New York today announced the re-signing of restricted free agent goaltender Kevin Weekes to a contract. Weekes agreed to a two year, 3.9 million dollar contract, which is approximately $300,000 more per year than what he signed on for as an unrestricted free agent last summer. The 30 year old netminder will likely be the starter going into the season, but will potentially face competition as time goes on from rookies Henrik Lundqvist and Al Montoya as well as an expected fourth goaltender yet to be signed.
The Rangers goaltending coach Benoit Allaire is reportedly excited about the prospect of working with Weekes, which no doubt played into the decision to bring him back. The Toronto native will take over the reigns from unrestricted free agent netminder Mike Dunham who is unlikely to be back with the organization. Weekes will suit up for his sixth NHL team after stints with the Panthers, Canucks, Islanders, Lightning and Hurricanes. In 277 NHL appearances, Weekes is 78-136-33 with a 2.86 GAA and .912 Save Percentage.
REGULAR SEASON | |||||||||||
Year | Team | GP | W | L | T | Mins | GA | SO | GAA | Shots | Sv% |
1997-98 | FLA | 11 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 485 | 32 | 0 | 3.96 | 247 | 0.885 |
1998-99 | VAN | 11 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 532 | 34 | 0 | 3.83 | 257 | 0.883 |
1999-00 | VAN | 20 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 987 | 47 | 1 | 2.86 | 461 | 0.907 |
1999-00 | NYI | 36 | 10 | 20 | 4 | 2025 | 115 | 1 | 3.41 | 1173 | 0.911 |
2000-01 | TBL | 61 | 20 | 33 | 3 | 3382 | 177 | 4 | 3.14 | 1742 | 0.908 |
2001-02 | CAR | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 3 | 0 | 1.50 | 41 | 0.932 |
2001-02 | TBL | 19 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 830 | 40 | 2 | 2.89 | 470 | 0.922 |
2002-03 | CAR | 51 | 14 | 24 | 9 | 2965 | 126 | 5 | 2.55 | 1438 | 0.919 |
2003-04 | CAR | 66 | 23 | 30 | 11 | 3764 | 146 | 6 | 2.33 | 1652 | 0.919 |
Totals | 277 | 78 | 136 | 33 | 15090 | 720 | 19 | 2.86 | 7481 | 0.912 |
Rangers Sign Defenseman Marek Malik
Apparently looking to offset the loss of Karel Rachunek to the Russian Superleague, the Rangers have signed free agent defenseman Marek Malik away from the Vancouver Canucks. The 30 year old native of Ostrava in the Czech Republic reportedly signed a three year deal worth 7.5 million to play for his third NHL team. Drafted in the 3rd round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the Hartford Whalers, the 6-5 235lb defenseman played parts of ten seasons with the Hartford/Carolina franchise before being traded in 2002 to the Vancouver Canucks. Since the trade Malik has managed an impressive +58 in just 147 NHL regular season games and was tied for the lead league in 2003/04 with a +35 plus/minus rating.
In two seasons with the Canucks, Malik has averaged over 18 minutes of ice time per game which ranked him 5th on the team amongst defenseman. He had a career high of 7 goals for Vancouver in the 2002-03 season and reached 20 points on two occasions in his time with the Hurricanes.
REGULAR SEASON | |||||||||||
Year | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PP | SHG | GW | SOG |
1994-95 | HFD | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1995-96 | HFD | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
1996-97 | HFD | 47 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 50 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 33 |
1998-99 | CAR | 52 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 36 | -6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
1999-00 | CAR | 57 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 63 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 57 |
2000-01 | CAR | 61 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 34 | -4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 72 |
2001-02 | CAR | 82 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 88 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 91 |
2002-03 | CAR | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
2002-03 | VAN | 69 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 52 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 68 |
2003-04 | VAN | 78 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 45 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61 |
Totals | 464 | 27 | 87 | 114 | 388 | 69 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 429 |
Rangers Add Forward Martin Straka
The Rangers surprised many today by adding diminutive forward Martin Straka to the team. The 5-9 178 pound forward joins the Rangers after finishing the 2003-04 season on the injury list with the Los Angeles Kings. An offensively creative player, Straka has struggled to stay healthy in the past three seasons, missing a total of 119 games with Pittsburgh and LA. A former teammate of Ranger right wing Jaromir Jagr, Straka has played both center and wing positions and registered season of 83 and 95 points in his time with Pittsburgh. Straka’s deal with the Rangers is for one year for 3 million dollars..
It is expected that the versatile forward will likely join Jaromir Jagr and Michael Nylander as a left wing on the Rangers top line, but he is equally at home at center and could potentially supplant Nylander or be used on a line with two lesser experienced players.
REGULAR SEASON | |||||||||||
Year | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PP | SHG | GW | SOG |
1992-93 | PIT | 42 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 28 |
1993-94 | PIT | 84 | 30 | 34 | 64 | 24 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 130 |
1994-95 | PIT | 31 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
1994-95 | OTT | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
1995-96 | OTT | 43 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 29 | -14 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 63 |
1995-96 | NYI | 22 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 6 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
1995-96 | FLA | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
1996-97 | FLA | 55 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 94 |
1997-98 | PIT | 75 | 19 | 23 | 42 | 28 | -1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 117 |
1998-99 | PIT | 80 | 35 | 48 | 83 | 26 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 177 |
1999-00 | PIT | 71 | 20 | 39 | 59 | 26 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 146 |
2000-01 | PIT | 82 | 27 | 68 | 95 | 38 | 19 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 185 |
2001-02 | PIT | 13 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 33 |
2002-03 | PIT | 60 | 18 | 28 | 46 | 12 | -18 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 136 |
2003-04 | PIT | 22 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | -16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 34 |
2003-04 | LAK | 32 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 4 | -9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 34 |
Totals | 730 | ## | 338 | 530 | 272 | 29 | 39 | 10 | 28 | 1261 |
Labarbera Heads West
After excelling with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL the past two seasons, Jason Labarbera has elected to try his luck elsewhere. The 2003 AHL League MVP faced stiff competition from the newly signed pair of Henrik Lundqvist and Al Montoya and no doubt felt his options were limited if he remained with the Rangers. A Group VI unrestricted free agent by virtue of his limited NHL experience and age, Labarbera will join a Los Angeles Kings where he will likely try to make a case to earn backup duties in the NHL.
A third round pick by the Rangers in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, Labarbera leaves the Rangers with just five NHL appearances and a 1-2-0 record, with the win coming in March of 2004 after New York had cleared several of their veterans from the roster including backup netminder Jussi Markkanen
REGULAR SEASON | ||||||||||||
Season | GP | W | L | T | Mins | SO | GA | SV | SA | GAA | Sv% | |
2000-2001 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.00 | 1.000 | |
2003-2004 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 198 | 0 | 16 | 75 | 91 | 4.85 | 0.824 | |
Total | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 208 | 0 | 16 | 77 | 93 | 4.62 | 0.828 |
Bobby Holik Signs With Atlanta
Just days after being bought out by the Rangers, centerman Bobby Holik has signed a three year deal with the Atlanta Thrashers scheduled to pay him 4.25 million in his first year.