How Sundin fits with the Rangers

by James Mirtle on Dec 16, 2008 12:21 PM CST Comment 9 comments

Sundin_medium

All right, all right, I'll write about Sundin:

At this point it doesn't appear as though Sundin is going to decide against returning. Either club is taking a gamble here that he'll help them rather than upset team chemistry. Of the two I think he might best help the Canucks, as I don't understand why the Rangers would pursue a center when their problems are so obviously defensive, which Sundin won't rectify.

— Lyle (Spector) Richardson

Lyle must be taking a toot on some of the good stuff, because every Rangers game I've seen this season (and last, for that matter), putting the puck in the net was New York's biggest problem.

The Rangers are 28th in NHL scoring this season and 23rd on the power play, but have been lights out in terms of preventing goals, something that is due in part to Henrik Lundqvist's strong play. New York is ranked eighth in goals against and first overall on the penalty kill.

So they need him.

How on earth will they afford Mats Sundin?

If I was running the ship in New York, I'd immediately waive Dmitri Kalinin, who has had an awful season, play Corey Potter in the No. 6 spot on defence. (His brother Harry is unavailable.) That saves you about $1.6-million on a full season scale.

Add in the about $1-million space the team already has, send Petr Prucha's $1.6-million salary to the minors, and there is about $4.2-million to play with. Lauri Korpikoski could go down, too, and if he's replaced with a league minimum player, there's another $500,000.

Sign Sundin on a relatively cheap contract at the midway point and re-sign him for bigger dollars next year in the summer, and voila, there's some help in the goal-scoring department.

Larry Brooks has done the math, and seems to think the Rangers need only $2.87-million to get Sundin in the lineup just after Christmas, and that seems entirely doable.

The main thing I'd be worried about with Sundin is just how game-ready he's going to be at this point. He hasn't played a hockey game since March 29, and one of the major concerns would have to be that he'd be rusty and get injured early on.

If you're a team in the mix to come out of the East, however, I think it makes sense to take the gamble. And I don't think he's going to Vancouver.

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And for those of you who lose out on the Sundin sweeps and still need to fill a gaping aging, bald Swedish pivot hole in your lineup, the Caps have someone who fits the bill nicely.

Btw, very high-brow Photoshop, James.

Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world

by J.P. on Dec 16, 2008 1:56 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I was an English lit major…

by James Mirtle on Dec 16, 2008 2:04 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

While you’re right about their offense needing some serious help, I think the bigger problem IS their defense. In their massive failure against the Devils last week, Rozsival was standing around watching while Zajac stuffed home his own rebound in the first period. Redden did the same on the second SHG, letting Johnny Oduya skate in uncontested and poke the puck out from underneath Lundqvist and in. They’re letting teams have their way with Henrik and the slot area. You mentioned Kalinin being awful, but Redden and Rozsival haven’t been much better. Without fixing those problems, the team isn’t improving any time soon – even if they do start putting the puck in the net.

by onetimer on Dec 16, 2008 2:04 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Rozsival’s definitely struggled, but Redden’s numbers appear fine so far. I don’t think they can really afford to just drop one of those guys and call someone up.

by James Mirtle on Dec 16, 2008 2:18 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

1) Didn’t Sather sign some hefty priced UFA’s last year to help solve the scoring issue?
2) What makes anyone feel this over 35 yr old who hasn’t played in 10 months and never won a Cup will be the difference maker?

by Fauxrumors on Dec 16, 2008 3:40 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Comparing Canucks and Rangers

Goals For Per Game: Canucks 3.0 (ranked 8th) Rangers 2.42 (ranked 28th)
Goals Against Per Game: Canucks 2.52 (ranked 6th lowest) Rangers 2.64 (ranked 8th lowest)
Point Percentage: Rangers .636 (ranked 7th) Canucks .597 (ranked 11th)

It’s amazing to see the Rangers winning more than the Canucks, given that its average goal differential is -0.22 per game, compared with the +0.48 per game for the Canucks. Part of the reason is the following stat, though:

Home Games Played: Rangers 19 (ranked 2nd) Canucks 12 (ranked 28th)
Road Games Played: Canucks 19 (ranked 1st) Rangers 14 (ranked 19th)

by SJKel on Dec 16, 2008 3:44 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

What stats are you looking at???

"The Rangers are 28th in NHL scoring this season and 23rd on the power play, but have been lights out in terms of preventing goals, something that is due in part to Henrik Lundqvist’s strong play. New York is ranked eighth in goals against and first overall on the penalty kill."

Goals against 5 on 5 they are 27th in the league ( http://www.nhl.com/ice/teamstats.htm?fetchKey=20092ALLAAAAll&sort=goalsAgainst5On5&viewName=goalsAgainst). Goals against total they are 16th in the league ( http://www.nhl.com/ice/teamstats.htm?fetchKey=20092ALLAAAAll&sort=goalsAgainst&viewName=goalsAgainst). Hardly what I would call ‘lights out’.

To be fair, they aren’t much better scoring goals (17th 5 on 5 and 15th total – not sure where Mirtle gets 28th) but the problem at first glance appears to be more defensive than offensive.

by bytheway on Dec 17, 2008 11:44 AM CST reply actions 0 recs