Signs Pointing To Rangers Trade? And Anton Stralman News

We all know that the Rangers have been involved in trade talks for a number of players, but the former NYR beat writer who currently writes for Sporting News insists that the makeup of this current Rangers' roster points to Glen Sather making a trade. Spector points out that, with the addition of Halpern and the potential for Haley or Newbury to fill in, the Rangers bottom two lines are stable. Thus, when Gaborik comes back the Rangers will have eight guys (Richards, Gaborik, Callahan, Stepan, Dubinsky, Anisimov, Kreider, Hagelin) vying for six open spots in the top-six. Jesse then comes to this conclusion:

"...with more than $9 million in space under last year’s cap, and $15 million worth of maneuvering room under the announced cap for 2012-13, it would be stunning if general manager Glen Sather did not make a trade for another scorer by the time the season starts....knowing that Tortorella does not like to carry many spare players as healthy scratches, logic dictates that New York is continuing to prepare for a major addition up front."

To play Devil's advocate to Jesse, Mark Messier, now part of the Rangers' front office, cited "depth" as something the Rangers needed to address, and it's unlikely that Newbury will make the NHL roster. Still, this is perhaps a bit more depth than the Rangers are accustomed to having and it's no secret that acquiring a forward like Rick Nash will likely cost the Rangers multiple forwards. In my opinion, the more important thing that Jesse points out is the $15 million in cap space the Rangers still have to work with. It's hard to think that Sather would not do everything he could to acquire a scoring forward with that kind of money to work with; especially with Gaborik on the shelf for a while. 


In seperate news, Anton Stralman's arbitration hearing has been scheduled for July 31st. However, Stralman and the Rangers can and will work on figuring out a contract prior to that date. Steve Zipay seems to think that a deal will, in fact, be completed and that arbitration will be unecessary.

We talk about our young core and especially how we have such a great, young defense. And while he clearly is not on the level of some of our other defensemen, I think it is often overlooked that Stralman is only 25 years old. Being that most defensemen peak around 27 years old, he too has some room for improvement and could be a factor for multiple seasons. Assuming Stralman doesn't want too much money, locking up Anton for two or three seasons might be a good idea. I think he showed last season and especially in the playoffs that he can be a contributing member of the blue-line.  


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