NHL Free Agency: Rangers Last Team Standing for Nash?; Semin Asking for Too Much; 90% Sure Doan Stays; & Weber, Preds Talk Long Term Deal
"Will the salary cap by (sp) lowered by $10 million? It's obviously too early to tell, but that doesn't seem a ridiculous assertion. If so, Nash's cap hit would seem too much to swallow for Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and San Jose, the four other clubs on his list."
...very unlikely that the cap is lowered by $10 million, but I do expect it to be lowered, meaning that a few of the teams Portzline mentions might still bow out of the Nash sweepstakes. Seriously, could it get any worse for Howson and the Blue Jackets?
Actually, yes it does, because instead of only two teams being left it looks like the Rangers could be the only ones standing after a new CBA is in place as Ansar Khan at MLive.com reports that the Red Wings recently made "a hell of an offer" to Columbus for Nash, but Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson never responded.
Khan adds that Columbus' snub of Detroit makes it clear that they have no intention of trading the face of its franchise to the team it considers to be its top rival.
...if you add Nash possibly not reporting to training camp to this scenario, Sather's patience will have paid off as Howson will have no alternative other than to trade his captain to the Rangers for a discount price. Meaning the Blueshirts will likely not have to part with any young NHL roster players.
...i will be convinced Sather is a Jedi Knight if he's able to pull this off. Sather: These aren't the prospects you're looking for. Howson: These aren't the prospects I'm looking for.
Forgot which reader used Jedi comparison a few weeks ago, but H/T to you.
For more on Alex Semin, Shane Doan and Shea Weber, click the "Read More" tab below.
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Meanwhile, Craig Custance at ESPN Insider reports that an NHL GM says the reason Alex Semin hasn't been signed yet is that "[He] wants too much money."
Custance adds that despite analysts criticism of Semin, there is still plenty of interest in the 28-year old winger and that his timeline to be signed could be connected to Shane Doan.
...didn't realize Semin is just 28-years old. I still don't like him for the Rangers, but I've got to tell you, as Sather continues to sit on his hands and play the waiting game with Nash, the enigmatic winger looks better and better by the day.
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Custance also notes that another GM says there's a 90% chance Doan stays in Phoenix and adds this...
"Phoenix is the only franchise Doan has ever played for. He is the captain of a team he helps overachieve every single season despite all the uncertainties in ownership. Outside of hockey, he's invested in the area with a stake in Ice Barns, a stable that allows people to share ownership of horses.
It would be a pretty big culture change for someone from Western Canada who grew up on a horse ranch to suddenly up and move to Buffalo or Detroit to wrap up his career."
...lots of Doan rumors lately, but my money's on him staying in Phoenix. Unless of course it looks like the franchise is going to be moved then all bets are off.
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Finally, Josh Cooper at The Tennessean notes that Predators General Manager David Poile talked with Shea Weber's agent yesterday about a long term contract...
“Right now my priority is to see Shea signed and hopefully finalize a longer term deal with Shea,” Poile said.
...similar to Evander Kane, this would have been an amazing acquisition for the Rangers but was really nothing more than a pipe dream for the Blueshirt Faithful.
...so now back to my question from the other day, what the hell is Sather going to do this offseason to make the Rangers better? Does he need to make a big move? Let me hear your thoughts in the comments section.
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Sather might finally complete his flip-flop from completely inept to genius. Or of course there is one major thing that can still very likely happen: nothing.
New post on likelihood of Rangers obtaining Doan AND Weber: http://www.nyrangersblog.com/2012-articles/july/rangers-not-likely-to-obtain-doan-a-weber.html
Rumors around CBJ asking for crazy stuff for Nash from Detroit and Detriot even offered Frazen a prospect and a pick for Nash and they would not send him to same division.
More teams drop out better sather looking.
Semin wouldn't be a bad short term signing. If they could get him for one year, put him through training camp and get him going. Bench him if he's slacking.
Who knows, maybe all he needs is a little external motivation.
So they sign Semin for a year or 2 to help with the loss of Gabby and scoring. He's a RW, so what do you do when Gabby comes back and you now have 3 top 6 RWs for 2 spots? Personally, I think they should stick with what they have and if the right player is available then try to get them. Maybe even sign a guy like Kristian Huselius who's 33 but has put up some nice numbers in the past and is a LW. But I'd be just as happy going into the season with this team to see what THIS team can do coming off last season.
Don't sign Alexander $emin to big contract. They want him gone in DC for a reason. He underperforms & not worth the money. Doubt he will don the hard hat & do what Torts expects from all players
I would take Semin for 1 year if we can get Nash for cheap.. We have a lot of cap space, so i would give him even 6 mil but for 1-year deal only. We would get a good scorer and keep our farm. Is he lazy on defense? Sure, but i believe in Torts. Even Gaborik never played defense before coming to the NYR. If it works out that would be great, if not. he's gone after this season.
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The more I read about the Semin situation, the more I think he could be a good fit for us, especially if we can't make a move for one of the other players who's names are floating around, or maybe even as another piece to help the offense once the dust has settled for making a move for one of those guys.
Semin seems to want a couple years at north of $5 mil per. While I'm not sure I'd want him for more then a season, I think he could be a great, cheap, pickup against the cap using Gabby's LTIR. With Gabby on the shelf for atleast a third of the season, we'd have atleast $2.5 mil in "free money" to use on Semin who, at the very least, would be a great injury fix for Gabby. At best, he'd become a productive piece of the offense, even when Gaborik returns, and a great piece of insurance, in case Gaborik doesn't return, or isn't the same when he comes back.
If Semin is still looking for a contract when all the dust has settled, I wouldn't be opposed to Slats offering him a one year $6 mil contract. That's like a $3.5 mil cap hit, tops, and shouldn't be hard to swallow. From Semin's prospective he's getting the money he wants, even if it's only for one season, and a chance to show he can handle the roll that money requires, by stepping into Gabby's spot and helping a cup contender.
The other big concern with Semin is Torts, and I think this is something that needs to be addressed before you'd bring Semin in. Slats needs to sit Torts down (he should do it in the locker room, cause that's where Torts likes to keep it) and ask him what his plan is to address the problems with the offense and PP going into the season, and how he plans to fill Gabby's spot. If he's willing to try to incorporate Semin into the system, then pursue him. But ONLY if Torts is willing to incorporate him, not just throw up his hands and use him as a scape goat.
If Torts isn't interested in taking on Semin, or doesn't think he can work with him, then make sure he knows, going into the season, he needs to have a plan to make the offense work, and get the team to play with a consistent effort. The lack of offense and consistent effort, and more so the lack of any intention to address these problems NEEDS to be addressed. This team can only hope to overachieve , the way they did last season, if we don't improve the offense. Granted, I will take a playoff run (or cup) anyway I can get it, overachieving/lucky or not. I'll also take $2000 a week for life from the NY Lottery on a "Win for Life" ticket, but that doesn't mean I think scratch offs are sound financial plan.
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Great points. There are a few Washington Captipal blogs with posts about Semin. Apparently their fanbase feels he is inconsistent too. There is a good one about the fact that he is actually pretty consistent. Ill link it if i can find it, but the article basically says that he has solid numbers and consistently faces tougher defenders than Ovechkin. That is true. Teams focused more on Semin and Backstrom than Ovie in some cases. For the right price, Semin could fit.
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@BuckarooClub like you, I am not horrified by the prospect of Semin on Broadway (no pun intended)...but I'm not sure I follow your analysis of the cap impact...relief under LTIR is not proportional to how many games Gaborik misses, it only kicks in when the team goes over the cap, and the relief is the amount of the "replacement" salary minus the cap space before adding that contract...that said, I wonder if Semin would take a 1 year contract with a reported $30 million KHL offer
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@smoothyv My understanding was LTIR gave you the opportunity to go over the cap by what you didn't use while the player was on LTIR. I think we're both pretty much on the same page though. While we wouldn't necessarily KNOW the EXACT amount of LTIR relief we'd get, I was simply throwing $2.5 mil out there as a ball park number, figuring Gabby misses 1/3 of the season, and then we can go over by 1/3 of his salary, which is $2.5 mil.
The nice thing about Semin on a one year, and being used to replace Gabby while he's hurt, is I think it gives us alot of options. If Semin doesn't fit with Torts, or the team, I think he'd be easy to move, as long as Slats was willing to ship him out for no return. There would be SOMEBODY out there willing to take a chance on him for half a season.
If it DOES work, however, it gives us a TON of insurance, and this "depth" everyone keeps raving about, except instead of having the kinda depth that puts a 2nd liner on the third line, we'd be thick with real, 1st line, talent. That's contingent on Gabby not only coming back on schedule, but being productive when he comes back. I think the later is much more realistic concern then the former. We're now talking about whole new "delicate" area on Gabby's body, his ability to still be effective and stay healthy certainly has to become a bigger concern.
@BuckarooClub I follow your logic on the LTIR, only thing is that no percentage is taken off - the cap is calculated based on season salary...e.g., if the NYR are $1.00 under the cap, and Gabby goes on LTIR, they can sign a "replacement" for any amount - no restriction, as long as the cap rules are followed...for a better understanding, here are a few links:
http://capgeek.com/faq/how-does-long-term-injured-reserve-LTIR-work.php
http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=45263
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@smoothyv @BuckarooClub I heard his priority is to stay in the NHL so he might. Could actually workout for Rangers b/c he might play his ass off for a long term contract next offseason. Imagine getting a motivated Semin.
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@BuckarooClub Yeah, if Torts isn't on board with Semin signing, it's a disaster waiting to happen.
@KevinDeLury If he's not on board with the Semin singing then he better have another answer to boost the offense. Not saying Semin fixes our problems, but whatever Torts has been doing for 3 seasons hasn't either. Can't let a lucky trip to the ECF's make us think it's all bubble gum and roses. There's alot that needs fixing.
I have not been impressed with the "information" Mr. Portzline has been passing down - didn't he report a few weeks ago that Dubi, Stepan, and a #1 wins Nash? Hard to believe Nash isn't here already if that was true. The whole CBJ scene with Portzline and Howson doesn't evoke a lot of confidence in the operation in Columbus - are they "hockey" people? I hope Slats knows what he's doing, if this works out like your article says, maybe it will be reminiscent of Peter Stuyvesant and the Indians negotiating for Manhattan - I think he got that deal done under the cap....
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@smoothyv Portzline has been shaky at best covering this. Have to wonder if he's acting as Howson's mouthpiece in the media.
