Blog Archives
O’Reilly gets massive extension with Sabres, what this means for Stepan’s future
Bobby Bevilacqua
Ryan O’Reilly received a massive contract extension after being traded to the Buffalo Sabres, a contract that could wind up driving Derek Stepan’s price through the roof. Photo courtesy of Doug Pensinger/Getty Images.
When the season ended for the Rangers, and bloggers and beat writers began speculating, the general consensus was that Derek Stepan, an RFA, would command $6 million a year for a long term deal. Personally, I thought that even that was a bit too much money for Stepan, but it seemed like he would be able to get that much. And then the Buffalo Sabres came along.
The Sabres made a draft day trade for 24 year old Ryan O’Reilly in order to be their number one center, and take pressure off of Jack Eichel, and create a strong top line of Evander Kane, O’Reilly and Tyler Ennis. They then proceeded to sign him to a massive seven year, $52.5 million deal that would pay him an average of $7.5 million a year.
Now I know that the Sabres don’t have anyone of O’Reilly’s caliber at the center position, but that’s no excuse to overpay him like that. For a player that has broken 20 goals and 60 points once, that is a ridiculous amount of money. O’Reilly will be making the same amount of money as Pavel Datsyuk, Steven Stamkos and Jason Spezza, and he will be making more than guys like Patrice Bergeron, Anze Kopitar, Tyler Seguin and John Tavares after this season. For 2015-16 his cap hit will be $6 million, and the new contract will kick in for the following year. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers ship Cam Talbot to the Oilers for three draft picks
Bobby Bevilacqua
The trade has finally happened. Cam Talbot is now an Edmonton Oiler, and will take over their starting goalie duties for next season. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The long awaited Cam Talbot trade has finally taken place, and like many expected, he will be wearing Oilers’ orange and blue next season.
It was expected that Glen Sather was pushing to get a first round draft pick for Talbot after Robin Lehner fetched the 21st overall pick for the Senators, but he was unable to do that, with Talbot remaining a Ranger until today.
The Oilers finally completed the trade with the Rangers, acquiring Cam Talbot to be their starting goalie of the future. In return, the Rangers received a second round pick (57), a third round pick (79th), and they swapped seventh round picks with Edmonton, moving up to the 184th pick.
The Rangers wound up trading the 57th pick to the Washington Capitals for the 62nd and 113th picks. Read the rest of this entry
Robin Lehner traded to Buffalo, what this means for Cam Talbot
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Ottawa Sabres were able to get a first round draft pick in exchange for Robin Lehner and Devid Legwand. Talbot’s stats are better, so could he fetch the same return, or more? Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
This morning, the Buffalo Sabres acquired their new starting goaltender, trading away the 21st overall pick in return for David Legwand and 23 year old goalie Robin Lehner.
While Lehner is younger than Talbot, his stats are not all that impressive. The 6-foot-5, 225 pound goaltender has a career 30-36-13 record in 86 total games, posting a .914 save percentage and a 2.88 GAA. In this past season, Lehner was 9-12-3 in 25 games with a .903 save percentage and a 3.02 GAA.
His largest sample size came during the 2013-14 season, when he played 35 games, and finishing with a 12-15-6 record along with a .913 save percentage, a 3.03 GAA and one shutout. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers Update: Sather turns down deal for Talbot, New Salary Cap set
Bobby Bevilacqua
Cam Talbot is the number one target for both the Buffalo Sabres and the Edmonton Oilers. Will he be able to bring a first round pick in return? Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
It was a busy day in the NHL today, with the league agreeing on a new salary cap, and trade rumors surrounding Cam Talbot coming to a head, with an actual offer being made to the Rangers.
This afternoon, Darren Dreger reported that a team (not specified) offered Glen Sather two second round picks for Cam Talbot, which he turned down. Sather realizes that Talbot is the most coveted goalie on the market, and wants to maximize his return.
Peter Chiarelli, the new GM of the Edmonton Oilers, would disagree. This afternoon, he said that the market for goaltenders is actually a buyer’s market. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers Practice Report; Lundqvist cleared to practice
Bobby Bevilacqua
Henrik Lundqvist has been cleared for full practices, meaning that he could be in a game very shortly. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
This afternoon, the Rangers announced that following an exam with doctors and specialist, star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has been cleared for full practices, meaning that he is close to making his return.
Alain Vigneault has said previously that Lundqvist will need about three or four full practices before he is game-ready again. Henrik has been participating in intense conditioning drills, workouts, and goalie drills, so that will not be a problem. The practices will help him get back to being able to track the puck with bodies in front of him.
This is a huge boost to an already top-notch team. When Lundqvist went down with injury, the Rangers stepped their game up as Cam Talbot took over a starting role for the first time in his career. They stepped up their game offensively and defensively, becoming a better all-around team. Lundqvist has missed 20 games, but the Rangers still managed to pull together a 15-2-3 record since February 4th. Read the rest of this entry
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