Rangers Report Blog

Bob McKenzie checks in with the latest on Mats Sundin, saying that “the Rangers haven’t made a formal offer to the center”:http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=259800&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_nhl, which we can all agree is kind of hard when the team doesn’t yet have much money to offer.

Once a four-team race, McKenzie now says the competition is squarely between the Rangers and Vancouver, making this the most heated battle between the two teams since the 1994 Cup finals.

Sundin’s agent, J.P. Barry is set to meet with the Canucks over a variety of topics tomorrow. The player, meanwhile, is headed home to Sweden until after Christmas.

Where exactly he’s headed once he returns West is the question…

As we’ve said all along, the Mats Sundin issue hangs around two questions for the Rangers: whether the center wants to play in New York; whether the Rangers can clear enough cap space to be able to sign him; and then whether Sundin would be willing to accept significantly less than what he has already been offered elsewhere.

That’s technically three questions, but like I said, math has never been my strong point.

And speaking of math, thanks to Larry Brooks for “laying out some of the possible ways the Rangers could clear room for Sundin”:http://www.nypost.com/seven/12152008/sports/rangers/welcome_mats_144241.htm:

The Blueshirts currently have approximately $1 million of cap space. Pro-rating cap hits, the Blueshirts would need approximately $2.877M of space on Dec. 27 in order to be able to offer Sundin a full-season contract of $5M, half of Vancouver’s standing bid.

Trading or waiving Petr Prucha by Friday would add approximately another $1M of space. Returning freshman Lauri Korpikoski – who has had three straight games of under 10 minutes of ice time – to the AHL Wolf Pack by Friday would add approximately another $635,000 of space.

That would give the Rangers about $2.635M of space – enough to allot Sundin around $4.25M.

Brooks notes that the most logical option to many, trading Michal Rozsival or Wade Redden, is unlikely, so that this piece-meal approach is the most feasible. But who would be willing to take on Prucha at this stage in his career? It would have to be someone who has the space for his $1.6 million salary (which would be prorated), and who can appreciate what Prucha could do if given the opportunity.

What’s that? You say Don Maloney, the Phoenix GM who drafted Prucha and saw him score 30 goals as a rookie, has an estimated $9 million in cap space to work with?

But do you think Glen Sather has Maloney’s cell number?

So the Rangers board a plane for the West Coast today, where they’ll play three games in five nights beginning Tuesday, and it turns out Corey Potter will be with them. The defenseman, who made his NHL debut a few games back against Calgary, will give the team a needed seventh defenseman when they’re a continent away from Hartford.

As for the people who won’t be with them:

Mats Sundin. In Sundin’s comments to Katie Strang at Newsday last night, he said “the next couple weeks”:http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/rangers/ny-spmats145964781dec14,0,5269414.story?track=rss when asked about his timing.

That was before the big center had a chance to meet with Glen Sather, but even if Sundin is convinced more than ever he wants to be a Ranger, there’s still a lot of maneuvering that needs to be done to make it a reality. And let’s not forget that the Rangers, with two convincing wins against Southeast Division opponents in the last three games, might decide they’re better off without him.

That was a joke by the way.

Me. No, no California sunshine for yours truly. In fact, as far as I know, only two writers are making the trip, a testament more than anything to belt-tightening at newspapers. I’ll be technically taking the week off to spend some time with the family and play some hockey, although I’ll be updating the blog as needed, and closely watching what happens with Mr. Sundin.

More on my plans later…

The marriage between Sean Avery and the Dallas Stars “is over after  23 games.”:http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=Ai0d1ahsJcRzbHxlb5V8R_c5nYcB?slug=ap-stars-avery&prov=ap&type=lgns

The team announced that the forward won’t play for the team again, although the Stars still have to deal with that pesky detail of Avery’s contract. A trade, a waive, or a summer buyout are all possibilities.

If you’re going to criticize Tom Renney’s stubborn—some might call it maddening—faith in his players, then you have to give the coach credit when it pays off. Last night was “one of those examples”:http://www.lohud.com/article/20081214/SPORTS01/812140404/-1/SPORTS.

Not only did Renney insist on going back to Henrik Lundqvist a night after Lundqvist was hung out for eight goals, but the coach tapped Chris Drury for the shootout tonight fully knowing that Drury is immersed in another goal-scoring slump and had missed a breakaway at the end of regulation.

“It was one of those things where I could feel him looking at me,” Drury said.  “I knew he was coming to me. I knew he knew I missed the breakaway. And I know he knows I miss a lot of breakaways. But I just had a feeeling I was going to get called on. I’m glad I delivered for him.”

We can all go back to questioning why Renney stands by the likes of Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, and Dmitri Kalinin soon enough. But with the Rangers desperately in need of two points, here was a case of the coach pushing the right buttons.

Some odds-and-ends before the Rangers try to hold their opponent tonight to less than eight goals:

Henrik Lundqvist gets the start in goal. Tom Renney said the two spoke briefly after the game last night, and both were on board with getting him right back in against the Hurricanes. Renney said the other reason to start Lundqvist tonight was to make sure the goalie knew the drubbing last night was not his fault.

“We talked about that, but I think in going back to him tonight it’s certainly an endorsement that he wasn’t the issue,” Renney said.

Same personnel tonight but Renney hinted at some possible tweaking to the combinations. The coach wouldn’t let on what those would be, so we’ll have to wait until at least warm-ups.

As for Mats Sundin, there’s plenty to talk about, although not to Renney, who said his “complete concentration” was on Carolina.

But the big man’s appearance tonight, as part of a promotional obligation for PokerStars, is certainly a storyline. MSG Network is likely to at least show him in the suite, and there’s at least the chance that the station will ask him to speak on camera. As I mentioned earlier, though, Sundin has already indicated he won’t talk to the media until he’s signed with his new team.

Whether that team will be the Rangers will hinge in part on Sundin’s meeting with Glen Sather and others (Renney also wouldn’t say whether he’d be taking part). According the center’s agent, J.P. Barry, that meeting won’t be until either late tonight or early tomorrow before the Rangers bolt for California. Of course, since Sundin has been skating out in L.A. anyway, you’d think they could give him a lift.

The most telling comments about Sundin came from his former coach Paul Maurice, who has recently taken over behind the bench with the Hurricanes, and who practically gushed when talking about Sundin as both a player and a person.

“I’ve got nothing but complete respect for Mats,” Maurice said. “He’s a marvelous person. He’s certainly a great player, but in that market (Toronto) to deal with what he dealt over the years—the grace, the leadership that he’s shown that organization. He’s a great player. That part’s easy. There’s a lot of great players. But this guy is a fantastic leader.”

Maurice was asked if he thought starting the season so late would impact the veteran. The coach remarked that Sundin is one of those players who keeps himself in impeccable shape, and also said Sundin can be taken at his word if he says he’s ready.

“The other thing about him, as you get to know him is whatever he tells you is the truth,” Maurice said. “So if he says he’s ready, then he’s ready to play. If he tells his conditioning is not a concern, then he has no concerns about his conditioning. It’s just that simple.”

Finally, Maurice talked about how Sundin would fit in with any team he joins mid-season. Again, he didn’t think it would be an issue.

“He’s a horse. He’s an absolute horse,” he said. “He can play as many minutes as you want. He can do both face-offs. More important sometimes, when you have a really good team and you bring in somebody from the outside, you always wonder how that fits—what changes in the room. It’s another at times ego that comes in the room. It’ll never be a problem with him.

Update, 7:00 p.m.: Looks like the same lines are intact. The Rangers are wearing their white jerseys, which has almost a nostalgic feel to it. I still like the blue at home, however.

Update, 7:38 p.m.: 2-1 Rangers after Blair Betts buried a perfect Fred Sjostrom pass for a shorthander.

No truth to the rumor Mats Sundin walked out of the suite and said, “Ah, these guys don’t need me.”

Actually, what Sundin said was, “It would be an honor to play on a team with Blair Betts.”

More later..

So Dale Tallon has come out and said Chicago shouldn’t be in the mix for Mats Sundin because “the Hawks don’t have any room for him.”:http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=257996&src=149

“We don’t have any cap space,” Tallon told reporters in Denver. “We’d have to move (a player). There are very few teams that have that space for the amount of salary he wants.”

Well, sure. For the record, that’s been the word around the Rangers as well. If it was simply about cap space, Sundin would already be a Vancouver Canuck, right? Pretty much every other team said to be in the mix for the big Swede is in the same predicament.

The difference is the Rangers could be more motivated than ever to let someone take Michal Rozsival off their hands. I like Rozsival, and before injuries and self-confidence issues started chipping away at his game this season I liked him a lot more as a player (just not a $5 million player).

But the theory persists that he needs to regain his form somewhere other than New York. And even if Sundin is not a realistic possibility, the Rangers might still need to move one of their struggling backliners if they have any hope of becoming a contender.

And for better or worse, I don’t see any team willing to take on Wade Redden at this point.

As for Sundin tonight, I’m told we’ll probably spy a shot of the former Toronto captain in his luxury box, but won’t get much else. A request to Sundin’s representation to talk to the free agent was met with a response about how Sundin will talk once he’s signed with a team. And my guess is Sundin isn’t going to be anywhere where one would simply bump into him.

But you never know. He’s kind of a hard guy to miss.

I wouldn’t have been surprised if Henrik Lundqvist ripped into his teammates after tonight’s 8-5 undressing. Or maybe it’s that I wouldn’t have blamed him.

But the goaltender, while clearly exasperated and even embarrassed by matching his career high for goals allowed, merely implicated himself in the loss.

“I need to better,” Lundqvist.

Well, sure. If the Rangers keep playing like that, Lundqvist would need to be superhuman.

The only telling moment came when I asked Lundqvist if he definitely wanted to play tomorrow. I can’t remember an occasion when the goalie hasn’t firmly stated his desire to come back and play the next game. But maybe because he doesn’t sense much of an improvement, Lundqvist wavered.

“I’m not making that decision,” Lundqvist said. “Like I said, if Tom tells me to play, I’ll be ready to play. He’s the coach. Whatever he decides. Sometimes you don’t have to think about every decision.”
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Meanwhile, if you’re waiting to hear about a shake-up to the roster for tomorrow night, I’ve got nothing to report. Tom Renney bristled at a question tonight about his defense, saying the problem was with all 20 players, not just the six defensemen.

Maybe so. But let’s just say the Rangers need a quick fix, and unless Mats Sundin has been boning up his play on the backline, the free agent Swede isn’t the one to bring it.

It has been the rare game when the Rangers haven’t made some sort of adjustment from the previous outing. Tonight appears to be one of those. According to Tom Renney, he’ll go with the same combinations as Wednesday against the Thrashers, with the lone change Henrik Lundqvist back in net.

Some other notes:

How about that power play? The Rangers have scored only one goal on the man-advantage in the last six games. But in their defense, they haven’t scored that many goals at all. So in that sense, it really isn’t that bad.

Anything else you want me to clear up?

Renney again hedged on the possibility of carrying a seventh defenseman for the trip to California, merely saying it was something he would like to explore. Frankly, it makes no sense that the team wouldn’t call a defenseman up. All it takes is one tweaked something by a defenseman Tuesday night in Anaheim, and suddenly you’re forced to scramble to get Corey Potter on a cross-country flight in time for the next night in L.A.

While Mats Sundin is supposed “to meet with the Rangers brass at some point this weekend”:http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=259423&lid=headline&lpos=secStory_nhl, the center isn’t expected to make up his mind until next week, and then probably wouldn’t join his new team until after Christmas. If the Rangers are truly a possibility—and let’s be clear that’s still very much an “if” at this point—let’s just say it would have to be a busy holiday season for Glen Sather. A lot of good suggestions from readers here over what Sather could do to clear space. But again, I have a hard time imagining the team simply burying salary in the minors, so it means they’d have to find a dance partner.

Meanwhile, let’s not forget that wherever Sundin ends up, it’s going to open the door for other signings around the league. The most obvious would be Brendan Shanahan—and not just because teams that lose out on Sundin would then be willing to talk to Shanahan. More likely is that a Sundin signing would open the door for more trades, and that would enable some Shanahan suitors to clear up some cap space.

Update, 6:26 p.m.: In the interest of pure speculation, no sight of either Glen Sather or Jim Schoenfeld tonight. Think they could be busy?

Update, 6:49 p.m.: Never mind. The GM and the assistant GM are both in the building. But that doesn’t mean they couldn’t have had an early dinner somewhere!

Update, 8:01 p.m.: So the Rangers dig themselves yet another early hole thanks to their ninth shorthanded goal allowed this season. And now it’s 3-1 after Henrik Lundqvist is left to fend for himself on two Travis Zajac attempts.

Update, 8:20 p.m.: What a mess. It would be easy to pinpoint culprits here, only there’s plenty of blame to go around. The dreadful defensive zone coverage continue, and it goes without saying the Rangers power play is a disaster. That’s 5-1 to those of you scoring at home. I’m very interested to hear just how frustrated Henrik Lundqvist is with the team in front of him, if he’ll even go there.

Update, 8:28 p.m.: And for what it’s worth, I’m all for the Rangers feeling the need to stick up for themselves with the occasional fight. But when you’re dropping the gloves every three minutes in a game like this, it look like an awful lot like a team that can’t do much else.

More later…

So it goes without saying that this should be the night that the Devils finally shake loose of the Rangers recent stranglehold over them.

The stars are aligned for New Jersey, right? The Devils have won eight of nine. The Rangers, despite their squeaker in Atlanta, are still struggling. All of it points to a potential new chapter in this rivalry. Then again, the Rangers have always said their meetings with the Devils are the games in which they’re most able to pay attention to detail, and given the team’s “newfound success in driving to the net”:http://www.lohud.com/article/20081212/SPORTS01/812120368/-1/SPORTS, this game could be coming at the right time.

I don’t know. What I do know is—wait for the cliche, here it comes— they play the games for a reason.
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Optional skate today at the Rock. My expectation is the lineup and the lines stay the same as Wednesday night, although Henrik Lundqvist will of course be back in net.