Monthly Archives: August 2016
Jeff Gorton deserves credit for a successful offseason
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of the New York Rangers.
Following the Rangers elimination from the playoffs, I had a feeling that this offseason would be extremely important, with the chance to have an impact on the long term future of the franchise and determining if they would compete or be forced to rebuild.
Keith Yandle was a free agent, the team had departures and deficiencies on defense, there were serious cap constrictions and a ton of really important, young RFAs to lock up with new deals. Honestly, I didn’t have high hopes for how the team would turn out heading into next year.
But in a situation with his hands tied behind his back, Jeff Gorton did an admirable job maneuvering through a very tough situation and making the absolute best of it for the Rangers. Read the rest of this entry
Michael Grabner could help rejuvinate the third line
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports
Jeff Gorton didn’t have the same cap space and maneuverability as many of the other GMs in the league, forcing him to make a lot of under the radar, bottom six moves to try and improve the Rangers.
Given the fact that his hands were tied behind his back, Gorton did an excellent job with what he was given, signing quality players on the cheap like Nathan Gerbe, Josh Jooris, Adam Clendening and Nick Holden.
But my favorite signing of the bunch was Michael Grabner, the speedy 28-year old Austrian who played with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season. Formerly a Calder Trophy finalist with the Islanders in the 2010-11 season, Grabner has more recently been used as a third and fourth line forward who excels on the penalty kill. Read the rest of this entry
Derick Brassard for Mika Zibanejad: Gorton makes a good, yet tough, decision
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of NHL.com
I’d like to preface this article: I haven’t been posting at all for a while, missing out on a busy and exciting time of the NHL offseason, and not covering a lot of Ranger moves. I was interning at MLB Network with varying hours and shifts, making it hard to write articles, work, and balance everything else. Now that my internship is over, I look forward to covering the Rangers again, writing lots of articles, sharing my opinion on signings and trades that already happened, and providing you with steady content again. Thank you for the continuing support.
Heading into the offseason and nearing the trade deadline, it was a huge question mark as to what Jeff Gorton would do to address the Rangers’ many needs. Upgrading the defense would be tough considering the massive, practically unmovable contracts of Dan Girardi and Mark Staal, they didn’t have the cap space to get a big name forward, and locking up all of the UFAs and RFAs would be tough.
The last thing that anybody expected was for the team to trade Derick Brassard, their leading goal scorer from last season.
Jeff Gorton made a trade with the Ottawa Senators, sending Derick Brassard and a 2018 7th round pick in exchange for 23 year old Mika Zibanejad and a 2018 2nd round pick. Read the rest of this entry
therangerzone.com 