New York Rangers Face Busy Summer Ahead

It's going to be a busy summer for the Ranger brass as they look to bolster a solid foundation in hopes of a run at the Stanley Cup come next June.

Let’s start in goal where it’s quite simple.

Henrik Lundqvist ($6.9 mil.) has merited three Vezina nominations in his first three seasons.

Behind him, Stephen Valiquette proved to be a very valuable backup. He was cheap and very effective when Lundqvist needed a spell. It only makes sense not to rock the boat. He made $617,500 last season, so give him a little raise and retain a loyal and talented asset.

Going into the 07-08 campaign, many predicted the Rangers' back-line to be their downfall. It turned out to be their strong point.

Marc Staal, Fedor Tyutin, and Dan Girardi are all under contract for next season, giving the organization a very solid core to work around. Paul Mara ($3 mil.) and Marek Malik ($2.5 mil.) should be gone.

Christian Backman proved to be a penalty waiting to happen and never gave the Rangers a boost on the powerplay. Unfortunately, he is under contract for $2.3 million for next season.

It appears as if Andrew Hutchinson, who the Rangers signed last summer to a microscopic $475,000 two-year deal, could fill the role the organization thought Backman could. He posted big numbers (18-46-64) in Hartford and could provide the organization with a powerplay quarterback until highly touted Bobby Sanguinetti is ready for the jump.

Finally, we come to Michal Rozsival, the team's de facto number one defenseman. Yes, the Rangers could go out and pursue RFA Joni Pitkanen or UFA's Jason Smith and Brooks Orpik as many are speculating, but none of the available defensemen this summer are head and shoulders above Rozsival.

He has his problems, but he is more dynamic than Smith and Orpik. While Pitkanen has an offensive upside, he is an RFA. The Rangers would likely have to make an enormous offer-sheet to someone not all that much better than the guy they already have.

I say sign Rozsival, try to move Backman and promote Hutchinson. Also, sign Jason Strudwick. He can't demand too much of a raise and everyone always raves about his leadership qualities.

The situation up front is very murky for the Blue Shirts. With the addition of centers Scott Gomez and Chris Drury last summer, the Rangers completely altered their dynamic, appearing to place the team among the league's offensive elite.

Unfortunately, Jaromir Jagr and the passing wizard Gomez didn't click. At all.

While Michael Nylander stickhandled through everyone on the ice three times a piece before setting Jagr up for his deadly one-timer the previous two seasons, Gomez plays a very North American, north-south style game.

He plays the game at a high speed whereas the success Jagr and Nylander enjoyed was due to their ability to slow the game down and play east-west, very European. Someone should have seen it coming but no one did and the Rangers paid heavily for it.

As Tom Renney said following the loss in Pittsburgh, if Jagr were to come back the only role he can play is the team's number one forward.

It contrasts with the way the organization is heading, but Jagr proved in the playoffs that he can still dominate despite playing with a cast that doesn't exactly compliment him. He led the NHL in scoring through the first two rounds. 

The Rangers can't afford to pay the $8.36 million he was paid last season, only $5 million of which New York actually paid (Washington paid the difference) with huge contracts out to Gomez, Drury, and Lundqvist. 

Jagr has much more financially lucrative deals overseas and the Rangers are moving in another direction. What it basically comes down to is how much Jagr really wants to stay in New York, because the best offer he'll probably receive will be a $5 million base salary laden with easily attainable bonuses around $3 million as to avoid a further cap-hit.

Like I said, it's all up to Jagr at this point.

The soon-to-be 39-year-old Brendan Shanahan might be looking for his third one-year contract in a row. Despite scoring over 20 goals for an amazing 19th consecutive year, it appears as if Shanahan is on the way out.

He still boasts a heavy shot and has become a reliable penalty-killer, but if he were to resigned he would likely have to take a pay-cut for the second straight year and accept a smaller role. Renney even put him on the fourth line in the Pittsburgh series for a while. 

The fact is the Rangers shouldn't pay him $2.5 million when they can go out and get a guy like Brian Rolston who is much more dynamic and younger (35) for maybe a million more. Like Jagr, it's decision making time for the first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. 

Jagr's countryman Martin Straka is also without a contract. His situation is simple. No Jagr, no Straka. On the flip side, If Jagr is signed, expect Straka to sign as well.

Like Jagr and Shanahan, Straka will likely have to take a pay-cut ($3.3 last year) due to his age (36 in September) and drop in production. If the Rangers sign Jagr, they won't leave him without the only comfort he had this season in Straka.

Good old Sean Avery. According to recent reports from Larry Brooks, Glen Sather has yet to contact Avery or his agent, meaning he will probably not be a Ranger come October.

Avery and the Rangers flourished with together, but due to last summer's arbitration, the bloated salary he'll demand, and his distracting antics, I'm not too surprised Sather hasn't made an effort. Anything can happen in a month, but as of now it appears Avery is gone.

Sather should seriously look to part ways with Petr Prucha as well. Renney hardly used the one-time 30 goal-scorer who is set to make $1.6 million next season.

That is too much for someone who is going to sit in the stands or not play on the power play (the source of the majority of his goal-scoring—16 of the 30 were PPG in 05-06). He's gritty and quick but he is also small. Someone in the league could use his services, just not the Rangers.

Of the three RFAs the Rangers have (Nigel Dawes, Fredrik Sjostrom, and Greg Moore) Dawes is the only must-sign. With RFAs so vulnerable to monster offer-sheets under the new CBA, expect the Rangers to sign him quickly.

Sjostrom warrants a new contract as well, after proving to be a solid fourth-line player with great speed. Moore has had his shot with the big club and I doubt they're in any hurry to get him a new deal.

Another impending UFA is winger Pierre Parenteau who led the Hartford Wolfpack in scoring this past season (34-47-81). The 25-year-old might be the real deal and might warrant a long, hard look in training camp.

Lauri Korpikoski is under contract and also appears poised to challenge for a roster spot after scoring the Rangers' first goal in the Game 5 loss in Pittsburgh, his NHL debut. 

If they can pry him away from Russiam, 2007 first round draft pick Alexei Cherepanov has a legitimate shot at making the big club. His fellow countryman Artem Anisimov isn't quite ready to crack the NHL following a solid year in Hartford (16-27-43). The 20-year-old needs to add significant weight to his hulking 6-4 frame.

Below is how I see the Rangers' lines shaping up. The empty slots are to be filled by the list of players below the lines.

Players who were not under contract with the Rangers this past season are in BOLD. Players who were under contract with the Rangers last season but are UFAs or RFAs are in ITALICS. For the purposes of this chart, I'm assuming Avery will not be in the picture.

* = Trade Bait

Straka          Dubinsky             Jagr
_____            Gomez             _____
Dawes            Drury             Callahan
Sjostrom         Betts              _____    

Rolston
Korpikoski
Cherepanov
Parenteau
Hollweg
Orr
Prucha*


Staal           Rozsival
Tyutin          Girardi
_____           _____

Orpik
Hutchinson
Strudwick
Backman*

Lundqvist
Valiquette