Thoughts on Day 1
Does Glen Sather finally get it? After a decade of free agent signings that made Ranger fans want to pull out their hair, does the Cigar Aficionado finally understand what it takes to build a winning team? Don’t get me wrong, he still had his “Sather Redux” moment yesterday when he inexplicably signed Donald Brashear to a two-year deal. Remember though, this is Sather we’re talking about; Ranger fans should be breathing a sigh of relief that Brashear isn’t locked up until he’s 50 at $5 million plus against the cap! The Brashear signing aside, what Sather has done over the last two days has been nothing short of brilliant. You all know, when I’m heaping that kind of praise on Glennie, he had to do something that was pretty darn good.
Let’s start with the Gomez deal. What Glen Sather did to Bob Gainey on Tuesday was nothing short of grand larceny. In fact, I’m pretty sure a grand jury has been assembled and they’re deciding right now whether or not to formally charge Mr. Sather. At $7.375 million dollars for the next five years, Scott Gomez’s contract was one of the great albatrosses, not just on the Rangers, but in professional sports. Gomez is a player who averages a shade over 64 points per season and who has only hit the 20 goal plateau once in his nine-year career. A nice player, sure, but a player who deserves the 11th richest contract in the sport? Well, as Bruno would say, isht don’t think so! In hockey parlance that is a contract that we deem “untradeable.”
Well apparently it wasn’t, as Sather was able to find a poor sap trading partner in Bob Gainey. Glen knew that Gainey was in desperate need of a number one center and exploited that need. He convinced the Montreal exec to not only take on Gomez and his gargantuan salary, but to send back a package that included a very nice player in Chris Higgins and the number one prospect in the Canadiens organization in Ryan McDonagh.
What?! I’m still baffled by it.
Generally a big time prospect like that is attached to the huge contract in a salary dump situation…not the other way around. Apparently Bob Gainey didn’t get the memo. So heading into day 1 of free agency, Sather had rid the Rangers of a huge contract and given himself room to maneuver.
After biding his time for most of the day–and scaring Ranger fans to death with the Brashear signing and Neil offer–Glen Sather landed one of the most elite offensive players in hockey today, Marian Gaborik. When healthy, the guy is a top five player in the NHL and an absolute offensive magician. Over the past four years he has averaged over a point per game and did it under a coach in Jacques Lemaire who’s style of play makes Tom Renney’s look like an all-out offensive blitz. He put up 42 goals and 41 assists two seasons ago and in the 17 games after he came back from surgery last year he registered 13 goals and 10 assists. In other words, he’s the type of talent that you pay $7.5 million over five years for. He’s the type of force that you risk that type of money on…not Gomez. If he can do that kind of damage under Lemaire, what can he do when he’s let loose under Torts?
Is there a risk? Of course. The big knock on Gabs is that he can’t stay healthy. Still, over his eight-year career he’s only played in less than 65 games twice…it just so happens that they were in two of the last three years. You just have to trust that the surgery to repair a torn labrum on his hip has corrected the big problem and he’s good to go. It’s a risk for sure, but it’s a calculated risk that the Rangers really had to take.
So to sum it up, 24 hours into free agency Glen Sather has essentially traded Scott Gomez and Colton Orr for Marian Gaborik, Chris Higgins, Donald Brashear and a bluechip prospect. The salary cap hit for the latter package is only about $2.5 million more then the hit for the former. If that doesn’t constitute a brilliant managerial day, I don’t know what does.
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24 Responses
MIke G July 2nd at 11:20 am
Also, Anthropov to Atlanta… I’m wondering whats going to happen with Bets, Calli & Dubi…
Sad to see the Shoe man & go too…
Our PK will be worse, I dont care what anyone says.
MIke G July 2nd at 11:20 am
Also, Anthropov to Atlanta… I’m wondering whats going to happen with Bets, Calli & Dubi…
Sad to see the Shoe man & Orr go too…
Our PK will be worse, I dont care what anyone says.
Plebeian July 2nd at 11:21 am
I love the signing don’t get me wrong, but isn’t that what everyone said about Gomez? Everyone claimed that he was hampered by a defensive system in Jersey and his offence would blossom like a flower in New York. Eh, I wasn’t impressed with how that turned out.
Perhaps what we see is what we get with Gaborik (and that’s just fine with me) lets not project his scoring to skyrocket because his zip code changed…that way we will be pleasantly surprised if it does.
Plebeian July 2nd at 11:25 am
Poopie,…Antropov recently signed for 4 years @ 4 million per with Atlanta. I’m kinda upset we couldn’t offer that deal to him…Seems fair to me.
Plebeian July 2nd at 11:32 am
Hey guys,
As a topic of discussion, would anyone like to play GM and offer their opinions as to who out of the remaining notable UFA’s you would want to sign? (and for how much and how long)
FORWARDS
Bertuzzi
Tanguay
Koivu
Lang
Afinogenov
Yelle
LaRose
Comrie
Fedetenko
Malhotra
Goc
Sykora
DEFENCE
Zubov
Beauchimin
Scuduri
Aucoin
Oduya
GOALIES
Biron
Niitymaki
Legace
Fernandez
Scummy July 2nd at 11:35 am
What about Mara? We should just lock Dubi Cally Mara and maybe Scuderi or Zubov? Also Tanguay would be sweet.
sully July 2nd at 11:53 am
i wouldnt want another defenseman i say we should let mara go we have an overflow of defense in the system give the last 2 spots to del zotto, sanguinetti, or gilroy
MIke G July 2nd at 11:58 am
Whats the cap wiggle room left at this point?
Steven Gelbs July 2nd at 12:02 pm
Mike, it depends on what the RFA’s who were qualified end up getting, but right now they could theoretically have as much as $14-$15 million left to spend. They’re in very good shape.
MIke G July 2nd at 12:11 pm
Wow, you can keep your RFA’s and still have cash on hand… lets see how Sather blows it this time.
Gabbi R. July 2nd at 1:02 pm
Steve, you can sleep soundly for one more year- Jason Strudwick re-signed in Edmonton.
MIke G July 2nd at 1:05 pm
Haha I was totally gonna say that
Plebeian July 2nd at 1:31 pm
Hey Steve & Eric,
When I comment from home, the comment appears right away, but when I comment at work, I have to wait about 20-30 minutes before my comment appears. (which is why I sound like an idiot talking about how Antropov is signed after everyone else was already done talking about it) Do you guys know why that is?
Steven Gelbs July 2nd at 1:34 pm
Plebeian that’s strange. When you write it from work does something come up saying that your comment is in moderation?
Richard S July 2nd at 1:54 pm
hey guys, check out how bad the situation in ottawa is getting
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=lebrun_pierre&id=4302680
heatly might still be on the table? who knows
Plebeian July 2nd at 1:57 pm
Uh, no. But I always assumed that was the case. I just didn’t know why it never happened at home.
Not a huge deal. It wont stop me from posting. I just may sound like an idiot from time to times (insert joke here)
Richard S July 2nd at 2:00 pm
what do you guys think the offer to ottawa was? dubi, rozi, and a prospect?
Gabbi R. July 2nd at 3:12 pm
Rich, I think the Heatley deal was something like Dubinsky, Rozsival and probably Sanguinetti, or a defensive prospect. But Slats said Dubi, Cally, Staal and Hank were off limits. It’s going to be a roundabout game with Heatly and the Sens. There’s one team willing to take him, and he dosen’t go. So it’s stay or be miserable or go and be miserable.
Ryan F. July 2nd at 3:29 pm
Just a little something to get us acquainted with our new top scorer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDN_S7mO6jo
sully July 2nd at 3:44 pm
our good friend voros was in that vid
Richard S July 2nd at 4:32 pm
I say we hold pat, unless we can get heatly in a trade, we should stay put and wait till ATL falls off the face of the earth, and make a push for kovulchuk and the stanley cup
sully July 2nd at 4:43 pm
good plan, with kovulchuck on this team we can burry the devils and make a very good run at the penguins to win the division and if we can beat the penguins thats like a ticket to the cup
Plebeian July 2nd at 6:22 pm
Granted we have one less Gomer and one more Gaborik. But I think we are far more removed from the Cup then the addition of one Kovalchuk. In a few years if we see one or 2 defencive prospects and a forward or 2 blossom into stars, then were talking.
Richard S July 2nd at 6:29 pm
you are right, we are far, but with gaborik, and add a kovulchuk and we are at about 260-270 goals in a season, that is near the top of the league