LEETCH'S RANGER RETURN TAKES HIT/Signing may leave out Leetch
Darius Kasparaitis
Fedor Tyutin
Marek Malik
Michal Rozsival
Karel Rachunek
Aaron Ward
That's six defensemen with.........
Quote:
Thomas Pock and Martin Richter are expected to compete in camp for the seventh spot, though 19-year-old, 2005 first-rounder Marc Staal will be given every opportunity to force his way into the picture. (Sandis Ozolinsh, who re-entered the NHL/NHLPA Health Program following a DWI arrest in May, does remain under contract, but he is not expected to be ready to play anytime sooner than early December under the best of circumstances following post-season knee surgery.)
Brooksy added the Rangers do not appear to have an offer out there for Martin Rucinsky who should have taken the Rangers one year/$3.1 million offer in early July.Rucinsky's agent Petr Svoboda(not the former NHLer)has started contacting other NHL teams
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Considering Leetch's refusal to sign with any of the Rangers' rivals and desire to remain in the Northeast so as not to uproot his wife Mary Beth and their three young children, his options appear limited.
He would like to return to the Bruins, with whom he signed last summer. But they are even more fully staffed on defense than the Rangers. A one-year deal with Edmonton is a possibility as former Rangers teammate Kevin Lowe, the Oilers GM, pursued Leetch in free agency last summer
Regarding the Ozolinsh situation,he had reconstructive surgery of his ACL on his left knee in June.That was his second ACL surgery on the same knee.It's usually a 6-8 month recovery and return
possibly, but I kind of doubt it...regardless of how I or others around here feel about him, I think the Rangers were pretty happy with his play last year and aren't in a hurry to ship him off.
As always, if the right deal comes along he could be gone in a jiffy, but it wouldn't surprise me if they felt none of their prospects were ready yet and didn't want to go into the season with a hole on the blueline. I can't say that I totally agree with them on that, but if they're not confident in Pock or someone to earn that 6th spot, then I doubt they'll want to trade Rozsival.
But remember, injuries happen, especially to defensemen, so I'd expect to see Pock/Richter/Baranka get their share of games that way. Maybe one will step up and earn themselves a permanent roster spot.
I hope they give the oppurtunity to the young guys on the team to make the team. IMO if Staal/Pock/Lampman/Baranka impress the hell out of the team they should definetly be given the spot and have a veteran shipped out.
possibly, but I kind of doubt it...regardless of how I or others around here feel about him, I think the Rangers were pretty happy with his play last year and aren't in a hurry to ship him off.
Happy enough to have reportedly offered him a multi-year deal earlier in the summer. The only way Rozsival didn't stick around is if he really played hardball on a contract and got his rights shipped off for.....whatever.
Please, PLEASE let this be the final nail in the coffin for the Leetch rumors.
Although it is heavily Euro, we do have some of the few tough Euro players in the League
Rozsival-4th on the team in hits last season, not a heavy hitter but not not Tom Poti either
Malik- Harry is the man for standing there and letting Spezza kill himelf. Regardless of his physical play or lack of, he is never mandhandeld because of his size advantage.
Kasper- I don't even have to go there.
Rachuneck- This is one tough mofo that I could see being our true #1 defenseman this season. This guy can skate, check and score. Wouldn't be shocked to see that a year as the best dman outside of the NHL did him some good. He will put up at least 35+ points this season.
Tyutin- This kid is like a sponge right now. He is absorbing everything from his parter Kasper. He even started to show that edge a few times last season, not soft by any means.
in hits? I thought he and Poti were darn close in those stats. He was up there in blocked shots I do know.
I don't think Rozi's going anywhere. He signed for two years, and I think the intention is to keep him. It will be difficult for a youngster to make this team barring injury, although Richter may end up being the first one in since he'll be fighting for that seventh spot. The defense does look a bit better than last year (and no, not because Poti's gone, but because Rachunek+Ward>Poti+Strudwick). But Rachunek's the real wildcard in there.
Also in the article was that Rucinsky turned down a $3.1MM offer in June. If that's true, I wonder what the Rangers' plan would've been. Would they have still pursued Straka, Cullen, Shanny and Hall? And if so, I wonder what they really think of Prucha, as well as Dawes' chances to make this team. I can only assume that plan B was executed, and if Rucinsky was offered a contract, I'm glad that he didn't accept.
Malik isn't often manhandled, although it was funny on a few occasions watching Gionta come in, lay a hit on Malik, and come away with the puck. The 9-10 inch size difference is interesting to see.
I wonder why you think Rachunek is one tough mofo though. Never saw that in him.
Ward - he's an upgrade to Strudwick and I wonder in what role he'll play. He played a lot of minutes during the regular season, and was an even bigger part of the post-season.
Pairings and ice time distribution will be interesting on the blue line this season (perhaps not as much as the forward lines, but nonetheless, interesting (like does Renney have a right hand shot on each pairing, or does he stick with his two pairings from last year and just throw Rachunek and Ward out there together?)).
Pairings and ice time distribution will be interesting on the blue line this season (perhaps not as much as the forward lines, but nonetheless, interesting (like does Renney have a right hand shot on each pairing, or does he stick with his two pairings from last year and just throw Rachunek and Ward out there together?)).
You have to believe that Rozsival & Malik will be back together and welded to the Jagr line again, for better or worse. Then you would think the 2nd pairing would be Rahunek & Ward, as they will skate w/ Shanny/Cullen/Prucha. That then leaves the third pairing (and least amount of minutes) to Toots/Kasper.
Also in the article was that Rucinsky turned down a $3.1MM offer in June. If that's true, I wonder what the Rangers' plan would've been. Would they have still pursued Straka, Cullen, Shanny and Hall? And if so, I wonder what they really think of Prucha, as well as Dawes' chances to make this team. I can only assume that plan B was executed, and if Rucinsky was offered a contract, I'm glad that he didn't accept.
I seem to remember Maloney or Sather saying that they originally weren't looking at Shanny because they didn't think they could get him. But then suddenly they had a chance to get him so they took it. That's what really put a big hit on Rucinsky's chances to come back.
So I'm saying I don't think the signings would have been the same if Rucinsky had signed first.
NY upgraded on D when they added Ward, and lost Poti. It will be interesting to see how Rachunek plays and if he can surprise everyone, and really impress us all. Management always talks highly of Rozsival, so he's most likely here for the next two years, but it would still be nice to see some youth added in on D if he falters and continues his penalty minute marathon. Rucinsky was just plain dumb for not taking a 3 mil. offer and like Leetch, good luck finding a job elsewhere, as Sather seems unlikely to be offering these guys any deals.
Malik isn't often manhandled, although it was funny on a few occasions watching Gionta come in, lay a hit on Malik, and come away with the puck. The 9-10 inch size difference is interesting to see.
I wonder why you think Rachunek is one tough mofo though. Never saw that in him.
Ward - he's an upgrade to Strudwick and I wonder in what role he'll play. He played a lot of minutes during the regular season, and was an even bigger part of the post-season.
Pairings and ice time distribution will be interesting on the blue line this season (perhaps not as much as the forward lines, but nonetheless, interesting (like does Renney have a right hand shot on each pairing, or does he stick with his two pairings from last year and just throw Rachunek and Ward out there together?)).
I saw that in Rachuneck from his time in Ottawa, he definetly didn't show that type of heart with the Rangers at the end of 04 after the purge.
I felt the best plan would have been to trade Rozsival for picks/prospect, sign Leetch to a one year deal, and if Staal plays well enough work him in and out of the lineup using Leetch. This way they both get rest because Staal may be ready for the NHL right now but he is not ready to play 82 games.
Also even if they dont sign Leetch just please trade Rozsival.
about where the Rangers are in their cap space and who's signed and who's coming up is that they had a lot of flexibility. There's a lot of things that could've been (or still could be) done. There still could be a move (I do have a gut sense that the plan with Rozsival was to retain him, not flip him, so I don't think it's Rozsival). Until Tyutin's signed, there will remain speculation there. There are a good amount of forwards and someone like Dawes can emerge as a guy who should be in the NHL, and perhaps with Dawes, Hall, and the others that have been signed and what's coming up, the Rangers deal Prucha, who may have a high value after 30 goals last season. Who knows at this point - perhaps Maloney and Sather don't even know.
I'm still on summer-hiatus, so I'm not really willing to get too into this. However, I will say that Roszival's hit stats are about as misleading as his blocked shots and +/-.
The stats in this league are an absolute joke because most, if not all, are without context and specific meaning. Every rink in the league is responsible for taking stats, hence there are 30 different ways that these stats are being taken. A hit in one rink does not count in another, and that goes for blocked shots, giveaways, takeaways and even faceoffs(!).
How many times did you see Ortmeyer block 6 shots in one shift (let alone the rest of the period or game), yet only receive credit for 3 by games end? The same went for Hollweg and hits; the guy would crank three players in one 40 second span and end up with 2 hits for the entire game.
Each arena also has it's own agenda, and unfortunately the stats usually favour the home team, regardless of whether it is a true reflection of the game or not.
Even if the stats were accurate/unbiased, that still leaves the issue of context. A player in this league, today, can make a fortune by manipulating the stats all the while playing ****** hockey. Sure the guy had an outstanding +/- or so many hits and blocked shots, but the stats fail to tell the whole story, and for those that only view the stats they're led to believe only what they can see on paper. You only need to look at tsn's article on the Roszival signing to see it...after reading one was left to believe the Rangers were/are utter fools for waiting to sign Roszival for so long.
I have absolutely no faith in statistics for the above reasons.
Sorry, I know it's a tangent to the discussion, but I had to say it.
...back to invisible one-line comments for another two months.
It will be interesting to see who becomes this season's whipping boy. With Poti gone, the Garden faithful have a gaping hole to fill. Could be they just throw both Hossa and Rozsival in but we'll probably know by the end of October.
Also, we avoided the injury bug last year in such a way last year that it should be considered "miraculous". Do not expect that again this year, in fact look for the law of averages to rear its ugly head on the Rangers and wreak havok on the troops. Adversity while probably be the word next year... or Exposed. Because I am also expecting our defense to be exposed much like they were in the playoffs. No matter how tough Malik may be, having only one NA defenseman will cause many problems. We will be pressured and hit in our own end. We will have more turnovers (more!?), more penalties (impossible) and more injuries. Good thing we have 19 d-men signed, because most of them will see action. Staal will get sent back to juniors and out of this NHL season. So Richter, Pock and Baranka will be leaned on... or used in trades for other D.
it's weird how you can watch a game and say hey, that guy played great, or hey, he sucked tonight, and then someone will throw some stats at you that would seem to suggest otherwise, especially on the +/- (I do remember a couple times posting after a goal and saying, another + for Malik and Rozsival, even though neither even got to touch the puck).
Mugerya - agree completely. The lack of injuries is up there with other primary reasons as to why the Rangers were able to get out to such a fast start. Had Jagr missed 5-6 games in January, this team could've been fighting for the 8th spot and not the division title down the stretch. I think the team this season is deeper, althbough I don't really want to know how deep it is.
