Blueshirt Boggle

Rangers Stepan Up and Trading Up [Final Update]

The Rangers selected high-scoring center Derek Stepan in the second round with their 51st overall pick. A natural goal scorer, the 6'0-168 pound Minnesota native scored 41 goals in 63 games last season for the vaunted Shattuck-St. Mary's high school hockey program that produced Sidney Crosby, Zach Parise, Ryan Malone, and a number of other NHL players. Stepan "has excellent offensive instincts and big-time scoring potential," according to THN, "but is smallish and must get stronger in order to maximize his upside. [He] projects as a top-six forward in the pros if he can improve his play without the puck." He will be attending the University of Wisconsin in the fall. Derek's father Brad was drafted by the Rangers 91st overall in 1985 but only got as far as the IHL Denver Rangers. Jared Staal, a player Ranger fans had their eyes on, was selected two picks earlier in the second round by Don Maloney in Phoenix. For more on Stepan, see his profile at NHL.com.

You're gonna have to trust Gordie Clark on Michael Del Zotto -- and he even said as much. The Rangers' first round draftee impressed him most with his hockey sense, even as other scouts were knocking exactly that. The bottom line for Clark is that he believes he got the prototypical NHL defenseman of this day and age with a set of skills and smarts who can be taught to play defense and is not as bad of a skater as some say. Quotes from Clark can be read in articles filed by the reporters on site in Ottawa from the Daily News, Post, Newsday, and NYR.com. For more, see the Journal News, Blue Notes, MSG.com, and Prospect Park.

We have winners in our Blueshirt Bulletin Draft Day subscription giveaway. We didn't reach subscriber #6666, falling about twenty subscriptions short. But in the other three catergories -- new subscriber and subscription renewal since the end of the season plus one other existing subscriber, the winners are: Bernard Landry of Dieppe, New Brunswick in Canada, Diane Martin of Deer Park, New York, and Ken Hamlet of New York City. Bernard and Diane, having taken out 30-issue subscriptions, get free lifetime subscription extensions plus a Blueshirt Bulletin T-shirt or Mark Messier bobblehead. Ken, having taken out a 20-issue subscription, gets a free one-year extension and a shirt or bobblehead. Congrats to the winners and thanks to all who participated.

The Rangers selected Russian forward Evgeni Grachev 75th overall in the third round. The 6'3-200 pound center has some skating issues which may make him more of a power wing prospect than a pivot should he succeed in reaching the NHL level. "Evgeny is a power forward with a good physical presence and ability to come up with the puck in traffic areas," NHL.com says of Grachev. "He displays strong puck skills and the ability to make plays all over the ice, but needs to improve his acceleration and overall speed."

Grachev told RussianProspects.com about his experience at the NHL Combine. He said he was interviewed by twenty NHL teams and listed the Rangers as one of six teams that impressed him. He said that the Islanders were one team that spent more time with him than the customary fifteen minute interview -- yet the Isles, with three third round selections prior to the Rangers', chose other players. A native of the city in the far east of Russia that produced Alexander Mogilny, Grachev played with fellow Ranger draftee Artem Anisimov at Yaroslavl-2 in 2005-06, Anisimov's drat year.

Grachev "is a tempting project prospect due to his size, physical presence and offensive skills," says RussianProspects.com, who believed he was a possible wild card pick late in the first round or early in the second. ISS had Grachev listed as their #24 prospect -- immediately after their #23 guy, Michael Del Zotto! He was CSS's second ranked European skater in mid-season behind Nikita Filatov but fell to #9 at the end of the season. Red Line Report ranked him #34. THN had him at #74, but nevertheless had good things to say about him: "He has the size all scouts love but it is his supreme skill level that could make him one of the sleepers of the 2008 selection process. Can play either wing position. Has already expressed interest in moving to North America early, so he may play in the CHL in 2008-09."

The Rangers pulled off a pair of trades to acquire their next two picks. They traded Alex Bourret to Phoenix for the 90th overall pick late in the third round, and they traded with Nashville to get their own fourth round pick back (the one sent to St. Louis for Christian Backman) -- Nashville got the Rangers' seventh round pick (#201), plus a fourth round pick next year. The trade of Bourret represents the Rangers giving up on the former Atlanta first round draftee acquired at the 2007 trade deadline for Pascual Dupuis and a 2007 third round draft pick -- Bourret showed up at camp having improperly trained over the summer and showed inconsistent performance and work ethic last season in Hartford.

With that additional third round pick, the Rangers chose Czech defenseman Tomas Kundratek, CSS's 12th ranked European -- the highest ranked Czech player in a down year for Czechs. The 6'1-185 pounder played 21 games in the Czech Extraliga last season for Trinec, including seven in the playoffs. His stock dropped after a lackluster performance at the World Juniors. "He has some offensive potential, sound instincts for the defense position," is about all we could find on this little-known player -- hopefully the guy who knows him best is the Rangers' scout in the region, Jan Gajdosik.

With the fourth round pick, the Rangers selected Dale Weise, a 6'2-200 pound winger who will turn 20 in August. He was passed over in the past two drafts, but added goal scoring to his repertoire this season, leading Swift Current of the WHL with 29 and probably catching scouts' eyes with seven goals and 13 points in 12 playoff games. Prior to finding his scoring touch, he was primarily known as a hitter and fighter.

With their last two picks in the draft, the Rangers chose a pair of players from Canada's major junior leauges. In the fifth round, center Chris Doyle of the PEI Rocket was the choice. The speedy 6'0-193-pound point producer -- 63 points in 63 games -- was a Rocket teammate of the Rangers' second pick last year, Antoine Lafleur. Ranked as high as #50 by Red Line Report (far lower in every other list), Doyle has been plagued by inconsistency. "Has two-way potential," says THN, "but must play with greater consistency -- both with and without the puck -- in order to maximize his value as an NHL prospect. Needs to add bulk so as to become a better pro." Read more about him here.

In the sixth round, the Rangers selected defenseman Mitch Gaulton, who could be a steal -- THN had him ranked #54 overall. But he has to rebound from an elbow injury that cost him most of last season with the last place Erie Otters of the OHL (read about it here). "The 6-0, 210 pounder has a lot of lower-body strength, which helps him play a physical game from behind the blueline," says THN "[He] also displays smart decision-making and enough puck skills to produce some points at the highest level. Is considered a draft-day wild card." Here's hoping the Rangers can make this wild card count.

Rangers Zap Del Zotto

After all the speculation over whether the Rangers would trade up or trade down from their #20 pick, Director of Player Personnel Gordie Clark went to the podium at the Rangers' originally assigned pick and selected Michael Del Zotto, an offensive defenseman from the Oshawa Generals of the OHL. For the fourth season in a row, the Rangers had a higher rated player fall into their mid- to late-round laps, including two other OHL defensemen, Marc Staal and Bobby Sanguinetti. The 6'0-211 pound Ontario native had been rated higher in previous years but saw his stock drop as his development stalled a bit this season.

NHL Director of Central Scouting E.J. Maguire calls Del Zotto, who wears #4 in honor of Bobby Orr, "the new breed offensive defenseman who jumps up into the rush effectively; he either follows up a rush to add a second dimension or is capable of leading the rush himself. As an offensive defenseman, he is prototypical. He needs to improve on the defensive coverage side of the game Initially, he projects to be an offensive specialist, but as he gains more experience, he'll become more of an all-around defenseman."

Sounds a lot like what people said about Sanguinetti when he fell to #21 in 2006. The Rangers' emphasis on defense will no doubt be impressed upon Del Zotto as he develops over the next few years, as it was on Sanguinetti, who made huge strides.

Oshawa head coach Chris DePiero says of his charge, "Michael is a very skilled skater, puck handler, and shooter. He can be a physical presence who will be an asset to any team's power play. He continues to improve defensively on a daily basis." His GM, Brad Selwood, said, "He is just poised way beyond his years. Last year when we first saw him, even in the exhibition games, you'd think he was 20. You'd have to rub your eyes and say, 'Wow, who is that kid?' He's so poised and so good with the puck. He loves to pass the puck, and he's very good at it. Everything's hard and crisp and on the stick."

"Definitely being an offensive defenseman is what I like to do," Del Zotto said. "I love quarterbacking the power play. Jumping up in the rush and kind of surprising the other team, catch them off guard and create some offense. I love handling the puck and using my vision to make strong passes. I'm trying to work on my game right now to be an all–around defenseman. That's the thing that I've worked on the most. The coaching staff has helped me out a lot. I got off to a slow start, but I really wanted to focus on my defensive game. I felt that I improved but obviously there's still a bit more improvement left to go. It's a work in progress.

"My first five years I started off as a forward. That's kind of how I get my offensive defenseman skill going. I've found the best way to shut down a player is not having them have the puck, keeping the puck away from them -- make them shut me down. Whenever they have the puck, I get a chance to play the body and make them not want to come back into my corner." For more, see NHL.com.

"He's a great passer with a good shot," said TSN analyst Pierre McGuire. "Maturity is a question mark. He's certainly got all the tools -- he's just got to get the toolbox organized."

Here's a report we can't vouch for but which echoes all else that is being said: "There probably isn’t a defenseman in this class that has a higher offensive upside than Michael Del Zotto. His poise with the puck and his passing abilities are above and beyond what’s normal for a defenseman of his age. He’s a wizard at making crisp, tape to tape passes, and from the point, his shot is consistently on net and he has fantastic control of where it goes. What he has in the offensive zone, however, he lacks much of defensively. His decision making is questionable and his over-zealousness can cost him positioning.

"However, there is a rather underrated aspect of his game that’s slightly unusual for a guy so gung-ho offensively. His physicality is consistently a big part of his game. Del Zotto loves to hit and he does it well. He’s no stranger to the hard work and physicality in the boards. However, like his want to jump into the play, his love of hitting can, at times, draw him out of position."

Red Line Report's Kyle Woodlief didn't list Del Zotto among his top ten defensemen, didn't list him as a sleeper, and was asked why he hated the newest Ranger. "Don't hate him," he said. "In fact, think he'll be a very good PP quarterback. But his poor balance and lack of any first step quickness whatsoever are real detriments given the state of the game. Plus his decision making in his own end can be downright atrocious, and hockey sense is not something you can work on or acquire, as with some other skills. He's got offensive hockey sense in spades, but zero defensive hockey sense."

OK, I'll stop here and report more tomorrow as we get news directly from Ottawa.

Rangers Will Live On to Reap Draft Day Rewards

Rest easy, Ranger fans -- the NHL will not be closing down your franchise. This is still the United States of America, where corporations rule, and Cablevision is a major corporation. There is no court in this land that is going to allow a private constitution like the NHL's to be parsed in such a manner as to take away a corporation's right to protect its assets in a court of law, least of all based upon an unenforceable agreement to bar using the legal system as a recourse in the first place.

In the end, it's just posturing in the ongoing legal battle over the rights to the Rangers' web site -- in the end, we're going to remain stuck between the Scylla and Charybdis of NHL hockey in New York, with Gary Bettman's ruinous tenure as NHL commissioner on one side and Jim Dolan's ruinous tenure as Ranger owner on the other. About the only thing we can tell you for sure is that the bias NHL officials have shown toward the Rangers will continue -- it was there before this legal mess began, so it will only heighten as the battle grows more heated.

Sadly, this doom and gloom comes at a time reserved for pure hope and optimism -- draft day, the moment every team's future is brightly secured. The Rangers hold the #20 pick in tonight's first round. Head scout Gord Clark told reporters yesterday that the Rangers might try to move up a bit in the draft, and that they might have more interest in Marc Staal's youngest brother Jared than other teams since they know more about him via Marc -- although he didn't say so, that suggests the possibility of trading down, since Jared is not rated as a first rounder in a draft that is deep in centers and defensemen.

For more on Clark and the draft, see the Daily News, Journal News, Newsday, Rangers Report, and NYR.com. For further reading on the legal battle (all covering pretty much the same ground), see the Daily News, Newsday, Times, Post, Record, Ledger, Sun, Star, Blue Seats, Slap Shot (priceless photo there of Dolan and Bettman sitting with Glen Sather), and Prospect Park.

The Post reports today that the Rangers will not tender any offers to their five top free agents before July 1st, though they will at that time talk to Jaromir Jagr (whose European agent met with Omsk's GM in the Czech Republic this week, according to AllHockey.ru) and Brendan Shanahan -- but not Sean Avery, who may return to L.A., or Michal Roszival, whom the Rangers want to replace. What this suggests is that management does not want to pay a premium to lock any of these players up before free agency and want to check out other free agent possibilities (Brian Campbell, Wade Redden, and Brooks Orpik are mentioned).

Unfortunately, the article doesn't quote or name or even hint at any sources. It says, "Contrary to reports, the Rangers have not actively sought to improve their 20th overall draft position." The reports this is contrary to directly quote Clark as saying that the Rangers are considering exactly that -- "We're going to try to move up," he told Newsday. "That option is always there," he said, according to other reports. The article also mentions a possible RFA offer sheet to Flyer winger Jeff Carter -- Carter has been rumored to have already re-signed or to imminently re-sign with the Flyers.

Stay with us tonight and tomorrow as we get ready for the draft. We will have updates during the course of tonight's first round and tomorrow's later rounds. We will also announce the winners of our subscriber giveaways -- there is still time to get your subscriptions or renewals in in time to be eligible (we will accept entries up to the 8:00 starting time tonight). Details on how to subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin can be found here, or E-mail us here.

Rangers Drafting Keepers These Days

So how have the Rangers done in the draft lately? You already know that they have the only first rounder from the 2003 class to not play a single NHL game, and that they wasted two top ten picks on goalies (the career of Dan Blackburn cut short by injury) after having already drafted franchise goalie Henrik Lundqvist 205th overall in 2000. But how do they really stack up against other teams? The youth movement of the past four years has surely been a positive reflection on the draft record, no?

Well, for the moment, it's not -- but the trends are such that a different picture will be painted a few years down the road. The simplest measure of draft success is simply the number of draftees to reach the NHL. During Glen Sather's tenure as GM, since the 2000 draft, that number is 18, a shade below the NHL average of 20 and good for 18th place among the 30 teams, a figure that is just about average. But let's take it one step further and look at the number of regulars among the players to reach the NHL. Based on our own idea of what constitutes a "regular", only two or three teams have generated more players since 2000 than the Rangers' ten, with maybe six to nine others in roughly the same ballpark -- above average no matter how you slice it or dice it.

But at Blueshirt Bulletin, we like to take things even further than that. It's not too difficult to add up all the NHL games played by each team's draftees, which adds an element of quality above the mere tally of NHL players, since the better players play more games in the long run. By that measure, the Rangers are still middle of the pack -- 1,898 NHL games since 2000, compared to Minnesota's league leading 2,890 and Vancouver's league worst 958 (Detroit, for all the kudos its management has gotten for the players they have drafted, were second worst with 1,104).

What may be most surprising about this number is that it is identical (in percentage terms) to what Neil Smith produced in the 1990s -- 3.31% of all NHL games played by this decade's draftees, compared to 3.32% in the 1990s. The big difference is that the 1990s figure was sixth worst in the league, while the current figure is in the middle of the pack. But an even bigger difference is that Smith's record is due largely to the longevity of a handful of players drafted in the 90s -- Alex Kovalev, Sergei Zubov, Doug Weight, Sergei Nemchinov, Mattias Norstrom, Niklas Sundstrom, and Todd Marchant, all of whom were selected between 1990 and 1993, account for two-thirds of Smith's postive results, and they combined to play only 20% of their games as Rangers!

By way of contrast, the Rangers' crop since 2000 have all started their careers since the lockout. Eight of ten are still Rangers and most will stay that way for some time to come. In ten years, this group will lift the Rangers well above their current 16th place standing -- and that despite getting nothing (to date) from the first round until Marc Staal in 2005! Much of this success rests with the scouts, but another key factor is the change in the philosophy toward retaining and developing these players as Rangers rather than trading them away for veterans, as the Rangers did with Zubov, Norstrom, Weight, and Marchant (though no one can complain about trading the latter two for key Stanley Cup contributors).

Glen Sather's Edmonton Oilers, by the way, were barely better than Smith's Rangers in the 1990s Rangers or his own 21st century Rangers -- 3.53% (tied with Detroit for 19th). The Oilers since then, under Kevin Lowe, are right where the Rangers are with 1,966 man-games. So despite the change, everything seems to have stayed the same -- although the vaunted Lou Lamoriello of the Devils has dropped from the number one spot in the 1990s with 19,209 games (vs. 10,377 for the Rangers) to 21st place this decade, having produced twenty NHL regulars between 1990 and 1995 but only twelve in the twelve years since.

The draft, which begins tomorrow night with the first round and continues on Saturday with the remaining rounds, is getting a lot of coverage around North America. Anthony Mastantuoni previews the Rangers' first round at Ranger Ramblings. He also has a mock draft, as does the Hockey News, ESPN, SI, FoxSports, USA Today, and Hockey's Future -- all of these sites have John Carlson dropping to the bottom third of the first round, but only SI foresees the Rangers selecting him. With Carlson's stock rising, we can't imagine him lasting that long -- and we can't imagine the Rangers passing on him if he's there at #20 (assuming they hold onto that pick -- they have been reported to be interested in trading up and could just as easily trade down). For more on the draft, see Stan Fischler at MSG.com, Leslie Treff at Hockey's Future, and Jess Rubenstein at Prospect Park.

In other reading, FoxSports looks at UFA defensemen and project the Rangers signing Brooks Orpik and Marc Streit to replace Michal Rozsival, Marek Malik, and Paul Mara -- if that happens, we'll take it! Glenn Anderson finally made the Hall of Fame. Although he only played briefly in New York, it was as part of the 1994 Stanley Cup championship team. But he is more of a New Yorker than most people know, a regular skater at Chelsea Piers since his retirement from the NHL and a familiar figure at Ranger alumni events. For more, see articles here, here, and here. NHL.com looks at the sudden popularity of Swedish goalies -- for once, the Rangers are ahead of the curve, Lundqvist being the catalyst for this craze. And then there is Sean Avery, who will be gracing a beach near you in his "straight Speedo" sometime soon -- see People.com for his wrap-up of his Vogue internship.

Finally, there is a story in Sports Business Daily (via Rangers Report, since SBD is a pay site) that says the NHL is threatening to suspend or rescind MSG's ownership of the Rangers because they dared to sue the league for taking over the team's web site. Yeah, that's going to get far -- what kind of lawsuit will they have on their hands if they kick the Rangers out of the NHL for suing? Meanwhile, in the decidedly Orwellian world of the NHL, a new rule has been announced that disallows playing the body during icing races unless you're playing the puck -- silly us, we thought that was already a rule! The NHL also announced two franchise sales -- Sather's former team, Edmonton, goes to Rexall king Daryl Katz (so much for the Edmonton ownership group the lockout helped protect -- they get the huge capital gains they were promised), and Tampa goes to an ownership group headed by a guy who made his fortune with the wholesome Saw movie series and a guy who was drafted by Sather in 1988!

UPDATE: Thanks to Blueshirt Bulletin reader Alex Feld, we have more details on the NHL's legal action against MSG. The NHL has asked for a judicial declaration that would allow them to discipline MSG independently of the courts. If allowed, proceedings against MSG would begin immediately, with the possible outcome -- which would require a 75% majority vote (23 of the 30 teams) -- being suspension of ownership, removal as owners, fines (the likeliest outcome, since that is what the NHL tried to do in the first place until the court intervened), or whatever else they deem appropriate (presumably, that means awarding Marc Staal to the Penguins).

If the court agrees to grant the NHL request, MSG would not be allowed to dispute the NHL's disciplinary action in court -- that alone will no doubt cause the court to refuse the NHL's request. But even if they do, that doesn't mean the Rangers couldn't still pursue their antitrust action -- and one would be hard pressed to imagine the U.S. judicial system, especially the New York State Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court, allowing a sports league to remove an owner because it filed an antitrust action, antitrust law being sacrosanct in this country. For more, see this report from the AP, which includes the Rangers' response, and Blueshirts Blog, which includes a link to the NHL's legal filing.

In related news, the NHL has taken no action against Nashville minority owner "Boots" Del Baggio for possibly committing fraud in raising the funds to acquire his share of the team -- he has declared bankruptcy because he is unable to repay debts incurred in financing his purchase and is being investigated for criminal wrongdoing. The NHL has also failed to date to explain the rule under which Evgeni Malkin was awarded a penalty shot when pushed from behind by Dan Girardi. Paging George Orwell!

Blueshirt Bulletin Drafts YOU!

The June issue of Blueshirt Bulletin has been reaching the mailboxes of subscribers all week long, and the early returns are all positive. We tried to do things a little differently this time -- instead of trying to find a single topic for each writer to hone in on, we asked our writers to analyze a variety of topics together. The result is a huge five-page "Rangers Roundtable" discussion with four Ranger beat writers -- John Dellapina of the Daily News, Steve Zipay of Newsday, Sam Weinman of The Journal News, and Andrew Gross of The Record -- along with Ranger alumnus Chris Kotsopoulos. And the result is, in a word, awesome.

And as we can always say with pride -- there's more, lots more. Steve has a preview of free agency in addition to his contributions to the Roundtable, Bruce Berlet of the Hartford Courant has Hartford coach Ken Gernander's take on each and every Wolf Pack player, Joe McDonald of NY Sports Day looks at the succession of leadership, whether this year or next, as Jaromir Jagr's days as team captain near their end, and our own Jess Rubenstein has an interview with the folks organizing the Victoria Cup that you will be surprised to find is far more illuminating than the topic may seem on first blush.

What, that's not enough? Given the potential roster turnover, we put a new spin on the idea of a Ranger report card with a look at the past, present, and future of each player, we have our annual draft previews by Jess and by Anthony Mastantuoni, we have our customary three pages of Ranger news and notes, we have Biofiles of Joe Micheletti (one of the best Biofiles ever) and Gilles Villemure by Scoop Malinowski, and we have a full complement of columns -- Mitch Beck Zoning In, Ron Boesgaard and his View From the Blues, and the venerable John Halligan taking us All Around the Rink With the Rangers. The cover image can been seen at the top of the righthand sidebar, and a sampling of several pages can be seen above and/or to the left.

It's not too late to subscribe and get a copy of this issue -- while everyone else has, at best, put the Rangers on the back burner for the summer or, at worst, discontinued their coverage altogether, Blueshirt Bulletin continues with unparalleled non-stop wall-to-wall coverage -- daily online here at BlueshirtBulletin.com and monthly (except for July and August) in our print edition. All for the ridiculously modest cost of $3 per issue (less if you take advantage of multi-year discounts). If you're reading a Ranger web site in the middle of June, then you're a hard-core fan, and if you're a hard-core fan who has not yet subscribed to Blueshirt Bulletin, now is the time to do so -- click here or E-mail for information on how to subscribe.

There are just a few days left to be eligible for our subscriber giveaway. We hope to lead off our series of four prizes with an award to Subscriber #6666, but we are still a ways off from there and may not get that far by Friday -- unless you were all lying in wait until we approached that number to get your subscription in (if so, now is the time!). We will go ahead with our other three prize awards -- click here for details on who is eligible for those prizes and what they might be. Blueshirt Bulletin is reward in and of itself for all subscribers, but for three and possibly four subscribers, there will be more in the offing.

The Tortoise and The Hare

One GM traveled across Eastern Europe to court Jaromir Jagr only to find that the object of his affection was half a world away in New York. The other GM remained MIA while Jagr waited to hear whether he was wanted back in New York, where he helped rehabilitate the GM's career. Who will win the race to sign Jagr, the tortoise or the hare? The hare is Anatoly Bardin, GM of Avangard Omsk of Russia's Kontinental Hockey League. Bardin is in the Czech Republic, his announced reason for being there to woo Jagr. But Jagr is, according to Blueshirts Blog, back in New York after a vacation in Mexico, waiting to hear from the tortoise, Ranger GM Glen Sather, whom he says he has not spoken to since break-up day last month.

"I’m in Prague, but Jaromir hasn’t arrived yet," Bardin told SovSport.ru. "I’m expecting him any day now. Unless he gets an official Ranger offer, Jagr knows that Avangard really wants him. And that’s why I came to the CR -- I want to talk to him once more. It's not true [that Jagr has been offered an outrageous contract]. Our offer is reasonable. We don’t intend to lavish money. As for the talks that Jaromir set his own conditions, it’s just guesswork. I’ve already read not one but several canards about this." No quotes from Sather on the subject -- maybe he'll have something to say later in the week at the draft in Ottawa. [Thanks to DaTeL for a precise translation of Bardin's interview.]

In other news, see the latest entries at Blue Notes on the Rangers signing Andreas Jamtin (still no official confirmation from the team -- but no denial either) and at Rangers Report for analysis of the news about Jagr. Martin Rucinsky told Denik Sport in the Czech Republic that he will only return to the NHL as a Ranger, and only if Jagr and Martin Straka are there too. The NHL-IIHF Player Transfer Agreement has officially expired -- see Prospect Park here and here for an interview on the subject with IIHF President Rene Fasel and Jess Rubenstein's analysis.

Rangers Sign Swedish Version of Avery-Lite

So you'd like to have Tomas Holmstrom on your team to camp out in front of the net, screen goalies, score on deflections and rebounds? Well, Detroit's not giving him up and he's getting up there in years. But the Rangers have now signed another Swedish player, Andreas Jamtin, who was compared favorably to Holmstrom by the scout who drafted both players for the Detroit Red Wings. Hakan Andersson, feted in the wake of the Red Wings' recent Stanley Cup win for supplying the team with much its European core of talent, selected Holmstrom in the tenth round in 1994 with the first pick Wings management allowed him to make on his own.

In 2001, the Wings traded two late round picks to move up in the fifth round to select Jamtin after they got wind that Dallas was set to take him with their next pick. Afterwards, Andersson said of Jamtin, "He’s like a Tomas Holmstrom. He can take anything you throw at him. He never backs down from anybody. If Holmstrom had this guy’s skating ability, Holmstrom would be a star in the NHL." Since then, Holmstrom has become a star in the NHL in his own way, regardless of skating ability, and the Wings have given up on Jamtin, leaving him unsigned and allowing him to become a free agent.

Jamtin's Swedish club, HV71 Jonkoping, reported on their web site today that the 25 year old winger exercised his NHL escape clause by the June 15th deadline, but they didn't specify which NHL team he signed with. Aftonbladet, a Swedish newspaper that has been known to get things wrong in the past, named the Rangers as the team. We are waiting to hear back from the Rangers about confirmation of the signing. HV71, with Jamtin scoring 17 regular season goals in 51 games, finished in first place in the Swedish Elite League last season and won the league playoffs. Jamtin was also part of the 2004 HV71 championship team. He played in the 2002 WJC along with Henrik Lundqvist and played part of one season in Finland, where he was a teammate of Ranger prospect Lauri Korpikoski.

After being compared with Holmstrom when he was drafted, Jamtin has since been compared to another player familiar to both Ranger and Wing fans -- Sean Avery. He is an agitator who specializes in trash talk, but who can skate and score as well. "He's a little gnat in everyone's face," Detroit assistant GM Jim Nill said of him in 2006 at NHL.com. "He gets under your skin. I saw him play against Zdeno Chara and he was driving Chara nuts. He was in his face all the time. That will be his game. Who could I compare him to? As a pest, he doesn't have Ken Linseman's offensive skills. He's more like Ville Niemenen. He's a hard-working player with a fire-hydrant type of body."

The Wings gave up on Jamtin after he limped home from Finland in mid-season in 06, having failed to further his development in a league he believed would prepare him better for North American hockey because of its higher level of physical play. "The in-your-face winger had a mediocre year after taking on a new challenge in the Finnish Elite League," reported Red Wings Central at that time. "Although the Red Wings liked his grit and fire, Jamtin did not get a contract and is a free agent." His inability to develop an offensive side to his game also factored into their unwillingness to sign him before his rights expired that year.

But now that that part of his game has made an appearance -- at least at the SEL level -- he is getting a shot at the NHL. "Jamtin is a talented forward with pretty good offensive skills," says the web site Elite Prospects. "Although he isn't very big [6'0-192], Jamtin still plays with a lot of intensity and extremely aggressive. He skates hard for the puck, never gives up and can put the puck in the net. An agitator, a fighter and a scorer." His contract is reported to be a two-way deal, so if he fails to secure an NHL spot in training camp -- a long shot, to be sure -- he will play in Hartford.

In other news, Avangard Omsk GM Anatoly Bardin has left for the Czech Republic to meet with Jaromir Jagr (stories here and here). Perry Pearn remains assistant coach with the Rangers after the Florida Panthers went with another finalist for their open head coaching position (see Rangers Report). Larry Brooks of the Post comments further on the perception of NHL bias toward Pittsburgh in the playoffs. Hockey's Future analyzes the 2003 draft five years later, with (as we already know) Hugh Jessiman remaining the only first rounder to never play an NHL game. Prospect Park looks at some elements of the Rangers' strategy for the upcoming draft. FoxSports looks at free agent right wingers and projects Jagr and Shanahan returning for another season.

Lundqvist Shut Out of Vezina Voting

As expected, Henrik Lundqvist finished a distant third in the voting for the Vezina Trophy. But at his age, it remains a remarkable achievement to have been a Vezina finalist in each of his first three NHL seasons. No word whether he shook the hand of the winner, Martin Brodeur, whose narrow surprise win over Evgeni Nabokov was probably crafted along nationalistic lines among the NHL GMs who vote for the honor. See See NYR.com and MSG.com for more.

Marc Staal seems to have also gotten the shaft from the Canadian vote for the All-Rookie Team, beaten out by a 25-year-old Edmonton Oiler, Tom Gilbert, who despite his 13 goals cannot have been half the defenseman Staal was -- Gilbert had seven games where he was -2 or worse (-3 and -4 on two occasions), but was only +2 or better seven times despite his point production. Staal was +2 six times (three times in the playoffs) and -2 only three times as a stay at home defenseman. Staal got only two fifth place Calder Trophy votes, tying Nigel Dawes and others for 12th place -- Brandon Dubinsky came in 10th with a second place vote, a fourth place vote, and six fifth place votes.

Steve Zipay confirms rumors that the Rangers are trying to trade up to a top four draft pick in his Blue Notes, but he says that the teams holding those picks are not likely to trade them. No word on whom the Rangers may be targeting, perhaps angling for Nikita Filatov to ultimately have him on a line with Alexei Cherepanov and Artem Anisimov, reuniting a unit from one of the Russian national junior teams. In other reading, Stan Fischler of MSG.com wonders what's up with contract talks with Jaromir Jagr and Sean Avery, while Rangers Report and Blue Notes check in with musings on a variety of subjects.

If you're stuck for a last-minute Father's Day gift, there is still time to place subscription orders for Blueshirt Bulletin -- click here for more information. We've gotten a number of orders this week already -- one spouse said this is the first time her husband asked for a specific gift, a subscription to Blueshirt Bulletin. Don't wait for your husband or dad to ask -- surprise him! All new subscriptions and renewals will be eligible for our draft day giveaway next week (details here).

Get Out Your Hankies

Henrik Lundqvist will don his tux for the NHL awards ceremony tonight, but he will not make the walk up to the stage to accept the Vezina Trophy. Had he not struggled from Thanksgiving through MLK Day, he might be the one taking home the hardware, given how close he is to his competitors statistically. Lundqvist led the league in shutouts with ten, his 37 wins were fourth best (Evgeni Nabokov led with 44, Martin Brodeur was second with 42), he was sixth in games with 72 (Nabokov and Brodeur led with 77), and his 2.23 GAA was sixth (Nabokov was third at 2.14, Brodeur fifth at 2.17). None were among the leaders in save percentage, all three finishing between .910 and .920, with Brodeur’s .920 eighth best.

While the rest of the league is wondering whether Nabokov or Brodeur will win, the big question in Rangerland is whether Lundqvist will shake Brodeur's hand if the Devils' mercurial netminder wins again -- recall that Brodeur was reportedly angry at Lundqvist for not congratulating him upon his Vezina win a year ago, and that Brodeur refused to shake Sean Avery's hand after the Rangers eliminated the Devils in the first round of the playoffs. For more on Lundqvist, see NYR.com, and for a list of all award finalists, see ESPN.

In other news, Larry Brooks reports in the Post that free agent winger Blake Wheeler was at the MSG Training Center yesterday for a tour as the Rangers woo the 21-year-old former Phoenix draftee (5th overall). Wheeler was also in Newark to talk with the Devils. He cannot sign with anyone until July 1st. FoxSports has a list of the top free agent left wingers and projects Avery returning to the Rangers for his asking price of $3.5 million -- on the other hand, they project Martin Straka going back to Pittsburgh. TSN has the complete Ranger off-season game plan -- no surprises there. Blueshirts Blog has more on Michal Rozsival.

Rozsival to Undergo Hip Surgery Today

Breaking news: The Rangers just announced that Michal Rozsival will undergo hip surgery to repair a tear. The injury may explain the drop-off in his play late in the season. What impact it has on his free agency is not yet clear -- it could reduce his asking price, making his return to the Rangers more likely, or it could scare teams away, including the Rangers. See NYR.com, Blue Notes, and Rangers Report for additional details.

The litany of bad Ranger trades you voted on yesterday tell what appears to be a neverending story that dates back half a century or more -- the pursuit of star power, the big name, even if those players' best days were already in the history books, even at the expense of future stars. Or has the ruinous practice in fact come to an end? The last bad trade that mortgaged the future was quite a while ago. The fire sale of 2004, despite the paucity of results, set a new tone for the Rangers -- we will trade no player before his time for someone past his prime.

In fact, since trading Anson Carter for Jarormir Jagr, the only mistakes that have been made have been in miscalculating the benefit of incoming players (Sandis Ozolinsh, Christian Backman, and Adam Hall). But so far, there are no young players out there who are going to come back and bite us. Not Maxim Kondratiev, who was traded for Petr Sykora, who was a good pick-up for the time he was here and might have merited a longer look. Not Marc-Andre Cliche, who no matter what he is likely to do in the NHL (if anything) will never make anyone regret getting Avery, and certainly not the other players in that deal, Jan Marek having chosen to stay in Russia and Jason Ward forever a marginal forward.

Instead, other than the third and fourth round draft choices given up for Ozolinsh and Backman, we've gotten a steady stream of prospects back -- Lauri Korpikoski, Mike Sauer, Greg Moore, Alex Bourret, and Dane Byers remain viable prospects among others that didn't pan out (they can't all make it). The results would have looked even better had the Rangers held onto R.J. Umberger. Even the veterans brought in by trade -- the aforementioned Jagr, Avery, and Sykora plus, to a lesser degree, Blair Betts, Fred Sjostrom, and Steve Rucchin -- helped the team move forward without the loss of any significant young assets (or in the case of Al Montoya, with that young asset replaced by another).

That's what they promised us back in March 2004 -- a change in culture. That's what we wanted, and that's what they delivered. The results are obviously far from perfect, but they've held true to their word to build a core of players from within, young players who have grown up as Rangers and want nothing more and will settle for nothing less than being the best that they can be wearing the Blueshirt. That core continues to grow each season, bolstered by free agent signings that are far superior to the good money thrown at bad players prior to the lockout. It's hard to judge how bright the future may be, but these days, it's good to know that there is a future in New York.

Blueshirt Bulletin readers voted the Zubov-Nedved trade as the worst of the past 35 years by an large margin -- more than one third of all votes and twice as many as the next worst. You must be right, because you've been right every other time we've polled you (or second place at worst) -- Drury and Gomez were your top two choices for number two center before they were signed last July, Jim Schoenfeld was your second choice for assistant GM after giving Adam Graves the popular vote, you chose Andrew Hutchinson as the odd man out of the overcrowded blueline corps before training camp last fall, and you called it after the free agent season when you said the Rangers should wait for training camp before making their next major moves.

Two of the players we discussed as part of the bad trade parade -- Pavel Brendl and Tomas Kloucek -- signed on yesterday with the upstart KHL. Brendl is reportedly getting one of the top salaries in the league, though it would amount to a hill of beans by NHL standards ($800k). Brendl was one of the top five scorers in the Swedish Elite League last season, but his team finished last in the league. Kloucek played in his home country last season after his North American career had sunk to the AHL level.

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you. We've taken a lot of heat for ranting about how the NHL appeared to be angling playoff results in a certain direction. Now comes an NBA scandal that alleges refs there were told to do exactly what we believe NHL refs have been told to do. And we told you five years ago that the lockout was not about keeping down player salaries or protecting small market teams -- today comes news that average pay has topped pre-lockout levels a mere three years later, with the NHLPA sure to extend the CBA that was seen as such a huge loss for them when they were forced into it. It was always about franchise value, and still is.

In other reading, here's another ditty on Avery's fashion career, here's an article from the Journal News on Sam Rosen, here's Jess Rubenstein's mock draft at Prospect Park, and here's Howling's look at the impact former Rangers had on the AHL's recently concluded Calder Cup, where Jason Krog starred.