The New York Rangers still could use a veteran defenseman who can play the point, but they will need to look outside of their organization. Derek Morris, who New York traded Petr Prucha, Nigel Dawes, and Dmitri Kalinin to Phoenix for in March, has signed a 1 year/$3.3 million deal with the Bruins.
Although Morris's agent had said during this offseason that he was in talk with the Rangers about bringing the blueliner back to New York, I did not see that happening. Morris did not play nearly as bad as Kalinin, the guy he essentially replaced, but he still did not play that great (0 G, 8 A in 18 games, 0 G, 2 A in 7 playoff games). He failed to give a big boost to the Rangers power play by playing the point, which is still a big hole going into next season. Morris didn't fit the bill for what the Rangers need, and he also was going to make around what he made last year which was $.3.95 million. $3.3 million is a tad bit less, but still far more than the cap conscious Rangers could afford.
The way that I see it, the Rangers have two positions they need to fill for next season. One is a veteran d-man who can play the point, and as I noted in a July 14th post:
"A possible option to replace Morris is the soon to be 39 year-old Sergei Zubov. The longtime Star looks to be leaving Dallas after an injury-plagued season which saw him play only ten games. It is believed that Zubov will be fully healthy by the start of next season after coming off of a season-ending surgery in January for chronic hip problems. His age and recent injuries should drive his price down, and the Rangers are rumored to be very interested in him. Zubov can provide a veteran presence and scoring ability, although nobody should expect him to play like he did for the Blueshirts in the 1994 playoffs with nineteen points in twenty-two games. As long as Zubov is truly healthy, it can't hurt for New York to sign him to a low-price 1-year contract."
The Blueshirts also need a center. After losing Scott Gomez, Lauri Korpikoski, and most likely Blair Betts, their center depth chart is looking like: Brandon Dubinsky- 1st Line, Chris Drury- 2nd Line, Artem Anisimov (a rookie)- 3rd Line, Brian Boyle/Tyler Arnason (whoever impresses more in camp,preseason)- 4th Line.
This is not good. Anisimov may not be able to handle centering the third line at this point in his career, and may need to slide down to the 4th Line. That means Chris Higgins, who is more of a winger than center, may have to fill that spot.
Many fans and writers think the Rangers should go out and sign a top tier center to anchor Marian Gaborik's line instead of Dubinsky, but I think Duby showed during his time playing next to Jaromir Jagr, that he can successfully center a star winger. Instead, New York needs to sign a capable center who can also play wing for around $2 million, so that if Anisimov cannot handle 3rd line duties, he can step in.
Although Morris's agent had said during this offseason that he was in talk with the Rangers about bringing the blueliner back to New York, I did not see that happening. Morris did not play nearly as bad as Kalinin, the guy he essentially replaced, but he still did not play that great (0 G, 8 A in 18 games, 0 G, 2 A in 7 playoff games). He failed to give a big boost to the Rangers power play by playing the point, which is still a big hole going into next season. Morris didn't fit the bill for what the Rangers need, and he also was going to make around what he made last year which was $.3.95 million. $3.3 million is a tad bit less, but still far more than the cap conscious Rangers could afford.
The way that I see it, the Rangers have two positions they need to fill for next season. One is a veteran d-man who can play the point, and as I noted in a July 14th post:
"A possible option to replace Morris is the soon to be 39 year-old Sergei Zubov. The longtime Star looks to be leaving Dallas after an injury-plagued season which saw him play only ten games. It is believed that Zubov will be fully healthy by the start of next season after coming off of a season-ending surgery in January for chronic hip problems. His age and recent injuries should drive his price down, and the Rangers are rumored to be very interested in him. Zubov can provide a veteran presence and scoring ability, although nobody should expect him to play like he did for the Blueshirts in the 1994 playoffs with nineteen points in twenty-two games. As long as Zubov is truly healthy, it can't hurt for New York to sign him to a low-price 1-year contract."
The Blueshirts also need a center. After losing Scott Gomez, Lauri Korpikoski, and most likely Blair Betts, their center depth chart is looking like: Brandon Dubinsky- 1st Line, Chris Drury- 2nd Line, Artem Anisimov (a rookie)- 3rd Line, Brian Boyle/Tyler Arnason (whoever impresses more in camp,preseason)- 4th Line.
This is not good. Anisimov may not be able to handle centering the third line at this point in his career, and may need to slide down to the 4th Line. That means Chris Higgins, who is more of a winger than center, may have to fill that spot.
Many fans and writers think the Rangers should go out and sign a top tier center to anchor Marian Gaborik's line instead of Dubinsky, but I think Duby showed during his time playing next to Jaromir Jagr, that he can successfully center a star winger. Instead, New York needs to sign a capable center who can also play wing for around $2 million, so that if Anisimov cannot handle 3rd line duties, he can step in.
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