Blog Archives
Food for thought: Is it wise to spend so much money on defense?
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers have spent a ton of money to build a strong defense, as well as in net. But in this league, and after looking at recent Cup champions, is it worth it? Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
For the New York Rangers, defense is and has been the name of the game. Whether it was the blue-collar hockey played under John Tortorella, or the faster, speed game employed by Alain Vigneault, defensemen have been crucial to the team’s performance and success.
That reflects in the team’s salary cap as well, where a large portion of the available money is spent towards creating potentially a top-three defense in the entire league. With players like Ryan McDonagh, Keith Yandle, Marc Staal and Dan Boyle populating the defensive core of the Rangers, they form a very versatile and effective group that can shutdown anybody in the league, as well as generate some offense too.
But having so many talented defenseman on one team means that they all get paid for their high level of talent. This also stretched into goaltending, as the Rangers have arguably the best goalie in the NHL in Henrik Lundqvist. On defense alone, the Rangers have $26.75 million invested in their seven defensemen, with Dan Girardi ($5.5) and Marc Staal ($5.7) making the most amount of money. Add in Henrik Lundqvist and the new backup, Antti Raanta, and the Rangers have $36 million going towards the back end. That’s more than half of the allotted salary cap, without spending a dime on the 12 forwards that play every game. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers need to clear cap and trust the kids on defense
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers need to clear cap space in order to re-sign their RFAs. To do that, some cap needs to be cleared on defense, and players like Dylan McIlrath and Brady Sjkei, both first round picks, should get playing time in the NHL. Photos courtesy of Jim McIsaac/Getty Images and MSG Photos.
The Rangers are currently in a bit of a cap crunch. As of right now, the Rangers have $59.5 million tied up in 14 players. The salary cap for next year is expected to rise to around $71 million, potentially rising slightly higher than that figure. Using that number, Glen Sather have $11.5 million free to sign seven free agents.
For this upcoming offseason, the Rangers will have to decide what to do with their three unrestricted free agents – Martin St. Louis, James Sheppard, and Matt Hunwick, and four restricted free agents – Derek Stepan, Carl Hagelin, Jesper Fast and JT Miller.
Its expected that Sather plans on signing all four of the restricted free agents, which he should do, as they are all young, talented players that can be counted on for the future. Derek Stepan will be the most expensive, and Carl Hagelin could also get a good raise. Hagelin, Miller and Fast could wind up getting bridge deals, something that Sather does quite often.
There is a problem with trying to sign all of the RFAs. According to an estimate by Joe Fortunato from Blueshirt Banter, re-signing Stepan, Hagelin, Fast and Miller would cost around $13.5 million, more than the Rangers would have free in cap space. It also means that there would be absolutely no room to sign St. Louis, Hunwick or Sheppard. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers Player Grades: Dan Boyle and Marc Staal
Bobby Bevilacqua
Marc Staal and Dan Boyle spent a majority of the season together on the second pairing, as polar opposite players. Boyle is the offensive specialist, and Staal is tasked as one of the shutdown defenders. Photos courtesy of Getty Images and MSG Photos.
Marc Staal, a Ranger draft pick from 2005, and Dan Boyle, a veteran, offensive defenseman acquired in the offseason, made up the second pair for the majority of the season, with each player logging around or over 20 minutes a game.
Staal serves as an alternate captain, and team funny man, and Boyle is another veteran leader in the locker room, while also driving passion and quarterbacking the power play. Both of these players have been the target for a lot of blame, especially Boyle, but some of it is really undeserved. Read the rest of this entry
6 Things the Rangers needed to do better in the playoffs
The Rangers fell short of their lofty expectations in the playoffs. These are a few things that they needed to do better. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Bobby Bevilacqua
A promising season led to postseason disappointment for the Rangers, falling short of their Stanley Cup goals, and losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. They came just 20 minutes shy of a second consecutive Stanley Cup Finals berth.
After acquiring Keith Yandle at the trade deadline, many believed that this put the Rangers in a “win-now” mode. The players had these same expectations, which is why they too seemed disgruntled during their exit interviews yesterday.
A lot of people thought that this was the year that the Rangers would finally recapture the Stanley Cup after 21 long seasons. But there were injuries, failed game plans, as well as a strong Tampa Bay team standing in their way.
Hindsight is 20/20, so here is what the Rangers needed to do differently or better in order to win. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers breakup day: Injuries galore, Zuccarello recovering, St. Louis’ future uncertain
Bobby Bevilacqua
Derick Brassard, along with other Rangers, spoke to media members today during the exit interviews, with the season officially over. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
At the end of each team’s season, a breakup day is conducted, with players and coaches giving exit interviews, equipment being removed, and new information being released, regarding things like injuries.
To some extent, it was known that some Rangers were dealing with injures. But today’s interviews revealed a lot more than just bumps and bruises.
After Game 7, Alain Vigneault announced that Ryan McDonagh had been playing with a broken foot for a few games. It was obviously quite serious, because he came into his interview on crutches and wearing a walking boot. He fractured the foot while blocking a shot at the end of the second period of Game 4 against the Lightning. He’ll wear the walking boot for four weeks, and will then be reevaluated.
The Rangers were dealing with a lot of other injuries on the blue line as well. Read the rest of this entry
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