Sather Talks to Zuccarello's Agent About Rangers Return
Yesterday, I posted that Mats Zuccarello's KHL season ended and that it was likely the Rangers would be reaching out to him shortly.
Well, last night Andrew Gross at the Bergen Record confirmed that Glen Sather has in fact spoken to Zuccarello's agent about a possible return to the Blueshirts...
“We have already talked to Glen about it,” agent Don Meehan said in an e-mail to The Record. “We will wait to hear from him.”
Apparently, Zuccarello is looking for a one-way deal that extends two to three years. This would ensure an NHL salary even if he's demoted to the Whale.
...with the way the Rangers are going, I'm not necessarily convinced that the Rangers need Zuccarello right now. Who is he replacing in the line-up when Richards & Asham are healthy? Makes no sense for Zucc to play on the fourth line so those guys are safe. Got to assume if Miller can continue to play the pivot the way he did last night, Boyle would be expendable. However, as you saw vs. Flyers, he is very valuable in the faceoff circle.
...not surprised to see Zuccarello looking for a one-way deal after what happened during his first tenure on Broadway.
H/T to reader Pbaekken.
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Rangers have a lot of big players now -everyone 6 foot plus or five eleven- and can afford a smaller player or two like Zucc and Christian Thomas on the roster, if they can help the club.Scoring depth is a good thing.
The issue is who sits if he's in the lineup? I dont want to replace Miller. I don't see Zuc blocking shots and Torts is pretty clear about how he wants everyone on the ice to buy into his system which includes strong defense. With Staal out Powe also becomes more important on the PK as a forward that fills that roll if say Cally is in the box.
As Kevin pointed out Boyle has been strong in the faceoff dept - another good PK attribute. i can see how Zuc plays over Bickel but that assumes we've got another man down because after last night I dont think we see Bickel too soon.
Agree. Not really a strong case to bring him back and put him in lineup right now. Did I miss something? Did the Rangers go undefeated and win the Cup when Zuccarello was in the line up? I guess absence makes the hockey heart grow fonder for some peeps.
Id be okay with giving him a one-way deal, just not a multi-year deal. I dont know if he's done enough at the NHL level to deserve more than one year.
@TheNYRBlog after Hamrlik is the extra cap room for Zucc worth it for this season? Is there cap room?
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Zucc will definitely help us more than hurt us. Hamrlik is like the McCabe deal a couple seasons ago...old veteran with heavy mileage trying to help the PP...didn't work out too well
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Zucc is worth a one way deal. Can he play with the Rangers and the Whale without going through waivers?
@Sioux-per-man One-way deal means that the Rangers cant send him to the AHL without him having to pass through waivers.
@MannySanghera @Sioux-per-man 1-way and 2-way contracts have nothing to do with waivers. All it determines is how he gets paid. NHL games played is what determines waivers and because of the number of games he has already played, he will have to clear waivers.
@MannySanghera @Sioux-per-man I should specify, if the Rangers were to send him down to the Whale, he would have to go through waivers. Not for him to go from the KHL to New York.
I adore Zuccs! He wants so badly to do well, and really only wants to play with the Rangers. Had a chat with him last year at the AHL All Stars. He's a really sweet guy too!
@TheNYRBlog Good pick up with Hamer. We dont need Zucc right now but cmon, Bickel over him? Get Zucc back NY
As much as I like MZA I am not sure this is the best course for the rangers although he was playing better before the broken arm and has shown some toughness in the KHL it would have to be a deal at the right price - it will be interesting to see how high Slats will go.
@HEELVin @TheNYRBlog hamrlik is a good solid 3rd pair d. Better than having bickel play no minutes there
