Kotalik signed
-
- July
- 9
Hey guys, I believe Carp may be on the road (he does step away from the computer every now and again)….here’s the quick update from nhl.com. I’ll search for more..
The New York Rangers continued to bolster their offense by signing free-agent forward Ales Kotalik on Thursday.
Terms of the deal were not released. (but TSN has it at $9 mil for 3 years)
The 6-foot-1, 227-pound right wing had 20 goals and 43 points in 75 games with the Buffalo Sabres and the Edmonton Oilers last season.
A sixth-round pick of the Sabres in the 1998 Entry Draft, the native of Jindr Hradec, Czech Republic has 121 goals and 251 points in 445 NHL games.————————
Thanks for jumping in, Laurel.
Hey, it’s Carp, back at my desk. Believe it or not—and you probably won’t—but when I was looking over the remaining free agents this morning Kotalik jumped out at me, and I said to myself, “This is exactly the type of free agents other teams sign cheaply, and the type who usually turn out to be better signings than the marquee free agents … and exactly the type the Rangers don’t try to sign.”
I love this signing. Just want to go on record with that.
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on Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 4:04 pm by Laurel Babcock.
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Josh Thomson Josh, who is 26 and a native of Carmel, graduated from Boston University in 2002 and began working for The Journal News the following March. 
Good signing. BYE BYE Z
First
Thanks Laurel. We can always depend on you.
Cally must be in the package for Richards. . . .
you would assume there is another trade coming- we’ll see-
Bad signing, Zherdev would have been a better option
REPOST
Adam, yes, it’s an improvement, but I think that looking at things that way ignores mistakes that could have been avoided, i.e., the potentially disastrous Kotalik contract.
Also, if you look at our centers
Gomez, Drury, Dubinsky, Betts
Drury, Dubinsky, Anisimov, Boyle
I think that’s definitely a step down in quality.
yeah
somethings commin
what a makeover thus far
i really dont think z is gone yet
korpo may go to khl so im assumin its for him atm
So if Kotalik is signed for 3 years at 3 million, aren’t they setting a precedent for their own arbitration hearing with Zherdev? I thought they wanted to keep Z’s salary down.
Sather to the rescue…of underachieving NHL players.
It’s Zherdev and Rozsival for Richards.
So if Kotalik is signed for 3 years at 3 million, aren’t they setting a precedent for their own arbitration hearing with Zherdev? I thought they wanted to keep Z’s salary down.
No, they arent. You are not allowed to use comporable players/salaries in arbitration hearings.
BillyDee aka Lando:
Kotalik is a UFA, so his salary can not be submitted as evidence in an arbitration hearing. Only contracts of RFA’s with similar production can be brought up.
Jive,
Yes you are. But they are not comparable because one is a restricted free agent and was an UFA. Totally different salary structures.
Zherdev is either going to the KHL or going UFA.
Remember, Korpi might go KHL as well.
GREAT signing!
This has gotta be a sign Zherdev is trade bait. At #3 mill per year for Kotalik the Rangers would be strapped for cash if they keep Zherdev. If Edmonton is interested, as rumored, I say Zherdev for Andrew Cogliano and Rob Schremp.
jive
you’re right…and wrong.
you’re right in that they won’t be able to use kotalik in z’s case because he just signed as a ufa. you’re wrong cause you can use comparable player salaries…as long as they weren’t signed as a ufa
i think.
Zherdev and Rosy for Shouray
Everyone saying great signing- wouldn’t you rather have Antropov at 1 more year and 1 more million?
I really don’t get this one- hopefully he proves me wrong, but seems like an extreme overpayment-
Was he (Kotalik) in a position to turn down 3 million for 1 year?
yep. thanks for the info guys. i found it out after i saw that.
This is probably a case of “coaching staff believes they can change a player”
Doodie – you wrote:
“Also, if you look at our centers
Gomez, Drury, Dubinsky, Betts
Drury, Dubinsky, Anisimov, Boyle
I think that’s definitely a step down in quality.”
I feel like it’s more of a side grade because of the team makeup of this coming season. I wish we could land someone like Spezza (for Rosi, Z and a pick) or Richards for a similar package..then I really feel like we have a team.
And someone mentioned Anton Babchuk might be leaving Carolina…i like the way that guy plays. And he’s huge.
This is just the begining of more moves to come. Just the Begining!!!
perfectionists
add UFA to my sentence
Zherdev is a better, younger player than Kotalik, but Kotalik is worth $3 million, while Sather is ready to walk away from anything above $3.25 million for ONE YEAR for Nick Z? am I missing something? as frustrating/inconsistent as Zherdev was, he’s still arguably our most talented offensive player after Gaborik, and we need to give him one more year, a fresh start under Torts, before we give up on him
and we REALLY need to WAIVE REDDEN…we’re going to desperately need that $6.5 million of cap space after this season when it Staal’s turn for a contract, and also as Callahan/Dubinsky get richer contracts
Anybody want to wager the rangers will be trading this guy by the trade deadline this year? This is another Kalinin/Zherdev (the guy whose spot he just took)
Stuart Disco from studio 54? The busboy Stuart? is that you??
Why did I have to be a Rangers fan?
regarding kotalik – all i remember from this guy is him RIPPING a shot past lundqvist to pretty much seal game 6 in the buffalo/ny semis 3 seasons ago…i think it was game 6
Rob, I was pointing out something in response to what Adam Z said, that our wings this upcoming season are an improvement from last year.
And my point was it was an improvement at the cost of our strength at center. The fact that you point out how its a sidestep in the face of the rest of our forwards only further emphasizes my point. So thank you.
I just can’t grasp why Sather feels the need to lock a guy like this up for more than a year. Is Ales Kotalik really going to be part of this team for the next 3 years? Do we really need that cap hit?
It’s not like average 20-goal scorers are impossible to come by. If they couldn’t sign him to a one (or even two) year contract, then why bother?
I understand the idea that these are negotiations and it’s not easy to get an agent down on years and money, but if they won’t come down…don’t sign him. you’ve already know you’ve got a better player that you can sign for one year at a slightly higher price.
Rich, Zherdev’s arbitration award is going to be closer to 4.25 than to 4. So that plays a big role in it.
But I think what also plays a big role is that Torts was clearly less than impressed with him.
What are the chances Kotalik is used as a D-man a la Mark Steit—I see a lot of similarities between the two.
Sather did not walk away from offering Z $3.25m. He offered Z that deal, but Z wants to get more.
SO LONG ZHERVALEV!
JSchultz – could be worse !
I dont think this was a bad signing. Kotalik is a pretty good PP guy, probably better than most of the other options the team has at the moment.
MW
on the powerplay yes, even strength—oh hell no.
Rich- I’ve been saying that ever since it came out that Zherdev was filing for arb and Brooks, Zipay and even Carp all said he was a goner-
The one year deal for Zherdev is the key- with the way our team is set up you want to have as much flexibility as possible in 2010-2011- Z gives us a talented forward while still maintaining flexibility-
Kotalik just clogs things up here- 3 years?!?
WHY?
doodie – if our wings are a step up and our centers are a side grade, how did i prove your point?
you said that our centers are worse but our wings are better.
i’m saying that our centers are the same but our wings are better.
Rich, Zherdev’s arbitration award is going to be closer to 4.25 than to 4. So that plays a big role in it.
But I think what also plays a big role is that Torts was clearly less than impressed with him.
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it could still be less than $4 million, it is possible that Zherdev loses the hearing…but for an extra million ($4.25 mill vs. $3.25 mill) I still take the younger, more talented Zherdev for ONE year (big key) than the older, less talented Kotalik for THREE years
I agree with the Torts thing too, but I still think Z should get a fresh start under Torts…I mean to give up on him after what? 25 games of coaching him?
also I agree with Fly Line: if we definitely weren’t going to bring back Zherdev, I’d rather have Antropov at $16 mill/4 years than Kotalik at $9 mill/3 years
How old is he? If he’s under 28, I think this is an ok signing. I don’t like the idea of signing over 30s at this point. I also like the idea of signing a lot of these types, not too expensive type guys who have some talent. It adds to our depth.
Oh, I thought you were saying it was a side grade when you take the change in wings into consideration.
Then I disagree. I definitely think our centers are worse than they were before we dumped Gomez.
Basically, you would have to say that Anisimov is better than Gomez. I didn’t like Gomez’s ridiculous contract, but no way do I say that Anisimov is a better player than him.
Kotalik isn’t worth 3 million but I don’t mind him on the team. Atleast he’ll play hard, unlike Zherdev, who is super-talented but doesn’t care.
BILLYDEEWILLIAMS: Doesn’t matter if they’re setting a precedent, as Zherdev probably won’t be back and the Rangers won’t care either way.
I believe he is 30
Doodie…a 3 year, $9 million deal is “potentially disastrous”? That’s quite a bit of hyperbole, even for you. In three years, Drury, Roszival, and Kotalik all come off the books.
I don’t get this one. At least we know what to expect from Z, inconsistent play, maddening effort or lack thereof at times, but a splendidly talented young player who can put up some serious points when he feels like it. Kotalik has some skills, but to committ 3 years of salary to a guy we don’t know if it’s gonna work out…classic sather. Z comes marginally more expensively and has the potential for far more points with improved forwards and a full year of Torts system. I doubt this clown will last the whole season.
he is 30. did not know he was that big, plays smaller. very good on shootouts..
zherdev is gone… cally and dubi will be back and korpedo…nice blend of forwards with only 1 go to guy, gaborik.. roll 4 lines and see what happens…
“Doodie…a 3 year, $9 million deal is “potentially disastrous”?”
Potentially disastrous to our efforts of retaining Staal next year.
Losing Staal to an offer sheet would be a disaster, would you not agree?
Have to agree with Doodie on that one. Any cap that the Rangers commit to the 2010-11 season right now worries me.
Rich- I’ve been saying that ever since it came out that Zherdev was filing for arb and Brooks, Zipay and even Carp all said he was a goner-
The one year deal for Zherdev is the key- with the way our team is set up you want to have as much flexibility as possible in 2010-2011- Z gives us a talented forward while still maintaining flexibility-
Kotalik just clogs things up here- 3 years?!? WHY?
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totally agree…it’s not that I hate Kotalik as a player, but the fact that Zherdev’s deal would be ONE year is the key to this whole discussion…maybe Zherdev would’ve had a great year this season, maybe he would’ve been just as inconsistent as last year, but it’s only a ONE year deal for Nick Z, and we keep precious flexibility in the cap era…now you’re locked in at $3 million of cap space for the next 3 years no matter what
if we don’t waive Redden by next summer, we’re gonna be in some serious cap-related trouble
Joe, Zherdev’s highest scoring total in a season is 61 points. That’s fine, but hardly “putting up serious points when he feels like it.” Kotalik will be especially helpful on the PP, where he put up 9 goals last year, as opposed to Zherdev’s 4.
Doodie, sketch out a disaster scenario for me in which Kotalik’s $3 million cap hit precludes us from signing Staal before July 1, 2010.
Kotalik will put up 180 hits.
Zherdev will get hit 180 times and just lay waiting there, staring at the ref for a call.
GOOD RIDDANCE!
I just don’t see how zherdev fits on this team.
Still not sure, by the way, why the conventional wisdom is that Zherdev makes out like a bandit in his arbitration hearing. 58 point season, 4 PPG’s, zero goals in seven playoff gamess…someone’s going to award him more than $4 million for those numbers? Really?
...and kotalik’s highest point total is 62. other than that, he’s had two seasons of 43. we didn’t exactly pick up an all-star here.
Yeah it would definitely be Kotalik’s $3 million that keeps us from re-signing Staal. Nope, not the $5 million for Roszival, the $6 million for Redden, or the $7 million for Drury. Definitely all Kotalik’s fault.
Talk about some freaking overreactions…
C-ya Mr softy(Z)—Welcome Harder tougher player Kotalik,
Now let’s get serious with all these forwards were signing,there’s so many I can’t name them all.
We are on the verge of a somewhat big trade.Carp ya have a list of all we signed so far? Not counting our own guys.
Any way to watch a replay of the chat today ?
LT Smash
those were done last year. there’s no way to go back in time (unless you know doc brown) to knock on sather’s door and stab him.
while i don’t agree that signing kotalik kills our chances of staal, it certainly doesn’t help.
I like having Kotalik but I dont like the 3 years if the rumor is true but he wont be untradebul if he doesnt work out he could actually be hot commodity come the trade deadline for a team looking to add 1 more winger to make a run. We are still missing 1 more star before we can ever start talking about the cup and we wont be able to afford him until we get out from under reddens contract. Caps Ovie Semin Green and Backstrom, Pens Crosby, Malkin, Staal, and Gonchar, we cant compete with those teams until we can say we have Gaborik, fill in here, fill in here, fill in here. Maybe Staal,MDZ, can fill the D part, maybe Grachev can fill the foward part but were still 1 short. Sorry about rambling but I think you get my point.
Brandon,
You don’t see it because he doesn’t. Torts is trying to put together a team of guys that have a good work ethic that know how to take the puck to the net and aren’t afraid to hit anyone.
Zherdev does none of those things. He dogs it several shifts a period, he likes to play with the puck to the point where he loses it without much opposition and he’s scared of any physical contact.
Good riddance to that over hyped, over paid waste of a roster spot.
NHL.com says….http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=436650
According to TSN, the contract will pay Kotalik $1 million a season for three seasons.
I ddon’t know where 3 mil a season came from. 1 mil a season is worth it.
Hi is there anyone out there who knows exactly the date when they announce the regular season schedule ?
Well, it is usally around my birthday of July 11th!!!:)
Chopper,
It can’t be $1 mil a season, can it?
If it is, I don’t like this signing like I do, I LOVE it. Though I think it’s gotta be $3mil for 3 years.
well said, jason.
forget about Z, he’s a lost cause. look at manny ramirez. good for 40 homers and 120 rbis every year, and yet no one wanted him this offseason. why? because there are other factors besides stats. this isnt fantasy hockey, its real. you cant judge zherdev solely on his point production. zherdev has been a wussy loafer his entire career, he’s not going to change. torts doesnt want that kind of attitude on his team because it can be contagious.
why do people keep saying Kotalik’s $3 million is the problem? we all know the $7 million for Drury/$6.5 million for Redden/$5 million for Rozsival are the REAL problems, but those contracts aren’t going ANYWHERE…so we NEED to maintain flexibility in other areas
Zherdev for one year, even at $4 million, is more flexible than Kotalik for three years, bottom line…and you could argue Nick Z is a better player too
and if you think “only” $3 million isn’t a big deal, how would our cap situation look right now if we had an extra $3 million of space? you think that extra $3 million wouldn’t be an asset when it’s time for Staal’s contract and as Dubi/Cally keep getting raises based on production and NHL service time?
Yeah, that’s my implied point, Jason. Forget cap, or even work ethic, he doesn’t fit into the system.
We play a north-south game, Z’s a east-west guy. We’re no frills, he’s all bells and whistles.
I’m reading Oilers fans reaction and they really seemed to like him. A LOT
Yeah I dunno where $3 mil/season came from. See for yourselves:
http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=284213
stuart July 9th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
he is 30. did not know he was that big, plays smaller. very good on shootouts..
zherdev is gone… cally and dubi will be back and korpedo…nice blend of forwards with only 1 go to guy, gaborik.. roll 4 lines and see what happens…
——————————
Tortorella doesn’t roll 4 lines. He plays 3 and spots the 4th.
if its 1mm per, i LOVE it as well
but im going to guess its 3mm per
Weird how people will advocate $3mn contracts for the Rangers young, unproven but homegrown players like Callihan and Dubinsky then balk at paying an established, fairly consistent player like Kotalik with similar production.
I wouldn’t call Zherdev super talented either. Great scoring touch, no argument. The other facets of his game – forechecking, defense, skating, positioning, effort – are all standard or substandard. Three NHL coaches have also had issues with him as well, so there are definitely issues.
Jul 9, 3:29PM Kotalik, Ales Edmonton NY Rangers $9M 3 $3M per year.
Copy and pasted from tsn free agent tracker.
so it is 3 mill per year.
OK, scenario:
Assuming Callahan and Dubinsky are given contracts with cap hits of 2.5 million, which I don’t think would be unreasonable given our team’s current salary structure.
Drury, Kotalik, Callahan, Dubinsky, Avery, Higgins, Gaborik, Brashear, Boyle=about 29 million
Rozsi, Redden, Gilroy=about 13 million
Lundqvist and backup=about 7.5 million
That makes 49.5 million, still without a 12th forward, and without signing Staal, Girardi, and a 6th defenseman.
Suppose the cap drops (as is expected) to 54 million. That leaves 5.5 million to sign Staal, Girardi, a 6th defenseman, and a 12th forward. Assuming we can get the 6th defenseman and 12th forward for 500k each (a big assumption, since I think that will actually be less than the minimum allowable salary at that point), that leaves 4.5 million for Staal and Girardi.
Now a team comes in with an offer sheet of 4 million for Staal. Not so easy to match at that point.
Would be a lot easier if Kotalik’s 3 million weren’t on the books. 7.5 million would be plenty to pay both Staal and Girardi, plus bring up another player from Hartford (Grachev?) to be a forward to replace him in the lineup.
Hey Tony, you can find the chat here:
http://lohud.com/protalklive
waiving Redden and his $6.5 million per would solve so many cap problems it’s unreal…it really is amazing how toxic that contract is in this cap era
Andrew Gross is confirming $3 mil for 3 years each for a total of $9 mil.
Mike D
If you read the chat in the story someone explains 3years 3 mill is a typo it is 3 years 9 mill 3 per year.
“Still not sure, by the way, why the conventional wisdom is that Zherdev makes out like a bandit in his arbitration hearing. 58 point season, 4 PPG’s, zero goals in seven playoff gamess…someone’s going to award him more than $4 million for those numbers? Really?”
99 times out of 100 they just split the number down the middle. He’s asking for close to 5, we’re offering 3.25. In the middle is over 4, and even if they go a little mor on our side, it’s still 4.
It pains me to make the comparison, but these (Kotalik) are the types of signings the guy across the river (Lou) has been living on for the past decade, and its seemed to work pretty well for him.
The Devils have made a living off of signing guys that fit their system, both on and off the ice. THey pass on the talent (Zherdev) to get guys that will go to battle for them.
In a game of 3-post, Zherdev may win every time, but Kotalik is the guy for this team and this system. YOu can argue who’s better all day, but that’s irrelevant. I’ll take Kotalik in this system with Torts are the helm any day of the week over Zherdev, who couldn’t even manage to go more than 2-3 games in a row without getting benched.
Fill a need. Don’t just sign the best player avaialble.
Rich, it wouldn’t be toxic if the guy could actually earn it.
If only, if only.
Sorry, I took it from NHL.com
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=436650
It has to be 3 mil.
“Assuming Callahan and Dubinsky are given contracts with cap hits of 2.5 million, which I don’t think would be unreasonable given our team’s current salary structure.”
That’s an extremely amusing assumption. Cally’s 40-point season is going to lead an arbitrator to more than quadruple his salary?
new post.
MW – No way will Kotalik play defense, and no way will we get Cogliano plus another player for Zherdev, Edmonton would reject Zherdev for Cogliano I would think, he is 3 yrs younger than Zherdev and has alot of potential and he can fly, I dont see that deal happening but I would love him on the Rangers
Wow- Carp likes it too- hopefully everyone is right and I’m wrong, but the 3 year part of this is mind boggling to me-
If you like this guy more than Z, that’s fine, but Z has to be used as an asset to acquire something else-
Happy Early Bday Koala…mines July 12!
3 years for 1 mill per? That sounds pretty decent, and maybe he’ll throw a check or two unlike Z ;-)
I want Cally signed by Sunday!
hey doodie
higgins signed for 1 year.
one of the two high priced defensemen will be gone, probably number 33. he is easily moveable after this year with much of his salary front loaded
problem solved
Is Kotalik really only a quarter million worse than Z? I’m not a big Zherdev fan but i definitely think hes better than Kotalik. i would have rather had slats stand pat. this is 3 million dollars he’s spent on another 2/3 liner that sather won’t have to spend on players that have a greater impact down the road. I hate his mentality of spending money simply because its there to spend.
The only silver lining is that Kotalik and Drury played really well together in Buffalo. Maybe they can rekindle that success, but im not holding my breath.
Antropov was more useful in 20-odd games than Zherdev was all year, and is also better than Kotalik.