Staal Would Bring Back A Big Price
Over at The Hockey News, a Hurricanes fan asks Adam Proteau how much it would cost to bring the fourth Staal, Marc, to Carolina..."...what price do you imagine Canes GM Jim Rutherford would have to pay to acquire a fourth Staal in a trade? I'd imagine it would be a high one and thus deplete a talent base in Carolina that isn't exactly the deepest in the league.
The best chance for Marc Staal to join his brothers in Carolina likely will come at the end of the 2014-15 campaign, when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. That is, if the Rangers haven't signed him to an extension before then."
...no way I see Sather trading Staal. He is one of the cornerstones of the Rangers defense. I have always been down on Staal for not living up to expectations, but unless the Rangers can get a legit scorer in return I wouldn't trade him anywhere.
...with Girardi and McD playing so well together, I really don't see Staal as a top pair defenseman on this which could ultimately be the reason he bolts after the 2014-15 season.
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In the first pre-season power rankings I've seen, CBS Sports has the Rangers at #5...
5. New York Rangers -- A very quiet offseason so far in New York, but they're still returning a strong defense and Henrik Lundqvist. Arron Asham is the most intriguing move of the summer. Not so much for what he brings to the team, but because he can now say that he's played for every team in the Atlantic Division.
...based on the Rangers inability to obtain a scorer this offseason and the Gaborik injury, I'd say this is a bit high. I mean they have the Rangers ahead of the Red Wings, Penguins and Bruins. I'd have them around 8 or 9.
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Remember that Marian Gaborik for Dan Boyle rumor? Yeah, not true (Mercury News)...
"Those reports of trade talks between the Sharks and New York Rangers involving Dan Boyle and Marian Gaborik? Total fabrication, according to a source who should know."
...this doesn't shock me in the least. Never thought that trade made sense for either side.
For more news on CBA negotiations, the #9 Rangers game of 2011-12, Stepan, McDonagh and Bickel, click the "Read More" tab below.
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Larry Brooks at the New York Post reports that the owners CBA solution is to impose a 24-percent rollback on existing contracts.
Brooks adds that the players are not ready to formally respond to the owner's proposal.
Both sides will meet three more times next week.
...both sides not even close on this right now. With the owner's demands, you'd think they want to lockout.
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Michael Rappaport at the Hockey Writers continues his countdown of the top Rangers games of the 2011-12 season with #9 a 5-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on November 11th...
"The Rangers were in the midst of their longest winning streak of the season. After starting the season with a seven-game road trip, the Rangers returned to New York for a six-game home stand. The Broadway Blueshirts won the last four games of the home stand, and then beat the Senators in Ottawa to extend their winning streak to five games...One of the contributors early in the game was Sean Avery. After spending the first month of the season in the AHL, Avery was recalled by the Rangers in early November, and the game against the Hurricanes was his fourth of the season with the Blueshirts....In the 5-1 victory, the Rangers had five different goal scorers, and got points from nine different players. The victory was the Rangers’ sixth consecutive win in what would turn out to be a seven-game winning streak."
Game highlights...
...no doubt this was a great game. But a top 10 game of the season? Not so sure. That Avery goal was pretty awesome though.
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Finally, Jim Cerny at Blueshirts United continues his off-season video series with Part II of his interview with Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh as well as a new discussion with Stu Bickel...
To watch at Blueshirts United, click here.
To watch at Blueshirts United, click here.
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@KevinDeLury am I the only Ranger fan that HATES the way Staal plays? he hardly ever plays the body and i blame him for dozens of goals against this season. in my opinion, G, Mac, and Del Zotto are all noticeably better. people will blame it on his injury, but give me a break, he played half the season.
although it was cool how he scored in OT against the caps, i was at that game and it was one of the best moments in my life.
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Staal not a top pair? Us Ranger fans are really spoiled right now with our D corp, Staal is a top pair on any team in the league. The guy suffered through a nasty concussion, and could'nt even hit the gym in the offseason, and he came alive in the playoffs, coming up huge at the end of the Ottawa series, and treating Ovi like a
ragdoll against the Caps. Look for Staal to have a huge year this year.
& I personally don't think he wants to play with his brothers, if he did he would be a forward like they are, he's D because he likes playing against them, and kicking their ASSES!
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I'll catch heat for saying this, and I too have had high hopes for Staal for a while now, but I'm beginning to think of him as highly overrated. I really don't see where his defensive prowess is what its hyped up to be. Nor his offensive game which at first was drawing comparisons to Brian Leetch.
I'd package him in a Nash-like deal if it meant getting such a deal done without having to give up a Kreider. In my opinion, Girardi is twice as valuable to this team then Staal. Maybe I'm wrong, and I know Staal was injured last season, but he's been kind of a non-factor for a while now in my opinion.
@General Torts Too often everyone gets way too hung up on keeping "our guys". You hear the arguement that we need to stop giving away our young players, "like we did before the lockout", but the truth of the matter is, we didn't draft any good players we COULD give away. From Kovalev to Hank, everything was pretty mediocore, at best. I think we had Mike York in there? Marc Savard?
Now we're so hung up on keeping EVERYONE, because of this fictional period where we suffered, because "we gave all our young guys away", that "home grown" players get overvalued. There's a level of player who just can't be replaced. Players who are truly heads and tails above the rest - special players with God given talent. Then there are good players, players who might make it in the NHL, even have a decent career, but not hard to find.
We've got to start accepting that a good players someone else drafted can be just as good as a good player we drafted. Better yet, they can be found in Free Agency, or cheap in trades if they're being underutilized in another teams system. As far as development of our own players go, we've got the inside track on monitoring it. If players aren't going to be elite, then we should be open to "selling high" if there's another team who thinks they still have that potential.
Jeff Skinner for Staal? I'd have to think hard but I'm leaning towards doing it. I don't see why the Canes want all the Staal's. Too much emphasis is put on family in hockey.
@GLENsatherVSglennDANZIG You don't even blink on Skinner for Staal. No brainer. Skinner would be a great fit here.
As far as family in hockey, I think it creates a story line in non-traditional markets, like Carolina. Granted the Hurricanes have really done great culitivating a hockey audience in NCAABB country, but every bit helps.
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Sorry Kevin but there's no way they take Girardi over Staal if one has to be pushed out of NY because of their large contracts down the road. Just because he isn't playing the top pair doesn't mean he isn't better than Girardi. Yes, Girardi made a push this year but I think he hit his ceiling and this is as good as he'll be (which is fine by me). Staal on the other hand still has room for improvement. Not to mention Girardi is 3 years older.
Hopefully the Rangers find a way to keep both Staal and Girardi but if one has to leave it'll be Girardi.
@KevinDeLury @KingBadaBing Going to disagree with you here Kevin because the only one who hyped Marc Staal as having an offensive game was John Tortorella.
Everyone else who knew what kind of player Staal was knew he was a pure stay at home defender. The only offense he really has is what it always has been which is the clutch play when the team needs it the most.
Of course Carolina would do a Skinner for Staal deal as Staal is the 2nd Ranger after Chris Kreider who other GMs ask for.
Kingbad
Totally agree with you on Girardi who as much I respect his warrior mindset think that all those blocked shots are going to catch up to him.
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Kevin - down on Staal? Prior to his concussion he was one of the best shut down defenders in the league. When paired with Girardi they shut down the oppositions top lines night after night. He was a force in the post season last year. I'd take Pavelski for Gaborik and the cap hit if we could swap back in a year but that just fantasy.
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@chrisD I've always been down on him. He was sold to us as an elite two-way defenseman. Offense hasn't materialized. Also hasn't sniffed the Norris yet.
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@chrisD And we started to see his real game back in the playoffs. This is going to be a big year for Staal.
@GraigGiuliani @chrisD Either way, we're in a position where we can sacrifice D. Hank is, and always will be, our #1 D. Give up some depth to get a top, young, salary controlled scorer - that's a no brainer. Scoring will help Hank more then any defender.
@TheProspectpark We played 3/4's of a season without Staal and did fine, and when he came back it didn't fix any of the problems we had when he was hurt. If you can use him to get the elite player this team craves, you've got to to it.
We can find a capable replacement to without too much distress. As I've said before, I think that a player with a better offensive ability or a stronger physical presence would be more help to Hank then all these "stay at home" defensemen, who still seem to leave him with a ton of heavy lifting.
@BuckarooClub That depth on defense is not there anymore. Nobody knows if Sauer will play again and McIlrath is lost for at least 1/2 year.
Right now they need to get both Del Zotto and Stralman signed to have 6 healthy defenders to start the season.
Tim Erixon gives them a 7th but after that the NYR have nobody else in case of an injury. There is nothing of NHL quality (unless you want Redden back) in the AHL after that.
Cam Ward slashing away at Boyle's achilles there.
Awesome Avery goal. Wish he and Torts could have sorted out their differences.
@TheNYRBlog The Canes would have to send us Jeff Skinner for Marc Staal. Otherwise, they could forget it.
