending situation this morning when they claimed veteran Alex Auld off waivers from the Dallas Stars. After Stephen Valiquette imploded early on, the blueshirts have been using a backup by committee approach, shuttling youngsters Chad Johnson, Matt Zaba and Mika Wiikman between Hartford and Manhattan, to fill the gaping hole behind starter Henrik Lundqvist.
The 6-5, 223 lb. backstop has appeared in 204 career NHL games with the Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators and Dallas Stars, posting a record of 83-81-2-26, along with a 2.78 GAA, a .904 save percentage and six shutouts. Auld owns a career 13-9-5 record vs. Atlantic Division opponents. He registered a career-high three shutouts while skating with Phoenix and Boston in 2007-08. He has compiled a 9-6-3 record with a 3.00 GAA and a save percentage of .894 over 21 games this season. The Stars waived Auld in the last year of his contract which pays him $1 million for this season and since the Rangers claimed him on re-entry waivers they are only responsible for $500,000 of his salary.
Marian Gaborik discusses his recovery from the lacerated knee he suffered in practice on Feb. 9th and whether he will play tomorrow night in Pittsburgh.
In other news, The Rangers placed Donald Brashear on waivers today. The disgruntled forward had asked for a trade after being unhappy with his lack of playing time this season.
The Rangers also sent G Chad Johnson and D Corey Potter to Hartford and recalled G Matt Zaba.
The Blueshirts snapped their losing streak and rookie Chad Johnson got his first career victory as the Rangers defeated the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 earlier tonight on the strength of Marian Gaborik’s first hat trick as a Ranger.
John Tortorella speaks to the media following the win.
After the Rangers failed to score once again during 4 opportunities last night in a 4-2 loss to the Penguins, John Tortorella spent most of practice today working on his beleaguered unit’s need for more motion and creativity while getting bodies to the front of the net. To bolster the attack, Ales Kotalik, who had been a healthy scratch for the last six games, returned to practicing with the first unit and is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow night when the Carolina Hurricanes visit the Garden.
In other news, Chad Johnson was back at practice today for the Rangers after starting two games and making three appearances for Hartford (AHL) this weekend. Tortorella said he was unsure when Johnson would get another chance to start.
Erik Christensen and Donald Brashear are expected to be healthy scratches tomorrow night.
After a dominating effort last night versus the Stars, the Rangers came back with an uneven performance and wasted an impressive debut by Chad Johnson while losing to the Thrashers in Atlanta by the score of 2-1 in a shootout.
The Rangers, who allowed almost no odd man rushes last night, were victimized over and over again by the aggressive and speedy Thrashers squad but were kept in the game by Chad Johnson. Johnson, making his first career NHL start, showed incredible poise and made some terrific saves throughout the contest. The Rangers finally solved perennial thorn-in their-side Johan Hedberg when Enver Lisin took a perfect pass from Marc Staal and deflected it past the netminder (his first goal in 11 games) to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. They would keep that lead until midway through the third period when the Thrashers used another odd man opportunity to break through against Johnson. Both teams would have their chances in overtime but neither could finish. In the shootout, Johnson would stop all world sniper Illya Kovalchuk to give his team a chance to pull out the victory and things looked good for the Blueshirts after Marian Gaborik beat Hedberg for his first shootout goal in 4 attempts this season. Unfortunately, the next two Rangers shooters (Michael Del Zotto in the shootout?) couldn’t find the net and the Thrashers’ Bryan Little would seal the victory for the home team which had lost it’s prior 9 games before tonight.
Thumbs Up- Brian Boyle had another strong outing effort wise and continued to show some grit. Erik Christensen had a nice performance with a few very good scoring chances. Dan Girardi played well and Wade Redden showed some spurts of energy throughout. Ryan Callahan was excellent on the penalty kill. Michal Roszival gave the team some good minutes and played a good physical game.
Thumbs Down- Brashear, once again, was a non factor. Ales Kotalik took a bad penalty late and really didn’t do much in either zone. Sean Avery, who has been criticized by John Tortorella for inconsistent efforts, followed up his best game of the season with another ho-hum performance where he couldn’t seem to find the edge or intensity which carried him (and this team) vs. Dallas.
Three Stars- 3- Chris Drury- Drury showed incredible toughness tonight while blocking so many big shots throughout this game. His work with Callahan on the penalty kill was flawless and his positioning was perfect. The Rangers need more games like this from their Captain and it looks like Drury is ready to give his all for his club every night.
2- Marc Staal- Tonight was the kind of performance the Rangers expect to become commonplace for the young defenseman. He was strong on the boards, cleared out the front for Chad Johnson, hit everything he saw and most importantly locked down Kovalchuk anytime he moved across the Rangers’ blueline. Add to his stellar defensive game the great pass to Enver Lisin that led to the Rangers’ goal and you have Staal’s best game this year so far.
1- Chad Johnson- The Rangers have been looking for a backup goalie since Stephen Valiquette self destructed early on and now it’s safe to say they have found their man. Johnson showed great positioning and agility in keeping the Thrashers off the scoresheet for two and a half periods (some help from Callahan in the second period helped as well) and was impressive while stoning Kovalchuk during the shootout. Johnson deserved a better result (and a better effort from his teammates) in his first game but should be proud of himself after a very strong debut.
The Rangers will try to get back on the winning track against the Bruins on Saturday afternoon in Boston.
Earlier today, the Rangers made a surprising move when they sent rookie defenseman Matt Gilroy to the AHL. It was expected that Ilkka Heikkinen would be the odd man out with the return of Wade Redden from injury but the Blueshirts decided to keep the recent call up with the big club and send the impressive first year blue liner down for some work on his overall game.
According to assistant GM Jim Schoenfeld, Gilroy was demoted because the team felt that Gilroy’s game had been ” chinking down, in small increments, not just one thing, his entire game, all season.” Schoenfeld also added “Probably the biggest area of concern was winning one on one battles and closing checks out with strength or speed or guile”. When asked about how the team views Gilroy, Schoenfeld offered “We still have high expectations but some things can’t be overlooked unless you’re putting up big numbers and six points is not…It’s part of the process that a lot of first year players go through, they come into camp in tremendous condition and get a head start and then the league kind of catches up with some people.”
I understand this move from a growth standpoint for Gilroy but to say his game was suffering and that the “league has caught up to him” is a joke. Michal Roszival has been a distaster this season and looks like he is all but washed up at this point in his career but still gets ice time over a promising youngster like Gilroy due to his contract. The league has obviously “caught up” to fellow rookie Michael Del Zotto as well as evidenced by his declining numbers and recent invisibility on the power play but I don’t see the team sending him down to “get his game back”. This is another head scratching move by Sather (who sent Schoenfeld to address the media instead of answering questions himself, of course) in a long line of head scratching personnel moves during his tenure. Just a week ago, the team paired Heikkinen with Gilroy because of his versatility and steadiness playing either side and now his game is “chinking down”?. Another suspect move by Sather and Co.
In other moves, Chad Johnson was returned to Hartford and G Matt Zaba was called up to backup Henrik Lundqvist.
On a busy day for Glen Sather and Co., Stephen Valiquette’s career as a Ranger may have come to an end as the team waived the backup netminder for the purpose of sending him to Hartford for conditioning. If Valiquette clears waivers he will remain with the organization but chances are good that another team will take a flier on the veteran goalie. Impressive youngster Chad Johnson, whom the Rangers acquired at this year’s draft in a trade with Pittsburgh, was recalled from Hartford to replace Valiquette as the team’s primary backup to Henrik Lundqvist. Johnson has performed well this season posting a 10-6-1 record with a 2.10 GAA.
The Rangers followed these moves with a waiver claim, picking up veteran center Erik Christensen from the Anaheim Ducks. Christensen, 25, was a third round pick of the Penguins in 2002. He has 42 goals and 56 assists in 226 career games. This season for Anaheim, he had zero points in nine games. The 6-1, 203 lb. pivot had 18 goals for the Pens during the 2006-07 campaign. Christensen will give the Rangers added depth at the center position until Brandon Dubinsky returns from his injury.
Donald Brashear missed practice today and according to Coach Tortorella is “injured” and could be “out for a while”. Better news is the staus of Wade Redden whom Torts believes “is likely to play Saturday” when the Rangers return to action vs. the Sabres.
In Juniors news, Rangers prospects Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider and Ryan Bourque were all selected to the Team USA preliminary roster for the 2010 World Junior Championships. Rangers prospect Evgeny Grachev was expected to play for Russia at the WJC but reports are stating that the Blueshirts have told Russian officials that they are not prepared to let Grachev participate at this time. The Russians will file an appeal with the IIHF and I’m sure we will hear more about this situation over the coming days.
Marc Staal will once again battle Alex Ovechkin as the winger returns to MSG.
Here are some quick hits from Rangers universe:
-Alex Ovechkin, who had been out with an injury, is expected to be back in the starting lineup tomorrow night when the Washington Capitals visit MSG to take on the Blueshirts. Ovechkin is having another superb season (14 G, 23 P, +10 in 14 Games) and should be a tough matchup, as always, for Marc Staal and Dan Girardi.
-The Rangers have been practicing with the same lines they used during Saturday’s shootout win over Ottawa. I would expect Tortorella to stick with them at least through tomorrow night’s game.
-P.A. Parenteau went down today at practice after being hit in the head by a deflected shot off the stick of Christopher Higgins. He was helped from the ice and had blood around his ear but told reporters that he was “fine” and expected to be in the lineup tomorrow.
-Also from practice, Coach Torts says that he wants to increase Wade Redden’s ice time giving him an opportunity to showcase his strong play as of late and at the same time he would like to see a decrease in Marc Staal’s minutes in an attempt to help Staal focus on his play “while 5-on-5″, which Torts says is the most important part of the young defenseman’s game.
-As for the Rangers AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolfpack, things are looking very good as of late due to the stellar play of netminder Chad Johnson. Johnson has recorded back to back shutouts for the Wolfpack and continues to impress his coaches and teammates with each passing day. Johnson, who was acquired from the Penguins in a draft day trade, was very impressive in training camp and could very well be a player to watch in the organization as a possible replacement for Stephen Valiquette down the road or a valuable trade chip come deadline time. For more on Johnson’s consecutive shutouts click here.
-In absurd rumor news, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun wrote over the weekend that the Rangers were holding trade discussions with the Canadiens concerning talented/troubled brothers Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn. File this rumor in the “Makes no sense” drawer as the last thing the Blueshirts need is two headcases who can’t stay on the ice and out of the newspapers. Mr. Garrioch, If you are going to link the Rangers to a pair of brothers, next time can you make it the much more desirable/talented Sedins.
-Finally, the Rangers pursuit of Peter Forsberg may be over as there are various reports today that the center will remain in Sweden to play with Elite League club Modo. As you know, nothing is definite until a contract is signed so we’ll keep you updated if anything changes.
When training camp began, John Tortorella told everyone that the team was looking for a few of it’s youngsters to make some strides and win jobs on the big club. After seeing the amount of ice time and the opportunities to prove themselves during preseason contests he gave his young hopefuls, it’s evident he wasn’t just paying “lip service” to a youth infusion that many of his predecessors had over the last decade in New York. After finding success over the last 2 seasons with homegrown talent like Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Marc Staal and Dan Girardi, it looks like the Rangers will have 4 new fresh faces breaking camp with the big squad hoping to prove that they are ready to not only contribute but shine at the NHL level.
The most physically ready of the four rookies to crack the lineup is center Artem Anisimov. A skilled two way player, the 6′3, 190 lb. pivot brings an all around game and beyond his years intelligence on the ice to the pros. Anisimov dominated while playing with the Hartford Wolfpack in the AHL last season registering 37 goals and 81 points in 80 games and earned himself an invitation to the AHL All Star Classic where he scored the game winning goal and assisted on two other tallies. The 21 year old showed his size, strength and vision throughout training camp both at even strength and on the penalty kill. Anisimov even showed a scoring touch on the power play during the team’s preseason finale vs. Washington blasting a one timer through Caps’ goalie Semyon Varlamov. A logjam at the center position (with Dubinsky, Chris Drury and Vinny Prospal currently slated to start on the top 3 lines) has moved Anisimov to a probable fourth line role to begin his rookie campaign but the young russian will be looked upon to contribute on special teams almost immediately. The Rangers envision Anisimov to be centering their third line sometime this season and to be a top six forward in the near future and so far he has done nothing to dispel those lofty expectations. It would not be surprising to see him notch 15 goals and be one of the team’s better defensive forwards and most dependable penalty killers come season’s end.
Joining Anisimov up front for the Blueshirts will be the recently acquired speedster Enver Lisin. While Lisin doesn’t possess the defensive acumen of Anisimov (Coach Tortorella recently said that the winger “doesn’t have a clue away from the puck”), he does have something you can’t teach, Speed. Lisin showed a knack for finding open ice throughout the preseason and impressed with his ability to finish while playing with Vinny Prospal and sniper Marian Gaborik. Lisin himself knows that he must “focus more on defense and try to listen to the coaches and improve” or it might be a short stint on Broadway. What the 6′1, 180 winger does bring to the ice is a huge offensive upside buoyed by his blazing spped, an accurate wrist shot and a deceptively quick release. Lisin could find himself getting minutes on the second power play unit and will be counted upon to replace some of the offense lost with the departure of Nikolai Zherdev. Lisin’s strong play on the offensive end allowed the Rangers to send promising and extremely impressive youngster Evgeny Grachev to Hartford for more experience against bigger players but if Lisin struggles to find his defensive game, it won’t be a tough decision for Coach Tortorella to have the two youngsters exchanging places.
Michael Del Zotto
Most followers of the club expected this to be the camp where former first round pick Bobby Sanguinetti would finally jump up and grab a spot alongside fellow first rounder Marc Staal on the Rangers blueline. Unfortunately for Sanguinetti, something happened on the way to his storybook ending. Beset by issues with his conditioning as camp began and with struggles in his own end during the games, Sanguinetti was a major disappointment and now finds his future with the club becoming increasingly unclear as he was reassigned to Hartford and has been the subject of rumors that the team has been “quietly shopping” him around the league. What has become clear is the future of fellow prospect Michael Del Zotto. The 19 year old defenseman has been everything Sanguinetti was expected to be and more during camp and looks for now to at least have won a spot on the back line as the season opens on Friday. Del Zotto has shown excellent skating and passing ability, especially while getting ample minutes on the point during the power play, and an improved defensive game. He may still struggle with bigger bodies in front of the net and his ability to take the pounding of an entire season at the pro level is a question mark but his ability to control the puck on the man advantage and make strong first passes to clear his zone are too much to be ignored. Del Zotto is still eligible to return to Juniors this season (and that may still be the best move in his overall development) so his time in Manhattan may be short (he must be returned after 9 games or he loses eligibility) but if he shows well early in the season, this may be only the beginning for a young man that has both the organization and the fans very excited.
While Del Zotto, Anisimov, Lisin and Grachev all had outstanding camps and a few others showed that they could be competent in season replacements should injuries occur (P.A. Parenteau, Jordan Owens, Chad Johnson), the most impressive and exciting new face in Rangerland was defenseman Matt Gilroy. Gilroy is the oldest of the four prospects expected to be on the ice opening night vs. the Stanley Cup Champion Penguins. At age 25, Gilroy doesn’t look or play like a rookie on the ice. A prototypical offensive defenseman, he joins the rush every chance he gets and relishes the opportunity to play in Tortorella’s up tempo attacking style system. The thing that makes Gilroy so exciting is that besides being explosive offensively (as showcased by his breakaways during the preseason) he is also responsible defensively in his own zone. The former college National Champion and Hobey Baker winner has the all around game to possibly make him a second pair defenseman for the club this coming season should Wade Redden or Michal Roszival (whom the Rangers desperately need much much better seasons from this year) continue to struggle at both ends. Gilroy does have things to work on as he has never played a full season and may wear down due to his energetic style of play and he also needs to put on some size to deal with bigger opponents in front of Henrik Lundqvuist. It looks as if Gilroy will begin the season as the fifth defenseman (probably partnered with Alexei Semenov, if the team decides to offer him a contract this week) and will see time on the power play immediately. While comparisons to all-time Rangers d-man Brian Leetch are just plain silly at this point, to say Gilroy plays a similar style to the legendary blueliner is not a stretch and if he is even half the player and teammate Leetch was when it is all said and done, Rangers fans will have alot to be pleased about.
Just like seasons past, the fortunes of this year’s Rangers will depend mostly on the goaltending of Henrik Lundqvuist, the ability of the power play to improve and be a force and the health of it’s key scoring threats (in this case, the newly acquired supremely talented but injury prone winger Marian Gaborik) but as we have seen with the emergence of Dubibsky, Callahan and Staal the last 2 seasons, the youth will ultimately have some say in how far this team goes in the upcoming campaign. Rangers fans have plenty of reasons to fret as opening night approaches (Redden and Roszival, injury to Sean Avery leaving his availability in question, unsettled at first line center) but one thing they shouldn’t worry about is the kids…The Kids are alright.
In a surprising flurry of activity after a quiet weekend, The Rangers continued their recent roster overhaul by re-signing one of their core youngsters and sending another one packing to the desert.
Ryan Callahan Signs 2 Year 4.6 Miilion Dollar Contract
Earlier today, The Rangers agreed to terms with RFA F Ryan Callahan on a 2 year deal worth 4.6 miilion dollars. If you were to ask most Rangers fans what signing they were hoping to see sooner than later, it would be Callahan’s. The 24 year old right wing enjoyed a breakout season in 2008-09 scoring 22 goals and posting 40 points while becoming one of the team’s most physical forwards. The signing helps the team to avoid having to go to arbitration against one of it’s up and coming stars. It also may give the team a comparable starting point in negotiations with fellow RFA and young star C Brandon Dubinsky, whom the team is also interested in signing to a long term deal. The deal also leaves Nik Zherdev as the only remaining player headed for arbitration with the club.
Later in the day, The Rangers moved one of their youngsters to Phoenix in an exchange of players with seemingly bright futures. Lauri Korpikoski, who enjoyed a fine first season with the Blueshirts (but was recently the subject of reports linking him to interest from teams in the KHL), posted 14 points in 68 games while excelling on the team’s highly ranked PK unit was sent to the Coyotes in exchange for Enver Lisin, a 23 year old 6-1, 190 lb. right wing who scored 13 goals in 48 games last season.
Enver Lisin, acquired from Phoenix for Lauri Korpikoski, brings his speed to the Blueshirts
As I watched this offseason play out and began formulating possible line combinations in my head, I often found myself wondering where Korpikoski would fit amongst the newly acquired forwards and most of the time I didn’t see a strong fit. It looks like the front office did not either. While Korpikoski was sound defensively, he did not give the Rangers much in terms of offensive upside (much like Blair Betts and Freddie Sjostrom, who have also been jettisoned this offseason). Lisin gives the Rangers another speedy winger with the potential to put pucks in the net either at the NHL or AHL level and another option to look at in camp (or another chip should the Heatley situation rear it’s head again) if Zherdev is not brought back next season. I think this was a good deal by Sather to get something promising for Korpikoski before his offensive shortcomings became fully realized by other GM’s around the league.
Here is a highlight video of Enver Lisin from Youtube:
I didn’t get the chance to catch up on much local news while in New Orleans over the weekend but there were some interesting reads on the web beginning with Larry Brooks’ artcle in the NY Post here and his interview with new Rangers sniper Marion Gaborik here. The Dallas Morning News puts in their two cents on both the Brad Richards and Sergei Zubov rumors here. The Rangers also re-signed RFA Dane Byers and G Chad Johnson over the last few days. The official releases are here and here.
I hope that gets everybody caught up. Tomorrow we will continue our Prospect Spotlight series. If anything else happens, we will have it for you right here.
