New York Rangers Analysis: Why Wojtek Wolski Should Not Be Bought Out

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Wolski is going to have a really good season playing with Gaborik and Richards. You heard it her first!

Prospal. Forget Wolski, just another underachiever who will never pan out to what his skills suggest he should. Prospal is a seasoned vet who has a knack for crashing the net and banging home the trash, which is exactly what the rangers will need with BR and MG constantly throwing the puck at the net. Comes back at the end of the year and is putting up almost a point per game, plus hed be cheaper than Wolski. He is also the only guy on the team who has built up some consistency with Gabby, and throw Richards into the mix and you have a top flight first line. There is no doubt in my mind that the Rangers should buy out Wolski and use half that money saved to sign Vinny.

He is gonna try harder this year because its his contract year. If we put him on that top line to help boost his stats he has a great chance at returning to his 60 point self. If that is the case we can sell high and get a kings ransom for him at the trade deadline or for his negotiation rights at next years draft.

Lets be honest with ourselves now though. If Wolski is having a huge season he still has to get moved before next season because with a shinny new contract he will go away again until playoffs and pay raises.

we don’t have depth in this line-up at LW lets say wolski is goin for some reason we have Dubi and nobody else that can do 1st or 2nd Lw in my eyes that can play there… every one else just cant do it wolski and dubi are the only ones who has the “tools” but obviously when wolski WANTS to use those tools he can be huge and hes not bad along the boards either basicly we just need a spread scoring threat through out the line-up and wolski CAN give that on the top line and keep the pack line together. I do think with underhill he will improve his skating and he has to be hungry to get a pay raise or it will be a pay cut. I do think good or bad year he wont be Ranger next year or at the deadline. I think it gives the kids n the AHL a year to develope i believe we talk about them too much for them to be on the team this year….we r just going to have to ride out wolski and hope he is at his best cuz his back is against the wall like that year PHO/COL.

Hoggo, did you use Joe’s name to write this? lol.

Wolski is worth more bought out or traded than being on the roster.

he scored the lone goal when we won our championship and beat vancouver

Courtesy of SNYRangersBlog, check out the tweet and the old video:

http://www.snyrangersblog.com/2011/07/07/tweet-ruslan-fedotenko-wantsto-play-on-brad-richards-line/

I’ve always been a fan of letting Wolski take the last spot on the top line to start off just because he has that potential to be a real force in the league.
With the addition of Richards, like we talked about bringing Gaborik up to his full potential I can see the same thing happen with Wolski.
Especially if he is going to work harder during a contract year or even playing like he wants a spot because playing here isn’t like playing in Phoenix or Colorado.

Gotta give him a chance on the 1st line if his mind is right, but I actually thought the WW Step MZA line had some chemistry last year. I’m hoping Barb Underhill has some magical effect and everyone working with her improves as much as Boyle. Can you imagine how good we would be?

I can’t believe people even want to see this guy on the ice, much less on the first line!?!?! Maybe in CT, but certainly not on this team. Aren’t we supposed to be this new and improved, hard-working, gritty hockey team now? Exactly where does the laziest player in all of hockey since Alexander Frolov fit into that scheme?

At the risk of advocating something which may not go down well with Ranger fans (especially on the boards), if we should buyout anybody it should be Sean Avery.

Make a list of people you want as Rangers next year and I guarantee you that you are going to bump somebody you want in the lineup back out of it.

As for me, I want:

Wolski-Richards-Gaborik
Dubinsky-Anisimov-Callahan
Fedotenko-Stepan-Zuccarello
Prust-Rupp-Boyle

The lines will inevitably be mixed up by Tortorella
*Centers and Wingers above are interchangeable to a certain extent
***Use Christensen as the 1st backup to pretty much any Forward position as injury or poor play warrants.

Avery’s cap hit this upcoming season is only half that of Wolski’s, but if freeing up that $1.9 mil ensures that Callahan, Dubinsky, Anisimov, Sauer, and Boyle come back next year, then it’s worth it to me. I do think that we are going to be pretty damn close to the cap ceiling by the time everyone signs. In the arithmetic in my head, I’m assuming Prospal, McCabe, and Eminger don’t get re-signed and that Del Zotto, and either McIlrath, Erixson, or Valentenko make the team.

Facing how young are D corps is going to be, signing a veteran D is desirable (gonna need to be <$2.5 mil cap hit and must be short term by definition).

That Torts moves these guys around like crazy.
That he demands things different from what they’re used to doing.
That he makes all of the players just a little nuts.

It’s hard to come into a completely different situation, then have that situation constantly change within itself and still be productive. Certain type of players can handle this, such are the Dubinskys and Callahans of the world, who can sacrifice every ounce of their being to make plays.

Then there are other types of players, who game differently. Guys with thick routines and habits, who work hard, but have conditioned themselves to need things to fit into place to find success on the ice. These players all fail with Tortorella, at least at first.

Wolski played a whole half of a season with the Blueshirts last year, and his role was almost completely different in each of those games. We as a fan base love attacking every player that isn’t Adam Graves or Mark Messier—the totally rounded, skilled player with a heart of gold, endless desire, and gritty mean streak. In recent years when Zherdev, Gaborik, possibly even Gomez (still hate that guy) have literally carried this team on their backs, we don’t embrace them totally because they do it in quieter, seemingly more inconsistent way. In the end, when a player leads a team with 58 points in a season, the team’s lack of success is probably not his fault.

This season, as you watch and judge and assess (probably from a standpoint of never having played the game in your life) watch for what’s really happening. If Player X is on a different line in several consecutive games or maybe even in the same game, keep in mind that he’s now got the other 2 guys he’s playing with showing up in different places, taking different risks, and showing their different tendencies. When you see Player X look out of place or “invisible” on the ice, try to follow what the rest of the line is doing at that time and think about how Player X fits into that play, and how that compares to the kind of player he is.

When all is said and done for the 2011-12 NHL season, if Wolski has played a relatively steady role and he doesn’t put up 45 points (that’s what 3.8M$ players do), THEN YOU CAN ALL START HATING ON HIM. If Gaborik is allowed to play his own game, and he still doesn’t put up 75 points, THEN YOU CAN CALL HIM A BUM.

Seriously people. Wake up and watch HOCKEY.

People seemed to like that deal, so it stands to reason we should like having Wolski for a year at that price. Buying him out doesnt free up that much cap space, he wont fetch much in a trade, and you’re not going to find another pure scorer like him on the market for under $4 million.

It makes all the sense in the world to keep him, but I have tempered expectations. I’d be satisfied with 40-50 points. If he doesnt hack it on the top line, he looked like he had some chemistry with Stepan and Zucc last year. With some growth (literally… Step and Zucc need to add some strength) and a little luck that could be a legit scoring 3rd line.