Sunday, July 29, 2007

Free Agent Leftovers

Free Agent LeftoversFree agents are like left over food. They are always around and available at the drop of a new contract. There always seems to be as many free agents left over as their are reheated leftover dishes. With not much to do I rummaged through the free agency list to see what was still available. My wife wishes that I rummage and clean out my closet or throw out old useless mail. No fun in that.

There are still some interesting names out there. Anson Carter, Andy Sutton, Eric Lindros, Sean Burke, Michael Peca and Peter Forsberg. The last three could be of some interest to the Rangers. Sean Burke could be a valuable backup to Henrik Lundqvist and could probably sign for a reasonable dollar amount. However, its the last two names that have my interest.

There are rumors galore that the Rangers and Peca have an interest in each other. Peca would take over the third line center position between Prucha and Callahan. Peca is a tough competitor and would add more grit to the Ranger forwards. The Rangers could always use a little more grit and Peca is a good face off man, good penalty killer and could provide much needed experience to his two young wingers.

Forsberg is the guy that interests me but I don't know what his price will be. He just hit 34 years old which puts him one year below the magical 35 where all kind of dollar shenanigans are okayed. Forsberg would be perfect between Prucha and Callahan. He too is tough and while he has averaged over a point a game in his career he is also an excellent defensive player, winning the plus/minus award one year. Forsberg has accumulated 623 assists in 697 games and there is no reason to believe that he cannot continue that pace centering Prucha and Callahan. Last year in 57 games with the Flyers and Nashville Forsberg registered 55 points. Also he can kill penalties and with the absence of Ortmeyer, that may pose a problem for the Rangers.

Signing Forsberg will be a boon for Prucha and Callahan. With Forsberg the Prucha/Callahan combo could easily get 50-60 goals between them. This would give the Rangers three great scoring lines and if we come up with that elusive big "D" man the Rangers could be a contender for The Cup. As you can tell it's the boring time of the year for hockey so those of us who get antsy look for things to write about.

I know that I have been talking up 21 year old Brandon Dubinsky and I haven't quit on him but the prospect of getting a Peter Forsberg as a third line center intrigues me to no end. What do you think? And if Dubinsky does make the team the Rangers will be the only team in the league to have two players from Alaska. Now that's a tidbit that may help you answer a trivia question.



Related Articles by Categories


6 comments:

  • Anonymous said...
     

    Forsberg definitely makes for intriguing debate, but I don't think he's practicle. He's not a 3rd line center. Even at his age and with his questionable health, he carries the presence of a super star. Those types of players do not easily fade into lesser roles. He would, inevitably, force his way onto 1 of the top 2 lines. Who would then slide down? Drury is not a 3rd liner. Gomez definitely isn't either. At over $7m per season for each of them, placing them on the 3rd line wouldn't work.

    On the other hand, the Burke thing is definitely worth considering.

  • mike said...
     

    the hockey rabbi-Everything you say is true, but one thing drives all hockey players. The chance to win and lift The Cup. Then they defy logic and do most anything.

  • Anonymous said...
     

    close ties to jeremy roenick. word of mouth has told me that he might sign with the rangers for under 1million a year. would be a good fit on the third line, possibly center, would give good intangible grit. def wants to get 7 more goals to be the other american 500 goal scorer

  • Anonymous said...
     

    jeremy roenick for under $1M? I wonder if a guy who is "infamously outspoken", but at the end of his career would be a good fit. He think perhaps he doesn't have the skills any more to back up all the talk. A net negative. Is that assessment too harsh?

  • mike said...
     

    anonymous-I am not too crazy about Roenick, never was. Right now I think his mouth is bigger than his game. I would not like to see that move.

  • mike said...
     

    wes putnam-You are right on target. See my comments to anonymous.

New York Rangers (@NYRangers) | Twitter

NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) | Twitter

NHL on TNT (@NHL_On_TNT) | Twitter

The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) | Twitter

Blueshirt Banter (@BlueshirtBanter) | Twitter

NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) | Twitter

Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) | Twitter

NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) | Twitter

Stephen Valiquette (@VallysView) | Twitter