Redden to Be Asked to Stay Home; Del Zotto Trade Rumors Not True
Larry Brooks at the New York Post reports that at the Rangers request, it appears Wade Redden will sit out the entire season in order to ensure he does not get hurt and thus jeopardize the planned postseason compliance buyout of the final year of his contract.
For more on this click here.
...as expected. Rangers couldn't take a chance with Redden getting injured and missing the buyout. Especially with the cap expected to be lowered to $64.3 million next year.
Meanwhile, Spector's Hockey responds to the Michael Del Zotto to Edmonton rumors...
Two reasons to dismiss a recent rumor claiming the #Oilers are pursuing Michael Del Zotto: a healthy Ryan Whitney, and Justin Schultz.
— Spector's Hockey (@SpectorsHockey) January 11, 2013
...absolutely boggles my mind that a legit news source like Spector needs to waste their time refuting such an illegitimate source such as Eklund.
...having said that, if the Rangers and Del Zotto don't strike a deal soon the Rangers could look to move him. Which, despite my criticisms of MDZ, would be a huge mistake. Del Zotto is still a very young player with a ton of offensive talent that the Rangers are sorely lacking on the blueline. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail and a deal will get done shortly.
Speaking of Del Zotto, Pat Leonard at the Daily News breaks down what could be holding up his contract negotiations with the Rangers...
"the Rangers are probably looking to give Del Zotto something close to what they paid former forwards Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov out of their entry-level deals with no arbitration rights (each player got two years, $3.7 million, or an average of $1.875 million per year)....Considering the long stalemate – and the fact that Del Zotto is coming out of an annual entry-level number of $875,000, higher than players such as Dubinsky and Anisimov – Del Zotto is probably seeking something from $2.3 million to $2.5 million per season."
...if Leonard's numbers are correct, I'd say Rangers are seriously low balling Del Zotto. The young defenseman's demands seem more than resonable.
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Is it fair to say that on of the main reasons to keep Del Zotto is because there aren't any viable options? That they're "sorely lacking on the blueline?" That's a little scary.
Del Zotto is grossly overrated.
Has a very slow skater, has a pop-gun slap shot and gets out muscled in his own zone.
He sure gets porked a lot for a guy that was 18th in league amongst defense men in scoring.
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@Beckfan5 I'm not aware of any speech impediments you may or may not have. I just wasn't clear on what you meant by "porked."
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Sorry - I still don't understand all the love for MDZ. He's no where near an irreplaceable player. Yes he's young, but so what? He's shown a consistent ability to give pucks away and ignore coaching staff. (like last year against the Devs in the playoffs) His downside outweighs the upside by far. Yes he played better after getting sent to the minors but the whole team lifted their defensive play last season and Lundqvist helps everyone's defensive stats. I wouldn't overpay for MDZ. We over payed Dubi for years as well. It's common in sports but one good season doesn't give you the right to hijack the salary cap. It hurts the team.
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$2.5M for 3 years...get it done!! If he turns out to have already hit his ceiling, then the contract is not a killer. If he grows like he should that will be a huge bargain!!
Also if Leonard's numbers are right, that means Del Zotto isn't asking for the ridiculous money reported yesterday. As I said then, we have no idea what the offers are so fans need to stop placing blame. That said, this sounds a lot more reasonable which probably means they aren't correct lol.
I saw that eklund article yesterday, assuming he was right (obviously not) but I wouldn't mind if the Rangers traded Del Zotto's rights to Edmonton for Oscar Klefbom... a tall Swede who could be everything and more that we've hoped for from Del Zotto
@thenyrblogneill I think we'd need someone NHL ready right? We couldn't have a 3rd pairing of Gilroy and Bickle/Eminger. We'd get smoked. Give them DZ and this years 1st for Justin Schultz. The kids going to be a stud.
@KevinDeLury @thenyrblogneill also this is the exact reason why the Oilers hate me on NHL13. Brian Boyle, Taylor Pyatt, 2013 #1 draft pick, and Jasper Fast for Tayor Hall and the Nuge. Then I get a big f you from Steve Tambolini (sp?)
@KevinDeLury @thenyrblogneill I know but I would give just about anything for him.
Just for fun what would we want back from Edmonton? My brain is exploding with curiosity! After a season of playing with the Rangers real team on NHL13 I always try to trade with the Oilers for their crazy talented youth and I end up low balling them so bad that they become my rival haha.
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He may have a lot of offensive talent but if he doesn't learn how to keep the damn puck in at the blue line this year then I'm done with him. I've never seen a guy lose so many offensive pressure situations by letting the puck slip past him...it's unbelievable.
@IronLionZion13 especially in the playoffs. A couple of times where he was totally flat-footed on the offensive blueline with a winger subsequently blowing right by him.
Give him 2.5 or move him to Edmonton for one of their many young talents. I gotta say, obviously other than the Rangers the Oilers are my second favorite team to watch. They have so much young talent that you have to love what they have going over there.
Should have mentioned this in my post, but if Rangers only offering Del Zotto $1.85 million per, they are seriously low balling him.
