For Sale
In my last column I approached the impending trade deadline (February 27th) as if the Rangers would be buyers. Given their fortunes since, and taking the position that recent comments by General Manager Glen Sather to the New York Post are indeed trustworthy, then it is perhaps not so far out of the question that the team will indeed be looking to sell players this year. It’s not too much a leap of faith when you consider that they had the opportunity last year to go for broke, and instead elected only to make a couple of minor moves (sending Ville Nieminen to San Jose and acquire Sandis Ozolinsh from Anaheim), and then made targeted moves in the off-season that appeared to address gaps in the organization.
Unfortunately for all concerned the moves didn’t move out. Brendan Shanahan has certainly been a valuable contributor to the team, but Aaron Ward’s initial positive influence has waned as the season progressed, Matt Cullen was unable to meet the lofty expectations of becoming a second line center, let alone matching his career best totals of last season, and the Dominic Moore for Adam Hall trade has not appeared as good as it looked on paper.
Anyway, all that aside, the Rangers are indeed in the position to be sellers in the next couple of weeks and there are several players who may draw some interest.
The Blue Chips
Perhaps the most valuable trading chip will be one of those free agents that the Rangers signed this summer, Brendan Shanahan. Shanahan has shown to many that last year’s 40 goals weren’t a fluke. Despite his recent struggles scoring, he remains a valuable commodity for a team that is heading to the playoffs and needs some scoring depth. His salary of $4M is a little on the high side, but when you pro-rate it out, you’re probably looking at a cap hit in the $1M-$1.5M range. For a team to acquire him, it may take some salary moving back the other way, something the Rangers might do for the right player and package of prospects and picks. Shanahan’s value to the team becomes less and less with each point they drop out of the playoff race, so a move would be beneficial for the team’s future. It’s uncertain whether Shanahan and his agent (or the Rangers for that matter) have any intentions of returning to New York next year, but a trade might affect that decision.
Another player who is sure to garner interest is Michael Nylander. Also a UFA at the end of the season, his salary cap will be less than $1M for the remainder of the season, and with a demand for centers around the league, combined with projected career highs this season his value may never be higher. The drawback to trading Nylander is the effect it might have on Jaromir Jagr goin forward. Jagr has survived one purge already, so the concern may be overstated, but if the Rangers are looking to keep him happy they probably are (as has been reported) interested in bringing him back for another contract with the team. The return you might expect would seemingly be higher than the 2nd and 4th round picks plus Jamie Lundmark, that the Kings received in exchange for Craig Conroy.
Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka will no doubt draw some interest too, but it seems unlikely that the team would trade either at this point, if for no other reason than they would be hard pressed to replace their production at the salary cap cost they’re currently paying. Both players are signed for next year at a cap value of just $8.2M combined.Rumors have abounded that Petr Prucha could be on the block for the Rangers. After a 30 goal rookie season, Prucha hasn’t been able to find his scoring touch this year, nor the energy level that made him a fan favorite. Granted, Prucha missed out on the power play time opposite Jaromir Jagr (15 PP goals last year), but that hasn’t quietened the rumors. As one of the few younger home-grown players on the roster, there are many who would not like to see him traded. If he was moved, it would likely be for a similarly placed young prospect from another organization that perhaps fits the Rangers needs better. This type of trade doesn’t necessarily need to be done now (or at all), so it may be unlikely that Prucha gets moved by the deadline.