Battle Of Hudson covers the Rangers and Devils, who's intense rivalry heated up in the 90's. With fresh faces added, they battle for supremacy in NYC and NJ..
Where to begin? On a chaotic day full of free agent signings that totaled over $1 billion, the Rangers’ silence was deafening.
Unless you actually believe adding depth pieces, Sam Carrick and Reilly Smith are earth-shattering moves for a team that likes to think they’re Stanley Cup contenders. It went about as badly and sadly as the final three games of the Eastern Conference Final did.
Much like how quiet Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, and Artemi Panarin were, that certainly applies to Chris Drury on July 1. When asked why Smith for one year over committing longer on a free agent, he said, “I’m not going to comment on other deals that other teams & players made, but this just fit for us now & I think sets us up well in the future to have some flexibility.”
On why one year of Reilly Smith over handing out a longer term deal to one of the top UFAs, Drury said, "I'm not going to comment on other deals that other teams & players made, but this just fit for us now & I think sets us up well in the future to have some flexibility." #NYR
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) July 1, 2024
Whether or not you can take him at his word is another story. The one player Drury added for three years at a cheap $1 million per year is Carrick. He’s a fourth line center who brings some grit and physical play. He finished 2023-24 with the Oilers who lost to the Panthers for the Cup.
If the goal was to spend as little money as possible, mission accomplished. In sending the Penguins a 2027 second round pick along with a conditional 2025 fifth for Smith, the Rangers added $3.75 million on the cap. At least it’s only for a year.
A former member of the Cup champion Golden Knights in 2022-23, Smith is a solid complementary forward who can put up between 15 to 20 goals and 40-plus points. He can kill penalties. The only question is why the Pens were so desperate to get rid of him. He had a down year finishing with 13 goals and 27 assists. He’ll have something to prove on a new team.
If you were one of those fans hoping for Drury to land a big name, you were left hanging. Or by now, probably hungover from the lack of activity. Like a game of dominoes, player after player fell.
Jonathan Marchessault went to the suddenly emerging Predators, who added former Lightning captain Steven Stamkos and Brady Skjei. They also extended Juuse Saros for an affordable $7.74 million through 2033. We’ll see how that impacts Igor Shesterkin, who wants the moon if you read the NY Post.
Jake DeBrusk landed in Vancouver. Tyler Bertuzzi decided to take the money from the Blackhawks, who also brought back Teuvo Teravainen. They improved.
Most teams did except for the Rangers and Hurricanes, with the latter losing both Skjei and Brett Pesce. They also picked up a third round pick from the Lightning, who went to $9 million on Jake Guentzel. He isn’t worth it. But how many players are? There were some crazy deals. They seemed to happen at lightning speed.
Even Jeff Skinner found a new home in Edmonton for one year at $2.5 million. Vladimir Tarasenko is one player who didn’t. He reportedly wants to return to the Panthers after helping them win. Who can blame him. They lost Brandon Montour to the Kraken for big money. Oliver Ekman-Larsson left for Toronto. But they kept Sam Reinhart for $8.63 million AAV over eight years.
The big reason for the Rangers’ inability to sign someone who can help their chances is due to the mishandling of Jacob Trouba. By leaking the info to Larry Brooks over the weekend, it turned into a three-ring circus. The Rangers captain was hurt when he found out he could be traded.
The lack of communication backfired. This is how the organization operates. Barclay Goodrow had to learn that he was waived in a prearranged agreement so the Sharks could pick him up. It was underhanded. He had the Sharks on his 15-team no-trade list. Drury worked around it to get rid of the $3.64 million salary over the remaining three years.
Coming off a great season that included a run to the Final Four, Goodrow and Trouba were treated like second-class citizens. It’s almost as if the Rangers don’t appreciate what they brought. That’s no way to handle two veterans who were leaders for the team.
Now, they’re stuck. What will happen with Trouba? With $8.94 million in cap space remaining, most of it will be used to re-sign restricted free agents Ryan Lindgren and Braden Schneider. Drury was hoping to offload most of Trouba’s remaining contract ($8 million AAV over two years) to free up room to add a scoring right wing. Instead, it’s a guessing game.
You have to wonder if a few of those players who signed elsewhere decided not to come to New York City. The mitigating circumstances haven’t helped. It isn’t good.
There are consequences. Drury’s arrogance got in the way of doing the right thing by Trouba and Goodrow. They are people with families. You wouldn’t know it by how Drury operates.
Once, Brian Leetch learned that he was traded on his birthday to the Maple Leafs. Glen Sather never even approached him about it. Arguably the greatest New York Ranger, Leetch was sent packing in pathetic fashion 20 years earlier. Even the way Henrik Lundqvist was handled at the end wasn’t memorable. At least he was brought back as a studio analyst. He remains the best dressed man in the room with that charm.
Why do these things happen? Some will point out that it’s just business, which is true. The business side of sports isn’t pretty. Sometimes, things end badly. You don’t expect that to happen to two players who’ve bled as Blueshirts.
It’s different. Most agree that the cost is too much for Trouba. Especially if he’s a third pair defenseman at this point of his career. He’s 30 and played on a bum ankle. Somehow, he was called “selfish” for playing hurt. Amazing.
If you were a big name free agent, would you sign with the Rangers when there’s uncertainty? It’s an unstable situation. Until they settle things with Trouba, a dark cloud will hang over Madison Square Garden.
Where to start after yet another head-spinning day by Tom Fitzgerald and the New Jersey Devils? Might as well start with the obvious, the big signing of the day that was rumored for the last couple of weeks seemingly, with the team agreeing to terms with ex-Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce on a 6 year, $33 million deal. Clearly they weren’t going to mess around filling the hole in the top four created after the draft-day trade of John Marino to Utah two days ago. With the Devils having moved on from three of their four defensemen who played on the penalty kill last year (Marino, Brendan Smith and Kevin Bahl), Pesce should also be an upgrade defensively there as well as at even strength.
I’m not even going to waste time analyzing his or the other contracts today, especially since quite honestly there are at least six or seven holy **** contracts that teams have thrown around silly money on already. Even more so than the usual ‘whatever you think a guy’s worth, add about a year and a million per season to it and that’s what he’ll actually get’ free agency tax that we clearly paid on all of our deals. You see teams with cap issues wiggle out of them one way or another, at this point I’m like Lou Lamoriello when then-beat writer Tom Gulutti asked him a salary cap question, when he responded, ‘Don’t worry about my cap, Tom’. Today is just about how much we appear to be fortifying our push back to relevancy next season.
While Pesce was the worst-kept secret in the world, there was a little more ambiguity over Brendan Dillon signing here, even though that was also heavily rumored in the days before ‘official’ free agency began. A word about that, I’m totally fine with there being no real tampering period this year, I would just prefer it was a written rule rather than an unwritten one, it does seem like there was a bit of a gentlemen’s agreement to let a guy talk to other clubs if you weren’t planning to bring him back this year. Of course, the one time I’m literally home for UFA day turns out to be the most boring one from the standpoint of most of these deals having been done beforehand and announced pretty early on in the day.
Anyway, if the Devils needed to replace Marino they also needed to replace Bahl in their top six with a clear upgrade and Dillon provides that, as well as size and snarl – a clear theme of this offseason.
Since his debut in 2012, Brendan Dillon has 2,174 hits, third most amongst defensemen over that stretch.
Like Pesce, the 6’4 225 pound Dillon has a ton of postseason experience and will supplement the PK as well as even-strength defensively. Three years and $4 million per might have been a little higher than I wanted, but again free agent tax. And certainly Fitz has remade the blue line in one busy weekend, not only with these two signings and trading Marino + Bahl, but also with an under-the radar deal last night for Johnathan Kovacevic from the Canadiens for a 2026 4th rounder. Yet another big boy at 6’5 and 225, he’s more of a depth guy but one who got good reviews in Montreal and should fit into the #7 swing role (formerly occupied by Smith, who signed a one-year deal in Dallas earlier) quite nicely.
Earlier in the day there were even rumors the Devils were making a play for Jonathan Marchessault, who while not big would have certainly fit our need for a top six scoring winger. However, they were beaten to the dotted line by Nashville in a bit of a Johnny Gaudreau-esque twist, and the Predators certainly made a big splash of their own today bringing in Marchessault and Steven Stamkos to jump-start a comatose offense that was shut down in the first round of the playoffs by the Canucks’ third-string goalie. So among the reported shopping list of top six forward, bottom six forward, top four defenseman, bottom four defenseman and goalie it seems as if Fitz has ‘only’ been able to procure four out of five…to this point.
Fitzy did manage to improve the forward group to an extent today though, with the surprise return of Stefan Noesen, who initially broke out with a 13-goal, 27 point season on the Devils in our 2017-18 playoff season but then bounced around the league and seemed destined to finish out his days in AHL obscurity. Pretty much out of nowhere, he had a huge AHL season in 2021-22 that re-ignited his career and won him a roster spot on Carolina the past two seasons, where he settled in as a mid-30 point, back six grinder.
If it was just about anyone else I might be complaining about his contract being slightly rich for a back six player ($2.75 million per for the next three seasons) but you can’t help but feel good for Noesen and about his return. Especially after he was a part of getting us out of the dark ages – albeit for a brief, shining moment before we fell back into them the next few seasons. Especially since he did score what turned out to be the winning goal in our lone playoff win for a decade, and blew the roof off the Prudential Center.
Of course the fact he’s over 6′ and 200′ helped facilitate the Lou-like coming home contract for Noesen. And clearly Fitz doesn’t want to have another four or five-year break between playoff appearances, the way we have been the last decade. We’ll still probably need to find a top six forward somewhere – and at this point I do have to use the c word, with limited cap space to do it – if he wants to really but a ribbon and a bow on this offseason but you can’t deny that the Devils overhauled their coaching, defense, goaltending and put a little more snarl into their back six up front.
In short, the team should be improved and ready to get back to relevancy when they start their season with some homecoming showdowns. As if facing Lindy Ruff and the Sabres in Prague wasn’t enough, it seems as if the home opener will be the reverse homecoming with us facing the Leafs in Sheldon Keefe’s darby. It should be hectic, like this last week was but unless Fitz pulls another big move or three out of his rear end, it’s probably time for me to go back into hibernation until camp begins at least.
Following a crazy week that kicked off with the Florida Panthers winning the Stanley Cup over the Edmonton Oilers in a memorable Game 7, and was followed up by a busy NHL Draft that saw several players move, the madness will continue on Monday, July 1st when NHL free agency hits.
With some teams already making moves to sign key players before midnight struck, a few free agents are off the board. For the Lightning, that meant trading away a third round pick to sign Jake Guentzel to an eigjt-year max deal. It’s likely to be a cap hit of $8 million.
Sources say #GoBolts have agreed to terms on a contract with Jake Guentzel after a productive Sunday.
Details have been hard to come by as Tampa has other moving parts, and info might not come out until tomorrow.
He was their top target – leaving captain Steven Stamkos headed to free agency. It looks like the Lightning’s greatest player will leave. The Hurricanes, Predators, and Golden Knights are all interested. It’ll be strange to see Stamkos wearing another jersey. He deserved better from GM Julien BriseBois. Loyal Bolts fans like Morgan know it.
what the fuck was the point of freeing up all that money to not offer the face of your franchise, your captain, your still incredible player, more money. i feel sick https://t.co/5qNYBNOYP1
I was hoping Stamkos would stay. The former 2008 top pick has done it all there. His 555 goals, 1,137 points, and 1,082 games played rank first in franchise history. No Bolt has more even strength goals (336), power-play goals (214), game-winning goals (85), and hat tricks (13).
At 34, he still has something left. It shouldn’t take long for Stamkos to find a new team. It’s gonna be weird. The Lightning are focused on extending Victor Hedman. He’s next in line to become the captain. They dumped Mikhail Sergachev’s $8.5 million salary to Utah HC and moved Tanner Jeannot to the Kings. That allowed them to land Guentzel. Who else will they add?
Right before the deadline, the Panthers re-signed Sam Reinhart to an eight-year max deal. He led them with a career high 57 goals and had 10 more in the playoffs. I guess he prioritized winning. His center is Aleksander Barkov. Another great reason to stay.
Florida will try to re-sign key free agent Brandon Montour. They’ll likely lose Dmitry Kulikov, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Vladimir Tarasenko. Bottom six forwards, Ryan Lomberg and Kevin Stenlund could be kept. The champs will look different when training camp opens in late September.
The Maple Leafs were able to re-sign Max Domi to a four-year contract worth an average of $3.75 million. Tyler Bertuzzi isn’t returning.
Tyler Bertuzzi won’t be returning to the Maple Leafs. His value has out priced Toronto. He will land a deal elsewhere in the 4 year and over $5 mil per territory.
Bertuzzi can help someone. If his ask is close to $6 million over four years, I’d pass. He is a streaky scorer who plays with edge.
Amongst the top forwards available include Jake DeBrusk, Jonathan Marchessault, Stamkos, Bertuzzi, and Elias Lindholm. DeBrusk is a player I’d like the Rangers to target. He’d be a good fit on the first line. Marchessault is a better finisher. But he’ll cost more. I doubt they’ll get him. He’s the definition of a clutch performer.
Patrick Kane decided to stay put in Detroit, agreeing to an incentive laden one-year deal that includes both performance and team bonuses that can total $6.5 million. So much for a reunion in the Big Apple. Kane probably thinks he can get them back to the playoffs. They were one point away. We’ll see what else they do.
Kane contract has bonuses. Per sources: $4M base $1.5M at 10 games $250k at 60 games $500k if they make playoffs $250k for 60 points AND playoffs.
Other free agents include Warren Foegle, Tyler Toffoli, Matt Duchene, Tarasenko, Teuvo Teravainen, Sean Monahan, Jeff Skinner, Anthony Duclair, Chandler Stephenson,Victor Arvidsson, Jonathan Drouin, Adam Henrique, Nick Cousins, Mattias Janmark, Connor Brown, Alex Wennberg, Nikita Zadorov, Matt Roy, Sean Walker, and Erik Gustafsson.
It’s impossible to list everybody. I tried to limit it to players who can play key roles. This doesn’t include available players for trades. We’ll see what happens with Jacob Trouba. If I were him, I’d be livid.
When Jacob Trouba was traded to the New York Rangers, he signed a seven-year contract worth $56 million in the summer of 2019.
That included a full no-movement clause over the first five years. The cap hit was eight million for a player who was 25 at the time. He previously made $5.5 million for the Jets in 2018-19. So, it was a bit of an overpay.
In a contract year, Trouba put together his best season. He had eight goals while setting career bests in assists (42) and points (50) over 82 games for the Jets. That worked in his favor.
It took the Rangers over a month to sign him following the acquisition on June 17, 2019. Having traded for a player the organization wanted, they couldn’t afford to go to arbitration. Then, there wouldn’t have been any guarantees of keeping him. So, they committed over the long-term.
In retrospect, some hockey pundits would say that they signed Trouba for too long. However, he was in his prime. It’s always easier to second guess afterward. We all are guilty of doing it. The contract length is always risky when investing in a player. So, too, is handing out no-movement clauses. It’s that part that always seems to get the Rangers in trouble.
Look no further than Barclay Goodrow. A gritty player and proven winner with the Lightning, he was brought in to provide secondary scoring and valuable playoff experience. When they signed him for six years with a cap hit of $3.64 million, everyone knew they overpaid. But they again gave out a NMC for a role player.
Here’s the thing. Most fans liked the moves for Trouba and Goodrow. They needed those type of players to become more competitive.
In case you forgot, 2019-20 and 2020-21 weren’t successful under David Quinn. They were swept by the Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup qualifier in embarrassing fashion. Then, they missed the playoffs in the abbreviated 56-game season. Quinn was replaced by Gerard Gallant.
The arrival of Goodrow helped improve the roster. A versatile forward who could be plugged anywhere, that’s exactly how Gallant used him. While the upper echelon stars headlined a big 2021-22, Goodrow achieved career highs in goals (13), assists (20), and points (33). He proved his worth by doing a bit of everything.
Chris Drury made upgrades at the trade deadline by adding Andrew Copp, Frank Vatrano, Tyler Motte, and Justin Braun. Those key additions helped improve team depth. Despite that, things looked bleak when the Rangers fell behind 3-1 to the Penguins in the first round.
Facing elimination at home in Game 5, they fell behind 2-0. A series dominated by Sidney Crosby suddenly turned on an awkward Trouba open ice hit that injured the Pens captain. The Rangers rallied to win the game 5-3. Eventually, they came back to take the series on Artemi Panarin’s power-play goal in overtime.
That team went on a run to the Eastern Conference Final. They defeated the Hurricanes in seven games before losing to the Lightning in six. It was a series they led 2-0. But the Bolts’ championship experience proved to be too much.
Following a disappointing first round exit to the Devils, Gallant was fired. His failure to adjust in games contributed to the Rangers blowing a 2-0 lead. It was eerily similar to what happened against the Lightning. A lack of a structured defensive system didn’t help.
After taking their time, they hired Peter Laviolette last year. A much more hands-on coach who emphasizes discipline, he was the right fit. For most of the 2023-24 season, he relied on Trouba and K’Andre Miller as the shutdown pair. He also decided to make Goodrow a fourth line center who played mostly in his own end.
Following a 30-point season in which he was healthy for all 82 games, Trouba showed signs of slowing down. A rugged player who likes to hit and block shots, his skating became an issue this past season. There were instances when he was caught out of position on goals against. He and Miller had been together for a while. Miller also had his issues after a good start. At some point, something had to give.
An undisclosed lower-body injury didn’t help Trouba. He was banged up from the taxing style he played. Eventually, the Rangers placed him on the injured reserve in early March. He missed 13 games before returning on Mar. 30.
Somewhat predictably, nobody knew what the injury was. However, Trouba’s skating suffered. He wasn’t that fast to begin with. Even after coming back, he didn’t look the same. It was painfully obvious to those watching. Nobody clued in Laviolette, who, after a successful stint having Miller and Braden Schneider paired together, went right back to Trouba with Miller.
When they were on for a ridiculous amount of goals against, finally, Laviolette broke it up. He moved Trouba down to the third pair to play with Erik Gustafsson and reunited Miller and Schneider. That’s how they started the postseason.
After sweeping the Capitals, the Rangers led the Hurricanes 3-0. Overtime heroics from Vincent Trocheck and Panarin had them on the verge of a sweep. However, the Hurricanes took the next two games to make things interesting. At that point, Laviolette decided to stick Trouba back with Miller.
In Game 6, they fell behind 2-0 but rallied back thanks to Chris Kreider’s natural hat trick in the third period to win 5-3 and advance. Goodrow added an empty netter for his third goal of the playoffs. After a tough offensive season that saw him score only four goals, he stepped it up when it mattered most. That’s the kind of player he is.
In the Eastern Conference Final, it was Goodrow’s overtime winner in Game 2 that allowed the Rangers to tie the series against the Panthers. They’d blanketed Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, and Kreider.
In what was a lopsided Game 3, Goodrow had two more goals. After the Panthers rallied with two goals in the third period, the Rangers took it to overtime. Alex Wennberg tipped in a Ryan Lindgren shot to give them a 5-4 overtime win. As it turned out, that was the last game the Rangers won.
Game 5 proved to be a crusher. Kreider’s shorthanded goal was answered by Gustav Forsling. Anton Lundell put the Panthers ahead in a closely fought third period. After Sam Bennett’s empty netter, Alexis Lafreniere scored with 50 seconds remaining. But the Panthers slammed the door shut to hold on for a 3-2 win.
Late in the first period of Game 6, Trouba and Gustafsson each made costly mistakes that led to Bennett scoring the first goal. Gustafsson threw away the puck in the neutral zone right to Evan Rodrigues, who regained entry. Trouba went for the hit, which allowed Rodrigues to slide the puck over to Bennett for a shot that beat Igor Shesterkin with 50 seconds left.
Of course, Trouba took most of the blame from irate fans. He’d been on for a large number of goals during the playoffs. The fans’ frustration was understandable. However, Gustafsson’s folly is what caused the problem. As good a puck possession player as he is, he has a tendency to cough up pucks when pressured. That’s exactly what happened on that play. Trouba was culpable for not staying home. It was both of their responsibility.
When it comes down to it, all fans see is the salary Trouba makes. After the Rangers were eliminated by the Panthers, who held Panarin to a single goal with less than two minutes left in Game 6, Trouba told reporters that he suffered a broken ankle in March. It explained why he looked so hobbled. He never made any excuses, insisting that he’d recovered.
As the captain of the team, Trouba took full responsibility for his uneven play. Almost a month later, he’s been subject to trade rumors. The Rangers want him to submit his 15-team no-trade list so they can try to get out of the remainder of his contract. Even if they pick up 20 percent, they’ll create enough room to sign a scoring forward to help the top line while re-signing Ryan Lindgren and Braden Schneider to new contracts.
Hockey insider Elliotte Friedman said that they were having discussions with the Red Wings about Trouba. However, it wasn’t as close as he indicated on Saturday at the NHL Draft. That left many fans seeing red. Some crossed the line. They ripped into Trouba even going as far as to send personal attacks on social media. It was regrettable.
With Friedman later adding to his post Draft Thoughts column that Trouba was shocked to learn that he might be traded, it really put some perspective on a tough situation. After how Goodrow was unceremoniously dumped on waivers with an agreement reached for the Sharks to take him, even though they were on his no-trade list, such underhanded tactics don’t reflect well on the Rangers organization.
Things I did not leave Vegas with a great read on: Where things stand with Jonathan Marchessault and Vegas or Jacob Trouba and the Rangers. The Marchessault negotiation’s been a real grind. Trouba/Rangers could be a battle as he switches from a no-move to a partial no-trade. We saw what happened with Barclay Goodrow, and Trouba’s agent, Kurt Overhardt, is no shrinking violet. One of the challenges is that Trouba was shocked by the possibility he could be traded and is still coming to grips with it.
However, Drury is playing within the rules. Goodrow was never informed by the team that they planned to waive him. He was stunned. With Trouba being asked earlier to submit his 15-team no-trade list, he was equally as shocked. Friedman indicated that Trouba was still coming to grips with the possibility that he could be a goner.
If we’re being fair here, it’s true that Trouba’s play has declined. However, he’s always laid it all on the line. His physical style was one the Rangers lacked. That’s why they acquired him five years ago. They needed a second pair defensive defenseman who played with tenacity.
With Adam Fox becoming a star on the top pair, Trouba filled a void. For a while, he and Miller were a good tandem. They were trusted by three different coaches. Apparently, fans know more than hockey people. When Trouba’s play slipped and Miller struggled during the winter, it was obvious that a change had to be made. I recommended Gustafsson with Trouba while having Schneider team with Miller a while back. It finally came to fruition.
One thing Trouba has always done is sacrifice for the team. He led all Rangers’ defensemen in hits (191) and blocked shots (183) in 2023-24. That was even with missing 13 games.
So many Rangers fans bashing Jacob Trouba and it’s utterly ridiculous. Is it time to move on? Yes. And it’s going to be bother me that we didn’t get the chance to hear ‘Captain Jacob Trouba, come get the Stanley Cup.’ He deserved it. He bled – and as of today bleeds New York…
At times, a few of those hits were questionable. He nearly decapitated Evan Rodrigues with an elbow that resulted in a minor penalty. It caused a heated debate from analysts on whether it deserved to be a major. He was suspended two games for elbowing Pavel Dorofeyev. He also was fined $5,000 for high-sticking Trent Frederic. An action he apologized for. There also was the flying missed hit on Martin Necas that saw Trouba with his elbow extended crashing into the boards.
Sometimes, he takes big risks. That’s the kind of player he is. If you judged him like the angry mob in Pittsburgh did, with their ridiculous conspiracy theories on the incidental collision with Crosby over two years ago, then you don’t understand the game. It’s played at a very fast pace. There will always be controversial open ice hits that cause injury due to the frenetic pace. It’s a much faster game now.
Whatever happens with Trouba, he’ll have to do a better job picking his spots in the future. Whether it’s as a Ranger or with another team, he’ll have to make an adjustment. If he doesn’t, he’ll gain a reputation as a dirty player.
In regards to those impatient fans who want to run him out of town by tomorrow, they don’t get it. Anytime a player hears their name come up in rumors, it isn’t easy. Obviously, Trouba likes it here. He wanted to come to New York City to play for the Rangers. That deserves more respect. It isn’t fun for an athlete to uproot a family. Put yourself in his shoes.
Not every free agent wants the spotlight. Panarin wanted it. He’s performed above and beyond the $11.64 million cap hit the Rangers are charged. After a disappointing third round, Panarin came under fire once more. He handled the criticism with class, admitting that he wished he had more goals on his stick.
The Panthers were the best defensive team all season long. They proved it by stifling Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to win the Stanley Cup in a memorable Game 7. Sometimes, you have to tip your hat to the opponent.
When the Rangers lose, there are always going to be players who are blamed. Zibanejad didn’t score a single goal in the Eastern Conference Final. He was limited to two assists while Kreider had a goal and assist. Trouba still became the easy target.
Despite the offense going quietly, along with the power play, it was Trouba who got most of the blame. That’s because when you don’t score enough, every goal becomes magnified. That’s exactly what happened against the Panthers. Unfortunately, Trouba wasn’t the only Rangers defenseman who struggled with Florida. Almost every player did.
Some fans cite analytics as the only reason for a player’s success or failure. Goodrow scored six goals in the playoffs, but these people turned it against him due to his shooting percentage. Would they have preferred he not score in overtime to even the series in the third round? What about the shorthanded goal he had in Game 3? They don’t even make overtime without his two goals and Lafreniere’s pair.
Sometimes, the analytics crowd can come off ignorant. Goodrow was one of the best Rangers skaters against the eventual champion Panthers. Laviolette never considered moving him up to the third line, which struggled to produce. Goodrow even would’ve been a better option than Jack Roslovic on the first line due to how he plays. Laviolette tried different combinations that didn’t work.
When the Sharks claimed Goodrow, picking up his full salary for the remaining three years, it was celebrated as if the Rangers won the Cup. Did I miss something? Goodrow had a better postseason than regular season. If it’s true that he made too much for what he did in large part because his ice time was minimized, at the very least, it can still be acknowledged that he was a positive during the team’s second run in three years to the Final 4.
Trouba doesn’t have to cooperate tomorrow. He’s under no obligation to. It’s up to the Rangers to work with him on agreeing to be traded to a team that isn’t on his 15-team list. How long will that take remains to be seen. At this point, if you’re Trouba, do you want to return knowing that they might not want you? It’s gotta be disappointing.
If he does get moved, who replaces him? It’s not an easy question to answer. The Rangers’ defense will be weakened from a physical standpoint. Schneider looks ready to play a bigger role.
If that’s the case and Lindgren re-ups, that leaves the third pair. Zac Jones deserves to be in the top six. He probably should’ve replaced Gustafsson against Florida. If it’s a third pair physical type that they need, there should be cheaper alternatives available. They will need a rugged defenseman to replace Trouba. Maybe that’s Nikita Zadorov. He certainly plays with the same intensity.
For the time being, Trouba is still a Ranger. Whatever happens shouldn’t lead to fans acting like entitled brats. There should be more respect shown.
On a big NHL Draft weekend for James Dolan, the Rangers selected four players at Sphere in Las Vegas. Dolan’s creation for the first marquee sporting event at the new venue was personally thanked by league commissioner Gary Bettman during last night’s festivities.
The consensus top pick Macklin Celebrini went first to the Sharks. In a fitting touch, they had Joe Thornton announce the pick to some boisterous Sharks fans who made their presence known on Friday night. General manager Mike Grier also congratulated Glen Sather on an outstanding career. He finally retired earlier this week from hockey.
Before I get into what the Rangers did, I wanted to note my favorite part of the first round.
That would be when the Ducks stunned draft pundits by taking Beckett Sennecke with the third pick. His shocked reaction said it all. It was a great moment. A fast riser, he leapfrogged higher projected players, including Ivan Demidov, who the Canadiens grabbed at number 5, Sennecke had a great second half for the Oshawa Generals in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) to move up.
If Sennecke’s reaction was the best moment, the Canadiens having Celine Dion announce the Demidov selection was a close runner-up. It was a nice touch.
Despite some rumblings, the Devils stayed put at number 10 to grab big Russian defenseman Anton Silayev. They would make bigger headlines on Saturday by moving three roster players, highlighted by John Marino going to Utah HC.
The Islanders might’ve gotten a steal when top American goal scorer Cole Eiserman fell into their lap at number 20. He sounds like a very good offensive player with a lethal shot. The knock on him is defensive awareness. For the Islanders’ sake, they’ll hope it’s not a repeat of Oliver Wahlstrom.
On Day 1, teams moved up to grab players or down to get more draft capital. Don’t tell that to the Caps, who bought Cap Friendly. They made a couple of moves by adding Andrew Mangiapane and Logan Thompson over the weekend. They also traded gritty forward Beck Malenstyn to the Sabres for a second round pick. His tenacity should help in Buffalo.
While the activity was fast and curious on Day 2, with Mikhail Sergachev the biggest name to relocate by going from Tampa to Utah, the Rangers were reportedly trying to move Jacob Trouba. Despite Elliotte Friedman’s report, the Rangers and Red Wings haven’t gotten anything done yet. It’ll probably have to wait until Monday when Trouba’s 15-team no-trade list is submitted on July 1.
Instead of being able to possibly move Trouba or Kaapo Kakko, Rangers team president and general manager Chris Drury turned his attention to the draft. Despite all the hoopla surrounding the 30th pick possibly being dangled as part of a trade, they held onto it.
While other teams had special guests introduce their new picks, including the Ducks with Scott Niedermayer and Rick Nash revealing the Blue Jackets’ selection, the Rangers made no fuss over it. They announced defenseman E.J. Emery as their 30th pick near the conclusion of the first round.
A defensive defenseman who prides himself on being a shutdown player, Emery is compared to current Blueshirt K’Andre Miller. When asked by NY Post Rangers beat writer Mollie Walker, who he likes to model his game after, he responded with Miller to the usual giggles from Walker. Emery will attend North Dakota in the fall.
As much as I rolled my eyes due to some of the things Miller doesn’t bring, he’s a good player with character. If Emery has the skating and instincts, which it sounds like, let’s hope he also brings some edge. It’ll probably take a while before we see him in Manhattan. North Dakota is a very good place for him to begin his development.
For a while, things were relatively quiet this afternoon. With the Rangers having no second or third round picks, they waited until Round 4 to make some noise by trading up to number 119. After sending pick 127 and a 2026 seventh round pick over to the Predators, they grabbed center Raoul Boilard at number 119.
Described as a three zone player, Boilard believes he’s a good playmaker with offensive skills. He plays for Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In 2023-24, he tallied 22 goals and 40 assists in 68 games. He added four goals and four helpers in the playoffs.
In Round 5, the Blueshirts selected big forward Nathan Aspinall with pick 159. On NHL Network, it was interesting to hear the Canadian analysts talk about him. They said he moves well for his size. Of course, it was fitting that they’d take Aspinall on Matt Rempe’s 22nd birthday. Oh, the irony.
Aspinall is listed at six-foot six, 185 pounds. He fared well, putting up 18 goals and 16 assists over 65 games for the Flint Firebirds in the OHL. He definitely sounds like another combination forward who brings physicality. That makes him an intriguing player to watch.
With their final pick in the sixth round, they took forward Rico Gredig 191st overall. He played for Switzerland in the 2024 World Junior Championships, picking up an assist in five games.
Gredig plays for HC Davos in the Swiss League. In 28 contests, he had two goals and two assists. On the Elite Prospects site, it says that his contract runs through 2025-26. He turned 19 in February. There’s enough time to see if he pans out.
As for the status of Trouba, that remains to be seen. If his hometown team really wants him, then I guess something will happen soon. July 1 is approaching. We’ll see if anything materializes.
It’s obvious that the Rangers want to free up extra space to bring in an impact scoring forward to help out Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. I highly doubt it’s Jake Guentzel. Especially with all the rumors attached to the Lightning pursuing him.
What about Steven Stamkos? He’s a proven star who’s won two Cups with the Lightning. Yes. He’s 34, but he proved he still can finish by scoring 41 goals. Affectionately known as Stammer by Tampa fans, he’s been the face of the franchise since he entered the league. A leader who is money on the power play, what do the Rangers have to lose?
I want to add that Stamkos isn’t a great 5-on-5 player. But imagine if he played on the top line. It would be a good fit. Especially if his asking price is within range. They wouldn’t have to give up anything, either.
I’ve been gung-ho on Jake DeBrusk. I think he would be ideal. We’ll see what happens. Get ready for some fireworks.
Jesus Fitz, couldn’t you have waited at least like a few hours after I finished my last blog before doing another big trade?! I don’t have the energy for this and want to go back outdoors lol
Well then, apparently he wasn’t done for the day completely remaking his roster as former #7 overall pick Alex Holtz and 2023 playoff cult hero Akira Schmid were both sent to Vegas for a physical back six player in Paul Cotter and yet another 2025 pick, this one in the third round. While I can’t say either guy being moved was a massive shock at this point, both of them in the same deal for essentially another role player is basically sticker shock considering for all of Holtz’s issues he did score 16 goals last year in a very limited role while Schmid was thought by many including me to be the goalie of the future after last postseason.
My, how things change in one year – at least in Schmid’s case. Holtz has been a bit of a lightning rod for longer than that, passed over by management last year and kept in the scratch box for at least half a season before the player himself requested to be sent down to the AHL so he could play games again. This year he started strong with a bunch of goals in the first half (sixteen overall this season, but a -15 and only 28 points despite somehow playing all 82 games) but petered out in the second half and again fell out of favor with two different head coaches, the GM publicly ripped him before the trade deadline and even team Sweden’s selection committee at the World Championships left him off their roster this Spring in favor of a few non-NHL players.
The fact Holtz wasn’t included in either our Timo Meier trade in 2023 or our more recent Jacob Markstrom trade suggests he had little value around the league and this trade pretty much confirms that. If anything, it seems as if Holtz was more of a throw-in to this deal than Schmid, who granted will always be a cult hero here for what he did in ten days last April to bring us back from the abyss in a certain playoff series.
Cult hero isn’t the same as regular contributor though, this season he took a step back at both the NHL and AHL level with sub-.900 save percentages at both, and with Nico Daws now healthy after his hip surgery last offseason (and having a great flash at the NHL level before wearing down himself) and Isaac Poulter also now ready to challenge for AHL time, there was a bit of a glut down there and one of these guys was likely going to be offloaded sooner rather than later regardless. Perhaps it was a bit harsh on Schmid, as were some of then-coach Lindy Ruff’s comments about him after a poor game early this season but he’s the oldest of the three and now that he was guaranteed to be stuck at the AHL level for at least another season, he’ll hopefully get more of a path to playing time in Vegas than it seemed we were willing to give the 24-year old at this point.
While I’m the first one to beat the drum that Holtz had little value around the league, this return even surprised me though. Maybe it shouldn’t have, but packaging both of them you’d figure would return more than a back six player who couldn’t even get into Vegas’s playoff lineup and a meh draft pick next year. Sure he hits, and god knows Fitz’s been obsessed with adding size today – it seems as if he wrote a note to his wife and scribbled on it ‘size no matter what’ a la Kevin Costner in the movie Draft Day with a certain player he wanted to draft.
I have compared Fitz’s whole day to Costner going nuts and wanting to remake his entire franchise in one fell swoop on Draft Day. Some of it is more understandable than others, I do think Fitz jumped the shark a bit in the draft itself – even drafting overagers in the later rounds to hit the size quota, not to mention TWO goalies. If it wasn’t obvious Schmid or one of our other AHL guys were about to hit the road, it became so the minute Fitz doubled down on the goaltending position with another pick in the fifth round. It’s almost as if last season broke his brain as far as needing more goaltending and size. Sure we did clearly need both, but THIS much? And they have to actually be able to you know, play for it to matter.
Ultimately I am okay-ish with Fitz getting rid of two players who clearly weren’t a part of the plan for another trombone player who’ll round out the drummers in our band (sorry, but this Lou reference definitely fits). It just seems like Fitz is in total desperation mode though. Maybe he should be, despite his well-publicized extension in the middle of last season the Devils really can’t afford another season out of the playoffs with the supposed best young core in the league. At some point it won’t be that young anymore, especially the more slower vets Fitz decides to add to it. Perhaps that extension actually wasn’t very long, either way Fitz is definitely acting like a GM on the hot seat, and that almost never turns out well for the desperate teams.
He does deserve a chance to make this work (a la Joe Douglas with the Jets), hopefully for both of them – and me – it doesn’t bomb in both cases.
Day 2 of the NHL Draft has been hectic. As Hasan mentioned in a previous post, the action has been fast and furious at Sphere in Vegas.
After a relatively quiet first night that saw only a few teams move up into the first round, there have been a lot of trades involving both players and picks.
The biggest one is Mikhail Sergachev, who was dealt to the Utah HC for J.J. Moser, Conor Geekie, the number 199 pick, and the rights to a Leafs’ 2025 second. The Lightning got Utah to take the entire $8.5 million cap hit to free up space. They also moved Tanner Jeannot to the Kings.
Despite those two moves, it’s been reported by Elliotte Friedman that the Bolts are after Jake Guentzel, whose contract negotiations with the Hurricanes fell apart. He was close to re-signing for eight years at $8 million per season.
If it’s true that they low balled Steven Stamkos with a ridiculous $3 million cap hit over eight years, then he probably is gone. That makes no sense for the well-respected Lightning captain who scored 40 goals and had 81 points this past season. If he leaves, I wonder where he’ll wind up.
One team making the biggest headlines is the Devils. After sending John Marino to Utah HC to select goalie Mikhail Yegorov in the second round and free up room to potentially sign free agent defenseman Brett Pesce, they traded Akira Schmid and Alexander Holtz to the Golden Knights in exchange for Paul Cotter and a Vegas 2025 third round pick.
🚨 TRADE ALERT 🚨
We have acquired F Paul Cotter and Vegas's 2025 Third Round Pick for Alexander Holtz and Akira Schmid. pic.twitter.com/mgtffGBBfB
Schmid is best known for how well he played in the Devils’ first round series win over the Rangers in 2023. The former 2018 fifth round pick came out of nowhere to post a 2.13 goals-against-average (GAA), and .922 save percentage in 2022-23. In five starts versus the Rangers, he went 4-1 with two shutouts and a .951 save percentage to backstop the Devils to the second round last year.
Unfortunately, Schmid couldn’t duplicate that success. He struggled mightily in 2023-24, going 5-9-1 with a 3.15 GAA and .895 save percentage in 19 games. Eventually, his struggles led to him being sent down to Utica.
Holtz is a former number seven pick in 2020. Once viewed as a big part of the future due to his lethal shot, he fell out of favor under former coach Lindy Ruff. Despite going through both Ruff and former interim coach Travis Green, who became the new Senators coach, Holtz played in all 82 games, posting 16 goals and 12 assists. He was never trusted by the coaching staff. Now, he gets a fresh start in Vegas.
Cotter is a 24-year-old forward who had seven goals and 18 assists with 41 penalty minutes in his second season with the Knights. Listed at six-foot two, 212 pounds, Cotter adds size and strength to the Devils. He was second on the Knights with 233 hits in 2023-24.
So, the Devils get stronger. The question is at what expense? What if Holtz becomes the player most thought he could be? Only time will tell.
At the present time, there’s nothing new to report on the rumored deal involving Jacob Trouba. Friedman hinted earlier today that the Rangers and Red Wings were close on a trade that would send Trouba back home to Detroit. We’ll see what happens.
I’ll have more on that and the Rangers draft weekend.
If it wasn’t obvious after GM Tom Fitzgerald made another coaching change and traded Kevin Bahl plus our first-rounder next year for a goalie, it’s even more obvious now after our last two moves that Fitz wants to remake our roster at all levels of the organization. It’s been rumored all offseason that defenseman John Marino’s been on the block, particularly given the fact we’ve been heavily linked to another RHD (Brett Pesce) in free agency, plus his NTC was due to kick in on July 1. Sure enough, on draft weekend Marino was dealt to Utah along with a fifth rounder for two second round picks – and that wasn’t even the relocated franchise’s biggest move of the hour minutes after their blockbuster trade for Mikhail Sergachev from the Lightning was announced.
Utah making a big splash, as expected, acquiring Sergachev from Tampa Bay for Moser and picks.
And then a few minutes they acquire John Marino from New Jersey.
New owner will spend money.
Tampa also now has cap space to sign Stamkos, especially after they just traded…
Good for them, but as to what it means for the Devils it remains to be seen. Marino was one of the biggest surprise breakouts on our 2022-23 record-setting team after coming over from the Penguins for one-time first rounder Ty Smith and a third-round pick. Despite the fact he was traded after two seasons and had a disappointing follow-up to his first season in New Jersey this year, you have to consider the deal a mild success at least. We probably got slightly more in value in the trade back for him as opposed to what we gave up to get him, and we did deal him days before his NTC was due to kick in avoiding a potential albatross if he didn’t bounce back this year.
Some may term that kind of deal as heartless in the vein of the Rangers letting Barclay Goodrow go to the Sharks (one of the teams on his NTC list) on waivers, maybe it is but after last season quite honestly, I’m not attached to the great majority of this roster even including people I know are going to be here regardless. Full disclosure, I didn’t have an issue with what the Rangers did either and I dislike them as much as the next Devils fan. In Goodrow’s case, if you want a full NMC, take a little less money when you sign your initial contract to begin with and get the NMC. A partial NTC isn’t exactly the same thing. In Marino’s case, if you didn’t want to be traded, don’t be one of the biggest disappointments on a team full of them.
How we wind up replacing Marino and Bahl is another matter, we’ve been rumored as a likely destination for Pesce all offseason, ideally at least a short-term upgrade on Marino but we’ll see what kind of contract he does sign if he signs. Recent rumors have also tied us to veteran Brenden Dillon. Hopefully I won’t be rolling my eyes at the contract for either, if we do sign them both. Of course, as we’ve seen multiple times, the cap is only an issue if you want it to be or are incompetent. Teams like the Rangers always seem to figure a way out of their cap headaches (the recent rumors of trading Jacob Trouba of all people could provide yet another example).
As far as the actual draft itself, picks are now coming thick and fast – towards the end of the third-round as I’m writing this – so I’m not going to do that much analysis of the later-round picks. It does seem interesting that Fitz picked two big forwards with his third-rounders, clearly adding more size at all levels of the organization. Can’t say I disagree with that, sure you need smaller skill players and I wouldn’t want to go too far off BPA even at this point in the draft but we already have smaller skill forwards and finesse D in abundance. We need to have a little more balance in our lineup, both up front and the blueline.
Truth be told I wasn’t even that attached to all the pre-draft stuff for #10 overall anyway. First of all, I hate potentially getting attached to prospects who might wind up somewhere else (especially if it’s a somewhere else that’s a rival or direct competitor). Second of all, there was too much media hysteria around our having pick #10 on the table for me to completely dismiss the possibility of our trading it, especially after Fitz just traded next year’s first for a short-term goalie. Not to mention even the doggone scouts and talent evaluators who know a heck of a lot more than me get this stuff wrong the majority of the time anyway.
All that said, I like the way the Devils went with their first-rounder, drafting KHL defenseman Anton Silayev. Hard to resist a 17-year old who’s already 6’7 with reportedly an unusual amount of quickness for a big man. Not to mention one with already a significant amount of experience playing big minutes against professionals, and one being coached by the legendary Igor Larionov. Few people (if any) are more qualified in the world to help a young Russian acclimate to hopefully becoming a top professional NHL player. That, along with the tools make this a very exciting pick, or at least as excited as I get for a guy who’s at least two years away from being heard from again by Devils fans.
Can’t say I was initially all that hopped up for our next pick, the first one acquired from Utah in the Marino trade. After already trading a 2025 1st for our present starting goalie, Fitz used a mid-second round pick this year on a goalie prospect (Mikhail Yegorov). To be fair, a lot of the best goalies in the NHL are also Russian but this kid is actually playing in North America – committed to Boston University – and was supposedly the top rated NA goalie prospect this year. Again, he’s got size and you can’t teach 6’5 size, particularly for goalies.
That video’s a little longish and I haven’t even watched it yet to be fair but I will, as it’s a long-form interview with someone I now can have some attachment to after being drafted by the Devils organization. I’ve alluded to the fact Fitz is clearly targeting size in this draft and our two third-round picks continued this trend. Our first, at pick #85 was Kasper Pikkarainen. Another lifetime ago, his dad Illka was drafted by the Devils and even played 31 games for us in 2009. Our next pick at #91 is an even bigger boy, Swedish winger Herman Traff.
Size of Devils first four picks: Silayev: 6'7, 207 Yegorov: 6'5, 187 Pikkarainen: 6'3, 198 Traff: 6'3, 216
Sometimes GM’s can get caught up drafting for need. In this case Fitz is clearly caught up drafting a type. I can’t even say I blame him given the pathetic lack of size on our NHL roster. We’ve been exposed as being too one-dimensional since Carolina’s easy disposal of us in the 2023 postseason. Alleged FA signings Pesce and Dillon also fit into the ‘we need bigger’ mandate. Hopefully Fitz won’t jump the shark and completely eschew skill, the way he did when he desperately gave goon d-man Kurtis MacDermid a three-year deal.
Either way, Monday likely won’t be boring for Devils fans at least as the summer of Fitz heats up.
Show of hands? How many loyal true blue Rangers fans think they can win the Stanley Cup with the current roster? There probably aren’t many people who believe that.
In truth, the Rangers had an excellent season. Under coach Peter Laviolette, they had the league’s best record – winning the Presidents’ Trophy before bowing out in six games to the Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final.
It was an enjoyable year on Broadway. Pride was restored. The Blueshirts earned respect around the league. Even if there were still doubters, they proved that they were one of the best teams.
Despite relying heavily on Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Alexis Lafreniere, the Rangers were a tough out. Igor Shesterkin saved his best for the second and third rounds. After the Hurricanes found it tough to beat him, he was even better against the Panthers. Eventually, their aggressive style at 5-on-5 and strong penalty killing proved to be too much.
The biggest problem was the inconsistencies of Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. However, Kreider will be remembered for his natural hat trick in a thrilling third period comeback that eliminated the Hurricanes in Game 6. He’s always had a knack for scoring in the clutch. That’s why Kreider’s well-respected by teammates, coaches, and fans.
When it comes to Zibanejad, he never scored to his capability. After posting 39 goals and 52 assists for a career high 91 points in 2022-23, his production tailed off. He fell to 26 goals, 46 assists, and 72 points.
Unfortunately, after a strong start to the postseason, he all but vanished against the Panthers. Zibanejad didn’t score a goal and had only two assists. His play affected Kreider, who wound up with a shorthanded goal and a helper in Game 5. Too often, the first line was pinned in by the Aleksander Barkov line. They spent too much time defending and not enough attacking. Even with Barkov limited to a goal and three assists, his line dominated the head to head matchup.
It didn’t matter who Laviolette tried on the right side. Jack Roslovic was ineffective following a good series against the Hurricanes. Filip Chytil was also tried. He wasn’t up to the challenge. The way he was handled by the organization makes one scratch your head. One minute, he played while the next, he sat out due to recovering. Why did they even bring him back? It hurt rather than helped.
In a third round, when Panarin, Zibanejad, and Kreider combined for only two goals, Barclay Goodrow scored three times. That included the overtime winner in Game 2. He also scored twice in Game 3, which was the last game the Rangers won. Instead of being rewarded, he remained underused on the fourth line.
Laviolette could’ve moved him up to the third line, which struggled to produce any offense. Aside from Alex Wennberg’s overtime winner in Game 3, they didn’t contribute enough. Kaapo Kakko had a few good shifts but was unable to be a factor. Will Cuylle didn’t receive enough ice time, even sliding down to the checking line. Roslovic played some with Wennberg and Kakko. They had no chemistry.
Sometimes, you have to ride the hot hand. Goodrow was versatile enough to be moved on to the third line. He was actually used better in his first two seasons by former coach Gerard Gallant. Goodrow had his best two seasons, posting double digits in goals and eclipsing 30 points. Under Laviolette, he was exclusively on the fourth line and killed penalties, which he did well alongside Trocheck.
Laviolette also made a mistake with Matt Rempe. He didn’t play him enough to help the team. It isn’t like he’s just some big lumbering guy who could hit and fight. He can skate, forecheck, and is effective at screening goalies. Once they lost Jimmy Vesey to a separated shoulder during Game 2, he should’ve been used more consistently. Instead, Rempe hardly touched the ice in Game 5. It was like playing a man short.
While Jonny Brodzinski was a good story, he wasn’t going to make a difference. Neither was Blake Wheeler, who was forced to take a penalty in overtime of Game 4 that led to Sam Reinhart’s power-play goal. It was a cruel ending for Wheeler, who probably played his final game of an outstanding career. What was he doing out in the first minute of overtime with Zibanejad? It never made any sense.
Neither did rushing Jacob Trouba back from a broken ankle to finish the regular season. He never was the same player. Somehow, Laviolette had Trouba back with K’Andre Miller against the more aggressive Panthers. That was until he went back to Braden Schneider, with Trouba and Erik Gustafsson on the third pair.
The defense struggled mightily. With Adam Fox playing with a mild MCL strain, following the knee on knee hit he took from Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen in the first round, there weren’t enough clean breakouts. That made it tough for them to get out of their end and transition.
Laviolette refused to play Zac Jones, who might be the best skater they have on the blue line. They sure could’ve used him. His speed and quicker decision-making might’ve helped. Hopefully, Jones gets that chance next season.
If there’s an area that Chris Drury must improve, it’s avoiding the same mistakes he’s made during the summer. Last year, he was limited in what he could do due to the cap crunch. However, aside from adding Gustafsson to help the back end, the other bargain basement additions failed miserably.
Nick Bonino was too slow and eventually waived. Tyler Pitlick was also reassigned to Hartford. Perhaps Drury could’ve made a better move to help out. He added Roslovic, who to his credit was better than expected in his first postseason.
Unfortunately, when he went up against the stronger Panthers, it wasn’t good enough. What did they expect? To catch lightning in a bottle with a third liner. That was never going to solve the 5-on-5 issues with Zibanejad and Kreider. If they’re running it back without Goodrow, Drury better acquire someone who can not only drive play but score at even strength.
Wennberg was a solid, depth addition. But he didn’t move the needle. It’s hard to believe he spent most of Game 6 playing out of position with Zibanejad and Kreider. That was perplexing. They may as well have moved Kakko up and seen if he could provide something. He’s good at the puck possession. He didn’t have much success earlier in the season with them.
Rather than making minor moves up front, maybe Drury should’ve gone for Anthony Duclair. He was good after the Lightning acquired him, scoring eight goals with seven assists down the stretch. But against the Panthers, he had two assists in a five-game first round ouster. Still, Duclair has more offensive skill. The 28-year-old former Rangers’ 2013 third round pick is an unrestricted free agent. That might be worth exploring.
If they’re looking for a more expensive option, I’d suggest kicking the tires on Jake DeBrusk. He’s scored over 20 goals three different times. After a down year that saw him light the lamp 19 times with 21 assists, DeBrusk was one of the best Bruins, finishing the postseason with five goals and six assists. The 27-year-old is a good top six forward who can finish around the net. That’s definitely a need.
If they want to get creative, look no further than Nikolaj Ehlers. With a yeer left on a contract that pays him a cap hit of $6 million, he’s expected to get moved. A consistent player who’s scored 20 or more seven times, he had 25 goals with 26 assists for the Jets.
Most notable is that every goal came at even strength. In fact, 54 of his 61 points were at even strength. That’s exactly the kind of forward the Rangers could use. Ehlers is a good skater who can play power play. Adding another quality player to the second unit would help. However, that also means not throwing all their eggs in one basket. It can’t always come down to the same five players on the top unit.
If Drury were to explore a trade for Ehlers, that would mean parting with a roster player and either a prospect or draft picks. Would they consider moving Kakko as part of a package to upgrade the roster? He accepted the $2.4 million qualifier for next season. Either he’ll be kept or used in a deal. That’s up to Drury.
One of the frustrating aspects of the current roster is how locked in the Rangers are to key players. Zibanejad has a no-movement clause until Year 8, when he can submit a 21-team no-trade list seven days before the trade deadline. At a cap hit of $8.5 million, I’d say they’re stuck. They better hope he bounces back next year.
Before Year 6 of a seven-year contract with an $8 million cap hit, Trouba will submit a 15-team no-trade list on July 1. Unless he can get fully healthy and improve his skating, it’ll be awfully hard to move him. His character isn’t in question. He’s been a solid leader who plays the game hard. But anyone can see that he’s in decline. Playing on the third pair seems more likely.
Kreider is a bargain at $6.5 million. He also will have to submit a 15-team no-trade list this summer. Considering how consistent he is at scoring goals by tipping in shots and putting home rebounds, with many coming on the power play, he shouldn’t go anywhere. Not unless they want to get younger and move the one contract that isn’t going to be tough. I can’t see it. He’s too important to the core.
With two years remaining on a deal that averages out to $11.64 million on the cap, Panarin isn’t going anywhere. He put together the best season of his career, pacing the Rangers in goals (49), assists (71), and points (120). He finished the postseason with five goals and 10 assists. Unfortunately, he only had a late goal in Game 6 against Florida. He was shut down.
If the negotiations between Ryan Lindgren and the team go poorly, maybe Drury could decide to move on. Lindgren is a year away from unrestricted status. He’ll likely command between $4.5 to 5 million per season.
The length is crucial. They can’t have a repeat of Dan Girardi. Anything longer than four years would be a big mistake. Especially the way Lindgren plays. At 26, he’s already showing signs of wearing down. The Warrior will play through almost anything. How long before all the wear and tear catches up?
Lindgren is the defense partner of Fox. It’s a tricky situation that must be handled much better than what they did to Goodrow. He had no idea they would waive him so the Sharks could claim him.
Considering how Glen Sather treated Brian Leetch, not even asking for permission to trade him to the Maple Leafs two decades ago, you never know what to expect from this franchise. If they can do that to arguably the greatest New York Ranger on his birthday, nothing should be put past them. They operate very privately. Drury doesn’t exactly give many interviews.
Unless they leak a story to Larry Brooks, nobody knows what’s happening. They aren’t very forthcoming. You’d think the way they operate, there’s no way they’d be located in Manhattan.
If there’s one thing we all can agree on, Drury can’t overpay any free agent and hand out a no-movement clause like candy. That’s their specialty. Somehow, they seem to always find a way out. They shouldn’t bank on it this off-season.
By now, it’s been discussed in the sports world. It isn’t only about the hockey being played in late June. It’s whether or not the Edmonton Oilers can make history on Monday night against the Florida Panthers.
For the first time in nearly 80 years, a team has forced a #Game7 after facing a 3-0 series deficit in the #StanleyCup Final.
Once upon a time, they trailed the Panthers 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Finals. Astonishingly, they scored only one goal in the first two games. Then, a late third period rally fell short in Game 3 back in Edmonton.
At that moment, it looked over. Someone forgot to tell the Oilers. Boasting the game’s best player in Connor McDavid, anything is possible. When asked about the unenviable position they were put in, he said, “It isn’t over till it’s over.” Yogi Berra would’ve been proud.
Up to that point, McDavid had been held without a goal by the Panthers over the first three games. But as he pointed out, they were getting chances. Sergei Bobrovsky was a brick wall for the first eight periods of the series. He allowed only two goals.
Even with Edmonton breaking through twice on goals from Phillip Broberg and Ryan McLeod, Bobrovsky robbed McLeod of the tying goal with Stuart Skinner pulled for an extra attacker. The Panthers shut it down from there to pull within one win of their first Stanley Cup.
Entering Game 4, Bobrovsky was the Conn Smythe favorite. He’d performed brilliantly – giving up only four goals on 86 shots against an explosive offense. Neither McDavid nor Leon Draisaitl had gotten untracked. Aleksander Barkov had outplayed both by a significant margin.
Things changed last Saturday. In Game 4, the Oilers erupted for eight goals in an 8-1 blowout victory over the Panthers. Before McDavid finally scored his first career Stanley Cup goal that made it 4-1, they got key contributions from other players.
Mattias Janmark scored a shorthanded goal on a Connor Brown pass in front over three minutes in. Adam Henrique then tipped in a Janmark pass over three and a half minutes later that made it 2-0. It was exactly the kind of start Edmonton needed.
After Vladimir Tarasenko answered to cut it to 2-1, Dylan Holloway replied back on a McDavid feed to restore a two-goal lead. Holloway would later add his second during an uncompetitive third period. He also assisted on a McLeod goal.
As it turned out, the Oilers’ secondary scoring has played an important role in rallying them back to tie the series. They still needed a remarkable performance from McDavid to hold off the Panthers for a 5-3 win to take Game 5.
After Brown scored another shorthanded goal to set the tone early, McDavid took over. Following a Zach Hyman power-play goal, he helped set up, McDavid then created a signature moment by skating through almost the entire Panthers to score a highlight reel goal that made it 3-0. Following a Matthew Tkachuk tally, McDavid then turned on the afterburners to set up Corey Perry. It was breathtaking stuff from him.
for nearly every athlete in the universe this would EASILY be the most magical moment of their career. for mcdavid, it’s tuesday. we’re witnessing pure genius pic.twitter.com/JXu4r0IM3B
Edmonton still had to hang on. Goals from Evan Rodrigues and Oliver Ekman-Larsson made it a one-goal game. They got some key saves from Skinner. An afterthought in the goalie matchup, he’s handled himself well during the historic comeback. He made 29 saves to win Game 5.
McDavid put a stamp on the victory with an empty netter that is best known for Tkachuk’s diving save to prevent a goal. It was pretty astonishing. McDavid wound up with four points to send the series back to Edmonton.
On Friday night before a raucous atmosphere at Rogers Place, it was the play of those secondary players that led the Oilers to a 5-1 victory over the Panthers. Despite what the final score indicated, the game was much closer.
If there was a period that the Oilers dominated, it was the first one. A pass for Barkov bounced off his skate for a neutral zone turnover. That allowed Brett Kulak to move the puck up for Draisaitl, who made a great pass over for an easy Warren Foegle finish. Despite having a power play along with other chances, Edmonton only took a one-goal lead to the locker room.
The second period started out well. Henrique finished off a Janmark pass to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead, only 46 seconds in. But the play was mostly controlled by the Panthers.
In fact, with the building still celebrating the Henrique goal, Barkov thought he’d cut it to one just 10 seconds later. He put in his own rebound.
However, after a delay, Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch decided to challenge the play for offside. The replays on ABC/ESPN were hard to tell. It was awfully close. The question was whether Carter Verhaeghe still had his skate on the blue line when the puck broke the plane. It was a matter of center meters. Even rules expert Dave Jackson was puzzled. He wasn’t sure he would’ve challenged it. A point Panthers coach Paul Maurice echoed in the postgame.
After a lengthy review, they determined that the play was offside. While fans rejoiced, Maurice fumed at the Florida bench. Who could blame him? It had to be frustrating. They didn’t see anything definitive on their video that would overturn the goal. I was perplexed as well. But a freeze frame view showed that there was a shade of white ice between the skate of Verhaeghe and the blue line. That was enough to reverse the call.
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) June 22, 2024
It was a crucial moment. Had the goal stood, who knows what would’ve happened. That could’ve given the Panthers the momentum needed to turn the game around.
Instead, they played a good period. But they were unable to beat Skinner. A lousy power play certainly didn’t help. McDavid was off for hooking with 9:03 remaining. Florida couldn’t do anything.
It was the very aggressive Oilers’ penalty kill that continued to be the story. They’ve been unbelievable during this postseason, killing off 94.1 percent of penalties. They’re 64-for-68. Throw in the three shorthanded goals with two coming during their comeback, and it’s been dominant.
Late in the period, Hyman got behind for a breakaway and went to a backhand that nicked Bobrovsky’s pads and went in for a 3-0 lead. That was a huge goal.
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) June 22, 2024
Early in the third, Barkov got his goal when he blew by Foegle and tucked in a forehand past Skinner less than two minutes in.
The Panthers turned up the heat. They forechecked well and created some opportunities. Either Skinner made the save, or the Oilers blocked them.
Since Game 3, Sam Bennett hasn’t been heard from. He’s been one of the best Panthers during their run. He gets his nose dirty and makes things happen. Tkachuk has been a disappointment with only one goal in the series. Verhaeghe has no goals and struggled mightily. Even Sam Reinhart only has tallied once. He missed high and wide on a chance in the slot.
Even with the edge in play at five-on-five for over half the contest, the Panthers only mustered one goal on 21 shots. It’s a credit to how well the Oilers defended. They’ve made it hard for the Panthers to get shots through.
Knoblauch deserves a lot of credit for changing his team’s mindset. He’s emphasized defense and backchecking. He is one win away from going from coaching the Wolf Pack to taking the Oilers to a historic Cup in his first NHL coaching stint. The Rangers almost hired him last summer. But they eventually settled on Peter Laviolette. There are reasons why I won’t divulge.
Laviolette did a great job in his first season with the Blueshirts – guiding the Presidents’ Trophy winners to the Conference Finals. But he made a couple of mistakes that hurt their chances against the Panthers. That’s for another day.
This is about Knoblauch and what he’s trying to accomplish with the Oilers. Who would’ve thought that in a 5-1 victory on Friday night, McDavid would have no points. He wasn’t a factor. It was the play of the role players. Janmark. Henrique. Foegle. Brown. McLeod. Derek Ryan.
Edmonton is a completely different team under Knoblauch. They’ve proven it in how they’ve played. Knoblauch is a very calm presence. He doesn’t get too high or too low. Maybe that’s why he has the Oilers in position to become the second team to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the Cup. His players believe. They never panicked.
It was back in 1942 that the Toronto Maple Leafs became the only team in NHL history to rally back from a 3-0 series deficit to win the Cup when they defeated the Detroit Red Wings. That was 82 years ago.
In 2004, the Boston Red Sox stunned the New York Yankees by winning four straight to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the pennant. They’d go on to win their first World Series since 1917. Comebacks from 0-3 down became possible. Since then, the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers did it, and the 2013-14 Los Angeles Kings did it. Both played for the Cup. The Kings won it. The 1975 New York Islanders also pulled it off.
The Oilers are just the third NHL team to force a deciding Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final. The Red Wings did it in 1945. They lost to the Maple Leafs. I guess they weren’t able to turn the tables on Toronto.
It’s hard to understand how these things happen. What are the Panthers thinking? A look at a few of their players’ faces last night. They looked shocked. Do they still believe they can win on Monday night? The game will be in their building. They’ve already blown three chances. Win Game 7, and they deliver the franchise’s first Cup. Maybe the extra day off will help.
The momentum is with the Oilers. They’ve already made history by reaching this point. Now, it has become about winning one more time. Can they complete the turnaround?
It’s hard to envision McDavid having another quiet game. He’s special. It’s his chance to deliver a Cup back to Edmonton. They last won in 1990 when Mark Messier led them to their fifth championship over seven years. Messier and Wayne Gretzky are legends. They’ll be watching like everyone else with anticipation.
Will the law of averages catch up with Skinner? That largely depends on which Panthers team shows up. They’ve had a lot of quiet performers who’ve gone cold at the wrong time. Even Gustav Forsling hasn’t been noticeable over the last two games.
There are sure to be a lot of subplots. Interest will be through the roof. We’re talking about history. Whether the Oilers complete the historic Cup or not, one team will be celebrating.
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