Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rangers Rumors

Central Division Snapshots: Landeskog, Barrie, Kristo, Bitetto

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It must be mailbag day on the NHL beat. Earlier we linked to Joe Haggerty’s piece on the Bruins and now Mike Chambers of The Denver Post chimes in answering some tough questions regarding the Avalanche. First and foremost, Chambers discusses Gabriel Landeskog and what his expectations are for the gifted power forward. In the opinion of the scribe, based on his talent and the fact he was the second overall pick in the 2011 draft, Landeskog has to start producing 30-goal seasons in order to live up to his billing.

Landeskog posted a career-high 26 goals in 2013-14 and since has recorded seasons of 23 and 20 markers. He has netted four goals in 15 games this season which would put him on a full-season pace of 20 – 21.

As Chambers notes, Landeskog is a good NHL player and is the Avalanche captain, but with Colorado once again off to a slow start, Colorado needs him to start being great if they want to sneak back into the playoff race. Currently, the five-year veteran left wing is out of action due to a lower-body-injury.

There were rumblings that Colorado could shake up its core this past summer and one player rumored to perhaps be moved in such a scenario was Landeskog. GM Joe Sakic instead kept the core intact and simply made a couple of changes around the edges. However, if Colorado doesn’t start playing better soon, they may revisit that choice and Landeskog could be made available later this season.

Elsewhere around the Central Division:

  • In the same mailbag, Chambers took a question on Tyson Barrie. Barrie, prior to inking a four-year, $22MM extension this summer, was also thought to possibly be available via trade. As a right-handed blue liner with plenty of offensive ability, many teams would have been interested in Barrie’s services. Clearly he is viewed as a top-end puck moving defender, which as Chambers notes, often comes with high-risk, high-reward tendencies. Chambers argues that when the team is going well, the mistakes are easily overlooked. On the flip side, when things are not going so well, each mistake is magnified.
  • St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh completed a minor deal today, with minor league forward Danny Kristo headed to the Penguins and defenseman Reid McNeill headed the other way. The news was first reported via the Blues official Twitter account. Kristo was Montreal’s second-round pick in 2008 and has also played in the New York Rangers organization. He appeared in 71 games for the Chicago Wolves, tallying 25 goals and 48 points. McNeill, two years Kristo’s junior, was selected in the sixth-round of the 2010 draft by St. Louis. With 409 penalty minutes in 234 career minor league games, the 6-foot-4, 216-pound blue liner appears to be more of a physical force than an offensive threat. The trade likely serves as little more than two clubs searching for minor league depth with the Blues moving a forward while acquiring some blue line help.
  • Nashville Predators defenseman Anthony Bitetto has been assigned to the club’s AHL affiliate on a conditioning assignment, tweets Adam Vingan of The Tennessean. Bitetto has been out since opening night with an upper-body-injury. It will be interesting to see what the Predators do once the 26-year-old blue liner completes his conditioning assignment. In his absence, Yannick Weber has stepped into the top-six and has three assists in 15 appearances. Former Shark Matt Irwin has replaced veteran Matt Carle in the lineup and has responded with three goals and five points in 10 games. It seems likely that Weber would be the odd man out though there is no indication from Nashville or Vingan that this is the case.

Rangers Notes: Nieves, Buchnevich, Injuries

at CDT | by 2 Comments

It didn’t last long, but for Cristoval Nieves his first taste of the NHL was probably an exciting one. The hometown kid who was called up from the AHL on Monday was sent back to Hartford today, according to Steve Zipay of Newsday.  Nieves played on Tuesday because of a rash of injuries that hit the Rangers, getting just under 12 minutes of icetime in a 7-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

Nieves will head back down to the AHL where he has six points in thirteen games. The former second-round pick will try to make his way back to the big leagues now that he has a taste of NHL game action.

  • Pavel Buchnevich, one of the injured players who allowed for Nieves’ callup, will skate today according to Zipay but is still unlikely to play Friday against the Blue Jackets. The 21-year old has suffered from back spasms all year, only skating in 10 games thus far. Off to a blistering start in his rookie season, the Russian forward had already put up 8 points this season.
  • Kevin Hayes and Derek Stepan, both banged up on Tuesday should be ready for the Blue Jackets. Hayes scored twice in the win, adding to his impressive point total of 16. Hayes is on pace to blow by last year’s of 14 goals, and the Rangers need him to. At just 24, perhaps he’s developing into something more than a secondary scoring option.

Lindros On Concussions

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Newly-inducted NHL Hall of Famer Eric Lindros and the league’s concussion issues sadly go hand-in-hand. The star forward lost much of the prime of his career due to head injuries and his absence from the game for long periods of time was the first step toward the recognition of concussion problems in the NHL. Lindros reportedly suffered six concussions between 1998 and 2000 and sat out the entire 2000-01 season. Having retired in 2007 and taken a step back from the game, Lindros has had time to reflect on his career and on safety in pro hockey.

In a piece by ESPN’s Chuck Gormley, Lindros spoke out on some of his thoughts on the current state of the game and it’s concussion protocols. “It’s not about the number,” Lindros says, “It’s about the degree of each one and the makeup of each individual person. Everyone is completely different.” He added that  “That’s the hard part of (the NHL’s new concussion protocol). Some guys will take a big hit and feel fine and not want to come out of a game. No one is ever going to question how tough these guys are. That’s why they had to take it out of the players’ hands.”

Starting this season, the NHL has added concussion spotters to every game. These trained professionals watch for head contact and have the authority to remove players from games at the sign of concussion symptoms. While it seems like a great additional layer to help assist with player safety, it is not a fool-proof plan. Concerns over when, and if, goalies should be pulled, as well as how strictly the concussion protocols will be followed in the postseason lead the many questions that players and teams have about the new system.

However, Lindros says that he is happy to see that the league is taking a hard stance against concussions and taking the decisions away from the individuals or teams. As a former physical player himself, his game likely would have been impacted by these rules, but his health may have benefited. Other suggestions that Lindros has for further enhancing the safety of the game include adding the red-line back in, to reduce open-ice hits, and to make rinks wider, increasing space and lessening the occurrence of more physical encounters.

While such extreme changes to the game seem unlikely as of now, Lindros is content with how the NHL has handled it’s concussion problem recently. As the face of the issue back in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, Lindros has more experience than he would have liked with head trauma and simply hopes to see a safer game for all players. For now, the Hall of Famer is just happy to have his own health back. “I feel lucky,” Lindros stated. “I feel good.”

Chris Kreider Scratched For Rangers Against Edmonton

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Update (8:35pm): Newsday’s Steve Zipay now adds that rookie RW Pavel Buchnevich will also miss tonight’s game with back spasms. The Rangers, with no spare forwards on the roster beyond Lindberg, will instead dress seven defenseman with Adam Clendening coming in. Buchnevich has four goals on the season, all coming during his current four-game goal scoring streak. Zipay also suggests the team could look to call a forward up from Hartford tomorrow – perhaps Cristoval Nieves, though that’s just my speculation – but that will likely depend on how long the team expects Kreider and Buchnevich to be out.

Chris Kreider, who returned earlier this month after missing four games with a neck problem, is being held out of the lineup tonight due to an undisclosed upper-body-issue, tweets Brett Cyrgalis. The power forward started the season on fire, tallying three goals and seven points in his first four games but has struggled somewhat since is return, failing to find the back of the net in any of his last seven and finding himself benched for parts of two recent contests. Still, Kreider is averaging a point-per-game on the season and is a valuable contributor when he is on his game.

Alain Vigneault was pushed for further details, but as Cyrgalis later tweeted, the coach was unable to do so. It’s uncertain whether this injury is in any way related to the neck spasms that forced him out of the lineup earlier this season. Kreider played 13:10 last night against Calgary, which is the lowest total he has seen in any game this year though he didn’t appear to have suffered any kind of injury either.

Cyrgalis has now added that Kreider is no longer in Edmonton, apparently elsewhere undergoing testing. As he tweets, that’s likely not good news for the Rangers.

In his place, Oscar Lindberg draws back into the lineup. Lindberg has seen action in just four games this season, missing the start of the campaign following hip surgery in the summer. He has failed to find the score sheet so far this season but had a solid rookie showing in 2015-16, registering 28 points with 13 goals in 73 contests. He’ll likely fill a spot on the fourth line with Michael Grabner moving up to take Kreider’s slot on the left wing of Derek Stepan and with Rick Nash on the right. Grabner leads the league in even-strength goals with eight on the young season.

The Rangers are off to a strong, 11 – 4 – 0 start largely as a result of their tremendous depth up front. With Kreider on the shelf again for an undetermined period of time, that depth may well be tested.

Metro Division Notes: Vesey, Smith-Pelly, Kennedy

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The New York Rangers are off to a strong 10 – 4 – 0 start and lead the NHL in scoring, averaging 4.14 goals per contest. Their +24 goal differential is also tops in the league. They recently had a five-game winning streak snapped by Vancouver and during that stretch the team tallied five or more goals in each contest. While the Rangers are getting strong performances throughout their lineup, the contributions they are receiving from several rookies and first-year Blueshirts is a primary reason for their early-season success.

One of those rookies, Jimmy Vesey, has been everything the Rangers could have hoped for, with six goals and 10 points through 14 games. But as Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post writes, it appears as if the talented winger is beginning to experience the type of ups-and-downs most first-year pros go through.

For the second time in a week, Vesey found himself benched for an extended period of a game when Rangers bench boss Alain Vigneault sat Vesey for much of the third period in Tuesday’s 5 – 3 loss to the Canucks. Vigneault didn’t single out Vesey, or any other Ranger for that matter, but it was clear he was unhappy with the team’s play Tuesday. The benching of the 23-year-old left wing – along with veteran forward Chris Kreider – clearly suggested the coach found something lacking in the performance of Vesey.

Of course, as Cyrgalis points out, Vesey has never had to navigate through a schedule as condensed as this year’s and it’s only natural for an inexperienced player to see his game tail off at times as they learn to adapt to the rigors of the long NHL season. While at Harvard, Vesey never appeared in more than 37 games in a single session and generally, most games were played on the weekends. He’s no stranger to playing back-to-back games but three contests in four is new for the rookie. Despite his occasional struggles, the Blueshirts will still be more than happy if Vesey can maintain his scoring pace through the season.

Elsewhere in the Metro:

  • It was hoped Devante Smith-Pelly would be able to supply some secondary scoring to the Devils lineup this season but instead the 24-year-old winger has been a healthy scratch for each of the last two games and according to Chris Ryan of NJ.com, it’s beginning to get frustrating for Smith-Pelly. The former second round draft pick of the Anaheim Ducks has just one goal and three points on the season. Even worse, Smith-Pelly has been a liability at even strength with a Corsi For % of just 41.6%. He felt he was beginning to get on track following a three-game points streak but after New Jersey dropped their next two in Florida, the team decided to sit Smith-Pelly in back-to-back wins over Carolina. For his part, Smith-Pelly is trying to stay positive: “Not sure I agree with it, but like I said, it’s a coach’s decision, and I’m not going to cause any trouble or anything like that. I’m going to keep working hard and wait for my chance.” According to Andrew Gross of NorthJersey.com, Smith-Pelly is likely to again be a healthy scratch tonight as the team held only an informal skate this morning and based off the lines from yesterday’s full practice he was skating as an extra forward.
  • Nine-year NHL veteran Tyler Kennedy, who spent six seasons in Pittsburgh, has resigned himself to the likelihood of retirement, telling Adam Bittner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “you always as a hockey player want to keep playing as far as you can, but it feels like I’m going to retire, and that’s the thing that’s going to happen, I’m pretty sure. You never know, but I’m almost positive last year was my last year, so I’m kind of settling in. It’s a tough transition to do one thing your whole life and then have to change it. But it’s a good transition and we’ll see what happens.” Kennedy, who also has suited up for San Jose, New Jersey and the Islanders during his career, would finish up his career with 89 goals and 215 points in 527 contests should he decide to call it quits. He appeared in 50 games last season with the Devils but has so far been unable to latch onto an NHL team this season.

Jannik Hansen Out 4-6 Weeks With Broken Rib

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Vancouver Canucks have announced the severity of Jannik Hansen’s injury, and it’s not good. The forward will be out 4-6 weeks with a fractured rib, according to president Trevor Linden. Hansen had been placed on injured reserve on the 7th, a day after the incident with the Maple Leafs.

Hansen had been skating with the Sedin twins, but took a rough open-ice hit from Morgan Rielly before getting in a fight with Nazem Kadri on the same shift. For the Canucks, it meant moving the goalless Loui Eriksson back to the first line – though perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, Eriksson scored his first goal of the season last night – weakening the second group. With the team also sending down Jake Virtanen, it’s starting to run thin on skilled players up front.

Alex Burrows, who had been playing on the fourth line, now must be a huge part of any success the Canucks have over the next few weeks. His ice time has been increased by almost five minutes since the injury, and so far it’s paying off – he scored twice in the Canucks 5-3 win over the Rangers on Tuesday night.

Early Returns: The Best Deals Of The Offseason

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

When teams go into free agent frenzy each season, their boards are filled with superstar names and dream scenarios. “If we could only get..” say the fans, filling out possible lineups and trying out the squads in their favorite hockey simulator.  Millions and millions of dollars are spent bringing in players who are expected to lead the team.

It’s the ones who don’t earn millions that we’ll take a look at here though; the players who barely got an NHL contract but are still providing solid results early on.  Here are some of the best deals of the offseason, a dozen games in.

Jon Marchessault (FLA): 13GP-7G-6A-13P, $750,000

With 13 points in 13 games, Marchessault is the biggest story out of Florida these days. Skating alongside Jaromir Jagr and Alexander Barkov will help anyone, but he’s been effective nonetheless. The diminutive forward scored just 18 points for the Lightning in 2015-16 but is sure to blow by that this season. More upside for Florida, as they have the 25-year old for another year.

Matt Cullen (PIT): 12GP-3G-6A-9P, $1,000,000

Cullen hasn’t seemed to slow down any after another long season with the cup champions. Suiting up for 106 games between the regular season and playoffs, he keeps showing that even at 40 he can be a positive contributor in the NHL. Off to a great start, Cullen has a shot of surpassing the 32 points he put up last season, which seemed impossible coming into the year. Even if he doesn’t get 16 goals once again, he’s obviously a big part of the Penguins this season.

Michael Grabner (NYR): 13GP-7G-3A-10P, $1,650,000

How does a 29-year old, former 34 goal scorer only get a deal which pays $1.65MM per season? Score only 31 points in two seasons and establish yourself as a penalty kill-only type player. While Grabner isn’t expected to be that 34-goal man anymore, he’s off to a blistering start in New York and will almost surely post his first double-digit goal year since 2013-14. The Rangers have him for another year at the low price.

Dennis Seidenberg (NYI): 13GP-4G-4A-8P, $1,000,000

After being bought out from the remainder of his deal, Seidenberg had to look for a deal in a good situation to try and rebuild his value. At 35, he’s showing that he’s not done yet. The German defender has been logging almost 20 minutes a night for the Islanders and has been an effective even-strength player, something that couldn’t always be said about him. Four goals is already the most he’s scored since 2012-13, and he’s on track to contribute at least 20 points for the first time since 2011-12.

 

Rangers Trade Dylan McIlrath To Panthers For Steven Kampfer

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The New York Rangers and Florida Panthers struck a deal today, swapping disappointing defenseman. Dylan McIlrath is on his way to Florida with Steven Kampfer the return going back to NYC, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie. The deal also includes a conditional 2018 seventh-round pick going to the Rangers. McKenzie reports that New York will receive the pick only if McIlrath plays in 30 games for the Panthers this season.

McIlrath is a 2010 first-round pick of the Rangers, but was never able to solidify himself as an everyday player at the NHL level. McIlrath played just three games combined in New York in his first two pro seasons, before finally getting the chance to stay on the roster in 2015-16. Last year, he recorded only four points playing about 14 minutes per night in 34 games with the Rangers. Although the two sides agreed to a one-year deal this off-season, going into this season, McIlrath was not guaranteed a roster spot. After the preseason gave the Rangers a chance to look at their depth on the blue line, they made it clear that they were open to dealing McIlrath. Having played only one game with the team to this point, his status within the organization became clear last week when the former top prospect was put on waivers.  Now, McIlrath gets a fresh start with the Panthers and will look to show that his lack of production so far was a product of the Rangers depth and system rather than his own inability. Not too far gone from being a first-rounder, McIlrath still has some raw talent that Florida will try to develop further, as well as invaluable toughness.

Returning for a second stint in the Big Apple is Kampfer, who was traded to Florida by the Rangers not too long ago. The University of Michigan product appeared to have a bright future in front of him playing for the Boston Bruins right out of college. However, as his play dropped off, the Bruins sold high on him at the 2012 NHL Trade Deadline in a deal with the Minnesota Wild for Greg Zanon. After two seasons playing in the AHL for the Wild’s affiliates, Kampfer signed with the Rangers prior to the 2014-15 season. After he lost a roster battle to former Bruins teammate Matt Hunwick in training camp, the Rangers shipped Kampfer to Florida for veteran forward Joey Crabb. Kampfer played in 72 games with the Panthers over the past two seasons (with very little production), but had only played in one game so far this season and had requested a trade out of Florida. He got his wish, but has been sent back to a team that traded him before he could play a single regular season game for the organization. This time around, Kampfer will provide some experienced depth for the Rangers, but seems likely to still see significant AHL minutes throughout 2016-17.

Metro Division Notes: Mason, Neuvirth, Girardi

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Perhaps not since Ron Hextall’s first tour between the pipes in Philadelphia have the Flyers had consistently good goaltending. The team has had plenty of talented players call Philadelphia home over the years but the lack of steady play in goal is primarily why the Flyers have not celebrated a Stanley Cup championship roughly four decades. Through 13 games this season it’s becoming apparent that goaltending is once again the Flyers Achilles heel, opines Sam Carchidi of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Flyers boast one of the league’s most prolific offenses, averaging nearly 3 1/2 goals per game while three of their skaters currently rank among the top-10 in scoring. But despite the offensive firepower, the Flyers are still a .500 team with a 6 – 6 – 1 record.

Philadelphia’s goaltending duo of Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth was excellent last season, ranking in the top-five in Save % and just outside the top-10 in GAA. They were good enough to carry the team to the postseason when many felt the roster was likely a year or two away from playoff contention. This season, however, it’s been a different story.

Mason owns a GAA of 3.46 and a Save% of 87.8%. Neuvirth, coming off a career season in 2015-16, has been even worse posting a 3.56 GAA and a 85.9% Save%.

While Hextall, now the team’s GM, and head coach Dave Hakstoll both believe that there’s more to the story than shoddy goaltending. Said Hextall: “There’s nobody here that’s going to point fingers at the goalies, or the D, or just the forwards. It’s the whole group on the ice.”

With Mason and Neuvirth both in the final years of their respective deals, it will be interesting to see how long the Flyers rides this out if they don’t see improved play in the goal prevention department. At some point the team might entertain a short term boost between the pipes. Or they could pivot entirely and try to acquire a a long term solution if they can find the right deal.

  • New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault decided to scratch defenseman Dan Girardi for tonight’s game against Winnipeg, but according to Newsday’s Steve Zipay, it has nothing to do with either the play of the veteran blue liner or his health, but rather a concerted effort to give Girardi extra rest throughout the season. Girardi has long been the type who played through nagging injuries but after the worst season of his career in 2015-16, one that could be blamed at least in part on playing hurt, Vigneault plans to rest his defenseman for the second half of back-to-backs in order to keep him healthier and fresh. It’s hoped that the occasional game off mixed in with periodic maintenance days will reduce the accumulation of wear and tear his playing style tends to lend itself to and that Girardi will be a better player as a result. Adam Clendening will dress for the Blueshirts, making his sixth appearance for New York after sitting out the last seven contests.

Morgan’s Latest: Rangers, Montoya, Yakupov

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Craig Morgan tackled a variety of topics today in his latest “Craig’s List” column on Today’s Slapshots. Among them, Morgan questions whether the New York Rangers’ hot start is sustainable. He cites the home-heavy early schedule that has seen the Rangers play eight of their first 12 games at MSG as one reason to doubt that the Blueshirts can maintain their level of play.

Additionally, as Morgan also notes, the team has received a lot of production from unexpected sources. Michael Grabner, for instance, already has seven goals and 10 points through 12 contests for the Rangers. Last season in Toronto, Grabner tallied just nine times in 80 games and has failed to crack the 20-goal mark in four years. It’s certainly unlikely Grabner will continue his torrid pace.

Morgan also singles out rookie winger Jimmy Vesey, who has six goals for the Blueshirts, as another player whose production is almost sure to fall off as the season wears on. Vesey never played more than 37 games in a single season while at Harvard and at some point will hit the proverbial “rookie wall.”

Finally, Morgan writes that the Rangers PDO (a combination of team’s shooting and save percentages) is likely set for regression. New York currently owns the 4th highest five-on-five PDO in the league at 104.29, buoyed in large part by a ridiculous 11.72% shooting percentage, tops in the league. However, it should be noted the Rangers also led the NHL in shooting percentage in 2015-16, converting 9% of their shots on goal at five-on-five into goals. Even if the Blueshirts shooting percentage regressed to that 9% figure, they’d still be among the highest scoring teams in the league.

Plus, while Morgan highlights several players whose production is probably unsustainable over the course of a full season, there are a few Rangers who have yet to play up to their potential. Derek Stepan, who has averaged 0.25 goals/game throughout his career, has just one through 12 to start this season. Mika Zibanejad is averaging nearly three shots on goal per contest but only two have found their way into the back of the net. His career shooting percentage is 10.6% suggesting if he was converting at his normal rate he’d have more goals on his ledger.

Naturally the Rangers should not be expected to win three out of every four games but this is a team that plays fast and has four lines that can score. Add to that one of the best goalies in the game in Henrik Lundqvist, and this Rangers team has the look of Stanley Cup contender. The question is, will they look like one next spring.

More from Morgan:

  • Apparently, leaving Al Montoya in for all 10 goals in Montreal’s 10 – 0 loss Thursday night was not well received within the goalie community. Not surprisingly, no active tender expressed his opinion publicly but former NHL netminder Corey Hirsch was not shy about his feelings: “I just thought it was disrespectful to Montoya. It’s basically saying we care about Carey Price. We really don’t care what happens to you. It’s not like they’re scratching for their playoffs lives. It’s October, they were 9-0-1 and this is a guy who helped get them there when Price was out at the start of the year. For me, it took away from the team concept you try to build. If I’m a teammate, I’m looking around and saying ‘I guess he’s not afraid to throw one person to the wolves. Maybe I’m next.’” According to Morgan, several other former NHL goalies agreed with Hirsch’s sentiments though none wished to be quoted on the subject. Of course Montreal is no stranger to this type of controversy. Back in 1995, then Canadiens bench boss Mario Tremblay allowed Patrick Roy to remain in a game against Detroit in which the Hall of Fame goalie would eventually allow nine goals before being removed. As he stormed off the ice, Roy told team president Ronald Corey that he had played his final game for Montreal. He was dealt a few days later to Colorado and the rest is history.
  • When the St. Louis Blues acquired Nail Yakupov from Edmonton it was expected they would be patient with the enigmatic but talented winger. That patience may already be starting to wear thin, however, as Morgan notes Yakupov was a healthy scratch Saturday night. Head coach Ken Hitchcock tried to deflect that line of thinking by pointing out the team has 14 forwards on the roster and he was just trying to get everyone in. “We’ve got lots of choices. We’ve got 14 forwards and everybody is going to play this weekend, so we’ll just figure it out from there. If he doesn’t play (Saturday), he’ll be back in (Sunday), so it’s not a big deal.” Evidently Hitchcock changed his mind as Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweeted earlier that the Blues were going with the same lineup as Saturday night with Yakupov and Ty Rattie scratched. Perhaps it’s a sign that Yakupov is falling out of favor already in St. Louis or maybe it’s just a tactic to try to motivate the former top overall draft pick.

 

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top