Rangers GM Surfaces, Moves Bodies, Disappears
After a horribly disappointing playoff the New York Rangers' General Manager went into seclusion and was only rarely seen wandering through the mirc channel mumbling semi incoherently about Daniel Alfredsson's stupidity.
All that changed in the blink of an eye as the wiley GM resurfaced and pulled off two blockbuster deals.
The first sent Jocelyn Thilbault to Atlanta for young up and coming centre Par Backer and the second saw former untouchable Mathew Spiller move to New Jersey for Karel Pilar.
The first deal was an obvious cost cutting manouvre and the Rangers obviously deemed Thilbault to be expendable after a disappointing year in New York. The Rangers unloaded his 4 million dollar salary and got a quality young player in return. Backer is rounding into a solid depth player and could move up to a great second line centre in a few years. Atlanta got the starting goalie they were sorely lacking in the deal.
The second deal saw the Rangers upgrade their vaunted defence by adding Pilar but they had to give up some depth to make the deal happen. The Rangers moved Spiller but also had to move Jason Blake, a key player on the team last year, and young blue chip prospect Brady Murray. Murray developed incredibly well last year and is one of the top rated Centre's in junior. The Rangers also parted with a 5th round pick but did manage to get Alex Kaigordorov to cover roster violations in junior.
Backer is a similar player to Blake so he should step in and fill Blake's role, and the Rangers upgraded their defence with Pilar. All in all it looks like the Rangers may be even tougher on defence this year than last. The biggest question at hand is whether Mike Dunham can repeat the dream season he had last year.
The Rangers have cleared cap room and are rumoured to be in the hunt for another winger or defenceman on the free agent market.
All that changed in the blink of an eye as the wiley GM resurfaced and pulled off two blockbuster deals.
The first sent Jocelyn Thilbault to Atlanta for young up and coming centre Par Backer and the second saw former untouchable Mathew Spiller move to New Jersey for Karel Pilar.
The first deal was an obvious cost cutting manouvre and the Rangers obviously deemed Thilbault to be expendable after a disappointing year in New York. The Rangers unloaded his 4 million dollar salary and got a quality young player in return. Backer is rounding into a solid depth player and could move up to a great second line centre in a few years. Atlanta got the starting goalie they were sorely lacking in the deal.
The second deal saw the Rangers upgrade their vaunted defence by adding Pilar but they had to give up some depth to make the deal happen. The Rangers moved Spiller but also had to move Jason Blake, a key player on the team last year, and young blue chip prospect Brady Murray. Murray developed incredibly well last year and is one of the top rated Centre's in junior. The Rangers also parted with a 5th round pick but did manage to get Alex Kaigordorov to cover roster violations in junior.
Backer is a similar player to Blake so he should step in and fill Blake's role, and the Rangers upgraded their defence with Pilar. All in all it looks like the Rangers may be even tougher on defence this year than last. The biggest question at hand is whether Mike Dunham can repeat the dream season he had last year.
The Rangers have cleared cap room and are rumoured to be in the hunt for another winger or defenceman on the free agent market.
posted by RangersGM at 8:05 PM
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