Each of the NHL's 30 teams can have a up to, and no more than, 50 players contracted in the clubs system. With a maximum of 23 of those assigned to the NHL team there has to be somewhere else for all the other players to play, providing they are signed to a two-way contract. This is where the AHL (American Hockey League) & ECHL (East Coast Hockey League) come in. The vast majority find themselves playing for their NHL's AHL affiliate team compared to a handful who play in the ECHL. One problem the NHL teams find is the location of AHL teams. As the premier minor league for player development it is staggeringly lopped sided geographically. With 20 of the 30 AHL teams playing in the East and Central timezones plus St Johns who are in Newfoundland time.
Saturday, 10 January 2015
NHL loses court motion to dismiss TV rights lawsuit
Two years ago 6 NHL fans filed the lawsuit in New York. The lawsuit centres on the relationship between the NHL's TV broadcast rights, nationally and locally, and the NHL Centre Ice package. The aim of the case is allow NHL teams to sell broadcast rights to stations outside of their local market.
NHL Centre Ice is a subscription service offered by cable and satellite providers in the United States and Canada that allows viewers to watch out of market NHL games for $179 a season. Primarily aimed at fans, like one of the plaintiffs Thomas Laumann, who lives in Florida and is a fan of the New York Islanders. His argument in the case is that if he wants to watch Islanders games he has to pay the fee for a Centre Ice subscription but in market games are not broadcast on Centre Ice meaning he has to pay $10 a month for access to the local TV station that broadcasts either Tampa Bay Lightning or Florida Panthers games. The claim that the restrictions on broadcasting are inappropriately driving up the price of sports cable TV packages.
NHL Centre Ice is a subscription service offered by cable and satellite providers in the United States and Canada that allows viewers to watch out of market NHL games for $179 a season. Primarily aimed at fans, like one of the plaintiffs Thomas Laumann, who lives in Florida and is a fan of the New York Islanders. His argument in the case is that if he wants to watch Islanders games he has to pay the fee for a Centre Ice subscription but in market games are not broadcast on Centre Ice meaning he has to pay $10 a month for access to the local TV station that broadcasts either Tampa Bay Lightning or Florida Panthers games. The claim that the restrictions on broadcasting are inappropriately driving up the price of sports cable TV packages.
Wednesday, 18 June 2014
Stanley Cup Final Review
Stanley Cup Final Review
After eight weeks of battle we are down to the last two. The Los Angeles Kings, vying for their 2nd cup in franchise history (and in three seasons), up against the New York Rangers, going for their 5th cup (2nd in 74 years). Coming into this post season the common opinion was whoever wins the West will win the cup. As that goes the Los Angeles Kings were heavy favourites with the bookmakers.
Wednesday, 11 June 2014
Stanley Cup Playoffs - Conference Finals Review
Stanley Cup Playoffs - Conference Finals Review
We entered the second round with many predicting a repeat final four of Pittsburgh, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles. Two out of the four are heading home, for a holiday retreat or golf course. Chicago and Los Angeles are heading for the Conference finals again and if Chicago repeat as Western Conference champions they'll defend their Stanley Cup against a team whose last appearance in the cup final ending with them lifting the legendary trophy, Montreal in 1993, when they beat LA, and the New York Rangers in 1994, when they beat Vancouver.
Stanley Cup Playoffs - Second Round Review
Stanley Cup Playoffs - Second Round Review
Round one was so good it's hard to imagine how the second round could ramp up the intensity. Before we get started on the second round matchups we must say goodbye to eight teams. The Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, St Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, and, like the inevitability of a Tim Peel intent to blow call we say goodbye to the true nearly men of the league, the San Jose Sharks.
Saturday, 17 May 2014
The Boston Bruins vs. the Salary Cap
The Boston Bruins vs. the Salary Cap
Earlier on in the season, a scant six months ago or the day Henrik Lundqvist got his ass paid, I wrote about the potential struggle the New York Rangers management may face in the off season with pending free agents that need re-signing, and space becoming limited as a small amount of players would take over half the cap space. Then, a few days later, Rogers Communications made their monster $5bn deal for exclusive English language NHL game broadcasts in Canada to be shown on their SportsNet network. Making my whole New York Rangers vs. the Salary Cap post utterly and completely irrelevant. Thanks, Rogers. Thanks, Bettman.
Saturday, 3 May 2014
Stanley Cup Playoffs - First Round Review
Stanley Cup Playoffs - First Round Review
The opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is the most exciting, most unpredictable round of the playoffs. For me it all starts with the opening montage Tim Thompson of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada puts together that airs before the first game of the playoffs. This year he went with Metallica's For Whom The Bell Tolls for the backing track to accompany the clip montage which I think doesn't hold a candle last years that featured The Who's Baba O'Riley.
Wednesday, 26 February 2014
Trade Deadline - Who will be the movers and shakers on March 5th?
Trade Deadline - Who will be the movers and shakers on March 5th?
Whether you prefer the crew of Dreger, McKenzie, LeBrun, McLennan and Ward on TSN, or Marek, Kypreos, Millard, MacLean and Stellick on Sportsnet one thing we know as hockey fans is on March 5th (next Wednesday) we will all somehow be glued to one of those channels like we do every August and January 31st for football's (soccer to any Northe American readers) Transfer Deadline Day on Sky Sports News.
Sunday, 23 February 2014
Sochi 2014: Tournament in review
Sochi 2014: Tournament in review
The dust has settled on yet another Olympic hockey tournament, and for the 2nd consecutive games the Canadians have taken the top prize. But first we're going to look at what happened in the knockout phase (The next logical step after last weeks preview).
Friday, 21 February 2014
The future of the NHL at the Olympics
The future of the NHL at the Olympics
A lot of reporters stuck in Canada or the US, with not much to report during this short period without NHL action, have been shopping around the fact that the NHL and NHLPA have no agreement with the IOC to allow it's players to play beyond the current Winter Games. An argument that may have gained serious weight when New York Islanders captain John Tavares left Canada's quarter final with Latvia after receiving a knee-on-knee contact from winger Arturs Kulda.
The incident happened during the 2nd period. Tavares went away for examination, he never returned. That evening it was revealed that after an MRI on his knee that not only would John miss the rest of the Olympics, he would miss the rest of the entire season. Something that puts the idea of pulling NHL participation away in the future firmly in Islanders GM Garth Snow's mind.
The 23-year-old Canadian's season isn't the only casualty, the Florida Panthers lost rookie Alexander Barkov to a knee injury playing for Finland, and veteran forward Thomas Kopecky to a concussion playing for Slovakia. Also, the Detroit Red Wings lost captain and Sweden player Henrik Zetterberg to a back injury. Although this was already a niggling issue with the bearded centre. Diagnosed with a herniated disc, Zetterberg had surgery today (Friday 21st February) and could return in time for the playoffs should Detroit qualify.
A few injuries, which are to be expected in such a sport, coupled one pre-existing injury rearing it's head again shouldn't be enough to make anyone come to a rash decision. The Islanders and Panthers can seek solace in the fact that, with or without their fallen stars in their line-ups, their season was already over.
The NHL and NHLPA like to give us some spiel like "There are potential negative impacts with participating midseason in the Olympics and that factors into the overall analysis of whether it's a good idea for us to go or not," which was said by NHL Deputy Commissioner and chief legal officer Bill Daly.
USA & Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane has been quoted that he would like to go to the next games, what would be the NHL's 6th games, in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Patrick also said on the inclusion NHL players at the Olympics "It's pretty obvious to say it's good for the game," and universally the players want to continue with this way. The players that go love the chance to be able to represent their countries, as players like Kane are busy with the Stanley Cup Playoffs when the IIHF World Championships come around, and the players that don't go love the two week vacation.
I believe the players will compete in the Olympics as long as they want to. As we know, once the players want something they can be really stubborn. The last time the NHL and NHLPA butted heads we lost half a season.
And here's a little secret, that pretty much everyone knows. The NHL and NHLPA didn't agree to send the players to these games until eight months ago.
Sunday, 16 February 2014
Sochi 2014 - The tournament so far......
Sochi 2014 - The tournament so far......
Editorial note: I must apologise for only writing one half of the preview I promised. I have a real job in the real world. Who knew?
Today, 16th February, we come to the end of the preliminary round and start to see how the knockout stage will shape up. The first set of games start on Tuesday, the 18th, as the teams seeded 5th-12th fight for the right to join the top four seeds in the quarter finals.
GROUP A
The two shocks coning from the group containing host nation Russia is not that they've finished 2nd, but two defeats suffered by Slovakia. The 8th ranked team in the world were on the receiving end of two crushing losses at the hands of 6th ranked USA and 17th ranked Slovenia, Slovenia's first ever Olympic hockey win.
Americans dominate the top point scoring table with four different skaters in the top ten overall, Phil Kessel (4G 3A), T.J. Oshie (1G 3A), Joe Pavelski (1G 3A) and James van Riemsdyk (0G 4A). David Backes and Paul Stastny the only other players with more than one goal. Russia has five players on one goal (Kovalchuk, Malkin, Ovechkin, Belov and Nichushkin) and one player on two goals, Pavel Datsyuk.
GROUP B
No surprises in this group as the reigning Olympic champions top the 2nd ranked team in the world. It was always going to be Canada and Finland topping this group since the draw was made.
Canadian coach Mike Babcock has been busy shuffling line combinations about over the last four days. Montreal goalie Carey Price with two wins in net, including this evenings crucial overtime win over the Finnish. Defenseman Drew Doughty had four goals including both against Finland. All of Canada's goal scorers ply their trade in the Western Conference, Doughty (LA), Carter (LA), Weber (NSH), Benn (DAL) and Getzlaf (ANA).
Canada head into the knockout round as the 3rd seed and Finland as the 4th.
GROUP C
World number one and one of the strongest favourites pre tournament, Sweden, top the group with a 100% record and head into the knockout stage as the 1st seed.
One surprise that jumps out is the Czechs finishing in 3rd and that they could only manage a win against Latvia, the 2nd lowest ranked team in the tournament. Talking of Latvia, they will face the
Swiss again on Tuesday.
Scoring leaders after the Preliminary Round
KNOCKOUT STAGE PREVIEW
The qualification playoffs, or wildcard round, is on Tuesday. The four winners play against a team from the top four seeds on Wednesday. The semi finals are on Friday with the bronze medal game on Saturday, before the gold medal is contested for at the Bolshoy Ice Dome on Sunday.
These are the dates and UK times of the rest of the tournament.
Qualification playoffs (Tuesday 18th):
Russia vs Norway 8am
Switzerland vs Latvia - 12:30pm
Slovenia vs Austris - 5pm
Czech Republic vs Slovakia - 5pm
Quarter finals (Wednesday 19th):
Sweden vs Slovenia/Austria - 8am
Finland vs Russia/Norway - 12:30pm
Canada vs Switzerland/Latvia - 5pm
USA vs Czech Republic/Slovakia - 5pm
Semi finals (Friday 21st): Noon, 5pm
Bronze medal game (Saturday 22nd): 3pm
Gold medal game (Sunday 23rd): Noon
EDIT (17th Feb): The games for the first two rounds have been allocated to the time slots above.
Just the prospect of the Canada/US semi final is making my mouth water. This is where it really steps up a level. Unless Russia can cause an upset I can't see anyone other than the top four as the last four.
Hope all of you watching have enjoyed the games so far, and other sports. (GO JENNY JONES!!! GO LIZZY YARNOLD!!!)
Enjoy the rest of the games and the hockey.
Psst..... we're nine days from NHL action returning!!!
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
Sochi 2014 - A glance at each team (Part 1/2)
Sochi 2014 - A glance at each team (Part 1/2)
In just over two weeks from now the elite nations in the world of hockey go at it for the dream of winning Olympic gold. Twelve teams, lowest ranked Slovenia (17th), go into three groups of four and do battle before being seeded for the single game knockout tournament, all available on the BBC through one platform or another.
In these posts I'll be including previous appearances plus a look at who could be key players for each team, and each nations NHL representatives.
Note: if anyone wants to complain about the focus on the nations such as the US, Canada, Russia, Czech Republic, Finland and Sweden then I say, what did you expect? I'm not Austrian, Latvian, Norwegian, Slovakian, Slovenian, or Swiss.
So without further ado, let's get started.
AUSTRIA - (Group B) IIHF Rank: 15th
13th appearance at the Olympics. One championship in their history. 1927 European Champions. Best Olympic campaign, 5th in 1928.
 |
| Captain Thomas Vanek. |
Needless to say the danger men for their group B opponents will be the play in the NHL, Grabner, Raffl and Vanek. Grabner's speed, Vanek's hands, and Raffl's speed plus sense of the ice will be things all NHL fans, players and pundits will be aware of.
One home based player with experience in North America is Thomas Pock, a former New York Ranger and Lake Erie Monster, could never settle and went back to Austria after his contract with Colorado ran out in the summer.
There aren't many more things to say about this team that do them any favours. They're the 3rd worst team in the competition on IIHF rankings and find themselves in a group with the powerhouses Canada and Finland, plus 9th ranked Norway. They'll likely finish in the bottom 4 at best and get knocked out in the first knockout round by a powerhouse nation.
CANADA - (Group B) IIHF Rank: 5th
Eight time gold medallists. 20th appearance. Medallists 14 times.
 |
| Sidney Crosby, captain and gold medal winning goal scorer four years ago in Vancouver. |
After the, UEFA Champions League draw style, long drawn out ceremony to announce the 25 man Olympic roster was made the internet was littered with Canadian rosters filled with 25 who were "snubbed" but their inclusion being as justified as the guys who did make it. One major difference between our nation of origin of football and the home nation of hockey.
Only four of the squad play for Canadian clubs (Luongo and Hamhuis of Vancouver & Price and Subban of Montreal), with the rest spread amongst 14 American clubs. Twelve members are survivors of the gold medal winning 2010 team, and only ten have experienced winning the Stanley Cup (four twice).
The biggest issue facing Triple Gold Club member coach Mike Babcock is how best to deploy his stars. With Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews, the two best centres in the world, Toews more defensive but Crosby, best player in the world but was a passenger in 2010, impossible to find the right line mates. The one thing that seems to sort itself out is that their are three distinct pairs of club mates to be made on the attacking lines with, Crosby & Chris Kunitz (Pittsburgh), Toews & Patrick Sharp (Chicago), and Ryan Getzlaf & Corey Perry (Anaheim). Assuming these pairs, plus an extra winger, make up three of the four attacking lines, Babcock's next challenge would be how to fit others in, and who to leave out. Also assuming Crosby, Toews and Perry are the top three centres, the option for fouth would be a contest between John Tavares, Patrice Bergeron and Matt Duchene. Then that leaves four right wing spots and one left wing spot for the likes of Patrick Marleau, Jamie Benn, Rick Nash, Jeff Carter, and the in-human Steven Stamkos.
Not to mention the possible goalie controversy between Roberto Luongo and Carey Price. Both of which can go from best in the world to absolute worst in a space of 48 hours. Then there's the matter of which six defenseman start out of the eight selected. Though I'd pick Duncan Keith, Drew Doughty, P.K. Subban, Shea Weber, Alex Pietrangelo, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
For Canada gold is the target and the nation will go into national mourning if they come back with silver or less. Realistically, they should be guaranteed a bronze.
CZECH REPUBLIC - (Group C) IIHF Rank: 4th
6th appearance as an independent nation. Two time medallists, gold in 98, bronze in 06.
 |
| Old man Jagr. |
The team has a terrific balance of young and old. The age gap between Nedved and the youngest member, Ondrej Palat, is 20 years. They'll to count on the youthful invention of players like Krejci, Palat, Radko Gudas, Jakub Voracek, and Michael Frolik. Mixed in with the experienced play of Nedved, Jagr, Elias, Marek Zidlicky, Thomas Plekanec, Michael Rozsival, Ales Hemsky, and Milan Michalek.
The of group of Sweden, Switzerland, and Latvia shouldn't be much of a concern. The winners of the Czechs and Sweden should win the group. It'll be very comfortable for them against the Swiss and Latvians.
FINLAND - (Group B) IIHF Rank: 2nd
14th appearance. Medal winners in five of the last seven tournaments. World champions in 1995 and 2011.
 |
| Tuukka Rask, on form best goalie in the world. |
Of the top six nations they have the joint most, with Russia, European based players. This will help as the ice in Europe is 15 feet wider than North American ice rinks.
The NHL contingent consists of Mikko Koivu, Jussi & Olli Jokinen, Tuomo Ruutu, Lauri Korpikoski, Valtteri Filppula, Sami Salo, Kimmo Timonen, plus the young talent group of Olli Maatta, Alex Barkov, Mikael Granlund, and Sami Vatanen.
Filppula leads the Finnish NHL players in scoring, putting up 40 points in an impressive debut season in Tampa since leaving Detroit as a UFA in 2013. 18-year-old rookie Alex Barkov has put up 24 points for the Florida Panthers, arguably one of the 3-4 worst teams in the league.
Like the Czech team it's a mix of experience and youth but on paper this team is a whole lot better. I'd be surprised if this team isn't in the gold medal game.
LATVIA - (Group C) IIHF Rank: 11th
5th appearance. Never finished higher than 9th (2002).
 |
| Buffalo Sabre, Zemgus Girgensens. |
The goal for Latvia is to finish ahead of Austria and Slovenia, the only other teams that had to play qualifiers and the only two teams ranked lower than the Latvians.
There isn't much to say about this team.
NORWAY - (Group B) IIHF Rank: 9th
10th appearance. Finished 10th last time in Vancouver.
 |
| Mats Zuccarelo. |
The league most represented in the roster is the Swedish Hockey League including former NHLer Ole-Kristian Tollefsen who currently plays for 2011 SHL champs, Farjestad BK, and his club team mates Anders Bastiansen, Marius Holtet, and Martin Roymark. They also have two players for 2nd ranked Frolunda HC, Mathis Olimb and Mats Rosseli Olsen. One danger point for Group B defences to watch out for is Patrick Thoresen of the KHL's SKA St Petersburg who is a good hard checker and has averaged just under a point a game in the last three seasons including this season.
For me this team definitely makes the last 8. Then take your pick of which power house knocks them out.
The concludes part 1. Part 2 featuring Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA coming next week.
Wednesday, 18 December 2013
PODCAST - December 17th Edition
Between The Pipes - December 17th Edition
LISTEN HERE
Subscribe on iTunes!!!
First of all we'd like to apologise if any of our technical difficulties effect the quality of this weeks podcast.
In this edition Nick, Ross and Junaid go over the weeks headlines, including Shawn Thornton appealing his suspension, Stamkos skating a month after breaking his leg. We also give our picks for goals and saves of the week, and make our prediction league picks for this week. In "Four Teams" we talk about Boston, LA & Tampa Bay.
Saves of the week
Nick's pick - Josh Harding - Minnesota Wild vs Anaheim Ducks
Ross' pick - Kevin Poulin - New York Islanders vs Phoenix Coyotes
Junaid's pick - Martin Jones - Los Angeles Kings vs Montreal Canadiens
Goals of the week
Nick's pick - Matt Duchene - Colorado Avalanche vs Winnipeg Jets
Ross' pick - Benoit Pouliot (shootout goal) - New York Rangers vs Calgary Flames
Junaid's pick - Alex Ovechkin - Washington Capitals vs Philadelphia Flyers
Prediction League
TABLE
Nick - 14/18
Ross - 12/18
Junaid - 7/18
This weeks games/picks:
Nashville @ Tampa Bay
San Jose @ Los Angeles
NY Islanders @ NY Rangers
Detroit @ Toronto
Washington @ Carolina
Winnipeg @ Edmonton
Nick: NSH, LA, NYR, TOR, WSH, EDM
Ross: TB, LA, NYR, TOR, WSH, EDM
Junaid: TB, SJ, NYR, TOR, WSH, WPG
NEXT WEEK....... We are ACTUALLY doing our NHL themed 12 Days of Christmas. After neglecting it last week and our technical difficulties this week.
Email us any questions you'd like us to answer at betweenthepipespodcast@hotmail.com and we will answer them during recording. Also you can direct anything our way on twitter, @NickVarney90, @j_hussain & @MasonCooper4.
LISTEN HERE
Subscribe on iTunes!!!
First of all we'd like to apologise if any of our technical difficulties effect the quality of this weeks podcast.
In this edition Nick, Ross and Junaid go over the weeks headlines, including Shawn Thornton appealing his suspension, Stamkos skating a month after breaking his leg. We also give our picks for goals and saves of the week, and make our prediction league picks for this week. In "Four Teams" we talk about Boston, LA & Tampa Bay.
Saves of the week
Nick's pick - Josh Harding - Minnesota Wild vs Anaheim Ducks
Ross' pick - Kevin Poulin - New York Islanders vs Phoenix Coyotes
Junaid's pick - Martin Jones - Los Angeles Kings vs Montreal Canadiens
Goals of the week
Nick's pick - Matt Duchene - Colorado Avalanche vs Winnipeg Jets
Ross' pick - Benoit Pouliot (shootout goal) - New York Rangers vs Calgary Flames
Junaid's pick - Alex Ovechkin - Washington Capitals vs Philadelphia Flyers
Prediction League
TABLE
Nick - 14/18
Ross - 12/18
Junaid - 7/18
This weeks games/picks:
Nashville @ Tampa Bay
San Jose @ Los Angeles
NY Islanders @ NY Rangers
Detroit @ Toronto
Washington @ Carolina
Winnipeg @ Edmonton
Nick: NSH, LA, NYR, TOR, WSH, EDM
Ross: TB, LA, NYR, TOR, WSH, EDM
Junaid: TB, SJ, NYR, TOR, WSH, WPG
NEXT WEEK....... We are ACTUALLY doing our NHL themed 12 Days of Christmas. After neglecting it last week and our technical difficulties this week.
Email us any questions you'd like us to answer at betweenthepipespodcast@hotmail.com and we will answer them during recording. Also you can direct anything our way on twitter, @NickVarney90, @j_hussain & @MasonCooper4.
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Podcast - December 10th Edition
Podcast - December 10th Edition
LISTEN HERE
Or subscribe on iTunes!!!
In this edition Nick, Ross and Junaid go over the weeks headlines, including the Orpik/Neal/Thornton incidents in Boston and the salary cap projections from the Board of Governors meetings. We also give our picks for goals and saves of the week, and make our prediction league picks for this week. In "Four Teams" we talk about Carolina, Minnesota, NY Islanders and Vancouver. Ross gives us his "Things that happened since the Red Wings last missed the playoffs" stat.
Saves of the week
Note: Junaid's pick wasn't on NHL.com or youtube. Another save from the same goalie and same game has been put in it's place.
Nick's pick - Jonas Gustavsson - Detroit Red Wings vs New Jersey Devils
Ross' pick - Craig Anderson - Ottawa Senators vs Philadelphia Flyers
Junaid's pick - James Reimer - Toronto Maple Leafs vs Ottawa Senators
Goals of the week
Nick's pick - James Neal - Pittsburgh Penguins vs Boston Bruins
Ross' pick - Rick Nash - New York Rangers vs Buffalo Sabres
Junaid's pick - Sidney Crosby - Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Islanders
Prediction League
TABLE
Nick - 10/18
Ross - 10/18
Junaid - 5/18
This weeks games/picks:
Tampa Bay @ Washington
Columbus @ NY Rangers
Minnesota @ San Jose
Pittsburgh @ Detroit
Boston @ Vancouver
Los Angeles @ Chicago
Nick: WSH, NYR, SJ, PIT, BOS, CHI
Ross: TB, NYR, SJ, DET, VAN, LA
Junaid: WSH, NYR, SJ, DET, BOS, LA
THINGS THAT HAPPENED SINCE DETROIT LAST MISSED THE PLAYOFFS
by Ross Chaplin
The 1st Gulf War didn't start until after the last time Detroit missed the playoffs.
NEXT WEEK....... We are ACTUALLY doing our NHL themed 12 Days of Christmas. Email or tweet us any suggestions. Our email address and twitter handles are below.
Email us any questions you'd like us to answer at betweenthepipespodcast@hotmail.com and we will answer them during recording. Also you can direct anything our way on twitter, @NickVarney90, @j_hussain & @MasonCooper4.
Between The Pipes - December 10th Edition
LISTEN HERE
Or subscribe on iTunes!!!
In this edition Nick, Ross and Junaid go over the weeks headlines, including the Orpik/Neal/Thornton incidents in Boston and the salary cap projections from the Board of Governors meetings. We also give our picks for goals and saves of the week, and make our prediction league picks for this week. In "Four Teams" we talk about Carolina, Minnesota, NY Islanders and Vancouver. Ross gives us his "Things that happened since the Red Wings last missed the playoffs" stat.
Saves of the week
Note: Junaid's pick wasn't on NHL.com or youtube. Another save from the same goalie and same game has been put in it's place.
Nick's pick - Jonas Gustavsson - Detroit Red Wings vs New Jersey Devils
Ross' pick - Craig Anderson - Ottawa Senators vs Philadelphia Flyers
Junaid's pick - James Reimer - Toronto Maple Leafs vs Ottawa Senators
Goals of the week
Nick's pick - James Neal - Pittsburgh Penguins vs Boston Bruins
Ross' pick - Rick Nash - New York Rangers vs Buffalo Sabres
Junaid's pick - Sidney Crosby - Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Islanders
Prediction League
TABLE
Nick - 10/18
Ross - 10/18
Junaid - 5/18
This weeks games/picks:
Tampa Bay @ Washington
Columbus @ NY Rangers
Minnesota @ San Jose
Pittsburgh @ Detroit
Boston @ Vancouver
Los Angeles @ Chicago
Nick: WSH, NYR, SJ, PIT, BOS, CHI
Ross: TB, NYR, SJ, DET, VAN, LA
Junaid: WSH, NYR, SJ, DET, BOS, LA
THINGS THAT HAPPENED SINCE DETROIT LAST MISSED THE PLAYOFFS
by Ross Chaplin
The 1st Gulf War didn't start until after the last time Detroit missed the playoffs.
NEXT WEEK....... We are ACTUALLY doing our NHL themed 12 Days of Christmas. Email or tweet us any suggestions. Our email address and twitter handles are below.
Email us any questions you'd like us to answer at betweenthepipespodcast@hotmail.com and we will answer them during recording. Also you can direct anything our way on twitter, @NickVarney90, @j_hussain & @MasonCooper4.
Sunday, 8 December 2013
Why I am a Rangers Fan
Why am I, well an obvious and easy answer to this question is that after accquiring NHL 09 for the Xbox 360 a few years ago I realized that the only thing I understood about the game was the goalie position, in that all I needed to do was to put it bluntly, "see puck, stop puck". So after realizing this I decided to start a be a pro career as a goalie.
But as I didn't have a team I decided to do a random selection. And by that I mean I started at the Ducks, and very quickly closed my eyes and hammered the right trigger on my controller to keep cycling through the teams, until I had lost track of how many times I'd pressed the button. Then after two minutes I stopped, opened my eyes and voila, waiting for me was the New York Rangers. In hindsight that was a terrible decision, I mean how the hell do I unseat Henrik Lundqvist?
The answer was very easily :P but enough of that, the story is after being promoted from the Hartford Wolfpack, (still think that is a better name than the Connecticut Whale, but I understand the new name)
After playing at the world famous MSG, and leading the team in the playoffs to a Stanley Cup, I grew an affinity with the club, and eventually led myself to choose them as my team, as I have the best memories playing for them.
But despite all this, I reckon there are reasons why if I hadn't stopped on the New York Rangers that I still may of ended up a Ranger or at the very least, An Islander. But mainly a Ranger.
1. The city itself, where the hell do I start here.... How about architecture? Good place as any to start, from the Empire State building, to the Chrysler building, to the near completion Freedom Tower. New York has always had some incredibly breathtaking architecture. (disclaimer, I like architecture) It's one of the main reasons I would love to go to the city, to see the incredible designs, to see someone literally build something from the ground up, (which is literally what people do in Manhattan anyway :P)
The beauty of Manhattan island architecture is amazing and can be described aptly twice a year, as the sun lines up perfectly with Manhattan as it sets.
2. World Famous Landmarks, St Louis has the Arch, LA has some sort of sign, Minnesota has snow.... Well NYC has yellow taxis, Central Park, a giant version of Paris' Statue of Liberty, All those building, Manhattan is a world wide icon, MSG, Wall Street, The UN are based there, Broadway. No other city has as many landmarks that are instantly recognisable to anyone world wide. How many people have ever seen the Arch in St Louis, Not many I'd wager, but how many people can tell you what the Empire State Building looks like, or the Statue of Liberty? A lot more I assure you.
3. I think it's the greatest city in the world. They have one thing that cities that Dubai simply lack. Sports, Dubai has spent billions on massive building, literally, massive building, like the Burj Kalifa, but Dubai simply doesn't have the sports teams that NYC has, sports teams that can divide a city, or simply unite the town together in that no matter where you are from, the entire city can come together in a common goal.
Dubai and I use them as an example because I think they're after that title of Greatest city in the world, their best and biggest sports event is a horse racing meeting. In Comparison NYC hosts the 48th Superbowl this year, and supposedly is the backdrop to a new Formula 1 race 2015 in June. Two outdoor NHL games, and a world famous marathon.
4. The Rangers colours. I am a fan of the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL, and they wear a blue shirt. I know blue is the colour of choice for a lot of NHL teams, Lightning, sabres, leafs, islanders, blue jackets, and many others. Blue is my favourite colour, so I almost definitely would have been towards the rangers at the very least.
5. Madison Square Gardens. To put it simply, it is the greatest arena in the world period. No contest, I have loved this place since as a little kid I watched Muhammad Ali fight Joe Frazier there. I've always wanted to go, and eventually I will someday. The fact that the Rangers play there is just a coincidence to me. And if the arena does have to move within the next ten years, then I want to go before it moves. It is an incredible arena and if you are a fan of sports, I can't recommend highly enough that you go to MSG and just soak in the sporting history that has happened there, even if a team of yours isn't playing, go and just soak in the history.
6. Henrik Lundqvist: He is one of the best in NHL 09, and I would of compared myself to him, and trying to overtake him, and in that time he became my favourite player, the man is just insanely good. He is also rather handsome if you didn't know, and I'm gonna drop this on Junaid Tuesday night. "Henrik Lundqvist, Junaid could he turn you?" Also The Colts had the worlds best player at his position in Peyton Manning so that would of helped draw me towards Lundqvist.
7. The way the Rangers played at the time under Tortorella. Believe it or not, I'm a very defensive person, no matter how good the Colts offense is on any given year of madden, I always try and improve the defense until its the best in the league. Don't get me wrong, the offense would still be good, I would just make that defense unbeliavbly good. The Rangers suited my personality at the time, being so defensive, it would have appealed to me. I'm a firm believer of the phrase "offense wins you a game, but a defense will win you a championship."
I'm not sure if there are any more reasons, I'm sure there are somewhere in the deepest darkest corners of my brain they're lurking somewhere. But these reasons above mean if fate hadn't landed me in The Hartford Wolf Pack at first, there is still a good to great chance that I still would end up as a New York Ranger.
So why are you a fan of the team that you are? Email to betweenthepipespodcast@hotmail.co.uk Tweet me at @MasonCooper4, or feel free to leave a comment.
But as I didn't have a team I decided to do a random selection. And by that I mean I started at the Ducks, and very quickly closed my eyes and hammered the right trigger on my controller to keep cycling through the teams, until I had lost track of how many times I'd pressed the button. Then after two minutes I stopped, opened my eyes and voila, waiting for me was the New York Rangers. In hindsight that was a terrible decision, I mean how the hell do I unseat Henrik Lundqvist?
The answer was very easily :P but enough of that, the story is after being promoted from the Hartford Wolfpack, (still think that is a better name than the Connecticut Whale, but I understand the new name)
After playing at the world famous MSG, and leading the team in the playoffs to a Stanley Cup, I grew an affinity with the club, and eventually led myself to choose them as my team, as I have the best memories playing for them.
But despite all this, I reckon there are reasons why if I hadn't stopped on the New York Rangers that I still may of ended up a Ranger or at the very least, An Islander. But mainly a Ranger.
1. The city itself, where the hell do I start here.... How about architecture? Good place as any to start, from the Empire State building, to the Chrysler building, to the near completion Freedom Tower. New York has always had some incredibly breathtaking architecture. (disclaimer, I like architecture) It's one of the main reasons I would love to go to the city, to see the incredible designs, to see someone literally build something from the ground up, (which is literally what people do in Manhattan anyway :P)
The beauty of Manhattan island architecture is amazing and can be described aptly twice a year, as the sun lines up perfectly with Manhattan as it sets.
2. World Famous Landmarks, St Louis has the Arch, LA has some sort of sign, Minnesota has snow.... Well NYC has yellow taxis, Central Park, a giant version of Paris' Statue of Liberty, All those building, Manhattan is a world wide icon, MSG, Wall Street, The UN are based there, Broadway. No other city has as many landmarks that are instantly recognisable to anyone world wide. How many people have ever seen the Arch in St Louis, Not many I'd wager, but how many people can tell you what the Empire State Building looks like, or the Statue of Liberty? A lot more I assure you.
3. I think it's the greatest city in the world. They have one thing that cities that Dubai simply lack. Sports, Dubai has spent billions on massive building, literally, massive building, like the Burj Kalifa, but Dubai simply doesn't have the sports teams that NYC has, sports teams that can divide a city, or simply unite the town together in that no matter where you are from, the entire city can come together in a common goal.
Dubai and I use them as an example because I think they're after that title of Greatest city in the world, their best and biggest sports event is a horse racing meeting. In Comparison NYC hosts the 48th Superbowl this year, and supposedly is the backdrop to a new Formula 1 race 2015 in June. Two outdoor NHL games, and a world famous marathon.
4. The Rangers colours. I am a fan of the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL, and they wear a blue shirt. I know blue is the colour of choice for a lot of NHL teams, Lightning, sabres, leafs, islanders, blue jackets, and many others. Blue is my favourite colour, so I almost definitely would have been towards the rangers at the very least.
5. Madison Square Gardens. To put it simply, it is the greatest arena in the world period. No contest, I have loved this place since as a little kid I watched Muhammad Ali fight Joe Frazier there. I've always wanted to go, and eventually I will someday. The fact that the Rangers play there is just a coincidence to me. And if the arena does have to move within the next ten years, then I want to go before it moves. It is an incredible arena and if you are a fan of sports, I can't recommend highly enough that you go to MSG and just soak in the sporting history that has happened there, even if a team of yours isn't playing, go and just soak in the history.
6. Henrik Lundqvist: He is one of the best in NHL 09, and I would of compared myself to him, and trying to overtake him, and in that time he became my favourite player, the man is just insanely good. He is also rather handsome if you didn't know, and I'm gonna drop this on Junaid Tuesday night. "Henrik Lundqvist, Junaid could he turn you?" Also The Colts had the worlds best player at his position in Peyton Manning so that would of helped draw me towards Lundqvist.
7. The way the Rangers played at the time under Tortorella. Believe it or not, I'm a very defensive person, no matter how good the Colts offense is on any given year of madden, I always try and improve the defense until its the best in the league. Don't get me wrong, the offense would still be good, I would just make that defense unbeliavbly good. The Rangers suited my personality at the time, being so defensive, it would have appealed to me. I'm a firm believer of the phrase "offense wins you a game, but a defense will win you a championship."
I'm not sure if there are any more reasons, I'm sure there are somewhere in the deepest darkest corners of my brain they're lurking somewhere. But these reasons above mean if fate hadn't landed me in The Hartford Wolf Pack at first, there is still a good to great chance that I still would end up as a New York Ranger.
So why are you a fan of the team that you are? Email to betweenthepipespodcast@hotmail.co.uk Tweet me at @MasonCooper4, or feel free to leave a comment.
Bruins vs. Penguins: A Series of Unfortunate Events
Last night in Boston, two of the Eastern conference's elite went head to head, in what was as usual a feisty affair between the Pens and B's.
The game, unfortunately, was marred by a few nasty moments. Moments the majority of hockey fans felt sick watching. I'm talking about James Neal putting his knee into the head of Brad Marchand, and the Shawn Thornton "assault" on Brooks Orpik.
Let's set the scene. First we have what I believe was the incident that got Thornton's back up. At the twelve second mark of the 1st period Orpik lays a clean hit on Loui Eriksson, clean in the sense it was a shoulder to the chest. The only questionable part of the hit is, was Eriksson able to make a play on the puck before he was hit? It looks like he didn't, and judging on the speed and direction of the puck it could be called as interference on Orpik as at no point does Eriksson control the puck. The last player in possession prior to the hit was Patrice Bergeron. Now, Eriksson missed a lot of time this season with a concussion. On this hit he ended up hitting the ice with his head, struggled to get to the bench, and has another concussion (according to several reports). So, about five minutes later when Thornton, the Bruins enforcer, is on the ice at the same time as Orpik, he decides that Orpik should be held accountable and should not get away. He tries to engage in a fight and Orpik flat out refuses. Leading to a 2-minute roughing penalty on Thornton.
Next we move to later on, still in the 1st period, around five minutes after the roughing penalty, Thornton is coming off the bench for a line change when Pittsburgh winger James Neal skates through a prone Brad Marchand. Kneeing him in the head and shakes him up. He then proceeds to get to the bench to escape any Bruin retribution. The play is whistled for a penalty on Neal. Thornton, who didn't see the play, turns around and sees a teammate stricken. He then sees Orpik and another opportunity to make him pay for what he did to Eriksson. He slewfoots Orpik, who is already engaged with Gregory Campbell, then throws a couple punches in Orpik's face. Soft punches, but enough to knock Orpik out for a couple of seconds.
This is the video on NHL.com. It focuses more on the Thornton/Orpik incident but you see Neal knee Marchand at the start.
The game, unfortunately, was marred by a few nasty moments. Moments the majority of hockey fans felt sick watching. I'm talking about James Neal putting his knee into the head of Brad Marchand, and the Shawn Thornton "assault" on Brooks Orpik.
Let's set the scene. First we have what I believe was the incident that got Thornton's back up. At the twelve second mark of the 1st period Orpik lays a clean hit on Loui Eriksson, clean in the sense it was a shoulder to the chest. The only questionable part of the hit is, was Eriksson able to make a play on the puck before he was hit? It looks like he didn't, and judging on the speed and direction of the puck it could be called as interference on Orpik as at no point does Eriksson control the puck. The last player in possession prior to the hit was Patrice Bergeron. Now, Eriksson missed a lot of time this season with a concussion. On this hit he ended up hitting the ice with his head, struggled to get to the bench, and has another concussion (according to several reports). So, about five minutes later when Thornton, the Bruins enforcer, is on the ice at the same time as Orpik, he decides that Orpik should be held accountable and should not get away. He tries to engage in a fight and Orpik flat out refuses. Leading to a 2-minute roughing penalty on Thornton.
Next we move to later on, still in the 1st period, around five minutes after the roughing penalty, Thornton is coming off the bench for a line change when Pittsburgh winger James Neal skates through a prone Brad Marchand. Kneeing him in the head and shakes him up. He then proceeds to get to the bench to escape any Bruin retribution. The play is whistled for a penalty on Neal. Thornton, who didn't see the play, turns around and sees a teammate stricken. He then sees Orpik and another opportunity to make him pay for what he did to Eriksson. He slewfoots Orpik, who is already engaged with Gregory Campbell, then throws a couple punches in Orpik's face. Soft punches, but enough to knock Orpik out for a couple of seconds.
This is the video on NHL.com. It focuses more on the Thornton/Orpik incident but you see Neal knee Marchand at the start.
One common opinion I've seen brandished around about Thornton is that what he did was predetermined. Now, hold on a second. Isn't what Neal did worse than Thornton? The Bruins pay Thornton and expect the enforcer aspect of his game when it is needed. Neal's knee on Marchand was completely unprovoked, aside from the usual chirping that goes on in a hockey game. He skates in a straight line fom the "X" of the Xfinity sponsor board, makes no attempt to avoid contact, and runs away like a pussy.
I'm not condoning what Thornton did. It's a common part of hockey. Team mate gets hit. The enforcer wants to punish the hitter. In my opinion, Orpik was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The first incident with the roughing penalty should've been the end of it. The worst part about what Neal did is that he makes his getaway rather quickly. Well, I would too considering Zdeno Chara was on the ice behind Neal and most likely saw the whole thing.
Eriksson picked up a concussion. Marchand's status isn't known yet. Orpik was released from hospital and flew home on the Penguins team plane.
Thornton now has an in person with the NHL Department of Player Safety. Neal will just have a phone hearing.
The way I see it both incidents are as bad as each other. The only difference is the appearance of the stretcher. The fabled stretcher, making hockey injuries look worse than they are since the dawn of time.
You can email your opinion to betweenthepipespodcast@hotmail.co.uk and you can also tweet me @NickVarney90
You can email your opinion to betweenthepipespodcast@hotmail.co.uk and you can also tweet me @NickVarney90
Friday, 6 December 2013
The New York Rangers vs the Salary Cap, Round 2.
This is a response to Nick's earlier piece which can be found here
As a Rangers fan, I thought I would a) attempt to do the GM's job for him this offseason, and b) respond to it in kind. But first I will be attempting to re-sign the players needed while keeping the Rangers under the $64.3m cap.
Just so we are clear, the Rangers are up against the salary cap for this offseason, now because of the new Rogers TV deal, the salary cap will rise in the upcoming season dramatically. In just two years it is expected to be over $75m, last season the salary cap was, 60 million dollars but teams could spend $70.2m, because the salaries were prorated for the lockout shortened season. It has increased from 60 million up to 64.3 Million Dollars.
Before resigning Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers had just 8 players signed up and under contract for next year. Now they have 9, and they are signed up for a grand total of $39m. Which is a lot considering what I'm about to point out next.
As Nick also pointed out earlier today, and I'm going to directly quote from his article.
"Now comes the interesting part. Ryan Callahan, Derick Brassard, Mats Zucarello, Chris Kreider, Brian Boyle, Taylor Pyatt, Benoit Pouliot, Darroll Powe, Aaron Asham, Dominic Moore, Dan Girardi, Michael Del Zotto, Justin Falk, John Moore & Anton Stralman will all become free agents in July. Kreider, Zuccarello, Brassard, Falk, John Moore, and Del Zotto as RFAs that, in Kreider and Del Zotto, might fancy themselves a small pay rise. The rest will be free to negotiate with whomever they wish."
First things first, Glenn Sather has a compliance buyout, which no matter who it is used on their salary will not count against the cap in future years. Most people tend to think (myself included) that it will be used on Brad Richards and his $6.667m salary.
The Rangers can also trade players away of course, but I am not doing that.
With all the above taken into consideration, here is my take on what Glen Sather should do this offseason or in the coming months.
I'm going to dissect what the Rangers should do with the Unrestricted free Agents that they have.
Ryan Callahan, Dan Girardi, Brian Boyle, Taylor Pyatt, Benoit Pouilliot, Dominic Moore, Dan Girardi, and Anton Stralman. are among the UFA's on the Rangers NHL Roster, there may be more UFA's on the Connecticut Whale's roster.
And here is the salaries each of these players earn currently. Per Capgeek.
Ryan Callahan: $4.275m
Brian Boyle: $1.7m
Taylor Pyatt: $1.550m
Benoit Pouilliot: $1.3m
Dominic Moore: $1m
Dan Girardi: $3.325m
Anton Stralman: $1.7m
The Rangers also have Arron Asham, and Darroll Powe down in the AHL, and they make Asham: $1m and Powe: $1.066m.
What to do with Unrestricted Free Agents
Now right away, if I was Glenn Sather the first thing I would is grab my calculator, and work out how much cap space i have for next year after resigning Mister Lundqvist.
For those who are wondering, currently the Rangers have $25,137,500 spare cash if the salary cap was to remain at $64.3 million, which i doubt, and ideally 13 players to sign. So for the opening salvo here what I am going to do is to decide which of the UFA's I would resign and which I would let go.
We'll start with the big guns, Dan Girardi and the captain, Ryan Callahan, these are two of the easiest yes' of the entire article, just a question of how much is needed to reacquire their services. I'd consider resigning Dominic Moore for some veteran presence, at the same price roughly, which is $1m.
Benoit Pouilliot: an interesting case, I like the guy, but I don't think he is good enough to be more than a 3rd liner currently. And again, it isn't like that isn't easily provided by the feeder systems, the Rangers possesses.
Taylor Pyatt: It's a no from me, he is a decent little player, but his output can be easily replaced by a drafted player or by a player already in the system, someone like JT Miller.
That leaves Anton Stralman and Brian Boyle, I'd keep Boyle, and release Stralman.
Down In the AHL: Arron Asham and Darroll Powe. No, if push comes to shove these guys go, saving some cap space.
So, Captain Cally, Girardi, Boyle, and Dominic Moore.
Callahan and Girardi will cost Sather the most easily. My key question as a hockey blogger is would either or these two be willing to take a minor hometown discount. They're both on big bucks at the moment, despite the commonly held view that Girardi is underpaid, and Cally is slightly underpaid.
Nick believes Girardi would easily surpass $6 million next season, and I agree. He is a quality defenseman. My initial offer would be $5.2m and I would be willing to rise up to $6m. This leaves $19,137,500 spare.
Moving onto the next big resigning. Captain Ryan Callahan. New York Born and bred (born in the state of New York, Rochester to be exact), fearless leader, (you have to be to block as many shots as he does) and is currently paid $4.275m. Like Lundqvist this isn't too bad, as I'd offer a starting offer of a million more than what he is currently on. So $5.275m. Again I'd increase this up to $5.75m if Ryan turned down the first offer.
$19,137,500 minus $5.75m leaves the Rangers $13,387,500 to play with and 11 players to sign to field a roster. (edit: the art of editing as you write, I've only just remember JT Miller as you will already have read, so by subtracting his salary of 925,000 leaves $12,462,500.)
Moving onto Dominic Moore, I'd quickly organise the same deal as he has had now, 1 year, $1m. Maybe push an extra couple hundred grand in there to secure the signing. That leaves $11,262,500.
The last guy I would resign from the UFAs is Brian Boyle, he is currently on $1.7m. I'd Offer, $2.25m, and move up to $2.6m as a maximum. Taking the highest offer as lore in this article, that would leave the Rangers with $8,662,500 to sign 8 players.
Now that is not a lot to sign 8 players with but the Rangers have a major advantage here, They have a compliance buyout in their pocket.
But before that, lets look over the New York Rangers restricted free agents. This is the same for all teams, if they sign anyone's RFAs.
Restricted Free Agents:
A restricted free agent, or RFA, is a player who is slightly younger than most players, or are on their first contract. This happens with every team in the NHL. The Rangers do not have to negotiate with these players. They can even let them go to free agency and still resign even if another team signs said player. Why is because in this case the Rangers can let one of their rfa's sign with another team, and if the Rangers, think that the contract is worth it, they can match the offer. If they don't, then the player signs for the other team, the Rangers get compensation via the draft, and on how much the player signed for.
So the RFA's for the Rangers are as follows.
Derrick Brassard, who is on $3,200,000
Mats Zuccarello, whom is on $1,150,000
Chris Kreider, who makes $800,000
Michael Del Zotto who makes $2,550,000
Justin Falk who is on a grand total of $975,000
and John Moore, whom makes $840,000
Right first things first, If I was the GM, I would resign, Brassard, Zuccarello, Kreider, John Moore in a heartbeat. I would like to sign the other two, but I think it is more imperative to see how the Falk and Del Zotto contracts play out. I think Del Zotto would be in line for somewhere around the $4,000,000 mark, and I think that is too much for me. I can also see Del Zotto being traded, but as of now that is too speculative to include here. Falk is all about the price. Considering he is a 3rd line defenseman, his asking price shouldn't be too high. But he is a lesser player than what John Moore brings to the blueshirts defensive core.
Right so as we have been reading by now the Rangers would have approximately $8,662,500.
Brassard will be resigned for approximately the same price, which would be my starting offer. However I would be willing to go as high as $3,750,000. So all being well that would leave, $4,912,500. Gulp.
Mats Zuccarello is an underrated Forward. I'd offer a starting point of somewhere in the $1,850,000 range. I'd increase somewhere up to $2,600,000. And then I would be left with $2,312,500.
John Moore and Chris Kreider are interesting subjects. Yes they have improved but they also haven't performed at such high levels before and as such it can be argued by mister Sather that they haven't actually proven themselves in quite the same way that the previous two had.
I think both players could be gotten for a contract in the two million range, so obivously you low ball in negotiations, meaning you make a lower offer than your intended offer, as you do not want to make an offer so high that they are instantly accepted, or an offer that you cannot back down from, which might leave you in cap difficulty.
So as both players are on less than a million dollars, I'd make my opening offer at $1,150,000 each, and rise to $2,000,000 each. Now the more astute of you may notice that this would eliminate all cap space the rangers have. They now have Minus $1,687,500
I would let Del Zotto go, if he hasn't already been traded, and I would go as high as $1,400,000 for Falk, I will not make this signing just yet. And I'd make an offer towards Anton Stralman as well about a one year, $1,800,000 dollar contract.
So AT this Point of the article, here would be the prospective New York Rangers squad for a Salary Cap of $64.3 Million Dollars.
Forwards
Rick Nash: $7,800,000
Brad Richards: $6,666,667 Grand Total: $14,466,667
Derek Stepan: $3,075,000 GT: $17,541,667
Carl Hagelin: $2,250,000 GT: 19,791,667
Ryan Callahan: $5,750,000 GT: $25,541,667
JT Miller: $925,000 GT: $26,466,667
Dominic Moore: $1,200,000 GT: $27,666,667
Brian Boyle: $2,600,000 GT: $30,266,667
Derrick Brassard: $3,750,000 GT: $34,016,667
Mats Zuccarello: $2,600,000 GT: $36,616,667
Chris Kreider: $2,000,000 GT: $38,616,667
Derrick Dorsett: $1,633,333 GT: $40,250,000
Goalie
Henrik Lundqvist: $8,500,000 GT: $48,750,000
Cam Talbot: $562,500 GT: $49,312,500
Defensemen
Ryan Mcdonagh: $4,700,000 GT: $54,012,500
Dan Girardi: $6,000,000 GT: $60,012,500
Marc Staal: $3,975,000 GT: $63,987,500
John Moore: $2,000,000 GT: $65,987,000
At This Stage, The Rangers Salary is drumroll please....... $65,987,000.
Propective Offers:
Justin Falk: $1,250,000
Anton Stralman: $1,800,000
Ok so by adding these two defenseman above to the roster for the actual prices stated above, then the Rangers new Grand Total will be $69,037,000
So they are about five million over the Salary cap.
Now remember the compliance buyout they have? Well here is where it comes into play. I can use it on a player and remove their salaries completely off the books free of charge. Normally when you buyout a player you still have to pay him, but it still counts against your cap, with the compliance buyout you still pay the man, you just pay him out of your own cash over an extended period of time.
So for a 64.3 million dollar cap I somehow only need to find about 2 3/4 million dollars.
Unfortunately That also means I would have to use the compliance buyout on brad Richards saving me $6,666,667.
So by using the buyout on Richards, I am left with $62,370,333 this number includes having signed Falk, and Stralman.
So with that in mind, the front office of the Rangers would only need to sign a forward to have a full matchday roster, of which I would like to point out that they can just recall a forward from their ahl affilate and have some cash spare.
Plus I imagine the Ranger will get a decent haul of draft picks for Michael Del Zotto, so all is not lost.
Conclusion: The New York Rangers are in cap hell this year, with so many quality free agents who are key to their success right now, the Rangers cannot simply sign all of them. They can't, they haven't got enough space. The cap will go up after next season when the money from the new Rogers TV deal starts to find its way to the NHL's coffers. Once it does, and by golly is it ever predicted to go up. I've mentioned that in two years I reckon it will be somewhere around $75m. I've read reports that it could go as high as $90m by 2018, The lockout has hurt the league, but especially it has hurt the Rangers. One thing is for sure, this made my brain hurt trying to solve this conundrum, so good luck Glen Sather, and your staff, I don't envy your task one bit.
If you have any opinions on this subject, feel free to email us at betweenthepipespodcast@hotmail.co.uk
You can also leave comments on this article. Failing that you can tweet us on Twitter. Nick can be tweeted @NickVarney90, and I may be found @MasonCooper4
As a Rangers fan, I thought I would a) attempt to do the GM's job for him this offseason, and b) respond to it in kind. But first I will be attempting to re-sign the players needed while keeping the Rangers under the $64.3m cap.
Just so we are clear, the Rangers are up against the salary cap for this offseason, now because of the new Rogers TV deal, the salary cap will rise in the upcoming season dramatically. In just two years it is expected to be over $75m, last season the salary cap was, 60 million dollars but teams could spend $70.2m, because the salaries were prorated for the lockout shortened season. It has increased from 60 million up to 64.3 Million Dollars.
Before resigning Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers had just 8 players signed up and under contract for next year. Now they have 9, and they are signed up for a grand total of $39m. Which is a lot considering what I'm about to point out next.
As Nick also pointed out earlier today, and I'm going to directly quote from his article.
"Now comes the interesting part. Ryan Callahan, Derick Brassard, Mats Zucarello, Chris Kreider, Brian Boyle, Taylor Pyatt, Benoit Pouliot, Darroll Powe, Aaron Asham, Dominic Moore, Dan Girardi, Michael Del Zotto, Justin Falk, John Moore & Anton Stralman will all become free agents in July. Kreider, Zuccarello, Brassard, Falk, John Moore, and Del Zotto as RFAs that, in Kreider and Del Zotto, might fancy themselves a small pay rise. The rest will be free to negotiate with whomever they wish."
First things first, Glenn Sather has a compliance buyout, which no matter who it is used on their salary will not count against the cap in future years. Most people tend to think (myself included) that it will be used on Brad Richards and his $6.667m salary.
The Rangers can also trade players away of course, but I am not doing that.
Important Things of Note.
- The Rangers have a compliance buyout. Which removes salary from the cap without consequence.
- JT Miller is pretty damn good and is cheap, so instead of 13 players needed to be resigned it's actually 12.
- The Salary cap is $64.3m for this year, and we do not know what the salary cap will be for next year, so for now we are assuming that it will stay exactly the same.
With all the above taken into consideration, here is my take on what Glen Sather should do this offseason or in the coming months.
For this, we are going to run, with the highest figures or worse case scenario in my eyes. (you'll see what I mean when we get to re-signing Dan Girardi.)
First things first, i would recall JT Miller from the AHL permanently for next year, meaning I would only need to sign 12 players, and for two years he is dirt cheap under a million dollars. Roughly he comes in at $925k.I'm going to dissect what the Rangers should do with the Unrestricted free Agents that they have.
Ryan Callahan, Dan Girardi, Brian Boyle, Taylor Pyatt, Benoit Pouilliot, Dominic Moore, Dan Girardi, and Anton Stralman. are among the UFA's on the Rangers NHL Roster, there may be more UFA's on the Connecticut Whale's roster.
And here is the salaries each of these players earn currently. Per Capgeek.
Ryan Callahan: $4.275m
Brian Boyle: $1.7m
Taylor Pyatt: $1.550m
Benoit Pouilliot: $1.3m
Dominic Moore: $1m
Dan Girardi: $3.325m
Anton Stralman: $1.7m
The Rangers also have Arron Asham, and Darroll Powe down in the AHL, and they make Asham: $1m and Powe: $1.066m.
What to do with Unrestricted Free Agents
Now right away, if I was Glenn Sather the first thing I would is grab my calculator, and work out how much cap space i have for next year after resigning Mister Lundqvist.
For those who are wondering, currently the Rangers have $25,137,500 spare cash if the salary cap was to remain at $64.3 million, which i doubt, and ideally 13 players to sign. So for the opening salvo here what I am going to do is to decide which of the UFA's I would resign and which I would let go.
We'll start with the big guns, Dan Girardi and the captain, Ryan Callahan, these are two of the easiest yes' of the entire article, just a question of how much is needed to reacquire their services. I'd consider resigning Dominic Moore for some veteran presence, at the same price roughly, which is $1m.
Benoit Pouilliot: an interesting case, I like the guy, but I don't think he is good enough to be more than a 3rd liner currently. And again, it isn't like that isn't easily provided by the feeder systems, the Rangers possesses.
Taylor Pyatt: It's a no from me, he is a decent little player, but his output can be easily replaced by a drafted player or by a player already in the system, someone like JT Miller.
That leaves Anton Stralman and Brian Boyle, I'd keep Boyle, and release Stralman.
Down In the AHL: Arron Asham and Darroll Powe. No, if push comes to shove these guys go, saving some cap space.
So, Captain Cally, Girardi, Boyle, and Dominic Moore.
Callahan and Girardi will cost Sather the most easily. My key question as a hockey blogger is would either or these two be willing to take a minor hometown discount. They're both on big bucks at the moment, despite the commonly held view that Girardi is underpaid, and Cally is slightly underpaid.
Nick believes Girardi would easily surpass $6 million next season, and I agree. He is a quality defenseman. My initial offer would be $5.2m and I would be willing to rise up to $6m. This leaves $19,137,500 spare.
Moving onto the next big resigning. Captain Ryan Callahan. New York Born and bred (born in the state of New York, Rochester to be exact), fearless leader, (you have to be to block as many shots as he does) and is currently paid $4.275m. Like Lundqvist this isn't too bad, as I'd offer a starting offer of a million more than what he is currently on. So $5.275m. Again I'd increase this up to $5.75m if Ryan turned down the first offer.
$19,137,500 minus $5.75m leaves the Rangers $13,387,500 to play with and 11 players to sign to field a roster. (edit: the art of editing as you write, I've only just remember JT Miller as you will already have read, so by subtracting his salary of 925,000 leaves $12,462,500.)
Moving onto Dominic Moore, I'd quickly organise the same deal as he has had now, 1 year, $1m. Maybe push an extra couple hundred grand in there to secure the signing. That leaves $11,262,500.
The last guy I would resign from the UFAs is Brian Boyle, he is currently on $1.7m. I'd Offer, $2.25m, and move up to $2.6m as a maximum. Taking the highest offer as lore in this article, that would leave the Rangers with $8,662,500 to sign 8 players.
Now that is not a lot to sign 8 players with but the Rangers have a major advantage here, They have a compliance buyout in their pocket.
But before that, lets look over the New York Rangers restricted free agents. This is the same for all teams, if they sign anyone's RFAs.
Restricted Free Agents:
A restricted free agent, or RFA, is a player who is slightly younger than most players, or are on their first contract. This happens with every team in the NHL. The Rangers do not have to negotiate with these players. They can even let them go to free agency and still resign even if another team signs said player. Why is because in this case the Rangers can let one of their rfa's sign with another team, and if the Rangers, think that the contract is worth it, they can match the offer. If they don't, then the player signs for the other team, the Rangers get compensation via the draft, and on how much the player signed for.
So the RFA's for the Rangers are as follows.
Derrick Brassard, who is on $3,200,000
Mats Zuccarello, whom is on $1,150,000
Chris Kreider, who makes $800,000
Michael Del Zotto who makes $2,550,000
Justin Falk who is on a grand total of $975,000
and John Moore, whom makes $840,000
Right first things first, If I was the GM, I would resign, Brassard, Zuccarello, Kreider, John Moore in a heartbeat. I would like to sign the other two, but I think it is more imperative to see how the Falk and Del Zotto contracts play out. I think Del Zotto would be in line for somewhere around the $4,000,000 mark, and I think that is too much for me. I can also see Del Zotto being traded, but as of now that is too speculative to include here. Falk is all about the price. Considering he is a 3rd line defenseman, his asking price shouldn't be too high. But he is a lesser player than what John Moore brings to the blueshirts defensive core.
Right so as we have been reading by now the Rangers would have approximately $8,662,500.
Brassard will be resigned for approximately the same price, which would be my starting offer. However I would be willing to go as high as $3,750,000. So all being well that would leave, $4,912,500. Gulp.
Mats Zuccarello is an underrated Forward. I'd offer a starting point of somewhere in the $1,850,000 range. I'd increase somewhere up to $2,600,000. And then I would be left with $2,312,500.
John Moore and Chris Kreider are interesting subjects. Yes they have improved but they also haven't performed at such high levels before and as such it can be argued by mister Sather that they haven't actually proven themselves in quite the same way that the previous two had.
I think both players could be gotten for a contract in the two million range, so obivously you low ball in negotiations, meaning you make a lower offer than your intended offer, as you do not want to make an offer so high that they are instantly accepted, or an offer that you cannot back down from, which might leave you in cap difficulty.
So as both players are on less than a million dollars, I'd make my opening offer at $1,150,000 each, and rise to $2,000,000 each. Now the more astute of you may notice that this would eliminate all cap space the rangers have. They now have Minus $1,687,500
I would let Del Zotto go, if he hasn't already been traded, and I would go as high as $1,400,000 for Falk, I will not make this signing just yet. And I'd make an offer towards Anton Stralman as well about a one year, $1,800,000 dollar contract.
So AT this Point of the article, here would be the prospective New York Rangers squad for a Salary Cap of $64.3 Million Dollars.
Forwards
Rick Nash: $7,800,000
Brad Richards: $6,666,667 Grand Total: $14,466,667
Derek Stepan: $3,075,000 GT: $17,541,667
Carl Hagelin: $2,250,000 GT: 19,791,667
Ryan Callahan: $5,750,000 GT: $25,541,667
JT Miller: $925,000 GT: $26,466,667
Dominic Moore: $1,200,000 GT: $27,666,667
Brian Boyle: $2,600,000 GT: $30,266,667
Derrick Brassard: $3,750,000 GT: $34,016,667
Mats Zuccarello: $2,600,000 GT: $36,616,667
Chris Kreider: $2,000,000 GT: $38,616,667
Derrick Dorsett: $1,633,333 GT: $40,250,000
Goalie
Henrik Lundqvist: $8,500,000 GT: $48,750,000
Cam Talbot: $562,500 GT: $49,312,500
Defensemen
Ryan Mcdonagh: $4,700,000 GT: $54,012,500
Dan Girardi: $6,000,000 GT: $60,012,500
Marc Staal: $3,975,000 GT: $63,987,500
John Moore: $2,000,000 GT: $65,987,000
At This Stage, The Rangers Salary is drumroll please....... $65,987,000.
Propective Offers:
Justin Falk: $1,250,000
Anton Stralman: $1,800,000
Ok so by adding these two defenseman above to the roster for the actual prices stated above, then the Rangers new Grand Total will be $69,037,000
So they are about five million over the Salary cap.
Now remember the compliance buyout they have? Well here is where it comes into play. I can use it on a player and remove their salaries completely off the books free of charge. Normally when you buyout a player you still have to pay him, but it still counts against your cap, with the compliance buyout you still pay the man, you just pay him out of your own cash over an extended period of time.
So for a 64.3 million dollar cap I somehow only need to find about 2 3/4 million dollars.
Unfortunately That also means I would have to use the compliance buyout on brad Richards saving me $6,666,667.
So by using the buyout on Richards, I am left with $62,370,333 this number includes having signed Falk, and Stralman.
So with that in mind, the front office of the Rangers would only need to sign a forward to have a full matchday roster, of which I would like to point out that they can just recall a forward from their ahl affilate and have some cash spare.
Plus I imagine the Ranger will get a decent haul of draft picks for Michael Del Zotto, so all is not lost.
Conclusion: The New York Rangers are in cap hell this year, with so many quality free agents who are key to their success right now, the Rangers cannot simply sign all of them. They can't, they haven't got enough space. The cap will go up after next season when the money from the new Rogers TV deal starts to find its way to the NHL's coffers. Once it does, and by golly is it ever predicted to go up. I've mentioned that in two years I reckon it will be somewhere around $75m. I've read reports that it could go as high as $90m by 2018, The lockout has hurt the league, but especially it has hurt the Rangers. One thing is for sure, this made my brain hurt trying to solve this conundrum, so good luck Glen Sather, and your staff, I don't envy your task one bit.
If you have any opinions on this subject, feel free to email us at betweenthepipespodcast@hotmail.co.uk
You can also leave comments on this article. Failing that you can tweet us on Twitter. Nick can be tweeted @NickVarney90, and I may be found @MasonCooper4
Thursday, 5 December 2013
Podcast - December 5th Edition
Podcast - December 5th Edition
LISTEN HERE
or you can subscribe on iTunes....
In this edition Nick, Ross and Junaid go over the weeks headlines, our picks for goals and saves of the week, and make our prediction league picks for this week. In "Four Teams" we talk about Ottawa, Philadelphia, St Louis and Washington. Ross gives us his "Things that happened since the Red Wings last missed the playoffs" stat.
Save of the week
Josh Harding - MINNESOTA WILD vs Philadelphia Flyers
Goals of the week
Darren Helm - DETROIT RED WINGS vs New York Islanders
Max Pacioretty - MONTREAL CANADIENS vs Toronto Maple Leafs
Prediction League
TABLE
Nick - 6/12
Ross - 6/12
Junaid - 3/12
This weeks games/picks:
Boston @ Montreal
Carolina @ Nashville
Phoenix @ Vancouver
Toronto @ Ottawa
New Jersey @ NY Rangers
Calgary @ Edmonton
Nick: MTL, CAR, PHX, OTT, NJ, CGY
Ross: MTL, CAR, PHX, TOR, NYR, CGY
Junaid: BOS, NSH, VAN, TOR, NYR, EDM
THINGS THAT HAPPENED SINCE DETROIT LAST MISSED THE PLAYOFFS
by Ross Chaplin
Australia cricket legend Shane Warne had yet to make his International debut. Sachin Tendulkar was yet to make his first International test match century.
And, finally......
A couple of the New York Rangers "Welcome to Rangerstown" commercials...
NEXT WEEK....... We are doing our NHL themed 12 Days of Christmas. Email or tweet us any suggestions. Our email address and twitter handles are below.
Email us any questions you'd like us to answer at betweenthepipespodcast@hotmail.com and we will answer them during recording. Also you can direct anything our way on twitter, @NickVarney90, @j_hussain & @MasonCooper4.
Between The Pipes - December 5th Edition
LISTEN HERE
or you can subscribe on iTunes....
In this edition Nick, Ross and Junaid go over the weeks headlines, our picks for goals and saves of the week, and make our prediction league picks for this week. In "Four Teams" we talk about Ottawa, Philadelphia, St Louis and Washington. Ross gives us his "Things that happened since the Red Wings last missed the playoffs" stat.
Save of the week
Josh Harding - MINNESOTA WILD vs Philadelphia Flyers
Goals of the week
Darren Helm - DETROIT RED WINGS vs New York Islanders
Max Pacioretty - MONTREAL CANADIENS vs Toronto Maple Leafs
Prediction League
TABLE
Nick - 6/12
Ross - 6/12
Junaid - 3/12
This weeks games/picks:
Boston @ Montreal
Carolina @ Nashville
Phoenix @ Vancouver
Toronto @ Ottawa
New Jersey @ NY Rangers
Calgary @ Edmonton
Nick: MTL, CAR, PHX, OTT, NJ, CGY
Ross: MTL, CAR, PHX, TOR, NYR, CGY
Junaid: BOS, NSH, VAN, TOR, NYR, EDM
THINGS THAT HAPPENED SINCE DETROIT LAST MISSED THE PLAYOFFS
by Ross Chaplin
Australia cricket legend Shane Warne had yet to make his International debut. Sachin Tendulkar was yet to make his first International test match century.
And, finally......
A couple of the New York Rangers "Welcome to Rangerstown" commercials...
NEXT WEEK....... We are doing our NHL themed 12 Days of Christmas. Email or tweet us any suggestions. Our email address and twitter handles are below.
Email us any questions you'd like us to answer at betweenthepipespodcast@hotmail.com and we will answer them during recording. Also you can direct anything our way on twitter, @NickVarney90, @j_hussain & @MasonCooper4.
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
Podcast Difficulties
We Normally Record on a Tuesday evening, but Nick was unable to record last night, so we were recording tonight, now we were speaking on the Henrik Lundqvist contract, and Nick, whom is the man that edits, records and posts it online, unfortunately is suffering from technical difficulties, we've tried but its too stop start at the moment, normally what you hear is spoken and recorded all in one take, as we like to roll with the punches when we speak about hockey.
So don't fear about missing this weeks podcast, as it dosen't exist yet, just know we are going to attempt to continue the start of this weeks podcast tomorrow,
Hilariously, Nick started to say "we'll give this one more go and if it cuts........" and me and junaid never heard the rest.... :(
Anyhoo, Thanks for your patience, we'll talk to you soon.
Ross, Nick & Junaid the Between The Pipes Crew.
So don't fear about missing this weeks podcast, as it dosen't exist yet, just know we are going to attempt to continue the start of this weeks podcast tomorrow,
Hilariously, Nick started to say "we'll give this one more go and if it cuts........" and me and junaid never heard the rest.... :(
Anyhoo, Thanks for your patience, we'll talk to you soon.
Ross, Nick & Junaid the Between The Pipes Crew.
The New York Rangers vs. the Salary Cap
Today, the New York Rangers extended goalie Henrik Lundqvist through 2021, or, until "The King" is 39. Obviously, this wasn't a cheap move for the Rangers. It'll cost them $8.5m per year, or $59.5m over the next seven seasons. That's roughly $1.6m more than the current cap hit for the Swede. Going through his worst season in recent memory, this deal could lift a giant weight, allowing Lundqvist to hit the form that dragged the Rangers into last years playoffs, and help Sweden in the upcoming Sochi Olympics.
With Lundqvist signed, the Rangers now have nine players (two goalies) signed on for the 2014-15 season, at a pretty high approximate figure of $39.5m. This will leave them with around $25m to spend on 12-14 more players. Now comes the interesting part. Ryan Callahan, Derick Brassard, Mats Zucarello, Chris Kreider, Brian Boyle, Taylor Pyatt, Benoit Pouliot, Darroll Powe, Aaron Asham, Dominic Moore, Dan Girardi, Michael Del Zotto, Justin Falk, John Moore & Anton Stralman will all become free agents in July. Kreider, Zuccarello, Brassard, Falk, John Moore, and Del Zotto as RFAs that, in Kreider and Del Zotto, might fancy themselves a small pay rise. The rest will be free to negotiate with whomever they wish.
My guess is that Callahan, Kreider, Stralman and Zuccarello will most likely be Rangers next season. The problem starts with players like Girardi and Del Zotto, already on average size salaries for the quality of hockey they give. Anyone would be stupid not to think Girardi could be in for a nice pay day in July. Perhaps in the $5-6m per year range, possibly higher. At 29, there'll be plenty of clubs lined up for his services if the Rangers don't pay up.
The obvious thing that'll help take a load off the Rangers cap problem, is to buyout Brad Richards. That alone will open up an extra $6.66m on the cap.
So what do the Rangers do?
They probably buyout Richards and give themselves about $32m to spend on 14 players. If they plan to keep Callahan, Kreider, Girardi, Stralman and Del Zotto then I'd imagine at least half of that sum goes to those five players. Leaving the Rangers with six attackers, five defenders, and the Lundqvist/Talbot tandem. Then they can hope players like Boyle, Brassard, Pyatt and Moore take similar deals to their current ones. Adding small rises to current salary would mean all pending FAs mentioned in this paragraph could cost a combined total of $26-31m. Leaving $3-8m spare for 3-5 players.
What about trades? Only players I see being traded are Staal and Dorsett. Richards cap hit is huge, not many teams might want to take that punt. Girardi isn't the sort of player a team like the Rangers would trade to a fellow playoff contender. McDonagh just signed a big deal and Del Zotto would only fetch back a similar cap hit. But would be a rental. I can't see teams taking him on as a rental. On offense, they have Stepan, Nash and Hagelin signed beyond the current season. Three guys they must, and probably will keep.
Staal is currently a cap hit of just under $4m. Dorsett is a tidy $1.6m. Both become UFAs in 2015. If any player is traded away it'll be one, or both, of those two. If they manage to trade away Richards for a similar player with two thirds or even half the cap hit, give Glen Sather the key to the city.
Is it worth the Rangers trying to keep the majority of the current team together, minus Richards? Or should they go into the summer seeing who they can bring to NYC? Will Girardi remain a Ranger? Might Callahan take a hometown discount? Is there any scenario Richards is still around next season?
Definitely an intriguing July awaits for the Rangers and their fans.
 |
| The King - aka The $59.5m Man |
My guess is that Callahan, Kreider, Stralman and Zuccarello will most likely be Rangers next season. The problem starts with players like Girardi and Del Zotto, already on average size salaries for the quality of hockey they give. Anyone would be stupid not to think Girardi could be in for a nice pay day in July. Perhaps in the $5-6m per year range, possibly higher. At 29, there'll be plenty of clubs lined up for his services if the Rangers don't pay up.
The obvious thing that'll help take a load off the Rangers cap problem, is to buyout Brad Richards. That alone will open up an extra $6.66m on the cap.
So what do the Rangers do?
They probably buyout Richards and give themselves about $32m to spend on 14 players. If they plan to keep Callahan, Kreider, Girardi, Stralman and Del Zotto then I'd imagine at least half of that sum goes to those five players. Leaving the Rangers with six attackers, five defenders, and the Lundqvist/Talbot tandem. Then they can hope players like Boyle, Brassard, Pyatt and Moore take similar deals to their current ones. Adding small rises to current salary would mean all pending FAs mentioned in this paragraph could cost a combined total of $26-31m. Leaving $3-8m spare for 3-5 players.
What about trades? Only players I see being traded are Staal and Dorsett. Richards cap hit is huge, not many teams might want to take that punt. Girardi isn't the sort of player a team like the Rangers would trade to a fellow playoff contender. McDonagh just signed a big deal and Del Zotto would only fetch back a similar cap hit. But would be a rental. I can't see teams taking him on as a rental. On offense, they have Stepan, Nash and Hagelin signed beyond the current season. Three guys they must, and probably will keep.
Staal is currently a cap hit of just under $4m. Dorsett is a tidy $1.6m. Both become UFAs in 2015. If any player is traded away it'll be one, or both, of those two. If they manage to trade away Richards for a similar player with two thirds or even half the cap hit, give Glen Sather the key to the city.
Is it worth the Rangers trying to keep the majority of the current team together, minus Richards? Or should they go into the summer seeing who they can bring to NYC? Will Girardi remain a Ranger? Might Callahan take a hometown discount? Is there any scenario Richards is still around next season?
Definitely an intriguing July awaits for the Rangers and their fans.
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