NY Rangers Quietly Add Cheap Speed As Free Agency Opens
NHL free agency activity opened pretty quietly for the Rangers, as expected. First they inked young right-handed blueliner Adam Clendening on a two-way contract for defensive depth. Then, before signing anyone else, they sat on their hands as Viktor Stalberg left for Carolina on a 1-year/$1.5M deal. Absolute bargain for a bottom-six guy with size & speed who used both very effectively, especially in the second half of last season. He was the one depth guy I’d have loved Gorton to bring back, but he decided otherwise. Oh well.
Speed & PK ability were priorities when rounding out the Blueshirts bottom-six and they filled those needs for dirt cheap. I still may have preferred to keep Stalberg over Grabner at the same cost, but Grabs undeniably brings elite level speed (was league’s fastest skater at All Star Game during his career-year with Isles in 2011) along with top-notch penalty killing. Only Detroit’s Luke Glendening (not to be confused with the “C”lendening NY signed) played more short-handed minutes per game than Grabner among forwards. His offensive talent has all but disappeared, but he’ll be a crucial piece to the Rangers reclamation project.
NY also inked all 5’5″ of Nathan Gerbe for a measly $600k. At that price, there’s very little risk here. Despite his vertical challenge he’s a speedy, shifty hustle guy that’ll also contribute to a PK that uncharacteristically finished in the bottom-five of the league. He shoots a ton, which is something else the passive Rangers could use while up a man. Gerbe won’t be a game-changer, but as the Penguins just proved Cups are won with depth so he’ll have the opportunity to play an important role on Broadway. He’s played on some bad teams – perhaps the Blueshirts will get the best out of his abilities.
Not your typical NY Rangers splashes, but it’s not like they had a choice. Maybe tying their own hands is a good thing considering the crazy term/cash being thrown around already. Still, there’s major work left to be done. The futures of Girardi, Staal & Nash need to be determined. There’s still a gaping hole on the right side of their defense (figure out how to get me Demers or Shattenkirk please) & they certainly need depth up the middle. It’s obviously very early in the off-season, but these minor moves (as well as the acquisition of the reliable Nick Holden from Colorado to round out the left side D) are all good ones. Obviously not enough, but a smart start.
Oh, and I left out the addition of Jeff Beukeboom as an assistant coach. He’ll slide into Ulf Samuelsson’s vacant slot on AV’s staff & run the blue line. Whether or not he also manages the PK remains to be seen, but regardless a little 1994 magic can’t hurt.