After The Dust Has Settled On Day 1

Day 1 brought us a move's we saw coming, a few we didn't, and more upfront action then, I think, anyone expected. While Derek Boogaard checks the "Rooms/Shared" ads on Craigslist, and the Biron family checks our charter schools in Park Slope, let's look back at what happened yesterday.

1. Derek Stepan signs an Entery Level Contract - It's great that the Rangers got Stepan into the mix. I think that he showed throughout the season at Wisconson, and especially in the World Junior Championships, that he is ready to make the next step. Part of correctly developing a prospect, is moving them to the next level when they are ready for the challenge. The other part of development is that prospect rising up to the challenge. Stepan was ready for the move, but now it's time to show that he can, first, hold his on, and then begin to dominate in the AHL, before we can think of moving him to the big club. For some perspective, Brian Boyle scored 31 goals in 70 games as an AHL Rookie in 2007-2008. Donald Brashear scored 38 goals and had 66 points in 62 games in the AHL before making the Jump. Most recently, Artem Anisimov dominated the AHL in his last season in the league, collecting 81 points in 80 games, before being promoted to the big club. I'm not not saying that Stepan won't be a great Ranger someday, but I hope we can all keep some perspective on how farther he has to come, to not only make the team, but make the jump past our glut of 3rd line talent and become a contributing player at the NHL level. 

2. Martin Biron signs for $1.75 mil over 2 years - This contract scared me a bit when I started looking at Biron's stats over the years. Obviously, as I've made clear many times before, I have little faith in any player coming out of Buffalo. They overachieve as Sabre's, hoping to escape, and when they finally do, they are so happy to be out, their play slips. On the ice, Biron has been a bit streaky through his career. He stays around the .500 percentage we are looking for, but does it by combining some highlights and some poor performances. With Torts at the helm, one weak performance could be the only chance he gets. Keeping Hank under 70 starts is more important then the outcome of 12-15 times a season we will call on our backup goalie. If we are going to compete, the players on the ice should be able to win a few games without Hank, regardless of who is in our net (except Valley - he was just horrible). I hope that Biron, coming with a strong recomendation from Benoit Allaire, will be given a chance to play his 12-15 games, and that Torts can fight the urge to bury Biron on the pine if he has one weak performance. 

3. Erik Christensen signs for 2 years at $975,000 per/ Vinny Prospal signs for $1 mil + incentives - I put these contracts together, because I think this was a case where it should have been one or the other. If I had to chose, Christensen should be the one. Prospal came into New York, with a chip on his shoulder, contributed early, and worked great with Gabby. While Prospal was out, Christensen stepped up as Gabby's center, and never looked back. On the ice, Christensen and Prospal filled the same roll for us, but Christensen is much younger, and gives us more upside. I would have preferred to see Prospals spot used to look for a center who can make the other teams offensive zone regularly. While Scott Gomez struggled through his time with us, I can't forget how many times he skated up the middle, crossed the blue line, and dumped it, or fired a soft wrister, because no one was with him. Gomez and Gabby would be a great fit (If we could have moved Dru instead of Gomez), but since we don't have a true #1, it would be have been nice to see us take a flyer on a player with more upside then Prospal, (Demitra, with the training staffs approval??) after signing Christensen

4. Derek Boogaard signs for 4 years at $1.6 mil per - This move set EVERYONE off. Initially, I was a bit shocked, to say the least. Looking at it with a cool head this morning, I don't think it was the worst thing for us. Shelley was a big pick up for us last year, and could have been a great asset next season as well, even at 1.1 mil+. If all the stars aligned, perhaps he would be a part of this team in year two . Year three, if he's in the league at all, I don't see him being anymore then a role player in Hartford  (our affiliate will be in Rochester by then) who counts against our NHL cap. Boogaard is a GOON, I won't try to convince anyone of anything other then that. While we can argue that position is going away, it's not gone yet. Outside of being a fighter, I think he is a bit of a despicable player. Will he kick out your skates while you're chasing a puck into the corner ? Yup. Will he take three steps and drill you with an elbow? Ask Brandon Prust. Boogaard, for better or worse, makes players fear for their careers when they step on the ice with him.  We need any advantage we can get, if the other teams top players are listening for footsteps when they chase the puck along the boards, if their role players are focused on protecting their stars from Boogaard, and we still have a dominant PK that kill off the occasional boarding minor that slows a star down long after Boogaard is out of the box, then I think it's a win for us. I won't win the Lady Bing for saying it, but you get a parade down the Canyon of Heroes for winning the Lady Bing. We've got alot of young guys coming up, adjusting to the NHL level. While Brashear wouldn't fight anyone he deemed out of his weight class, Boogaard will hunt down anyone who wrongs his team. Boogaard isn't an enforcer, he's an absolute mutt - but he's our mutt. Even in a worst case scenario, if he totally flames out, MSG shouldn't have a problem shipping him to minors, $1.6 isn't too much to eat for a guy who can keep an eye on the prospects coming up the pipe.

Obviously, there is still more work to be done by the front office. Something needs to be done about Stall, Girardi, and Prust, and the team has done nothing to remedy our offensive woes. I've suggested a few ideas on here. It's too late to follow up on this idea with the Pens, but judging from what's going on with Bobby Ryan's contract negotiations,  and Marc Staal's contract negotiations, I think this idea could still be great for both teams.  If Ryan only wants 3 years, so he can get to arbitration, that's fine with me. I would rather see invest 13.5 mil over 3 years on an offensive spark, then tie up another 3.5+ mil a year on one player on a blueline where 2  guys, like it or not, already eat up 20% of our cap. We have great goaltending, and a pipeline full of defensive prospects. Let's look to spark the offense, take some pressure off the D, and win some hockey games.