Scott Gomez an American Canadien, Higgins Home in New York

Only a matter of hours before '09-10 free agency officially begins, the Glen Sather pulled off a blockbuster trade erasing a blockbuster mistake he had made 2 years ago.

As we learned in Center On Value, the Rangers' top centerman Scott Gomez [among others] not worth their contracts for their point output and in NHL '09 Summer Contract Options - Top Relative Value Choices we revealed why removing Gomez from the Rangers would best increase their winning capacity above any other individual move, and here is a recap on why:

1) Scott Gomez garnered 16-42-58 last season with 5 years of his $7,357,000 annual contract remaining. The Rangers have essentially paid him $126,844 dollars for each point he collected in '08-09. In contrast, the Rangers paid Ryan Callahan $14,375/point who scored 6 more goals then Gomez with 22-18-40.

2) Scott Gomez was Such a massively poor investment on the most critical part of any hockey team. He did not compliment the foundation players of his team like he should. He often shy'd away from incoming hits while never throwing any, took reckless penalties, and seemed to lose his urgency to win. Look at the superstar <25 year-olds that pretty much ran their whole teams' successes - they make everyone around them better and play like their careers depended on it. While this did force his linemates to sprint up the ice, the Rangers were sitting on a much bigger payroll then the payoff with Gomez.

3) Gomez has built-in real estate, making him a more attractive sale to any of Sather's potential buyers. What did Canadiens' General Manager Bob Gainey say about Scott Gomez?

"We are extremely pleased to have acquired a player of the caliber of Scott Gomez. He is an outstanding playmaker and an excellent skater. Having won the Stanley Cup twice with the New Jersey Devils, he brings to our team a lot of playoff experience. Scott is an elite player who will certainly contribute to the success of our team for years to come."

Scott Gomez's best moment with the Rangers was perhaps his stellar first-round playoff performance in '08, scoring 3-4-7 in 5 games, fueled by the Devils' fans' boos. The Alaskan's New Jersey credentials, however (Conn Smythe, 2 Stanley Cups), speak for themselves when it comes to a desperate team hurting for a center like the Canadiens.




A sizeable 6'0" 203 lb speedy left winger, 26 year old Chris Higgins, having played the first bit of his career exclusively in Montreal, adds a much-needed scoring threat to the power play that is not afraid to shoot the puck.

Chris Higgins, with 699 shots in 280 games (2.496 shots/game average), led the Canadiens in this category, while also boasting an impressive power play resume. In '07-08 he had 12 goals and 13 assists as a main contributor to the league's #1 power play. During his [and Montreal's] injury-plagued '08-09 season, he contributed a more modest 2 goals and 2 assists. Higgins has also accumulated 8 short-handed goals during his tenure as a Canadien.

The best part of the deal, however, is Higgins' '08-09 contract of $1.7 million which will assuredly be renewed with much more wiggling room for Sather then Gomez's $7.375 million deal.

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I am actually impressed with Glen Sather's recent abilities! He has fallen in line with the best numerical options for the club he could have made this off-season in drafting Chris Kreider and moving Scott Gomez. He must be following 7 and 32 Sports.

Accounting Nikolai Zherdev's $3.25 mil offer, generously assume Brian Boyle and Chris Higgins will make $3.5 mil combined, $2 mil each for Callahan and Dubinsky, meet the $4 mil demand by Nik Antropov... and the Rangers are at $46.527 with the NHL salary cap at $58.6 million this year. Roster spots would be open for 2 defencemen (letting Paul Mara and Derek Morris walk) and 4 forwards (as the future's of Fredrik Sjostrom, Blair Betts, Lauri Korpikoski, and Colton Orr are in limbo).

One of our many farm defenders could be promoted (Matt Gilroy, Corey Potter, Bob Sanguinetti, Michael Del Zotto, Dan Fahey, Michael Sauer are all battling each other for a roster spot), or one of the newly-acquired defencemen from Montreal could be utilized (Doug Janik, Ryan McDonagh and Pavel Valentenko) in the two open defenceman slots. Likewise, the 4th liners (and Korpikoski) could easily be re-upped as well with plenty left over (maybe see how the prospects *cough*Evgeny Grachev*cough* fair at rookie camp before solidifying anything with the now-free agents.)

Some quick notes on these new names:

Doug Janik - Has been passed around like a bag of oreos. 6'2" 210 lb defenceman that gives cheap depth on the blue line.

Ryan McDonagh - Super fast center who has rocked the scoreboards in the OHL. Could be Artem Anisimov's replacement in the Wolfpack.

Pavel Valentenko - 6'2" 218 lb Russian defenceman who won the '07-08 AHL hardest shot award. Delivers thunderous hits that are borderline 'dirty' while always playing accountable for his own end.

In either case, we could potentially have around $10 mil to throw at one big name, and there are a few juicy ones to choose from in this free agent pool:

Marian Hossa, Marian Gaborik, Mike Cammalleri, Martin Havlat, and Dany Heatley are a few names that are all now very possible acquisitions given our refreshed financial status as a buyer. (Dany Heatley available through trade who's contract would demand the majority remainder of the Rangers' cap room, being the most publicized of the forwards, having demanded a trade out of Ottawa, included the Rangers in his desired destinations, and already refused a waive of his no-trade clause in a nearly-finalized deal to Edmonton.)


Mike Cammalleri and Martin Havlat have proven to be the two best available point-scored per dollar-spent investments, excluding Henrik and Daniel Sedin, while the Marians' proven talent is irrefutable.

(See the following spreadsheet analysis for how we deemed Mike Cammalleri and Martin Havlat as the two best available investments:)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=rQ3_-MlfU6NyF7MgGrnahKQ&output=html

So far so good Glen Sather, you have addressed our speed, scoring, and power play with every transaction thus far; New York can't wait to see which of these big names we throw money at next!

Rangers Pick Kreider and Bourque, Trade for Brian Boyle

The 2009 NHL Entry Draft (June 26th) was a theoretically successful day for Glen Sather and the New York Rangers.

As identified in Rangers Draft History and '09 First Round Options, the Rangers need above all else scoring and size - and that is what they did with first round selection Chris Kreider. In fact, 7 and 32 Sports cited Chris Kreider as a top 3 choices the Rangers could make to best numerically address these roster faults. Predicting the Rangers 19th overall selection can at least provide the relief that they made a numerically-excellent description.

Along with a handful of other impressively-pressed young players were also claimed by the organization, including Ryan Bourque - the son of legendary defenceman Ray Bourque.

6'7" 252 lb two-way forward/tough guy Brian Boyle was also added to the Rangers' Roster in exchange for their 3rd round pick in 2010's entry draft from the LA Kings.

More on these names, Chris Kreider, Ryan Bourque, and Brian Boyle, and what their acquisitions mean to the Rangers.

Chris Kreider
Chris Kreider was the #1 ranked highschool hockey player in the country, tallying 33-23-56 in 26 games for Andover, Massachussetts' Philips Academy in '08-09. Said by professional scouting reports to have 'Mogilny-like explosive speed and acceleration.. tremendous wrist and slap shots with the ability to score goals from anywhere.. [and] a constant threat anywhere on the ice to force turnovers and create plays..' In an interview with MSG's Stan Fischler, Kreider was quoted saying he fashions his game after 'Eric Staal and Alexander Ovechkin,' to which Fischler responded 'that's a hell of a double-dip.' Kreider was also credited by both the Central Scouting Agency and Rangers GM Glen Sather as 'the best and fastest skater in the draft,' boasting a speedy impression on the New NHL's most valuable skill. The Rangers' 19th overall selection seems like a dream come true on paper - but none of these details are what prompted 7 and 32 Sports to identify Kreider as the Rangers' most intelligent North American draft prospect.

In our spreadsheet analysis we provided in Rangers Draft History and '09 First Round Options, we identified the forwards in the top ranked 30 players in North America and the forwards in the top 30 ranked players in Europe. We then identified the biggest players in terms of pound/inch, and then the best scorers in terms of points/game. The most scoringest forward (2.25 points/game) for the biggest size (2.72 pounds/inch) out of North America in the '09-10 draft was Chris Kreider [not Tavares]. Bravo to Sather for addressing the Rangers' needs and picking up the best-statistical remedy for the Rangers' woes. Kreider will be attending the Rangers' rookie camp this week and be evaluated for professional play, which could result in a professional contract, but has already readied himself and stated his intent, without reluctantcy, in first developing his game at the college level (Boston College).

Ryan Bourque
"Wow, Ray Bourque's son!" is what is going through all of our heads. Although Ryan had a hopeful eye on the Boston Bruins where his father garnered legendary status as the #1 all-time goal and point scoring defenceman among a page-long list of other titles, the original-six flare of the Rangers is undeniably attractive to prospects. Aware that the Rangers had been scouting the modestly-sized 5'9" 175-pound speedy center, he had this to say after being drafted by the blueshirts:

"I knew the Rangers wanted me, and I predicted they would draft me. I wanted to go there, I like the Rangers, its Original Six, and I like their uniforms"

His 5-time Norris Trophy winning, 18-time All-Star father added:

"I was hopeful the Rangers would select him, I just told him to be patient, it doesn't matter where you are picked, you still have to prove yourself everyday. I've preached to him his whole life to play hard."

Ryan will begin his professional career in the QMJHL for the Quebec Remparts (co-owned, managed, and coached by Patrick Roy, who hoisted the Stanley Cup with Ray Bourque in 2000-2001.)



A quick look at the Rangers' 7 draft choices, including coulda-been 1st rounder Ethan Werek, hints at a bright and promising future for the Rangers' farm:



A few notes on Ethan Werek and Mikhail Pashnin:

Coached under former Stanley Cup champion and Frank J. Selke winner Doug Gilmour, 6'1" 190 pound center, Ethan Werek, erupted with offensive talent in his first OHL season with the Kingston Frontenacs last year, standing with a large body, a near point-per-game scoring ratio, and identified by his tireless work-ethic.

The Rangers' 7th round, 200th overall pick was in 20 year-old Mikhail Pashnin - a late-blooming Russian defenceman who was overlooked in '08 and '07. Coming out of the high-octane, super-disciplined Russian system, Pashnin now boasts some impressive credentials having been selected 1st overall in the KHL junior entry draft out of Chelyabinsk by CSKA Moscow. CSKA traded up in the draft moments before it began by exchanging their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks to Dynamo Minsk for the chance to select Pashnin. The two-way defenceman may have seen his stock value drop due to his previous years in the draft, the fact that he has been offered a professional contract in the KHL, or a combination of both. Regardless, the 5'11" 188-pound Russian has already proven to be a steal for the Rangers' if merely by the European hype at this stage.

Brian Boyle
The King(s)-sized forward coming from LA in exchange for the Rangers' 3rd round pick in the 2010 entry draft may address New York's lack of size better then any other. Standing at a tall enough 6'7" 252 lbs to rank him as 3rd biggest NHL player - behind Boston's Zdeno Chara (6'9" 260 lbs, 3.21 pounds/inch) and Minnesota's Derek Boogaard (6'8" 282 lbs, 3.53 pounds/inch), Brian Boyle's dominating presence at 3.19 pounds/inch eclipses all other Rangers (including Nik Antropov's 2.95 pounds/inch at 6'6" 230 pounds) with his mammoth carriage. Brian Boyle has been literally fighting for his NHL career having floating between the Kings (36 games since '07-08) and their AHL affiliate - the Manchester Monarchs (112 games since '07-08). Boyle's 36 NHL games have seen him score 8 goals and 10 points, while his recent 112-game AHL career has boasted 42 goals and 83 points.

Selected in the 1st round, 26th overall by the Los Angeles Kings - one of three first-rounders the Kings selected in 2006 Brian Boyle is now 24 years old and still earning every minute of ice time by each minute he plays. The Kings have experimented with Brian Boyle on the blueline with less-then-stellar results. However, after his defensive assignment, Boyle's game was renewed was a greater two-way sense and much better use of his size:



Ripping one-timers while positioning himself in the slot, take a look at Brian Boyle's first NHL goal, '07-08:



Although the Rangers definitely added some size and scoring in their numerically-perfect draft choice of Chris Kreider and acquisition of Brian Boyle, much subsequent speculation has risen as to the futures of Colton Orr, Fredrik Sjostrom, and even broadway hero Blair Betts. All in all, a very successful 2009 draft.


See the pre-Draft analysis here: http://7and32sports.blogspot.com/2009/06/rangers-draft-history-and-09-first.html
See the spreadsheet here: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=rL-BaZiqW69dWj9epchnE3Q&output=html

Knicks Go to Hill, Just Miss Stephen Curry. Buhbye Q-Rich!

It was a rather eventful Draft Day (June 25th) for the New York Knicks.

In A Lot Can Happen to the Knicks, we discussed the top three draft candidates and how the Knicks had a 10% chance of landing each of them. Well, the cards fell as they may and the Knicks received expected #8 (70% chance), which they used to select 6'10" power forward Jordan Hill out of Arizona State.

The Knicks also made a pair of trades on Draft Day: one in the form of $3,000,000 in exchange for the Lakers' #29 pick 6'2" shooting guard Toney Douglas out of Florida State, and the other in the form of guard/forward Quentin Richardson for Memphis Grizzlies center Darko Miličić.

Let's take a look at what these specific transactions mean immediately, and the impact they could have as pre-cursors to bigger trades for New York.

Jordan Hill

The athletic power forward comes out of Arizona State standing at a commanding 6'10.25" (3+ inches above the NBA league-average 6'6.98") who loves to play deep and run the floor. Targeted 2nd by the Knicks (1st being prolific shooting guard Stephen Curry - selected heartbreakingly at 7th by the Golden State Warriors), Jordan Hill will add size and quickness to the front court, the perfect compliments to the D'antoni system.
When asked if he would like to play for D'antoni and the comparison to Amare Stoudemire, Hill responded:

"Definitely; he’s an up-tempo coach and I love to run the floor. When Amare was [in D'Antoni's offense], he was running the floor like no other, getting dunk after dunk after dunk. They’ve got Chris Duhon who is a pass-first guard and if I run the floor with him and I know he’ll be able to hit me with a pass for a dunk or whatever. It would definitely be a good fit for me."

Averaging 18.3 Points, 11 Rebounds, and 1.7 Blocks per game, Jordan Hill looks like, on paper at least, a numerical large presence at both ends of the court. Physically and characteristically, Jordan Hill has been described as a better-rebounding Chris Wilcox, a faster Ronny Turiaf, and a talent-blessed(woohoo) Amare Stoudemire. However, the selection of Hill clearly puts a question mark over the head of David Lee. Although Lee was, admittedly by Donnie Walsh, the hot topic before the '08-09 trade deadline with his league-leading 65 double-doubles (2 more then #2 Dwight Howard and 15 more then #3 Chris Paul), the concept of trade value for David Lee is much more realistic to Knicks fans then play value with the insertion of Jordan Hill into the organization - if still merely by a sign-and-trade. I believe David Lee's extraordinary double-double figures are not flukes, and he is only going to get better. Double-double players breed other double-double players on a team (more rebounds, blocks, assists, and steals means more points, rebounds, blocks, assists, and steals for others.. stats breed stats in basketball more then any other sport!). I believe Eddy Curry is now off the map for an '09-10 Roster after this acquisition, and Hill will have to earn his minutes as a bench player, but his mere presence adds much-needed depth in the middle.

Toney Douglas

Anyone reading New York sports news in the past week or two have already had their brains overwhelmed with the same names in the projected top 10, but how about the surprise trade with the Lakers for their 29th pick in Toney Douglas? It has been reported that Donnie Walsh had his eye on Toney Douglas for some time. Two pick-purchasing options existed for the Knicks dependent on Douglas' availability: If Douglas was still available at #29, the Knicks would pay the Lakers $3,000,000 to draft him and give New York his rights... if Douglas was taken by #29 the Knicks already had a taker for another 1st round pick in 2010 for $3,000,000. Why "Douglas or Bust" for Donnie? Toney Douglas has been characterized and recognized in college ball by his super-aggressive defense. Remember in They Should Go For Thabeet we mentioned that the Knicks were 4th in the league offensively at a 105.2 p/pg average, while 2nd to last defensively, being outscored by a staggering 107.81 p/pg average. Although only a -2.61 margin, still enough to not even come close to the playoffs...yet again.
With noted strength-buzzwords as "aggressive defense", "toughness", and "leadership" it is pretty obvious that Donnie Walsh and Mike D'antoni are addressing the defensive achile's heel of the Knicks. Toney Douglas could be the player that fills Quentin Richardson's shoes, or a specialty-defender for clutch situations [remember all the 1-2 point losses last year!?). Speaking of Quentin Richardson...

Darko Miličić

If you are unfamiliar with the likes of Serbian center Darko Miličić, allow me to paraphrase. 2nd overall pick in 2003, the 7' center rotted on the bench in Detroit averaging 5.73 minutes per game in blowout games that were 10 minutes-over before he even touched the court. After his short, yet championship-winning, time as a Piston, Miličić was traded with Carlos Arroya to the Orlando Magic for Kelvin Cato and 1st round pick in '07 (who wound up being Rodney Stuckey, who I am personally impressed with). Darko Miličić would enjoy his best years productively in Orlando with 2.1 blocks/game in '05-06 and 8.0 points/game in '06-07 before being moved again to the Grizzlies where his minutes and productivity declined. Miličić has said, with 7 years of stats as proof:

"I've said it 10,000 times, the best way for me to improve is to play. All the work in practice and individual workouts can only help me so much."

If Darko Miličić and David Lee could share the court (see: Shaq and Alonzo Mourning in '06), the Knicks could keep their offensive paint presence and fill the void in their defensive paint presence. Don't get me wrong, I think Quentin Richardson played a much better game under D'Antoni [what a fantastic coach], but his $8,800,000+ contract and the Knicks' record featuring Q as a starter (.338 in 204 games) speak for themselves.



The Knicks have addressed their defensive woes with the additions of Hill, Douglas, and Miličić. The futures of David Lee, and for that matter fan-beloved Nate Robinson, in New York have become hazed by uncertainty. Donnie Walsh, who has shown no hesitancy in correcting Isiah Thomas' mistakes, has already set a meeting with David Lee and his agent on July 1 to make an the top double-doubler an offer. Lee has perfect reason to decline the first offer to gauge what the rest of the league could offer, which Walsh could either reject or match. Walsh said he already has his 1st and 2nd pass numbers figured out; maintaining that his top priority is 2010. Let's hope Lee loves New York as much as New York loves Lee.

Rangers Draft History and '09 First Round Options

The 2009 NHL Entry Draft is scheduled to be held June 26th and 27th, 2009 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, honoring the Canadiens' 100 years of NHL history.

The New York Rangers will be selecting 19th overall, as a result of the 2009 draft lottery. The Rangers 19th overall lottery selection is exactly as expected (having finished 19th from last place in the '08-09 season).

Let's look at the Rangers 1st Round Draft choices in the past 5 years, and notes on the players of choice...

'08 - (20th) Michael Del Zotto - Defenseman
*** 18 year old, turns 19 in two weeks as of this post. Despite his young age, has shown superb maturity with the puck. Just completed 3rd season of junior hockey in the OHL, tying his career high in points (63), establishing new career highs in regular season assists (50) and playoff points (19). From what we saw in the pre-season exhibition, this was a very intelligent defensive draft choice and will excel in the NHL.

'07 - (17th) Alexei Cherepanov - Right Wing
*** Aka the 'Siberian Express,' Cherepanov was linemates with former Ranger Jaromir Jagr, in his third season with Avangard in the Russian Superleague. In his rookie campaign, Cherepanov had more points than superstars Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk did respectively, at only 17 years old. Cherepanov also surpassed the Russian league rookie goal scoring record previously held by Pavel Bure (17 goals). He died tragically of heart failure on October 13th, 2008 on the bench beside Jagr, bringing an abrupt halt to an already-legendary career.

'06 - (21st) Bob Sanguinetti - Defenseman
*** Sanguinetti has spent the past 4 years of his young career maturing in the minors. Comparing his game to that of Rangers hero, Brian Leetch, Sanguinetti has shown he can put up numbers in the AHL with 42 points in 78 regular-season games, and 5 points in 6 post-season contests in '08-09. The hockey sense is in Bob's mind, however he will need to prove his strength and stamina at an NHL level after having weighed in at last year's training camp at a modest 182 pounds in a 6'2" frame.

'05 - (12th) Marc Staal - Defenseman
*** The most recent of the Rangers' first-rounders to make a Marc (heh heh)in the NHL, with already 2 seasons under his belt. We have witnessed Marc mature before our eyes, with simple positional mistakes almost entirely eliminated from his game. Staal has the ability to keep his cool, take huge hits, lay out even huger hits, and battle for the puck in any situation. What we would like to see, however, is some confidence behind the offensive angle of the puck, otherwise he has been, perhaps, the best NHL Rangers draft contributor since Henrik Lundqvist.


'04 - (6th) Al Montoya - Goaltender
*** Until Henrik Lundqvists skillset were fully realized, Montoya was predicted to be the Rangers' next starter after Dan Blackburn fizzled. He had a solid start to his professional career in AHL before being shipped to Rangers' friends the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for a fellow first-rounder Fredrik Sjostrom, who has become a staple of the Rangers' checking core.

'04 - (12th) Lauri Korpikoski - Left Wing
*** The second of the most-recent Rangers' first round picks to make the garden ice, Lauri Korpikoski has shown a solid skillset underscored by great speed and stamina in the NHL and looks to build on his hard-fought rookie campaign.


Here are some of the big name players in the past 5 years that we have missed out on:

'08 - (none)
'07 - (none)
'06 - Patrik Berglund (25th)
'05 - (none)
'04 - Alexander Radulov (15th), Travis Zajac (20th),Wojtek Wolski (21st), Andrej Meszaros (23rd), Mike Green (29th)

And of course I would not be the kind of writer my readers expect if I did not remind my Rangers readers about '03..

'03 - (12th) Hugh Jessimen - Right Wing
Missed out on: Dustin Brown (13th), Brent Seabrook (14th), Steve Bernier (16th), Zach Parise (17th), Ryan Getzlaf (19th), Mike Richards (24th), Corey Perry (28th), Loui Eriksson (33rd), and others.


If there are three things that this recent draft history tells us, it is that:

1) The Rangers have been doing much better with their latest selections then they were closer to the start of the century, and

2) Offensive talent has proven to make the jump to the NHL much quicker, and become much more identifiable, then defensive talent.

Barring any off-season trade talk or analysis, and knowing that the clear and present lapse in the Rangers '08-09 formula for success was the presence of goal-scoring, we can attempt to address this issue with the first round choice of the '09 NHL Entry Draft.

Watching our heroes fail desperately at scoring goals (2.44 g/gm, 3rd worst in league) and get banged around by bigger teams all season, it pretty clear that this off-seasons drafting/acquisitions need to be built around scoring and size.



I have taken the top 30 ranked skating prospects in North America, and top 30 ranked skating prospects in Europe and narrowed them down to the forwards available in the draft (20 North American, 21 European).

From this list I have listed each player's draft ranking, league, position, height, weight, and '08-09 scoring. I have narrowed these down to the top 10 North American and top 10 European forwards in terms of points-per-game and pounds-per-inches, and then further narrowed these down to the top 5 of North America and Europe respectively topping both statistics.

Note: This spreadsheet is based on total '08-09 statistics. It is important to remember that a lot of the hockey played by up-and-comers in Europe is at a higher level then the Junior hockey played primarily in Canada, which is why a lot of the scoring statistics are inflated for the North Americans. Also, the Europeans and North Americans are both ranked 1-30 (defense/goaltending omitted), each on their own scales. So with a draft selection of 19th, the Rangers should be realistically looking at the 10-15 range on either side.

Please view the spreadsheet here (and remember to look at the different tabs):
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=rL-BaZiqW69dWj9epchnE3Q&output=html

The top 10 statistically largest, best scorers across North America and Europe are found on the tab "Top 10 (5 NA + 5 Eur)." If the Rangers were to draft this season based upon addressing the weaknesses of '08-09, these are the top players they should target. Narrowing down the first round selection by scouting rank, that leaves the most realistic 3 players the Rangers able to chose from as:

Rank (Origin) - Name (POS)

7 (EU) - Carl Klingberg (LW)
13 (EU) - Richard Panik (RW)
14 (NA) - Chris Kreider (C)

Of course you can read the scouting reports and research these names yourself, but they are all on the top 30 for a reason. This article is meant to determine who are statistically the biggest goal scorers in the '09 NHL - completely by the numbers.


See the Draft outcome here: http://7and32sports.blogspot.com/2009/06/rangers-pick-kreider-and-bourque-trade.html