Freddie in the Fold

Fredrik Sjostrom has accepted the Rangers' one-year $840,000 qualifying offer, according to Blue Notes, which had previously reported that the was trying to negotiate a two-year deal at a lower salary. Sjostrom was the last remaining unsigned Ranger. Ranger draftee Mitch Gaulton (interviewed at BB+) will miss the entire upcoming season and possibly a portion of the following season after undergoing a tendon transplant in his injured elbow (better known as the Tommy John procedure), according to the Erie Times-News. He will need more than a year of recovery and rehabilitation from the procedure.

Elsewhere, Beyond the Blueshirts has the translation of an interview with Jaromir Jagr in which he jokes that he left the Rangers for Russia because he couldn't keep up with Alexander Ovechkin and to be closer to home. There is also news about Belarussian defenseman Vladimir Denisov and a posting on former Ranger Darius Kasparaitis. NJ.com's Frank Della Femina has some excerpts from our Blueshirt Bulletin+ analysis of Nikolai Zherdev.

Now available over at BB+ is a new article on the Rangers' offensive defensemen of the future, recent first round draftees Bobby Sanguinetti and Mike Del Zotto. Blueshirt Bulletin subscribers who have not yet learned how to access BB+ should send an E-mail with your name and address to [email protected] to get details. If you would like to subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and gain access to BB+, send us an E-mail or click here to download a form that has subscription rates and contact information (please note that we are unable to process phone orders during the summer, with our offices closed).

Comments

[jagrmiester]

good Freddie is signed! now what bout the other one?

[Pavel]

Um... aren't we like 1.1m over the cap now?

[jagrmiester]

no idea, but i still dont trust Slats....

[Ant]

The interview that was posted in russian yeasterday is completely different than the one in english

[kogan]

Ant You are absolutely right!
I all ready post a link to that article, but somehow Dubi missed it.

http://news.sport-express.ru/online/ntext/24/nl247276.html

[Jess]

Ant, Kogan

What were the differences?

[kogan]

First of all, this is two different articles on that newspaper with two different interviews.
I linked to that interview where Jugr clearly says this: "In New York, THAY (I presumed Rangers organization) actively pushed me from New York and send to me air kisses".
I hope Laurie will make complete translation.

[Ant]

Pretty much the whole thing is different

[Ant]

o i didnt know it was 2 different ones my bad.But if you compare them it looks liek they interviewed 2 completely different people.

[Evan]

anyone know the date when graves is having his number retired or in the alternative when they plan to announce it??? Thanks in advance!

[Bull]

Is it me or is this team going into this season the way its constructed right now?

[Roc]

I could be wrong but I think the rangers are waiting on sundin.

[jagrmiester]

they are figuring out what to do with Shanny.

[joe]

don't know if anybody's seen this, but it's pretty funny stuff...jagr did an interview with soviet sport, and the reporter called alexander ovechkin and had the two of them talk...

http://www.tuvanhillbilly.com/ss-68922.shtml

the highlight:

"How long will you be playing in Russia?"

"Two years. And then I will return to the Czech republic. You have to understand, I cannot play anymore in the NHL anymore. You are so much better than me. What can I do in a league when Ovechkin gets 65 goals and I only can get 25? I was so bad, so like a real man I couldn't NOT leave." Jagr nearly falls from his chair from laughter. Sasha laughs together with him. "If you had hit only 40 goals, and I 30, then I might have thought about staying for one more year. But now I understand that there is nothing left for me to attain in the NHL. Ovechkin is there."

[rangerbill94]

How 'bout a one year deal @ $1MM for Glen Murray.
Nasland/Gomez/Zherdov
Dawes/Drury/Murray
Prucha/Dubinsky/Callahan
Voros(Orr)/Betts(Fritsche)/Sjostrom

[JerseyDave]

Rangerbill

If you thought Shanny couldn't keep up anymore, wait til you see Murray. He's slower than Malik!

[Ant]

Roc

once again ill write this.How are they gonna fit him under the cap?Even if they trade prucha wel have about 2.5 mills.Why would Sundin come here for 2.5-3 mills if he can get way more from other teams.

[jagrmiester]

funny how Roc thinks Sundin is coming here.... cant predict everything.

[cwede]

R-Bill - I gots to agree with J-Dave, Murray's best days are years ago.
I haven't gotten into the line combo chatter, but lately I keep thinking about Dubi on the left of Gomer and Zherdev - Mess played some wing when he was younger, and Gravey started at C before settling at LW. Dubi's forecheck and passing could complement those guys.
A third line made up of 3 from Dawes, Sjostrom, Prucha and Fritsche would have skill and energy; the other guy could skate with Betts and one of Rissmiller/Voros/Orr.

[bdubs]

i think murray would ask for more money than what we could give him.
Ok you say i'm lost and your saying the rangers are waiting on Sundin.........
it's not happening.

[laurie]

don't know if anybody's seen this, but it's pretty funny stuff...jagr did an interview with soviet sport, and the reporter called alexander ovechkin and had the two of them talk...

I feel like chopped liver. Joe, check the "Beyond the Blueshirts" link Dubi posted above. ;)

Kogan and Ant, which two articles are you talking about being different? If you're referring to my post on Beyond the Blueshirts, there were actually two interviews referenced in my post. The first was a TV interview which allhockey.ru transcribed from video and I translated. The second part was the same excerpt from the same Soviet Sport article that Joe referenced. The Sport-Express link Kogan posted in this thread is a third, completely different interview.

As for the comment that Kogan references, it's just more Jagr humor. The reporter asks him "Have you ever been received as warmly as you were today in Omsk? Perhaps in Prague, after the gold medal in Nagano in 98..." and Jagr replies: "I was very warmly seen off from New York (he laughs). They waved actively, like this: go away, they said, go away from here." He was just joking around, as he's done in every interview I've read over the past two days.

I can't promise I'll get a chance to do a full translation of that one. I picked the one I did because it was short. ;) But we'll see, maybe I'll pull out some of the highlights. I would love to translate the full Soviet Sport article (with the conversation with Ovechkin) because it's hilarious, but it's just too complicated and long (and I still have to work for a living. ;)) For instance, Jagr turned up on the ice wearing a pair of Tyutin's red, white and blue Ranger gloves, marked with "Tyutin 51". When the reporter asked if Tyutin knew where his gloves were, Jagr smiled slyly and replied "No, but he doesn't need them anymore, he's been traded to Columbus."

[Chris QCT]

There has to be another trade on the way. I fail to see where Rissmiller, Voros, Orr, Betts, Fritsche, and Sjostrom all fit in. It looks like we have two complete 4th lines. Maybe a move will not happen until Training Camp. But I do not see them staying like this. Seems to me that would be a detriment to all of them.

[Colorado Mark]

Chris- A trade might happen, but I think the fact that the team will have at least two spare forwards doesn't mean a trade is necessary. IF your top 8 forwards are:(Not necessarily in line combos)
Naslund-Gomez-Zherdev
Dawes-Drury-Prucha
Dubinsky-Callahan

Then that leaves the players mentioned (Voros-Sjostrom-Fritsche-Betts-Orr-Rissmiller) fighting for 1 third line slot, 3 4th line spots and 2 Skybox slots. This also allows for 1 extra D-man (Pock maybe) to meet the 23 man roster limit. This of course means that Korpikoski (and his 1 mil salary) are probably Hartford bound). I'm not saying that this will definitely end up this way, but I don't think it is unheard of to go into camp (especially an abbreviated one due to the European working-vacation) with 23 guys with NHL contracts. This does make things crowded in Hartford, though:

Korpikoski-Moore-Parenteau
Byers-Anisimov-Jessiman
Dupont-Pyatt-Jamtin
Zaborsky-Hillier-Soyral
Oullette-Owens-Taylor (All 3 have AHL Contracts)

and the ECHL Powerhouse: Joe Barnes!

Since the AHL only dresses three lines and two spare forwards, this doesn't leave a lot of space for sending down any of the guys on NHL contracts like Sjostrom/Rissmiller/Voros/Fritsche.

It will be an interesting camp, thats for sure.

[Ant]

laurie wheres the full interview with jags and ovechkin i want to read it

[angry]

Excellent post, Mark. I'm not a hater, but as a matter of practicality, I'd probably put Prucha in that group with Voros, Rissmiller, Orr, Betts, etc.

An interesting camp indeed.

[angry]

And I'd put more than a few of the Hartford kids in that group, too. Including Jamtin, Anisimov, Korpikosi, Parenteau, Byers and Moore. Hopefully one or two will really distinguish themselves.

[Roc]

Ant-

Did u ever think he would take less money to play for the rangers.

Bdubs-

Bro your so lost its not even funny. You would rather have an old broken down Shanny then a big horse like Sundin. You must have a Shanny Jersey thats the only reason you would want to bring him back. He is done!

[cwgatti]

I believe that the Rangers are waiting for Sundin as well. I don't buy the Rangers going into a season without a superstar on the MSG marquee. Now why the hell would the NYR want another center? Well despite the fact that he is much better than the 3 we already have, I see no other reason. But I think history tells us that MSG never hesitates to make room for the big name, and none are bigger than Sundin right now.

Rissmiller, Fritzche, Prucha, Betts, Sjostrom, et al, all traded for picks= $$$$$ for Sundin.

[bdubs]

so we're going to trade 5 players, three of them we just signed for sundin?
i just don't see that happening

Roc you can call me lost all you want that's not going to change my opinion. sundin is 36 he's no that strong and at that age can he be relied on throughout the playoffs? i doubt it since he hasnt played all 82 games since 2001-2002.
Sundin is not that much better a skater than Shannahan and would struggle to keep up with our top players during the season making chemistry hard to find along with making it frustrating to watch. While shanahan has agreed to take a lesser role so he wont have to skate as much and could bring more depth and scoring to our 3rd/4th lines while bringing experiance and leadership to our squad filled with very young players.

those are my reasons for not wanting sundin on the team not because i'm some anti-fan or an owner of a Shanahan jersey.

[Greg L. ( the Original one )]

It makes me mad that Avery and Jagr are gone , so why not dump Shanahan? Last season he was slow and was basicly useless. We Have Jagr the PLAYOFF JUGGERNAUT and Avery the BRODUER KILLER ...out , gone kaputt. Bring back Shanahan ? What has he done better that Avery/ Jagr? How do you risk bring back Shanahan when he could end up being a detriment and a waist of money .

If Shanny can muster up his 20-30 goals and skates like hes 20 again , he would be great BUT if we ditched Jagr ,Avery ,Straka , Malik , struds and toots . then Shanny is next to go . If Shanny starts scoring goals in bunches it could take pressure off of other lines...am I nuts ?? Time for him to go .I wanted Messier to stay another year , if i can't have that ...just keep Shanny were he is and lets start the season!!!

[Greg L. ( the Original one )]

BTW ... I do think Shanny is cool .

[bdubs]

fine i can agree wit your logic Greg L
i just dont want Sundin on the team

[paul arensburg]

Shanahan had one of the lowesr shooting % in the league last year. So, by definition, had almost anybody else taken as many shots, he would have scored more goals.

[dmd]

Since the AHL only dresses three lines and two spare forwards, this doesn't leave a lot of space for sending down any of the guys on NHL contracts like Sjostrom/Rissmiller/Voros/Fritsche.

The AHL altered its rule on this for the upcoming season. The teams will now be able to skate 4 complete lines.

[paul arensburg]

btw, Shanahan's shooting dropped to 3.3% in the po's.

Take a look at this page to see the difference between him and the rest of the forwards who were contributing offense. It's stark.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/teams/stats?team=nyr&season=2008&seasonType=3&split=0&type=reg

[mhurley]

Wait. How are the Rangers supposed to sign Sundin if we are at the Cap already? How are they going to clear $10 million a year for 2 years for Sundin?

Do the math. It ain't going to happen. Be happen with what we have and let's get on with the season.

Is it September yet?

[ant]

roc

Why would he do that ?Sadly we not number one contenders for the cup season he knows it why lose all the money that he can get from other teams?

[ant]

greg

Jagr and Avery ditched us not the other way around.

[Paul R _ _ _ _ _ _ D]

I agree with Ant, Avery had a 4 year deal on the table but his bleeding blue stopped when he got the extra few hundred thousand offer from the stars, and jagr wanted a longer deal.

[Alan]

I was watching the nhl network last night and they were re-broadcasting a game from the 2007 playoffs in the san jose v nashville series. i turned it on a little late and they were in the 3rd headed to OT. Pat Rissmiller made a horrible pass to try to get the puck out of the zone and nashville wound up tying the score with less than a minute left to send the game to OT. Needless to say, Rissmiller didn't get a whole bunch of ice time that i saw after that. every time he had a shift he looked kind of slow and really out of position. i thought i remembered the outcome as the game wore on and sure enough i was right. rissmiller ended up scoring the game winner in the 2nd OT on a beautiful pass from marleau and pat roofed a gorgeous shot over the shoulder of vokoun to win the game. he didn't score many that year (two seasons ago) but the sharks were 8-0 in games he did score in (according to gord miller of tsn).

does he play for us in nyc or hartford? that's the ultimate question. he hasn't missed much time since his call up so he's durable. and he's big. they say he's fast too, so it could be a huge improvement having him on the 4th line.

[Anonymous]

Would anyone else think Ladislav Nagy would be a cheap pickup that would supply us with 15-25 goals?

[Paul R _ _ _ _ _ _ D]

Did anyone else notice that stonehands hossa signed in lativa?

[laurie]

I hope Laurie will make complete translation.

Here you go Kogan: http://www.beyondtheblueshirts.com/2008/07/all-jagr-all-the-time/

(It went faster than I thought)

Ant, the article where Jagr talks to Ovechkin is here: http://www.sovsport.ru/gazeta/article-item/299219

[kogan]

laurie you are the best!:)

[Jameson]

I think you guys are wrong about Avery, I don't think Sather was offering 4 years and that's what he wanted.

[rangerbill94]

Jameson

4 years or $4MM...neither was a good thing for the Rangers. Let's just see where Avery is in 3 years!

[Ant]

thanks laurie

[Paul R _ _ _ _ _ D]

Jameson,

look at the article on thefourthperiod.com sltas says he offered avery a 4 year deal at like 3 mil per.