Artem Anisimov is the number one center of the future....

But you are right, he’s built and has hands, a dangerous combo. I’ll disagree with you that signing Richards would ruin him. Look around this league and all the contenders are 3 lines deep of serious world-class players.
3rd line: Wolski-AA-Krieder (if he’s ready next yr)
4th line: Boyle-Prust-Avery (if they’re all back)
That’s a bottom 6 on a winning team.

I think AA will be a 25-30 goal scorer, but he is not as good of as passer as Brad Richards.

I’m not about to advocate for Richards… but, if we find the right #1 center for next year, what’s the problem with having AA as a great #3 center? It’ll force Torts to use all four lines, and will give us 4 lines that can be dangerous.
4 centers being: Be Rich, Stepan, AA, Boyle, is pretty great… that’s deep.

AA is not ready for first line center duties next year – neither is Stepan. But I’m also glad we didn’t have to give AA up for Richards at the deadline.

With everything, with Boyle, Stephan, and AA you have a center combo that will be VERY hard to deal with in the hopefully very near future. Now i would bring Richards on but only for the help he can provide them as far as development goes.

If Stepan cant improve on faceoofs they might move him to wing…

If you bring in Richards all that would happen(assuming nothing else changes) would be

Prospal Richards Gaborik
Wolski Stepan Zuccarello
Dubinsky Anisimov Callahan
Fedotenko Boyle Prust

You basically have a top line, two number 2 lines, and a third line. Torts would easily be able to roll all four lines and everyone will get a bunch of ice time, there is no reason to suggest that getting Richards throws Anisimov’s development off. But yes I do agree with you that getting rid of AA would be a disaster and that AA will become a great center to come.

Stepan will not be a long term center unless he gets bigger and drastically improves faceoffs. I see him as a winger. I think our best option would be stepan on the wing, add Richards as #1 center and keep AA as 2nd line center. Boyle to 3rd Center and get a Blair Betts type guy for 4th.

the Rangers may not need to sign Richards so badly because next season I think AA is going to be even better. He’s got 16 goals at this point now; I would take a bet that at this point next season that’s 25-30. Is Brad Richards going to do better than that?

Very much undervaluing Brad Richards here. He’s an elite centerman and a Conn Smythe winner. He makes everyone who plays with him better. Artem Anisimov although a good player, at his peak will never reach that level. It’s not to discredit AA, but it’s to show just how good Richards is. So no, AA won’t be better than Richards next season and yes Richards will do better than that.

I also noticed you said will Richards do better than 25-30 goals, well he was on pace for like 35 this year before the injury. I think his number was at 24, he is really that good. Do I think we need Richards, yes. Is AA the future #1 maybe, but now or next year the answer is no. I say Richards for 4 years would be enough time to let these guys take over that spot.

This post is really my own cautionary tale for Glen Sather; the Rangers may not need to sign Richards so badly because next season I think AA is going to be even better. He’s got 16 goals at this point now; I would take a bet that at this point next season that’s 25-30. Is Brad Richards going to do better than that?

Yes. Assuming he’s healthy, he probably will get you 80 pts. Maybe only 20 of those will be goals, but he will basically get you a PPG between his goals and assists. I like Anisimov, but its asking an awful lot to get him a 23 year old to go from 40 pts to 80 pts and lead the 1st line. And, you’re ignoring Richards ability to play the point on the PP. And you’re assuming that Stepan wouldn’t succeed in a 3rd line role.

Im not saying that Richards is the right fit for this team, but honestly I would be worried less about his effect on Anisimov than his likely contract demands.

Numbers wise he doesn’t have #1 Center written on him. More like a solid #2. But he does have the frame and we’ve seen crazier things.

Check out the top 30 centers in the league right now. What were THEY doing when they were 22.

i agree he is really talented and has amazing hands

I love AA, but a trade for Stastny made sense, I wouldnt trade AA or Stepan for Richards that made no sense

if we can keep Dubi Cally AA Stepan Wolski Zucs Boyle Prust and add Kreider I think this team is stocked with young talent

John Merrigan: I agree with what you commented; even as I was writing that bit about AA scoring as much as Richards, I knew that I was ignoring what an established playoff performer Richards is (or was in 2004). I guess I just want to see a guy like AA grow into that mold on his own, in a Rangers jersey, and not hand the reins to a new FA right on the cusp of us becoming contenders.

That being said, my own sentimentality can’t get in the way of common sense. As other posters said, as long as you can find room for Anisimov, Stepan, Boyle, Dubi, Calli, Avery. etc…….and still have Richards, and keep everyone happy; then hey that would be great. Philly and Chicago have similar depth up front and they make it work. One thing those teams do NOT have is Henrik Lundqvist….or Dancing Larry. (where the hell did he go? I haven’t been to a game this year and MSG doesn’t show him anymore).

Maybe its too early to even consider this, but I don’t want to see Chris Kreider get blocked from making the team next fall either. Will Brad Richards’ presence prevent that? Maybe not; the Rangers braintrust has made it clear that guys will play if they are effective.

I also think the Rangers should retain Prospal, Avery, and Fedotenko, but that may be too much to ask with Richards coming over in the summer.

When it comes to centers, Brad Richards is about as good as they come. He’s one of the best athletes in the NHL and there is no reason why he can’t continue to play at a high level into his 40s like Messier, Selanne and Shanahan did

my reaction to this is to create 547 new accounts so i could rec this post with each one.

i honestly could not have said it any better.

As much as I love Dubi, Callahan, Boyle, Prust, Stepan and Anisimov I dont see any of them progressing to be a top 10 scorer/first line player in this league. They are very, very good players who play with a tremendous amount of heart. However they simply dont have the talent of Crosby, Ovechkin, E.Staal, etc.. They are 2nd line players and if they can give you 20-25 goals a year it would be great. That said, we still need the talent to put a puck in the net more consistently- we need a bonafied first line. Gaborik- yes. Prospal- no. Who else on the team can make that next step? if no one then we need to tap the talent from outside. You can’t have 3 lines made of 2nd liners.

He has jam.

Nuff said.

Richards 50-70 assists per season are well above AA’s ceiling. AA has decent, but not special passing skills, negating the 5 extra goals a year he might score a year in comparison to Richards. IMO you can make a better argument for Stepan given his 1st year production and passing skills he’s flashed. The reality is they are probably both best suited for 2nd line duty, a luxury for the Rangers to have them both. Which brings you to the conclusion that you need to roll Boyle on the 4th line and add Richards at the top and this team will be a top two seed next year. Don’t over think it, its obvious.

Let’s assume that the rangers re-sign most of their current players, are able to land Brad Richards, and that Chris Kreider signs with the big club and is a contributor from the get -go, which from reports from scouting agencies, is a possibility. With this in mind, the tentative line-up could look like this.

1st Line: Kreider Richards Gaborik
2nd line: Dubinsky Anisimov Callahan
3rd Line: Wolski Stepan Zuccarello
4th Line: Avery Boyle Prust

Spare parts: Christensen, Drury, Boogard

Assuming that Prospal (contract expired) and Fedetenko (contract expired) aren’t resigned, we still have enough NHL caliber players to fill the lines and have good utility spare players in Christensen (one more year at $800,000) and Drury (if he doesn’t retire / isn’t bought out). Obviously, this is assuming that no one else from Hartford is ready for the show.

With this line-up, we can hope that both the 2nd line and the 3rd line (really the 2b line) continue to grow together, since both lines consist of players who are young and STILL haven’t reached their ceilings. And honestly, a fourth line of Boyle, Prust, Avery (or even substituting Avery or Prust for Christensen or Drury, occassionally) is a really solid fourth line, better than most other teams’ 4th line. Obviously, we could resign prospal or fedetenko again, if we want some insurance for Kreider, but maybe the team doesn’t feel that is necessary…

Getting Richards doesn’t necessarily “retard” AA’s development. the only thing that would REALLY hurt Anisimov is not playing him with good players (like Callahan and Dubinsky). If he were to fall down to the 4th line, that would be detrimental, but as long as he is getting ice-time and playing with quality players, he should continue to grow.

As a fan, I have to hope that a) We can land Richards; b) that Richards is actually the answer at center and develops a rapport with Gaborik, and c) that Kreider can step in, much like Stepan did this year, and play well enough to develop into a solid contributor. if those things happen, we will actually FINALLY have a fairly complete team. It might not be as deep as the Flyers are, but instead it would not feel like a lot of spare parts out there.

P.S. Just a quick look at defense
1st pairing Staal and Girardi
2nd pairing Sauer and McDonagh
3rd pairing Michael Del Zotto / Kundratek / Valetenko / Pashnin

This is just how it would look for players we definitely would have on the roster (not even considering the possibility of us resigning Gilroy or McCabe or Eminger, which wouldn’t surprise me if there was some carryover to help ease the transition).

Honestly, as a fan, you have to see this roster as having a ton of upside, and just look forward to it (at least i do)

The move he made to net against Philly was sweet in a lot of ways.

I know nothing about Kundratek could somebody fill me in please?
when will McIlrath be ready to join the team? didnt Staal join the team really young?
what about Valentenko?

I see Staal Girardi McDonaugh Sauer Gilroy MDZ as our defensemen next year
but what if Valentenko is playing lights out? he looked good to me in the preseason
the Pashin kid from Russia I thought is really good too
the Rangers actually have alot of trade value in their young defensemen
basically if one of Valentenko McIlrath Kundartek work out we are set
personally I would like to see McIlrath up here, dude has a huge shot and is lockdown physically
but that leaves somebody out if you look at it
Staal Girardi-thats a given
McD Sauer- those two are going to be great
Gilroy MDZ- would we replace Gilroy with Valenteko? McIlrath?
who goes when these guys are ready, I see a dilema

AA is better than a 3rd line player, I see him being a 1-2 center as well as Stepan, they won’t be elite, but they’ll be good. Stepan kind of reminds me of a Tomas Plekanec type of player, while Anisimov is kind of like a Jarret Stoll kind of player.

His ability is becoming more and more apparent lately. I’m gonna say it again: 30 goals next year for him if he remains healthy.

Love his strong moves to the net.