Nikolai Zherdev

13 Apr 2010

Rangers Offseason Plan : 3 Simple Calls

Let’s start by saying what everyone knows: this team is FLAWED. It was built with no real direction and couldn’t help but fail with this collection of spare parts, playing out of position, and expected to excel. The fact that this club even sniffed the postseason is testament to the incredible talent of franchise cornerstone Henrik Lundqvist and an inspired first season on Broadway by sniper extraordinaire Marian Gaborik. Even with the huge holes that management could never fill despite making in-season moves and numerous call-ups from the minors, the team still strung together an impressive first month of the season and an exciting last few weeks to make a serious run at the final playoff spot. This team is not in need of a total rebuild and there shouldn’t be close to the wholesale turnover we saw at the end of last season but there are a few moves that GM Glen Sather must make if this team is going to make it back to the playoffs and actually be expected to make noise once it does.

28 Sep 2009
Season Preview Part 1: The Kids Are Alright

Season Preview Part 1: The Kids Are Alright

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 [...]

4 Aug 2009

Z Wait is Over as Rangers Walk Away

A year ago, when the Rangers acquired Nik Zherdev from Columbus, the knock on the young russian was that he had tons of talent but lacked the heart and work ethic to truly reach his potential in the NHL. Earlier today, Glen Sather decided that the Rangers would not be the organization stuck waiting for [...]

3 Aug 2009

The Waiting Game

Yesterday, the Nikolai Zherdev situation took it’s turn into the homestretch as the arbitrator awarded the enigmatic russian sniper an award of $3.9 million for next season. Glen Sather and the Rangers now have 48 hours to decide whether to accept this ruling (which was pretty much splitting the difference between the two proposals from [...]

29 Jul 2009

Checking In From AZ

Enjoying the dry 113 degree heat here in Phoenix for the week but just wanted to check in on what’s happening (or more accurately not happening) back in New York…. Slow week for the Rangers as the only thing on the horizon is the Nik Zherdev arbitration on Friday. I am a little surprised there [...]

21 Jul 2009

Bargain Basement

While it would seem that the Rangers might be just about done dipping into this season’s free agent pool, there are still holes to fill on the current roster (No.1 Center, Power Play point man and secondary scorer on the wing, especially with the impending departure of Nik Zherdev) and while Glen Sather may eventually [...]

14 Jul 2009

News Round-up: Zherdev Speaks, Zubov Leaves and Potter Signs

Not much hard news today but some interesting quotes from Nkolai Zherdev to magazine Sport-Express. Zherdev talks about the Rangers, his interest in the KHL and about where he’d like to play should he not return to New York next season. To me the most telling quote from the enigmatic winger comes when he is [...]

13 Jul 2009

Roster Reshaping Continues

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. Earlier today, The Rangers agreed to terms with RFA F Ryan Callahan on a 2 year deal worth 4.6 miilion dollars. If you [...]

9 Jul 2009

Ales Is More: Rangers Sign Kotalik (Updated)

The Rangers have come to terms with UFA right wing Ales Kotalik. Terms of the deal are not yet known. Kotalik, the 6-2, 227 lb. , 30 year old winger from the Czech Republic has scored 20 or more goals four times in his 7 seasons in the NHL and posted 20 goals and 23 [...]

7 Jul 2009

Update on Zherdev (Updated)

As we reported on this site yesterday, Nik Zherdev’s decision to take the Rangers to arbitration may spell the end of his time in a blueshirt. Reports surfacing that Zherdev and his agent will ask for a salary of 4.5 million dollars for next season have caused many following the team to speculate today that [...]