The Hockey Rabbi

A Penny For Your Thoughts...

It's good to get some time to write again!  I've been extremely busy at work, thank G-d.  Anyway, just a few thoughts from the last few weeks.

1.  Sean Avery.  For those of us, myself included, who argued against Avery's off-season antics, there is no denying his mid-season value.  The Rangers are a different team when Avery is in the lineup.  If the guy can manage to stay out of his own way, he may very well have found a long term home in New York. 

2.  Henrik Lundqvist.  We knew that he would have to carry the team early.  We didn't know he'd have to single handedly carry them!  Lundqvist has been extraordinary for much of the season.  That's good news for the Rangers.  The bad news is that when he's been human, the Rangers have lost.

3.  0ffense.  I actually spelled it with a zero, not an "o"!  Need I say more? 

4.  Marc Staal.  Wow!  The kid is incredible.  The kid plays like a veteran.  A good veteran!  I think he's the best defenseman on the team.  I can't even imagine how good he's going to be once he fills out a little bit and gains some more experience. 

5.  Brandon Dubinsky.  Another wow!  In the off-season, I wanted the Rangers to sign Peca.  I'm thrilled that they didn't!  Dubinsky is an excellent hockey player.  He's got great hands, excellent instincts, great size and phenomenal fore-checking ability. 

6.  The 4th Line.  Kudos to Tom Renney & Co.  They managed to turn these guys into a reliable line.  Betts, Hollweg and Orr have earned the Coaches trust.  These guys have effectively reduced the amount of time that older players like Jagr, Shanny and Straka have to play.  That should pay some dividends as the season progresses.  It also forces opponents to play their fourth lines or run the risk of getting tired as games near their end. 

7.  Tom Renney.  After reading item #6, you might be surprised by what I'm about to write.  I don't think Renney is the right guy for the job.  He's too nice and he's too soft on his players.  He was the perfect coach to help the franchise turn the corner towards becoming a playoff club.  I don't think, however, that he's got what it takes to lead the team to real and meaningful success. 

Renney is the ultimate "player's coach".  He understands each players unique strengths and weaknesses and he tries, to the best of his ability, to put each player in their optimal circumstances.  He protects his players from the media and from public scrutiny in general.  He is careful not to bruise the delicate egos of his athletes, especially those of his super-stars.  Don't get me wrong, these are all virtues and admirable ones at that. 

So what's the problem?  The Rangers (like most if not all other teams) suffer from mental lapses.  They'll play exceptionally well for significant stretches of time and then they'll abandon the things that made them successful.  In response, Renney plays the role of the exceedingly patient, loving and all knowing Daddy.  He believes in his kids and knows that eventually they'll learn from their mistakes.  He doesn't punish them, he doesn't even lose his cool and he will certainly NEVER "call out" his older boys for setting bad examples for their younger siblings. 

The truth is that over the long haul, that approach probably makes the most sense.  Especially with the Rangers.  They are, after all, a veteran club with very capable leaders in the locker room.  They are a mature and proud bunch who will, if given the time, correct their own mistakes without the need for loud reminders. 

So again, what's the problem?  Time.  Sports are a microcosm of life, yet they are different.  In life, you have a lifetime to find yourself (which G-d willing means a very happy long time!).  In sports you don't.  You have a relatively short regular season and an even shorter playoff tournament.  If the Rangers get derailed when it counts, they will not have three or four games to "find themselves".  They'll be playing golf by then! 

G-d gave us two hands.  Jewish mysticism (also known as Kaballah) teaches that the right hand represents kindness while the left represents severity.  We have been given both of them for a reason.  Sometimes you have to be kind and patient.  Other times you have to crack the whip.  Renney is a very powerful "righty".  Most great coaches are ambidextrous!            

RANGERS STRIKE LIGHTNING!

Make no mistake, last night's victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning was important.  The Lightning are not one of the league's better teams.  Nor was this a "measuring stick" game.  However, there were some very important "events" in this game:

1.  The Goals:  The Rangers managed to score three (3) goals!  That, in and of itself, is an important accomplishment for this team!  Even more importantly, however, is how the team scored its goals.  The first goal came courtesy of a Nigel Dawes deflection.  The second goal was the result of a shot (gasp!) from the point by Jagr which found its way to the net courtesy of the traffic generated in front of Tampa's goalie as a result of Shanny crashing the net.  The third goal was scored by Shanny setting up shop directly in front of the net with his stick on the ice.  Simple, fundamental hockey. 

2.  Jaromir Jagr:  In my last post, I referred to Jagr as the captain (lower case "c").  Last night, Jagr played like a Captain.  He drove to the net.  He kept his feet moving.  He shot the puck.  He scored a power play goal off of a slap shot from the point (really!)  Most importantly, he literally got his teeth knocked out and managed to finish the game with a two point first star performance.  Like I said, he played like a Captain. 

3.  Nigel Dawes:  In my season preview, I wrote about the need for someone other than the big guns to step up for the Rangers.  It's only been a few games but Dawes looks like he could be that player this season.  Admittedly, I've been slow to warm up to this kid.  However, Dawes is absolutely earning respect and praise with the way he's been playing.  The kid can skate, pass, shoot and even hit!  If Dawes continues to perform, Renney will have some very difficult decisions to make when Avery, Straka and Callahan are ready to get back into the line up. 

It was only one game.  It may be the beginning.             

Here We Go!

The regular season starts tomorrow night!  Unfortunately for me, it's a Jewish holiday so I will not be able to watch the game. 

The hockey world is filled with previews and predictions.  There's not much to add in those categories.  Besides, making predictions is really more for entertainment than anything else.  Especially in the new NHL where parity reigns supreme.  The truth is that there really isn't a team in the league that's dominant from top to bottom.  Many teams have overwhelming strengths.  Yet they all have fairly significant weaknesses as well.  Ultimately, the last team standing in June of 2008 will be determined primarily by hot goaltending and good health as opposed to any other factor(s).  That being said, I've prepared my top five lists.  I've got two lists for you here:  (1) The Top Five Reasons Why The Rangers Will Win The Stanley Cup This Season and (2) The Top Five Reasons Why The Rangers Will Not Win The Stanley Cup This Season.  Here we go!

I.  THE TOP FIVE REASONS WHYTHE RANGERS WILL WIN THE STANLEY CUP THIS SEASON:

1.  Offense.  This team is stacked up front.  The Rangers are quite possibly the deepest offensive team in the league.  Jagr, Gomez, Drury, Shanahan, Straka, Avery and Prucha.  That list doesn't even include Marcel Hossa (who came alive late last season) or the up and coming rookie Nigel Dawes (who may very well get a shot with the big club this season).  The Rangers have scorers on each of their top three lines. 

2.  Henrik Lundqvist.  He's the King on Broadway.  After a slow start last season he really came alive to carry the team through their unbelievable run down the stretch.  He gives the team the confidence it needs to play an offensively oriented game.  When he's hot he gets into shooters' heads forcing them to try to pick their spots carefully, too carefully!

3.  Jaromir Jagr.  Yes he fits into reason number 1 (offense).  But Jagr is literally in a category of his own!  He's an old school super star who can literally change the course of a game (or a series) by himself.  To me Jagr is the Rangers' nuclear weapon.  His skill and game breaking ability are virtually unparalleled.  If opponents don't match up against him, he'll break the game open.  If they do match up against him, they'll be forced to pay less attention to the team's other stars.  A no loose situation for the Rangers!  Most importantly, he's in great shape and appears to be determined to win it all. 

4.  Transition/Speed.  This team can fly.  Period.  Of the top 9 forwards, 7 of them have serious wheels:  Jagr, Drury, Straka, Gomez, Prucha, Callahan and Avery.  As weak as the defense is, Roszival, Mara, Tyutin, Pock and Staal all have respectable mobility.  They can all make outlet passes as well.  We're obviously not going to have flashbacks of Leetch and Zubov, however, this team should be able to get down the ice in a hurry.

5.  Grit.  The Rangers are not what you would call a big bruising team.  Nonetheless, they do possess a handsome serving of team grit.  Avery loves the rough stuff.  Drury plays a fearless in your face style.  Shanny's big and strong (albeit slow!) and he's earned high marks for dropping the gloves in the preseason to stand up for teammates.  Jagr may not be tough but he's absolutely huge.  Trying to get body position on him will wear out even the biggest and strongest opponents.  Prucha and Callahan are fearless cannonballs.  Dubinsky is a big strong physical presence.  Even Gomez has good size (5'11" 200lbs.) and is used to playing Atlantic division hockey.  Hollweg is a physical presence.  Betts is a gritty player and Colton Orr is a legitimate heavyweight.  On defense, Roszival and Tyutin played like warriors down the stretch.  Although neither is overly physical, they both have good size and know how to use their bodies.  Strudwick is a tough player.  Staal has good size (although he is young and has some filling out to do) and he seems to be proficient at playing the angles well.  Malik has great size... forget it!   The bottom line is that although no one will mistake this team for the old Broad Street Bullies, the Broadway Blueshirts can handle the physical demands of a long and grueling Stanley Cup tournament.      

II.  THE TOP FIVE REASONS WHY THE RANGERS WILL NOT WIN THE STANLEY CUP THIS SEASON:

1.  CHEMISTRY, CHEMISTRY, CHEMISTRY.  The Rangers' opening night roster will apparently feature up to 10 new players who were not on the opening night roster last season.  That's a huge turnover.  An adjustment period seems inevitable.  If that happens, it's not outside the realm of possibility for the Rangers to find themselves in the same boat they were in last season: being forced to play playoff hockey in February just to qualify for the posteason.  The Rangers' offense is their strength, yet we don't even know if the forwards will form a cohesive unit.  The Gomez-Jagr experiment has already been put on the back burner (for now) and the season hasn't even started!  Chemistry makes the Rangers' offense a double edged sword: it could turn out to be tops in the league or it could wind up being far less then the sum of its (very significant) parts. 

2.  Defense.  Enough said!

3.  #2 Goalie.  Right now there is none.  At least not an NHLer.  Even though Lundqvist is expected to play the lion's share of games, it is very important to have a reliable back up.  It's one thing to play 70 games a season because you are an elite goaltender who can and should carry that kind of a load.  It's a very different thing to play 70 games in a season in part because there is no adequate back up.  The latter creates a lot of unnecessary stress and pressure.  Goaltending is already the most psychologically grueling position in the sport, Hank doesn't need any extra adversity. 

4.  The "Kid" Line.  The 3rd line for the Rangers could turn out to be the energetic, cycling and responsible line that this team desperately needs it to be.  Or......  Dubinsky may prove ill suited to handle the pressure of anchoring an important line for a contending team in his rookie season.  Callahan was impressive down the stretch, but he's also a rookie having played a grand total of 24 NHL games in his career (regular season and playoffs combined).  2/3's of the Rangers' kid line has a grand total of 30 games of NHL experience between them (regular season and playoffs combined).  Then there's the Prucha factor: he looks ready to break out.  Is it in his best interests to be lined up with two gritty rookies rather then on a more offensively oriented line?  Prucha had great chemistry with Jagr as a rookie.  Why not put him on Jagr's left and move Straka to the left of Dubinsky?  The Rangers don't really have a pure goal scorer in the prime of his career right now.  Prucha could be that guy.  But will he be while playing with Dubinsky and Callahan?  Like I said, the 3rd line for the Rangers could turn out to be the energetic, cycling and responsible line that this team desperately needs it to be.  Or...... 

5.  Specialty Teams/Flow.  Another double edged sword for the Rangers.  On paper, the specialty teams look to be pretty impressive.  However, could this be a case of relying on too few players to do too many things?  Drury will get significant time on the power play, penalty kill and even strength.  Ditto for Shanny. Ditto for Avery.  Ditto for Straka.  Maybe even a ditto for Gomez.  In fact, Blair Betts seems to be the only player who will not be asked to "do it all".  In the "New NHL" a lot of time is spent on special teams play.  If many of the teams top players on on the ice killing penalties, who does Renney send out for that very important first even strength shift? Jagr will be rested, but Straka and Drury won't be.  Gomez may be rested but Shanny and Avery won't be.  Renney will be forced to mix and match his lines which hurts the teams' flow.  The same thing will happen after power plays.  Apparently, Renney has recognized this potential problem and has decided to keep his top two lines primarily intact for power plays.  That will make it easier for him (although certainly not easy) to continue rolling his lines after the power play is over.  You might think that I'm being hyper sensitive here, but these little things make a big difference in a long season and an even longer (in some respects!) playoff tournament.      

It should be a great season in New York.  Here we go!                

Dear Glen: Sign Peca!

I've been getting a lot of complaints about my long hiatus.  I must say, it's pretty flattering!  Anyway, by now everyone has heard the growing speculation that the Rangers may be on the verge of signing Michael Peca.  According to John Dellapina, the hold up is that Slats & Co. are still deciding whether to go with Peca or one of the teams youngsters(Dubinsky or Anisimov).  Here's my open letter to Slats advocating the signing of Peca.  But first, a few ground rules:

1.  The contract must be for only 1 year;

2.  The salary must be $1.5m or less;

3.  The contract must not contain any form of "no trade" or "no movement" clauses; and

4.  Peca must pass his medical exams.

Assuming that those four points are met, here goes:

Dear Glen:

As a lifelong Ranger fan I feel compelled to thank you and your staff for turning things around on Broadway.  Enough with the pleasantries! SIGN MICHAEL PECA!  We're making a serious run for the Cup this season.  In order to do that, we need a legitimate third line centerman. 

The current roster does not have a player that can adequately fill that role:  (1) Martin Straka is not a natural centerman.  After last seasons playoff defeat it was plain for all to see that Straka was a weak link at center.  That's certainly not a knock against Marty, it simply is what it is.  The guy is an offensive minded (albeit defensively responsible) winger.  Additionally, he is certainly not a third line center (a role that is ideally filled by a defensive minded "energy" player).  (2)  Sean Avery is not an option either.  Avery thrived with the ice time and responsibility afforded to a top six forward.  Putting him on the third line will hinder his play.  Management is responsible for getting the most out of its assets (i.e., players), putting Avery on the third line runs counter to that responsibility.  (3)  Dubinsky and Anisimov look like excellent prospects.  Are either of them ready for the responsibility of anchoring the third line?  Playing in New York is tough.  Playing in New York when expectations are sky high is even tougher.  Does it make sense to throw either player into the fire when so much is at stake?  Will the development of either player be stunted by sending them to Hartford for another season?  If not, the risk reward ratio seems like a no brainer.  Besides, Peca will probably not play a full season which means either Dubinsky or Anisimov will get some playing time with the big club next season anyway. 

Let's not forget Prucha and Callahan.  Both players are heading into important seasons.  Prucha must regain his rookie form and prove that his weak play for much of last season was an aberration.  Callahan, on the other hand, must prove that his strong play down the stretch last season was not an aberration.  In all likelihood, Prucha and/or Callahan will be playing on the third line this season.  Is it fair to either of them to play with a rookie centerman at this critical juncture in their respective careers?  Both guys can and should play vital roles for our club for years to come.  Wouldn't it be wise to give them the greatest chance at succeeding by playing them with an experienced player like Peca? 

Peca will also add tremendous value as a penalty killer.  With the losses of Cullen and Ortmeyer, the team's penalty killing unit has taken a hit.  Sure Drury can kill penalties.  However, he's also going to be getting a lot of even strength ice time as well as power play ice time.  Why saddle him with primary PK responsibilities as well? 

Peca is a great face-off man as well.  Winning face-offs means greater puck possession.  For a team like New York with its questionable blue line, winning face offs is essential.  Loosing a defensive zone draw can cost us a game.  Lundqvist's weak puck control skills only exacerbates the problem.  Having a reliable face off man will take tremendous pressure off of our defense, don't underestimate this point.  Sure, Drury can take face-offs, but again, how much ice time can Drury be expected to handle?  If we have to use Drury for all of our defensive zone draws, will he be available for the offensive zone draws?  Will we be forced to disrupt our line changes in order to get Drury on the ice for every important draw (offensive and defensive?).

Finally, some people are saying that the money that the team would spend on Peca should be spent on a defenseman instead.  Granted, the blue line needs help.  However, where are you going to find a defenseman who can have the same potential impact as Michael Peca for $1.5m or less?  Adding another marginal d-man will not help this club and we don't have the cap space to add anything more than a marginal d-man.  Therefore, we are much better off spending a small sum for Peca (a guy who can add a lot to the team) as opposed to adding a marginal defenseman.

Glen, for whatever it's worth, I say go out and sign Peca!   

Gomez/Drury Analysis Part IV: Salary Cap Suicide?

So we've finally made it to the last installment of my four part analysis of the Gomez and Drury signings.  The last major issue to analyze is how the signings will effect the Rangers in light of the new salary cap system introduced in the NHL.  Some would have us believe that the teams' signings of Scott Gomez and Chris Drury have placed a noose around the team's financial neck for years to come.  We know that the team is up against the "cap wall"  for this season.  What about the future?  Will the Rangers be financially paralyzed for the 2008-09 season?  Take a look at this list:

1.  Brendan Shanahan:     $2.5m base.$2.8m bonuses:  $5.3m per season

2.  Martin Straka:            $3.3m per season

3.  Paul Mara:                  $3.0m per season

4.  Darius Kaspasraitis:    $2.989m per season

5.  Michal Rozsival:          $2.5m per season

6.  Jason Strudwick:         $500,000 per season

7.  Andrew Hutchinson:     $475,000 per season.

That's a list of players who's contracts are expiring after the upcoming season.  With the exception of Roszival (possibly), none of them will be back (unless they're willing to play for a steep discount).  What that means is that the Rangers will have over $18m of cap space just from these players. 

Sean Avery and his $1.9m contract will also expire at seasons end as does Marcel Hossa's $780,000 contract.  If the Rangers are unwilling or unable to resign either of these players, the cap picture looks even better.

Obviously, some of the teams core players will become RFA's looking for raises.  Most notably, Henrik Lundqvist and Fedor Tyutin. However, it appears as though signing these players shouldn't be a problem given the amount of money that will be freed up at seasons end.

Granted, the Rangers will have to fill the vacancies created by these players' departures.  Here's where the Rangers' critics jump in: they argue that since the team has committed nearly $15m per season for just two players, how can the Rangers possibly expect to have enough money left over to round out the rest of their roster?!?  They point to the Tampa Bay Lightning as an example of the dangers wrought by investing too much money into too few players.  These, critics, however, are missing one crucial point:  The Rangers have quality prospects who can be used to fill out roster spots, Tampa doesn't.  In fact, Hockey's Future ranked the Rangers sixth (6th) in the NHL in terms of the quality of its prospects while Tampa was ranked 29th!.   By filling roster spots with young players the Rangers will be able to keep their cap charge down since these players are still playing out their relatively cheap entry level contracts.  Here's a list (by position) of some notable prospects who should be ready to step in by 2008-09:

1.  Al Montoya- Goaltender.  This kid looks like the real deal and is probably ready to play in the NHL now.  The emergence of Lundqvist, however, makes Montoya the odd man out.  Look for the Rangers to trade him at some point.  He should be able to fetch a handsome return.

2.  Marc Staal- Defense.  All indications are that the Rangers have got themselves a gem.  Staal should definitely be able to take one of the roster spots that will become available with the departure of all of the aforementioned defenseman currently on the Rangers' roster.

3.  Bobby Sanguinetti- Defense.  Here's part of what Hockey's Future says, "Sanguinetti has the potential to be a member of an NHL first defensive pairing."   What I like most about the kid is that he's thrilled to be a Ranger having grown up idolizing Brian Leetch. 

The Rangers also have Thomas Pock and Dan Girardi who have already spent some time with the big club in promising stints.  These guys will presumably be able to fill some of the vacancies on the blue line in 2008-09.  The most important thing about them (in terms of salary cap analysis) is that they'll be relatively cheap.   

Up front, the Rangers have well known prospects Nigel Dawes,  Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov and Ryan Callahan battling for roster spots this season.  By 2008-09, some of these guys should be able to fill the spots vacated by Straka, Shannahan and perhaps Avery.  In addition, the Rangers also have a number of other quality prospects up front.  Most notably, Alex Bourret, Brodie Dupont and Lauri Korpikoski.  Last, but certainly not least is this seasons #1 draft pick Alexei Cherapanov who may very well turn into a special player for the New York Rangers. 

It would certainly appear that the Rangers have the young talent necessary to round out their roster.  If the team needed to look towards free agency to fill every roster spot then, perhaps, there would be cap trouble on the horizon.  Fortunately, however, that is not the case.  Some of these young players should be able to adequately fill roles that will be opened in the near future.  These players are still relatively cheap as they are playing under their entry level contracts.  Over-all, the cap outlook in New York looks pretty encouraging.

The beauty of the Gomez and Drury signings are that the Rangers have their core centerman locked up for years to come.  The incoming young talent will be asked to play supporting roles rather then primary ones.  That's a huge bonus for young players learning the ins and outs of the best league in all of hockey.  The presence of Gomez and Drury should help ease the transitions that these youngsters will face. 

The Blueshirt Bulletin recently ran a great feature praising the Rangers' ability to rebuild while dressing a competitive team.  With Gomez, Drury and Lunqvist in the fold and the impressive stable of young talent already in the system, the Rangers should be able to continue that trend into the foreseeable future.   

If the Rangers' youngsters do in fact realize their potential on Broadway, not only will the Rangers not be in cap trouble, on the contrary, New York fans may get to see the likes on Dany Heatley or Wade Redden  playing at The World's Most Famous Arena! 

It goes without saying that I give Slats & Co. two very enthusiastic thumbs up for the signings of Gomez and Drury.  The Rangers are unquestionably a better team today then they were at the end of last season.  Given the strength of the teams' prospects, I believe that the future cap outlook for the team is just fine.  The Rangers should be competitive for years to come with Gomez and Drury anchoring their top two lines. 

Don't forget to check out the first three parts of the analysis over here, here and here.    

The Capologist

According to my calculations (based on salary numbers provided by nhlnumbers.com), the Rangers are currently sitting at $46,880,000.00 for this coming season.  This figure factors in only $2.5m for Shanny (his base salary).  It does not include Kasparitis' salary.  It does include Marc Staal and newly acquired Andrew Hutchinson and it also includes Al Montoya's salary of $1.834m.  Most importantly, this figure does not include the salaries of Sean Avery or Marcel Hossa.  Basically, the Rangers have just under $3.5m left of cap space.  Here are some thoughts:

1.  Cullen's trade was without question a salary dump.  Some speculated that Cullen was traded as a precursor to some other move.  Others speculated that the Cullen trade was a gamble because the Rangers didn't necessarily have to move him to create cap space.  If the numbers listed by nhlnumbers.com are accurate, Larry Brooks was wrong.  The Rangers did have to move him (or at least someone).  The Rangers did have to create cap space to make room for Avery.  You can question why they decided to dump Cullen instead of Malik or Mara, but you can't question the need to dump a salary in that ball park.  To me, the question of who to move really boiled down to Mara or Cullen.  Malik makes less money than the other two and the coaching staff (and Jagr) like him.  In a perfect world I would have preferred to see Mara dumped, but this isn't a perfect world! 

2.  Kasparitis is not coming back.  Or is he?  There have been some reports that Kaspar has worked himself back into great shape and is focused on making it back to the big club.  Unfortunately for him, there doesn't seem to be any room for his salary on Broadway.  If the reports are true, it would be a bit of a shame:  the Rangers could use the snarl that Kaspar once brought to the blue line.  On the other hand, well.....:  if he's sent back down to Hartford he would presumably have to clear waivers.  If he is back in shape and some team decides to take a shot on him by claiming him (he is entering the last year of his contract), would the Rangers be forced to pick up half of his salary?  If so, would they be forced to take a cap hit for that?  If so, will that effect the Rangers' decision to send him back down? Do the Rangers want approximately $1.5m in dead cap charges this year in the event that he is claimed?  Would a rival GM with cap space claim Kaspar just to stick it to NY?   

3.  Who will be Lundqvist's back-up this season?  I haven't heard to much discussion on this issue, but to me this is a huge question.  The Rangers defense is clearly inadequate for a team that's looking to seriously compete for the cup.  The only way it can work is if the goaltending is solid enough to mask as many of the team's defensive deficiencies as possible.  If any team looses their #1 goalie they'd be in trouble.  How much more so for the Rangers!  Is Montoya ready for the job?  Probably.  The real question, however, is can the Rangers afford a cap charge of close to $2m annually for a rookie backup who doesn't have much of a future with the club (barring an unforeseen career threatening injury to Lundqvist)?  If, on the other hand, the Rangers send him back down to Hartford, who will be the team's backup goalie?    Valiquette is cheap ( a cap charge of just over $600,000.00), but do you trust him with the job?  I certainly do not.  Kevin Weekes signed with Jersey for under $700,000.00 per year, I hope we don't end up regretting that! 

I expect Montoya to be traded sooner rather than later.  The problem is how the Rangers will be able to fit the return under the cap?  There's a part of me that's happy about this problem because it almost insures that the Rangers will have to get young (read: "inexpensive") players in return for Montoya.  I don't mean bad players, I simply mean young players who are either still playing out their entry level contracts or who are still a few years off from unrestricted free agency and, therefore, don't have that leverage in negotiating new and expensive contracts.  I would hate to see the kid get moved for a guy like Jovanovski. 

4.  Here's an interesting question:  if not for Jagr, wouldn't you rather have seen Martin Straka's $3.3m salary dumped over that of Cullen?  Cullen filled an important role as the third line center who played a good high energy game that seemed to mesh very well with Prucha and Callahan.  Straka's role with the team, on the other hand, is limited primarily to his relationship with Jagr.  Straka could play on Jagr's left side, however, that causes some issues: (1) where do you put Hossa? and (2) Jagr is better off with a big player on his line, someone who can effectively work the corners so that Jagr doesn't have to.  Straka, theoretically could play center, but on which line?  Straka is certainly a better offensive player than Cullen.  However, Straka doesn't have a clearly defined role on this team.  Cullen did.  Chemistry, chemistry!

Check out the fan poll below and get me your comments!