Update:1:21AM: Christopher Botta has a take on the deal at Fanhouse.
…People hate him, but Glen Sather pulled off another EXCELLENT move here. It was getting rid of two less than EXCELLENT moves, though Higgins for Gomez which leads to Gaborik yada yada yada, but still, he made up for his mistake and has given the Rangers flexibility and scoring now.
Update:1:16AM: The Rangers have sent a press release making the deal 100% official. That can be found here.
Andrew Gross says that the two players are expected to be in LA tonight for the Kings game.
Update:12:59:AM: McKenzie, while crediting Dreger, says that the trade call is over and its a done deal.
…Cool
Update:12:56AM: Daren Millard says that Jokinen and Prust have left the Flames locker room and are meeting with Darryl Sutter.
…Welcome to NY Olli and Brandon. Formal introduction posts on the players will come later today, as will a look back at the Higgins and Kotalik era in NY.
Lets just say that you won’t hear this song when talking about their time here
Update:12:55AM: TSN has their story up on the trade.
Update:12:47AM: In what could make this deal even better, Brooks notes that acquiring Prust could make Donald Brashear‘s time in NY end. Or Aaron Voros
Update:12:45: Larry Brooks, who started all of this with the Original Kotalik report, agrees with everyone and says that the deal is done.
Dreger says that its done and finishes it off with a Good Night.
Update:12:40:AM Bob McKenzie says that the trade call is happening and its exactly as was reported: Ollie Jokinen and Brandon Prust for Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins
Steve Zipay jumps in on twitter and agrees that it sounds like the deal is done.
Rick Carpiniello at Rangers Report has it done also citing McKenzie’s report.
Update:12:33AM: Daren Millard says that the trade call is going to go through
…Okay, thats progress…
At Ranger Rants, Andrew Gross agrees and thinks that the trade could happen soon
ALL REPORTS BEFORE THE TRADE BECAME OFFICIAL ARE AFTER THE JUMP
Update: Tuesday February 2nd, Happy Groundhog Day:12:02AM: Darren Dreger tweets that the players may soon be told of the trade.
Update:11:57PM: In the end, Jokinen played 15:08. Prust played 7:27. Jokinen also had three shots and four hits. He was 2 of 6 on faceoffs. Prust had a blocked shot and a hit
Bob McKenzie tweets that there is a strong feeling the deal is about to go down.
Update:11:55PM: The Flyers have defeated the Flames 3-0 in Calgary.
…And so the fun begins.
Update: 11:25PM: As commenter GK points out, through two periods, Jokinen played 8:21 while Prust played 6:18.
Update:11:14PM: Dreger tweets that he expects the deal that was mentioned last night to get done tonight.
…He doesn’t say that a source told him that, he believes it. So there is a little bit of skepticism along with that, but he would probably say if he didn’t think the deal would get done.
Update:11:07PM: Kypreos says that the Flames believe Christopher Higgins can regain his Montreal form and turn into a solid power forward for them. He also says that if the deal does fall through, Jokinen will be shopped around the league by Sutter.
…Higgins has shown flashes that he can be a solid grinder and guy who gets shots. Scoring is another story, but the Flames can believe whatever they want as long as they take him and Kotalik.
Update:10:38PM: Dreger just tweeted that “Jokinen and Prust look good tonight. Wonder how they’ll look tomorrow in Rangers blue?”
…Sounds like he is confident that the deal is going to happen and that is a nice sigh of relief. Dreger is as plugged in as they come, so if he has something like this, he must think/know that after the game Jokinen will be a Ranger.
Update:10:18PM: Nick Kypreos, on Sportsnet, says that he has been told that the Rangers expect the deal to go through after the game. He also said that one GM told him this afternoon that the deal was dead.
…So that is both sides of the fence here. Interesting.
Update:9:04:PM: I continue to get emails saying that the Rangers would be stupid to trade Callahan in this deal, and I agree with that. However, unless I missed something, the only report of Callahan at all was from ESPN’s insider this morning, which I already dismissed as a screw up on their part because the report they were linking to, from TSN, mentioned only Christopher Higgins. The Rangers wouldn’t trade one of their most important players and most likely their next Captain, for a rental player. No one, not Darren Dreger, Bob McKenzie, Pierre LeBrun or any of the Rangers writers have mentioned Cally other than to say the Rangers would run away if he was asked for.
Callahan is a nice name to thrown into the deal by rumor mongers, but don’t believe them. Cally won’t be added to the deal, and if he is, then the Rangers better have a damn good explanation or another move to make that involves either #87 from Pittsburgh or #8 from Washington.
Also I promise to replay back to all email’s when this whole thing finishes
Update:7:55:PM: On Versus, Darren Dreger said: that the deal was put in place Sunday, and was a trade call away from happening. The call didn’t happen and that Calgary has been stalling the trade. He says that Kotalik’s no-trade is not what is holding up the deal. He was told this afternoon that the talks are on-going.
…That is all encouraging news for the deal to happen, on-going talks are good. It must be in Sutter’s hands at this point.
EARLIER REPORTS ARE AFTER THE JUMP
Update:7:40PM: Jim Cerny passes along what Dreger and Millard say, that the deal could be completed following the Flames Flyers game tonight.
Update:6:49:PM Darren Dreger tweets that the deal is very much alive and could be finalized following Calgary’s game tonight.
…Alrite. This is what I want to hear and it goes along with what Millard says. But again, this still makes it seem like the ball is in Calgary’s court, not Kotalik’s
Update: 6:30:PM Daren Millard reports that the deal could get done tonight after Calgary’s game because the Flames want Jokinen and Prust against the Flyers
…Okay, but what if one or both get hurt tonight against the Flyers then what. This also stays with the belief that its the Flames fault and not Ales Kotalik’s
Update:6:24:PM Blackberry didn’t format latest updates right, so here they are:
Andrew Gross has more thoughts on Kotalik, comparing the situation to the one of Dany Heatley, as I did below.
Gross and Jim Cerny bring up the possibility that Ryan Callahan could be in the deal, but say that the Rangers obviously wouldn’t trade Cally. Cerny also says that according to people he has talked to, blame is being thrown around on both sides of the table.
Update: 3:09:PM: Adam Kimelman at NHL.com has a report on the deal being in the holding pattern.
…The Rangers are en-route to LA now, so once they land maybe more will come out about what is going on with the trade.
Update:1:07:PM: Elliotte Friedman, in his blog for CBC, writes about Jokinen and the value that he has because of his expiring contract.
…To me, that is the biggest reason for the Rangers to get Jokinen. Yes, he can score, and he could add the offense that the team is lacking, but he almost certainly won’t be back next year, and losing him will give the Rangers flexibility to maneuver in the off-season.
Update:12:29PM: Larry Brooks writes that Kotalik, not the Flames is the one holding up the trade. Brooks says that Kotalik has yet to waive his no-trade clause and is pondering his options back in NY. He also notes that the reports of Matt Gilroy being involved in the trade are untrue.
…So first its Calgary holding things up, and now it all falls on Kotalik. It makes sense, Calgary is on his list of teams that he has to waive his clause to be traded to. He has to think about the best move for him, sitting on the bench in NY, or most likely playing in Calgary. It seems like such and easy decision, but Koats is taking his time with it.
ALL UPDATES FROM EARLIER ARE BELOW
Update:12:24PM: Getting emails that ESPN Insider says that Ryan Callahan is involved. This is a screw up on ESPN’s part as the report that they link to mentions Christopher Higgins and not Cally. The Rangers and especially Tortorella love Callahan, he would make ZERO sense to be in this deal.
…Just a mess up, it happens. No reason for people to get so bent out of shape about it.
Update:12:20PM: Andrew Gross writes in Ranger Rants that the deal is “status quo” right now.
Update:11:13:AM: Andrew Gross tweets that the deal is on hold for now, and that it could be dead.
Update:11:06AM: Steve Zipay, of Newsday, has some more tidbits on the deal at Blue Notes. Ales Kotalik is in NYC and Christopher Higgins is expected to fly with the team to Los Angeles this afternoon.
Update:10:49:AM: Andy Strickland writes that Calgary GM Darryl Sutter hasn’t spoken to Jokinen about the trade yet. He also says that Calgary is balking at the trade while Gilroy is involved and tha they want Higgins.
…Strickland still believes that Gilroy is in the deal? Everyone else has him out. He is pretty locked-in in St.Louis and is a credible reporter unlike the person who runs the site that he writes on.
Update:10:40: McKenzie, at TSN.ca has more on the deal. He says that the Rangers were ready to pull the trigger on the deal but that Calgary has held up the deal because they want Jokinen to play against Philly tonight. McKenzie says that we should know more after Calgary’s game tonight.
…That is recommended reading, it gives a little bit of insight into what could be holding the deal up. McKenzie is arguably the best there is at this, along with Dreger, so whatever they say has to be held in high accord.
Update:10:36AM: McKenzie follows that tweet by saying that the deal is not expected to happen today and could be off all together. He does note that the deal could get back on track after Calgary’s game tonight against Philly.
Update:10:33AM: Bob McKenzie says that Olli Jokinen is expected to be in Calgary’s lineup tonight against Philadelphia.
…As he should be. He is still a member of Calgary, but that could change any second now.
Update:9:57AM: Darren Dreger tweets that “no one seems to know why Calgary has stalled”. Dreger wonders if a third team could now be involved or the two are looking for one to get involved.
…The question now, is Kotalik holding up the deal because of his NTC or is it because Calgary probably wants more for Jokinen. A third team could solve that, but adding a third team at this point in the trade could be risky to it all falling apart.
And that can’t happen. I have gotten to use to Ales Kotalik no longer being a Ranger.
Earlier And the Rest Of The Reports From This Monstrous Post Are After The Jump
Update:7:54AM: Elliotte Friedman of CBC and HNIC, says that the deal may have fallen apart.
…This could just be another way of bringing up the Kotalik no-movement clause and to say that the deal isn’t done. Everyone else seems to still have the deal as imminent, but all it takes is one person to change that.
I think that what happened was that the deal hit its snag last night around 7:30 when the rumors first came out. Then Dreger got the names of the players that were involved and it made the deal seem like it would happen at any moment, when in fact nothing had probably changed in the deal. The deal still could be imminent and still has a very real chance of happening, but we all played a part in the misconception that by the end of the third period last night, Jokinen was officially going to be a Ranger. Tons of credit goes to Carpy who figured this mess out.
Update:12:48AM: According to the Incredible Rick Carpiniello, one of the teams that is on Kotalik’s teams that he needs to accept a trade to, is in fact Calgary.
…Well, that is annoying. At this point, would Kotalik really block the deal to come back to NY, a place he won’t play and isn’t wanted now. My guess is that Kotalik will waive his no-trade clause and will be en-route to Calgary soon enough. Or, the Rangers continue to make him a healthy scratch until they can try and deal him again.
Update:12:12AM: Steve Zipay says that the Flames originally wanted Gilroy in the deal.
…That goes along with what Brooks just said, and also, again, goes along with the buzz that Gilroy was getting traded too.
Update: 12AM February 1st: Larry Brooks, who started this whole thing, reports that the Rangers were going to send a defenseman to Calgary before they asked for Christopher Higgins.
…And that is where Matt Gilroy’s name came into all of this. Dan Girardi could also have been an option since his contract expires at the end of the season.
All Previous Report’s after the jump.
Update:11:31:PM: Dreger says that the trade call isn’t likely for tonight and that Calgary is holding up the deal.
…O boy. Well, maybe the Rangers have to thrown in a mid-level prospect or something to make the deal go through
Puck Daddy has their thoughts on the deal here.
Update: 11:06:PM: Pierre LeBrun has more on the deal at ESPN.com. Rick Carpiniello, at Ranger Report has more thoughts on the deal and thinks that whatever stopped the deal from being announced earlier, hasn’t been resolved or has crept back up.
…Its possible that nothing has changed in regards to the deal and that Dreger just found out which players were involved. But, I would guess that the deal will be announced either later tonight or tomorrow.
Update:10:26: Dreger says that the deal is expected to be Jokinen and Brandon Prust for Kotalik and Higgins.
Here is TSN’s story on the deal.
…This is a pretty great deal for the Rangers. Head case or not, getting rid of those two for a guy like Jokinen is a solid move by Glen Sather.
Introductory posts on the new players will be tomorrow morning.
Update:10:22:PM: Dreger says that Gilroy won’t be involved
…Whew. I like Gilroy a lot, hope this one stays true. Guess he was being considerd in the deal, so they couldn’t afford to get him hurt.
Update:10:14PM: Dreger reports that the Rangers have traded Kotalik, Christopher Higgins or Matt Gilroy for Olli Jokinen
…Jokinen is in the last year of his deal with a 5.25 cap hit. My roomate T comments that it could be why Gilroy has only played less than ten minutes
Could be a nice deal for the Rangers to get rid of Kotalik’s contract and to get Jokinen who is in the last year of his.
Would stink to lose Gilroy though, with the youngsters that they have, someone was going to have to get traded.
Jokinen has eleven goals and twenty-four assists this season for Calgary.
Original Post 7:33PM January 31st
Update:9:16PM: Puck Daddy has some thoughts on the Kotalik buzz.
Update:8:24: Darren Dreger notes that the deal has been held up and speculates that it could be with Calgary.
Update:8:04PM: According to Andrew Gross, Kotalik has been sent back to NY to await the trade.
Brooks says that the tentative deal fell through according to “complications”
…Interesting. I would expect that a deal still gets done, but it will just take a little while longer.
Earlier reports are after the jump
Update: 7:46: Steve Zipay also notes that Kotalik isn’t with the team and that a trade could be coming soon.
Original Post:7:33PM Larry Brooks, in the NY Post, is reporting that Ales Kotalik has left the Rangers after being told that he will be traded.
Head coach John Tortorella did not inform the media of Kotalik’s departure in his pre-game press briefing, only stating that the winger would be scratched for the eighth time in the last nine games.
Brooks lists the Maple Leafs, who already made a ton of moves today or potentially Edmonton, where Kotalik previously played as possible destinations.
…John Tortorella delayed meeting with the media for 35 minutes, and trade speculation began. Kotalik is an obvious guy to get moved with his struggles and cap number. No word yet on where he could be going or for who.
Kotalik has eight goals and fourteen assists in the first year of his three year deal worth three million per year.
Sather needs to go if he traded Gilroy in this deal. Higgins I can live with because he has not impressed at all this year. I did think Higgins can maybe get a pick or 2 at the deadline from a team looking for depth. But why give up Gilroy in a deal for a rented player when we aint winning cup this year.
Can’t really complain if the deal ends up being this in the end. Rangers needed a top-line center and someone who can put the puck in the net. Olli was once a 90point scorer and you’ve gotta hope he finds the scoring touch here in NY!
I wont complain about this deal bc we traded Kotalik’s contract but that being said I dont think Jokinen will work out with Gaborik. They are two different types of players. Lets just hope Sather doesnt give Jokinen a huge contract this offseason.
I’m liking this deal.
There is absolutely no reason to go gaga over Jokinen. Yes, he’s probably the #1 center we need to play with Gabs, however, do not forget that Jokinen was playing with Iginla and look at his stats this year (35 pts thus far).
That said, Jokinen for Kotalik and Higgins, not to mention getting a depth player like Prust is a great move and one I look forward to seeing on the ice. The salaries pretty much wash ($5.25 to Calgary vs $5.75 to Rangers) and Jokinen is only under contract until next year, so if things don’t work out, then peace out, brosef.
Glen Sather still has a pulse I guess…that’s a start.
Also, so much on trying to get to bed early tonight…
But yeah I’m a fan of this deal. Kotalik isn’t playing obviously, and Higgins just wasn’t working out. This frees up future cap space and hopefully jolts the team a bit. They can’t score any less then they have been of late, right?
….until Jokinen gets hot and Sather rewards him with a ludicrious contract that is…
Love this move for the same reasons as you guys stated. Not sure either if Olli and Gaborik will mesh. But glad that Kotalik’s contract is gone and Jokinen is a UFA at the end of this season. So if he doesn’t mesh with Gaborik….see-yuh! More $$ for us to have in this off-season to get key players. Good job Sather…now work on getting rid of either Drury, Rozy, or Redden’s contract.
I am very big on getting rid of Drury, 10 million next year in cap space wit ollie n drury gone would be nice.. Kotalik holding things up is definitely an f u to the Rangers the guys should just take a walk.
If all we give up is Kotalik and Higgins we don’t have much downside.
Kotalik is a three year healthy scratch at a cost of $3MM a year and Higgins has not regained his scoring prowess that he showed a few years ago. He does have some value and perhaps we can trade him for a draft choice and send Kotalik somewhere else for a minor prospect or another reclamation project with only one year left on his contract. Or, a novel idea, to Hartford?
When was the last time the Rangers took draft choices in trades? The Bruins have been accumulating them and will benefit greatly over the next few years.
im sorry but this would be another steal by Sather the trade master.
we’d be trading a healthy scratch and a bad contract in Kotalik and the underperforming third line LW Higgins for an expiring contract/ #1 center in Jokinen and a fighter to replace Voros/Brashear
i mean why Calgary would do this i have no idea but it would be an ABSOLUTE STEAL for us…
if calgary really wants higgins and koats, why are they holding on to jokinen for another day? if they really believe that higgins and koats are more useful to them, why delay the trade?
I smell a rat!. I think they are waiting for Philly tonite to come with a better offer..
If we get this done
i would now try to get rid of Drury,Cut Redden and live with Rozival for 2 yrs.
thats about 16 mill coming off the books depends on what we get for Drury.
if it were only that simple
Oh don’t be so mellowdramatic, Rotter. Callahan is nowhere as near as good as #87 or #8. Not even close. You know this, of course, but it seems a silly thing to say that we should get them in a trade for Callahan when there is no one on our team that would make Pitts or Wash even consider for 1 second trading those guys.
Through 2 periods Jokinen has played 8:21 and Prust has played 6:18…doesn’t seem like they are playing Jokinen much considering Iginla has 11:11, Langkow 13:19, Bourque 12:41, and Stajan 12:08…that may be typical for Prust however. To me, that’s a sign that they are keeping him off of the ice as much as possible. Just my opinion.
So far nothing…? I figured for an announcement as soon as the norn sounded.
Limited time for the players involved….. very interesting indeed!
…waiting patiently for some news
@@
adam i aint goin to be able to sleep tonite until i know the outcome of this so please i am beggin get that asap and let us know so i can not be late for work tomorrow ! lol
Hope you are in bed already knowing that the trade has gone down
i can sleeep now …lets go RANGERS !
also who do you guys think its going to be ?? gabby , Olli and prospal???
I can see that being the top line, with Dubi centering the second line, which he’s more suited for right now in his career. Very good move by Sather, now let’s see if it ignites this team for a while!
so i guees its time to trade the “Captain” for some body that does’nt make a half a million for each goal.
SIGN SATHER TO AN EXTENSION !!!! LOL