Mel
7-25-05, 2:25 PM
NHL Notebook: Rangers committed to youth movement
Monday, July 25, 2005
From wire dispatches
As honest as the lockout was long, Don Maloney's words rang loud and true -- at least if you are a Rangers fan.
"This lockout, from a purely hockey point of view, was the best thing that could have happened to us," the Rangers assistant general manager has said.
From the standpoint of wiping out what was sure to be another disastrous Rangers season, who could argue: The 310-day lockout and the salary-cap-based collective bargaining agreement have given the Rangers an unprecedented do-over, a chance to erase many of the effects of the club's mismanagement in recent years and put the Rangers on equal footing with the NHL's other 29 teams.
Of course, a do-over is worthless unless the team changes direction. And to hear Maloney tell it, the Rangers not only have charted a new course, they're committed to staying on it. Even if there are more big-name free agents available this summer (beginning Aug. 1) than ever before, the only major fishing the Rangers will be doing is the kind owner Jim Dolan and general manager Glen Sather did in British Columbia over the weekend.
"The exciting thing for us is we're in a new boat now," Maloney said. "We're going young. We're staying young. We're not going to load up on a lot of the older free agents who might be available. We're committed to this and that's exciting to me.
"We're looking forward to see that next star emerge. Who's going to be that next [Alexei] Kovalev, that next [Mark] Messier or great player of the past? And that's what we need here in New York. Instead of buying that star, we're going to grow that star."
First, though, they're going to have to unload a couple of big names.
Though there still is some agonizing within the organization over the decision, the Rangers plan to buy out the contracts of forward Bobby Holik and defenseman Darius Kasparaitis.
The two bruising veterans signed with the Rangers one day apart in July 2002. Holik got a five-year, $45-million contract that has two years left at $8.85 million per year. Kasparaitis got a six-year, $25.5-million deal that has three years left at a total of $12.8 million.
Even with the 24 percent rollback on existing contracts, that's too much money for too long a period to pay a checking center and second-tier defenseman, especially since the one-time amnesty period that began Saturday allows teams to buy out players at two-thirds their rolled-back contract values without taking a cap hit.
So before the 5 p.m. deadline Friday, Dolan will write checks for a total of $15.453 million -- $8.968 million to Holik, $6.485 million to Kasparaitis -- and make them unrestricted free agents who can sign with anybody but the Rangers.
The only other players of note the Rangers have under contract will comprise two-thirds of their top line come opening night Oct. 5 in Philadelphia -- Jaromir Jagr and Michael Nylander.
Factoring in the rollback and the approximately $4 million that Washington agreed to kick in just to be rid of him, the Rangers only will have to pay Jagr $4.8 million this season. Nylander is due $2.204 million.
The Rangers have all but decided to make the $2.356 million qualifying offer required to keep defenseman Tom Poti. And they plan to re-sign veteran goaltender Kevin Weekes, who never got to play with them after inking a one-year, $1.375 million contract last summer.
As for the rest of the roster, Maloney insists more players will have minor-league and college pedigrees than lengthy NHL resumes.
"We are committed to building this team," he said. "Is that to say that we wouldn't sign somebody who would fit into what we're trying to accomplish the next three, four years down the road? Absolutely not."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05206/543233.stm
It will be refreshing to cheer for a youthful and hungry team for once. :thumb:
I can't wait to see which young guys emerge as team leaders and watch this team gel over the coming years.
(I don't think Poti is worth 2.3 million)
Monday, July 25, 2005
From wire dispatches
As honest as the lockout was long, Don Maloney's words rang loud and true -- at least if you are a Rangers fan.
"This lockout, from a purely hockey point of view, was the best thing that could have happened to us," the Rangers assistant general manager has said.
From the standpoint of wiping out what was sure to be another disastrous Rangers season, who could argue: The 310-day lockout and the salary-cap-based collective bargaining agreement have given the Rangers an unprecedented do-over, a chance to erase many of the effects of the club's mismanagement in recent years and put the Rangers on equal footing with the NHL's other 29 teams.
Of course, a do-over is worthless unless the team changes direction. And to hear Maloney tell it, the Rangers not only have charted a new course, they're committed to staying on it. Even if there are more big-name free agents available this summer (beginning Aug. 1) than ever before, the only major fishing the Rangers will be doing is the kind owner Jim Dolan and general manager Glen Sather did in British Columbia over the weekend.
"The exciting thing for us is we're in a new boat now," Maloney said. "We're going young. We're staying young. We're not going to load up on a lot of the older free agents who might be available. We're committed to this and that's exciting to me.
"We're looking forward to see that next star emerge. Who's going to be that next [Alexei] Kovalev, that next [Mark] Messier or great player of the past? And that's what we need here in New York. Instead of buying that star, we're going to grow that star."
First, though, they're going to have to unload a couple of big names.
Though there still is some agonizing within the organization over the decision, the Rangers plan to buy out the contracts of forward Bobby Holik and defenseman Darius Kasparaitis.
The two bruising veterans signed with the Rangers one day apart in July 2002. Holik got a five-year, $45-million contract that has two years left at $8.85 million per year. Kasparaitis got a six-year, $25.5-million deal that has three years left at a total of $12.8 million.
Even with the 24 percent rollback on existing contracts, that's too much money for too long a period to pay a checking center and second-tier defenseman, especially since the one-time amnesty period that began Saturday allows teams to buy out players at two-thirds their rolled-back contract values without taking a cap hit.
So before the 5 p.m. deadline Friday, Dolan will write checks for a total of $15.453 million -- $8.968 million to Holik, $6.485 million to Kasparaitis -- and make them unrestricted free agents who can sign with anybody but the Rangers.
The only other players of note the Rangers have under contract will comprise two-thirds of their top line come opening night Oct. 5 in Philadelphia -- Jaromir Jagr and Michael Nylander.
Factoring in the rollback and the approximately $4 million that Washington agreed to kick in just to be rid of him, the Rangers only will have to pay Jagr $4.8 million this season. Nylander is due $2.204 million.
The Rangers have all but decided to make the $2.356 million qualifying offer required to keep defenseman Tom Poti. And they plan to re-sign veteran goaltender Kevin Weekes, who never got to play with them after inking a one-year, $1.375 million contract last summer.
As for the rest of the roster, Maloney insists more players will have minor-league and college pedigrees than lengthy NHL resumes.
"We are committed to building this team," he said. "Is that to say that we wouldn't sign somebody who would fit into what we're trying to accomplish the next three, four years down the road? Absolutely not."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05206/543233.stm
It will be refreshing to cheer for a youthful and hungry team for once. :thumb:
I can't wait to see which young guys emerge as team leaders and watch this team gel over the coming years.
(I don't think Poti is worth 2.3 million)