Now that Mike
Sauer and Artem Anisimov have re-signed, things are getting awfully quiet
in Ranger-land. Here’s a look at the stories of the weekend:
- Larry Brooks of the NY Post believes that Wojtek
Wolski is still a buyout candidate in August after the Rangers have
re-signed Brian Boyle, Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan. Wolski
seems like the odd man out at left wing, but his pure offensive talent is
matched by few on the roster. He’s already given the team headaches
and would likely continue to be a frustrating player if he stays with New York next year,
but if the Rangers still have the financial wiggle-room left after re-signing
their remaining restricted free agents, keeping Wolski might be the best course
of action. The worst case scenario is that he fails to beat out New
York’s other less talented left wings and sits in the press box for the
majority of the final year of his contract, but the best case is that Wolski
immediately clicks on the top line with Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik. It
might be a long shot, but if the Blueshirts have the money available, why not
give Wolski another shot?
- Brooks also wrote a good piece on why
the Brad Richards signing was a big win for New York.
- Corey Pronman of Hockey Prospectus released his prospect
organizational rankings on Friday and the Rangers came in at #20. There’s
a huge disparity between Pronman’s ranking and the general consensus of
the rest of the hockey community and media. The Blueshirts are ranked No. 7 by
Hockey’s Future and are viewed favorably by other prospect experts
including those at The Hockey News. To be fair, a lot has
changed since Hockey’s Future’s list was put out and Pronman did take into
account this year’s draft and he wasn’t too high on the Rangers’ picks. He
also doesn’t include established NHLers like Ryan McDonagh, Derek Stepan, Mats
Zuccarello and Mike Sauer, which many other outlets still view as developing
prospects. Still, Pronman
makes no mention of Christian Thomas, who just may be the Rangers’ best
prospect at this point. Time will tell how each team’s farm system
develops, but this seems a bit low by any standard.
- Did you know that Brad Richards will
be the highest paid player in the NHL next year?
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