Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Dan Girardi

Rangers Ready To Make Major Moves On Defense

at CDT | by 5 Comments

The New York Rangers biggest need might just be acquiring a top defenseman and the Rangers are going to give a long, hard look at Washington Capitals’ blueliner Kevin Shattenkirk. The 28-year old veteran is coming off his best offensive season yet, scoring 13 goals and 43 assists for 56 points for the Capitals and Blues combined. Pro Hockey Rumors reporter Gavin Lee recently said in his PHR Chat on Thursday that he believes that Shattenkirk will end up with the Rangers.

The Rangers need a new presence on defense. They especially need a top-four defenseman who they can pair up with captain Ryan McDonough. Veteran Dan Girardi has struggled mightily of late and at age 33, isn’t likely to have a comeback year. Girardi is more likely to find himself taking a reduced role next season, which means they must acquire a top blueliner. Enter Shattenkirk, who immediately would help the Blueshirt’s power play as the veteran is second only to Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson in power play points by a defenseman.

The only question is can they afford the defenseman? Sean Hartnett of CBS New York writes that he believes that Shattenkirk will cost the team a seven-year deal of at least 6.5MM annually. The team would have trouble fitting that type of contract under their salary cap unless they looked into relieving themselves of a bloated contract, such as Girardi. The defenseman has been with the Rangers for 12 years, but has struggled lately, especially showing his shortcomings in the playoffs against the Ottawa Senators as he showed he could not keep up with their speedy forwards. His four goals and 11 assists was one of his worst seasons yet on offense. Hartnett suggests the team may look into a buyout of Girardi to free up enough money to make a run at Shattenkirk. Unfortunatey, Girardi has three years left at 5.5MM each year. However, if New York wanted to buy out Girardi, they could spread his salary out over the next six years.

The scribe also suggested the team could consider buying out 30-year-old Marc Staal instead, who could have his contract spread out over eight years as he has four years left at $5.7MM. Staal also struggled at the blueline this year and only was able to put up 10 points this season. One final suggestion to fix their aging defensive corps would be to try and trade for Winnipeg’s Jacob Trouba, but that would require a large and impressive package of talent they would have to return, so Shattenkirk might make for a better fit in New York. Either way, it looks like the Rangers will have to do something to fix up that defense.

New York Rangers Looking To Add Young Defense

at CDT | by 5 Comments

Alain Vigneault met with the media today in New York, and talked about several topics the Rangers will need to address this summer. According to Dan Rosen of NHL.com, the Rangers will be looking to add youth to their defense corps meaning lesser roles for Dan Girardi and Marc Staal, should they remain with the team next season.

Indeed, the Rangers had just two defenders under the age of 27 play at least 10 games, Brady Skjei and Adam Clendening. While Skjei has a bright future with the team, Clendening is more of a depth player that can’t be counted on for reliable minutes every game. Most of the regular group—Staal, Girardi, Kevin Klein and Nick Holden—will be on the wrong side of 30 when next season begins. Captain Ryan McDonagh will turn 28 this summer and is as effective as ever.

The Rangers have already added 23-year old Alexei Bereglazov this spring, who will have a chance to make an impact in the NHL. Ryan Graves, one of their top prospects in the AHL may be ready for an NHL audition after another successful season, but he is no lock to make the team at this point.

Without players in the system ready to step in, the team will have to look to the trade market if they want to find impact defensemen. Anaheim, Minnesota and Carolina all have a glut of defenders that could fit the “young” mold, and each will have trouble protecting them all in the expansion draft. Josh Manson, Mathew Dumba and Justin Faulk have all had their names rumored at times this season and each skate on the right side, where New York needs the most help. Unlike the last several years, the Rangers still have their first round pick and could dangle it once again for an improvement.

In all, the disappointing loss to the Ottawa Senators seems to have sparked some reflection of the aging and declining defense core that is locked in long-term in New York. It is important to note that though Staal and Girardi both hold no-movement clauses at the moment, Girardi’s changes to a list of just 15 teams on July 1st. Either way it will be difficult to move them, with the Rangers likely needing to retain part of their salary to get a deal done.

Rangers Notes: Holden, Klein, Miller

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Despite being tied 1-1 in their first round series with the Montreal Canadiens and the match-up moving home to Madison Square Garden for the next two games, the New York Rangers have made some notable changes to their lineup. The most intriguing is the absence of defenseman Nick Holden. Holden, acquired from the Colorado Avalanche in the off-season for just a fourth-round pick, has proven to be a solid pickup by GM Jeff Gorton. The big 29-year-old blue liner was healthy for 80 games this season and contributed career-highs in offensive production with 11 goals and 23 assists. Those 34 points were more than highly-paid teammates Dan Girardi and Marc Staal combined. Holden was also a +13 on the year, second only to captain Ryan McDonagh among defenseman, and was second on the team, again to McDonagh, in ice time as well, averaging over 20 minutes per game.

Yet, when the puck dropped on Game Three, Holden was watching from the press box as a scratch. There has been no indication that Holden was hurt in either game in Montreal, nor is there any knowledge of nagging injuries. For now, it seems as though Holden, arguably the Rangers’ second best defenseman this season, is simply a healthy scratch. Holden has only one assist and is a -1 so far in the playoff series, including a -2 in Friday’s loss, but it is hard to find sufficient evidence that his play has been poor enough recently to warrant a scratch. Perhaps there is more to the situation than has been revealed just yet, but for the time being the Rangers will see, for just the third time all season, how a lineup without Holden plays.

  • In his place, the Rangers have moved veteran defenseman Kevin Klein into the lineup. The emergence of Brady Skjei, the trade for Brendan Smith, and, of course, the occasional injury have limited Klein to just 60 games this season, the fewest games he has ever played in a full NHL season in his career. Klein may not have the offensive upside that some of his fellow defenders do, but he is a very strong player in his own end and an intimidating physical threat. After allowing four goals against the Canadiens in Game Two when they held them scoreless in Game One, it reasons that the Rangers and coach Alain Vigneault may want to create a stronger defensive presence and Klein can get the job done. Klein will skate alongside Skjei tonight, while Smith moves up to replace Holden alongside Staal.
  • Another interesting change is the demotion of J.T. Miller to the Rangers’ fourth line. Miller, in just his third full season, finished second on the team in scoring behind Mats Zuccarello with 22 goals and a career-best 34 assists. How quickly the memory of 56 points can be erased when a top scorer fails to register a point in back-to-back playoff games and takes only 3 shots to boot. Now, Miller finds himself on the checking line with Oscar Lindberg and Tanner Glass and will likely see a major drop in 5-on-5 ice time until he can work his way up into the top nine again.

Metro Division Notes: Shattenkirk, Provorov, Konecny, Ryan

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, in the midst of a career season offensively, is poised to become one of, if not the most sought after free agent of the 2017 offseason. We ranked the Capitals blue liner #1 in our mid-season free agent power rankings in January and since moving to Washington from St. Louis at the trade deadline, the 28-year-old has only helped his cause, tallying six assists in 10 games for his new employer. Shattenkirk reportedly rebuffed overtures from three different clubs since the 2016 entry draft who were interested in acquiring the seven year veteran on the condition they could lock him up to a contract extension. With nearly every team in the league looking for skilled, puck-moving defensemen, particularly those that happen to shoot right-handed, there figures to be a robust market for Shattenkirk’s services in July.

Elliotte Friedman, appearing on Toronto’s Sportsnet 590 Friday morning (H/T to Chris Nichols of Fan Rag Sports for the transcription), speculated that one team who may go all-in on Shattenkirk this summer is the New Jersey Devils. The Devils currently rank 28th overall in the NHL in scoring and have just one blue liner, Damon Severson, who has tallied at least 20 points on the season. Clearly they could use a point-producing defender and Shattenkirk will far and away be the top free agent option. Friedman notes that New Jersey will have the cap space ($19.5MM in projected cap space with 17 players under contract for 2017-18 according to Cap Friendly) to essentially outbid any other interested suitor if they so choose.

“I don’t know if Kevin Shattenkirk is going to go there – I still think he wants to be a Ranger. But I could see them throwing a big number at him. They’ve got a lot of cap room. They’ve got a spot for him on their blueline. He’s exactly what they need. It would not surprise me in the least if New Jersey is a team that goes out there and just throws bags of money at him and says, ‘Turn us down.’”

It’s interesting to note that Friedman also believes that Shattenkirk has his sights set on joining the Rangers. The Blue Shirts were among the teams that spoke to the Blues about dealing for the blue liner at the deadline but simply had no desire to meet St. Louis’ high asking price. The thought then was that they were content waiting for the summer when they can add the skilled blue liner without sacrificing any assets to do so. However, given the Rangers heavy, long term commitments to Marc Staal and Dan Girardi, it stands to reason they will have to be creative in fitting a projected Shattenkirk contract under the salary cap. That may mean trading or buying out one of the aforementioned duo.

Elsewhere in the Metro Division:

  • While the Philadelphia Flyers are a likely bet to miss the playoffs this season, the development of Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny has been a bright spot, as Sam Carchidi of Philly.com writes. Provorov, just 20, has recorded 28 points as a rookie blue liner and has shown the potential to be a top-pair defender for years to come. Konecny, meanwhile, has registered 11 goals with 16 assists and has the elusiveness and creativity the Flyers sorely lack on their roster, according to Carchidi. Flyers GM Ron Hextall wisely avoided the temptation to be a buyer at the trade deadline and instead chose to remain patient with his retooling. The continued development of Provorov and Konecny demonstrate that Hextall’s decision was the correct one.
  • Carolina center Derek Ryan has taken an unusual route to becoming a NHL regular, playing professionally in both Austria and Sweden prior to joining the Hurricanes organization. Ryan, who played for current Hurricane head coach Bill peters for the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, went undrafted and spent four seasons playing collegiate hockey at the University of Alberta before turning pro. Now the 30-year-old rookie is Carolina’s nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey, writes Chip Alexander of The News & Observer. Playing on a one-year, two-way contract this season, Ryan has registered 11 goals and 24 points while playing all over the Hurricanes lineup and has likely earned a raise on his $600K salary when he reaches free agency this summer. While he doesn’t qualify as a game-breaking talent, Ryan has proven he belongs in the NHL and is a solid, bottom-six contributor.

Rangers Notes: Klein, Grabner, Glass

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Part of the reason the New York Rangers went out and traded for Brendan Smith from Detroit was his versatility on the back end. Despite being left-handed, Smith is experienced on both sides of the ice and has been playing with Ryan McDonagh to start his Rangers career. With both Kevin Klein and Dan Girardi out, New York has been playing five left-handed defenders.

There was hope that Kevin Klein would return sooner than later, but he won’t travel with the team as they head out on a four-game road trip according to Brett Cyrgalis of the NY Post. Head coach Alain Vigneault told Cyrgalis he’s “not really sure what’s going on there” when speaking about Klein, who hasn’t played since February 21st.

  • The Rangers have also been without Jesper Fast and Michael Grabner recently, but got some good news on one of them today. Grabner will travel with the team and test his hip tomorrow morning before their game in Tampa Bay—though he’s not expected to play. The team’s leading goal scorer, Grabner has had an unbelievable season with 26 markers. That’s his highest total since 2010-11 when he broke into the league with 34 as a 23-year old.
  • Despite many fans fears that Tanner Glass will get into tomorrow’s game at the expense of a young forward, Vigneault hasn’t made up his mind yet. Glass was recalled along with Steven Kampfer this morning, and would be making his 2016-17 debut for the Rangers if he got into the lineup. The 33-year old Glass is know for his bang-and-crash style, recording no fewer than 130 hits in any of his full NHL seasons. The Rangers’ current leader in hits among forwards is Chris Kreider with 102, with no one else breaking 100.

Injury Updates: Skinner, Hjalmarsson, Rangers, Enstrom

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After taking the morning skate today, the Hurricanes have sent left winger Jeff Skinner back to Raleigh to be evaluated for an upper body injury, Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer reports (Twitter link).  The exact nature of the injury was not disclosed but he did take a hit to the head on Sunday night against the Flames.

Skinner leads Carolina in scoring this season with 20 points and 20 assists through 57 games.  There’s no word on how much time he’ll miss but it’s safe to say he’ll be out tomorrow against Tampa Bay as well.  As a result of the injury coupled with Viktor Stalberg’s trade to the Senators, the Hurricanes only dressed 11 forwards against the Panthers tonight.

Other injury news from around the league:

  • Blackhawks blueliner Niklas Hjalmarsson will miss at least the next three games as a result of an upper body injury sustained against the Coyotes last Thursday, notes CSN Chicago’s Tracey Myers. Chicago has four days off following Saturday’s game and head coach Joel Quenneville is hopeful that Hjalmarsson will be ready to return at that time.  He was placed on IR earlier today to make roster room for the recently-acquired Johnny Oduya.  Also with the Hawks, goalie Corey Crawford (illness) returned to practice today but will not start tomorrow against the Blues to give him a couple of extra days to recover.
  • Rangers center Mika Zibanejad was a late scratch for tonight after taking the warmup, the team announced via their Twitter page. He took a hit to the wrist late Sunday against the Blue Jackets.  New York will also be without defenseman Dan Girardi for the next two weeks to allow right ankle to fully heal up, reports Newsday’s Steve Zipay.  Fellow blueliner Kevin Klein remains out with back spasms and there’s no word yet on when he’ll be able to return to the lineup.
  • Jets defender Toby Enstrom is expected to suit up tonight after missing the last five games after undergoing minor surgery for a lower body injury back on February 16th, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun reports.  The 32 year old hasn’t produced much offensively this season (just 14 points in 55 games) but logs the third most minutes of any Winnipeg skater, behind only Dustin Byguglien and Jacob Trouba (who serves the second game of his suspension tonight).

Deadline Notes: Rangers, Red Wings, Coyotes

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The New York Rangers missed out on Kevin Shattenkirk last night when he went to their division rival—and opponent tonight—the Washington Capitals. The team has been rumored to be after a right handed defenseman and may be in even more dire straits as Dan Girardi is out tonight following an ankle injury. Dan Rosen of NHL.com reports that with him out and Kevin Klein still dealing with a back injury, the Rangers are down to just five healthy defensemen with the team. They’ll bring up Steve Kampfer for tonight’s game, but may need a more permanent solution.

While the Rangers may not have acquired Shattenkirk, they have been linked to Brendan Smith of the Detroit Red Wings and could look within their division for a player like Kyle Quincey. Though neither bring the level of play the new Capitals’ defenseman does, both could help provide depth as they get healthy.

  • Bob McKenzie of TSN mentioned Smith today on Twitter, saying that it is decision day for the Red Wings. If they do want to extend him, McKenzie believes it would take at least three years at $3.5MM. The Wings recently extended Nick Jensen for two more seasons and have said they want to do the same with Smith. If they can’t get it done today though, they should seriously consider moving him and trying to bring him back in the summer. That team needs as many assets as possible going forward, and with the defense market getting pretty thin, they might do quite well.
  • Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports writes that though Shane Doan is still available, he is unlikely to move before the deadline. According to Morgan, teams only view him as a 13th or 14th forward, instead of the capable winger he still believes himself to be. While obviously anything can change in the next 28 hours, perhaps he will finish his career with the franchise (but not team) that drafted him.
  • McKenzie also mentions that the Tampa Bay Lightning have likely approached Valtteri Filppula and asked to waive his no-trade clause. Filppula poses a real problem for the Lightning both with their cap crunch and expansion draft plans.

Deadline Primer: New York Rangers

at CDT | by 3 Comments

At times this season the New York Rangers have looked the part of legitimate Stanley Cup contender. With a talented a deep group of forwards, the Blueshirts have shown the ability to score goals in bunches and have been among the top offensive teams in the NHL all season long. Certainly they boast enough firepower to keep pace with anyone in the league.

At other times the defensive lapses that derailed their 2015-16 campaign have reappeared and may again threaten to undermine the Rangers playoff hopes. It looks more likely than ever that Dan Girardi and Kevin Klein are simply ill-suited for the fast paced style the Rangers want to employ and just can’t cut it in top-four roles. Either would be decent options on the third pair but right now one of them has to play on one of the team’s top two pairings.

So what exactly are the Rangers? Are they a team one savvy blue line addition away from competing for the Stanley Cup? Or are they a team whose window is all but closed; one that needs too much help to reasonably expect to contend and who should resist the urge to mortgage yet more of their future in what will almost surely be another fruitless effort to win it all? That’s the question that GM Jeff Gorton and his staff have to answer in the coming days.

Record

39 – 19 – 2, 80 points, currently in third place in the Metro Division.

Deadline Status

They’re the Rangers and have essentially been all-in for the last several seasons. The Blueshirts have added Martin St. Louis, Keith Yandle and Eric Staal at the deadline at each of the last three trade deadlines respectively and they’ll be a buyer yet again. But don’t necessarily expect a splashy move. Gorton has already displayed a strong desire to protect the organization’s limited pool of prospects and draft picks. They’ll look to make a deal but likely are not willing to sacrifice much in the way of young NHL talent or futures in any move.

Deadline Cap Space

According to Cap Friendly, the Rangers will have just more than $10.1MM in cap space with which to play with. Again, a significant departure from past versions of the Rangers but a welcome one all the same as the team won’t necessarily have to pay a higher price due to requiring their trade partner to retain salary.

Draft Picks

2017: NYR 1st, NYR 3rd, Florida 4th, NYR 5th, Vancouver 6th, NYR 7th

2018: NYR 1st, NYR 2nd, Ottawa 2nd, NYR 3rd, NYR 4th, NYR 5th, NYR 6th, Florida 7th*

*Contingent on Dylan McIlrath appearing in at least 30 NHL games in 2016-17.

Trade Chips

Shockingly, the Rangers still have their first round pick for 2017. The Blueshirts haven’t exercised a pick in the draft’s opening round since 2012, when they chose defenseman Brady Skjei 28th overall. Should they choose to hold onto that pick, they do own multiple second round picks in 2018 thanks to the Derick Brassard–Mika Zibanejad swap. Perhaps they’ll be willing to make one of those choices available.

After failing to earn a spot with the Rangers AHL affiliate in Hartford, Ryan Gropp returned to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL, where he has registered a 25-41-66 scoring line in 55 games. He was the Rangers second round pick in 2015 and could be viewed by some teams as a potential late bloomer. The Rangers are fairly deep between the pipes in their system with Igor Shesterkin leading the way. Adam Huska and Tyler Wall are both playing NCAA hockey this season and are legitimate NHL prospects. The Rangers have done an excellent job as an organization identifying unheralded goaltending prospects and seeing them develop into quality pro netminders and Huska and Wall have a chance to continue that trend.

The Rangers will be reluctant to move anyone on the NHL roster but might consider including one of Jesper Fast or Oscar Lindberg in a package to upgrade the blue line given the amount of depth up front. They might also be willing to part with Matt Puempel or Brandon Pirri but neither player likely carries much trade value. Other clubs will come calling on young forwards like Kevin Hayes, J.T. Miller and Chris Kreider, players just beginning to hit reach their respective ceilings in the NHL, but it would take a substantial offer to pry one of them away.

Players to watch: Kevin Klein (recent back issues could increase the Rangers need on the blue line); Lindberg; Fast; Gropp; Wall;

Team Needs

  1. Defense: The question is whether one legitimate top-four blue liner is enough or will the team need to add two new defensive options.
  2. Defense: See above
  3. Defense: See above the above.

 

Metropolitan Notes: Lindholm, Fehr, Girardi

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After dealing with a concussion last month, Hurricanes center Elias Lindholm has returned to the lineup with more confidence and is playing his best stretch of the season, writes Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News and Observer.  In 12 games since his return, he has recorded 12 points (1-11-12) while playing on Carolina’s top line alongside Jordan Staal and rookie Sebastian Aho.

However, if the Hurricanes are going to make a push for a Wild Card position (they sit just five points out of the final spot), they’ll need more goal production from Lindholm.  His goal output dropped from 17 to 11 last season and he has just five through 42 games this year.  While the team is having success when he collects an assist (they’re 13-2-0 when he does), they were undoubtedly expecting more production from the former fifth overall pick when they gave him a two year bridge deal with a $2.7MM cap hit back in the summer.

Other notes from the Metropolitan:

  • In a reader chat, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests that forward Eric Fehr could be someone that the Penguins look at moving at the trade deadline. He’s under contract for next season with a cap hit of $2MM but is also a potential candidate to be exposed for the upcoming expansion draft.  Given that Pittsburgh is fairly tight to the cap, Fehr could also be someone who’s added to a deal to offset some salary coming back considering the team is likely to look to make an addition or two by March 1st.
  • Rangers blueliner Dan Girardi isn’t expected to play in tonight’s game against Colorado due to some ankle swelling that occurred from blocking a shot on Tuesday, reports Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News. Although he didn’t skate yesterday, he’s hopeful to get back on skates shortly, potentially as soon as today so he shouldn’t be out for too long.  The 32 year old is hardly a stranger to blocking shots as his 132 leads the team and ranks fifth in the league.  Adam Clendening is expected to play while Girardi is on the shelf.

Custance’s Latest: Projecting Those Most Affected By Flat Cap

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The NHL’s Board of Governors (BOG) are in the midst of two days of meetings designed to cover several important topics before wrapping up today. Chief among them – and of particular interest to team executives as well as fans of the sport – is an early projection of the 2017-18 salary cap ceiling. Commissioner Gary Bettman advised the BOG to expect a modest increase, perhaps as much as $2MM, if any at all. Specifically, Bettman suggested the salary cap may remain flat. Naturally, that may present problems for several teams already close to the cap ceiling while pending free agents might find their respective markets depressed due to fewer clubs being in position to take on big salaries.

Craig Custance of ESPN.com wrote about a few teams and players who stand to be affected the most should the salary cap ceiling remain flat for the 2017-18 campaign. Among those he listed were Artemi Panarin, who will be a RFA coming off his ELC and in line for a massive raise. As we already know, Chicago is tight up against the cap and have already been forced to deal away key contributors due to a lack of cap space – Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp and Teuvo Teravainen, for instance. They’ll likely have another tough decision to make given the situation.

Tampa Bay and their GM, Steve Yzerman, are two others Custance mentions as being impacted by a flat cap. The Lightning are set to watch Tyler Johnson, Jonathan Drouin and Ondrej Palat become RFAs this summer and with just less than $60MM in cap commitments already on the books for 2017-18, it’s highly unlikely that Yzerman will be able to re-sign all three players.

In addition to those already brought up by Custance, there are several other clubs who will have a difficult time navigating the salary cap if the ceiling remains at or near the $73MM mark. Here are a few of those teams:

  • Los Angeles Kings – The Kings already have just more than $60MM committed to the 2017-18 salary cap with forwards Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli slated to become RFAs next summer. Toffoli tallied career highs in goals (31) and points (58) in 2015-16 and while his scoring out put is down some this year, he could still easily command upwards of $4MM annually on a new contract. Pearson, meanwhile recorded 36 points last year and is on pace for about that same total this season. That could well push his salary north of $3MM next year.
  • New York Rangers – The Blueshirts might be in a bigger bind than the Kings. They have about $63MM tied up in 2017-18 commitments with top-six center Mika Zibanejad and checking forward Jesper Fast, among several others, scheduled to become RFA’s. On top of that, the team will likely be in the market for a blue line upgrade and unless they can find a way to unload one of Dan Girardi or Marc Staal, the Rangers won’t have enough cap space to make an impact addition in free agency.
  • Detroit Red Wings – The Red Wings are projected to have less than $5MM in cap space next season with Thomas Vanek hitting free agency. Additionally, five other players will be RFAs, including Tomas Tatar and Tomas Jurco. It’s hard to imagine the Wings being anything more than a fringe playoff contender next season given their current roster and with virtually no salary cap space available next season, as it’ll be tough for the team to improve through free agency.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top