Blog Archives
Despite Rangers’ postseason defeat, Yandle trade was worth the price
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers made a gamble when they acquired Keith Yandle, but it paid off, as Sather was able to acquire an elite defenseman in his prime. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Glen Sather, the president and general manager of the New York Rangers, has a knack for making big deals at the trade deadline in an effort to make his team more versatile and balanced. He’s not afraid to take a calculated risk in an effort to obtain these players, trading draft picks and prospects.
On March 1st, Sather sent John Moore, top-prospect Anthony Duclair, a first round pick in either 2016 or 2017, and a second round pick in this year’s draft for Keith Yandle and career AHL defenseman Chris Summers.
Duclair was one of the Rangers best prospects, putting up massive numbers with his QMJHL team, the Quebec Remparts, and playing with the Rangers for 18 games, tallying one goal with six assists. He looked at home with the Rangers, playing pretty well when he was in the NHL.
While it’s obviously not optimal that the Rangers have traded away their first round draft picks (the last first round draft pick for New York was in 2012, Brady Skjei), Sather said that it helps when they sign players like Kevin Hayes, who was in the midst of a 17 goal, 45 point season. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers rematch Predators at the Garden with their newest acquisitions
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers are back at the Garden, looking to take down the Nashville Predators before heading out on a tough road trip. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Following a hectic trade deadline, the Rangers (38-17-6) are back at Madison Square Garden for one game, where they will take on the Nashville Predators (41-15-7), currently the best team in the NHL when it comes to points.
Both teams have re-tooled their lineup since the last time that they met, a 3-2 Nashville win on February 7th. In that game, Rick Nash (PP Goal) and Ryan McDonagh found the back of the net, and Derick Brassard assisted on both goals. Nashville got goals from Shea Weber, Roman Josi, and Mike Ribeiro, as well as 30 saves from Pekka Rinne.
Rinne has been one of the best goalies in the league this season, and he has some impressive numbers to back that up. Rinne has 35 wins, a 2.07 GAA, and a .928 save percentage, second to Montreal’s Carey Price in all of those categories. The Rangers will need to work hard to get pucks past Rinne. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers re-sign Zuccarello, trade Lee Stempniak, and acquire James Sheppard
Bobby Bevilacqua
Mats Zuccarello will be a Ranger for the next four years, with the Rangers locking up one of their key playmaking wingers. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers extremely bust trade deadline day seems to have come to an end, with Glen Sather locking down Mats Zuccarello for the next four years, and making some minor adjustments to the rest of the lineup.
The biggest news, outside of the Keith Yandle trade earlier, was the extension of Mats Zuccarello to a four year, $18 million deal, paying him an average of $4.5 million a year.
Although Zuccarello, is not producing like he was last season, he has been playing very well lately, bringing his point total to 35 (12-23-35) this season. Zuccarello has built tremendous chemistry with Derick Brassard, and is one of the best playmakers on the team, with great vision and a knack for finding the open man. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers acquire Keith Yandle from Arizona for John Moore, Anthony Duclair, picks
The Rangers bolstered their defense with the acquisition of Keith Yandle, an offensive juggernaut from the blue line. Photo courtesy of the Arizona Coyotes.
Bobby Bevilacqua
Glen Sather and the New York Rangers were at it again at this year’s trade deadline, picking up Keith Yandle, Chris Summers, and a fourth round pick in 2016 from the Arizona Coyotes, and sending John Moore, Anthony Duclair, a 2016 first round pick, and a 2015 second round pick to the desert. Sather also managed to pick up Yandle at half of his salary, making his cap hit just $2.625 million through next season.
This is not purely a rental, as Yandle is under contract for the next season as well. The Rangers will only pay half salary for that season as well. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers offense awakens in win over Hurricanes; Lundqvist Spectacular
Bobby Bevilacqua
Henrik Lundqvist and Rick Nash celebrate after a strong 4-1 victory over the Hurricanes, with Lundqvist stealing the show. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers (28-15-4) managed to avoid their first three-game losing since November, overcoming sloppy play early to snatch a win over the Carolina Hurricanes (17-26-6) by a score of 4-1 at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers overcame an injury scare early in the second, when Henrik Lundqvist took a puck to the throat, and remained writhing in pain on the ice for minutes. After a few minutes of silence, with some “HEN-RIK” chants from the Blueshirt faithful, Lundqvist stood up, put the mask on and remained in the game, a testament to his competitiveness and toughness. Lundqvist was clearly the star in the game, stopping 31 shots, including all 15 he faced in the first period. Read the rest of this entry
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