NY Rangers Hockey Club: Deadline Day 2008

With less than an hour left in the 2008 NHL Trade Deadline, it would appear that the New York Rangers had no interest of making a deal for former Buffalo defenseman Brian Campbell. Campbell was traded to San Jose this morning, so either Rangers General Manager Glen Sather wasn't even pursuing Campbell, or the asking price was too high. Certainly Campbell could've helped the Rangers' defensemen get younger and better.

As well as right wing Jaromir Jagr has been playing of late, I wonder if he could even have been moved in a trade today. I doubt most clubs would be interested in touching his $8 million in salary, with salary cap strictures being so severe. Even considering the salary matter with Jagr, at the age of 36 he wouldn't have been enough to command a good young player, and/or a teams first round draft pick. This creates a considerable problem for the Rangers as it's likely that Jagr will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He will be out of contract, and there is no guarantee that he will re-sign with the Rangers. The Rangers may lose his services and get nothing in return. If the club does re-sign him, I believe that they would be foolish to do so unless it is at a substantial salary reduction. $8 million players score fifty goals or better and are leaders on and off the ice. Jagr has not produced either the fifty goals, or the on/off ice leadership. In fairness to Jagr he is second on the Rangers in scoring with 17 goals and 55 points. With Scott Gomez and Chris Drury producing at about the same level and at similar salaries, it would seem to be wise to offload one of these superstar salaries, and Jagr being the oldest, would be the logical choice to go. Also Henrik Lundquist has been re-signed at nearly $7 million per. Jagr, Lundqvist, Drury, and Gomez account for roughly $28 million in salary cap space out of approximately $54 million for the Rangers. That's nearly 52% of the cap space for four players. This is a situation that doesn't necessarily have to be addressed at the trade deadline, but it will certainly have to be addressed soon. Mr. Sather is a savvy veteran of the boardroom, and is no doubt acutely aware of this.

Mr. Sather may feel the club is in a position to not have to make trades, as over the past few years he has loaded up on prospects, some (Brandon Dubinski, Ryan Callahan, Nigel Dawes, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal) Who have begun to show their great promise already. There are more talented youngsters where they came from at Hartford, and also at college, junior and european clubs.

Roughly ten minutes before the deadline, the Rangers dealt a fourth round draft pick to St. Louis for 27 year-old defenseman Christian Backman. He has 228 NHL games under his belt, and averaged about nineteen minutes a game for the Blues. This will help the Rangers in both the short and long term, as regular defenseman Paul Mara will be out two weeks due to an injury requiring facial surgery.

In a deadline deal the Rangers traded goaltender Al Montoya, and forward Marcel Hossa to Phoenix for forwards Fredrik Sjostrom, Josh Gratton, and goaltender David Leneveu. Montoya, 23, played in 119 matches for the Hartford Wolf Pack winning 66. He played in 12 Calder Cup matches for the Wolf Pack winning 5. Marcel Hossa, 26, played in 223 NHL matches scoring 31 goals. Sjostrom, 24, has played in 231 NHL matches scoring 32 goals. Gratton, 25, has played in 67 NHL matches scoring 2 goals and totaling 237 minutes in penalties. Leneveu, 24, has played in 21 NHL matches winning 5. Leneveu's AHL career includes 172 matches winning 59.

This year, Mr. Sather's shrewdness has gained the Rangers a five-year NHL veteran defender who makes steady contributions for a draft pick that might not even produce an NHL player. The Blueshirts have also gained 3 promising young players from Phoenix Coyotes, for the price of 2. Well played Mr. Sather, well played. The impact of these acquisitions may be felt this season. For certain another girder has been fastened in the architecture of the monster team the Rangers are slowly becoming.