Category Archives: 08-09 Recap
Name: Paul Mara #27
Born: Sep 07 ’79 (Age 29)
Height: 6′ 4″ Weight: 212
How Acquired: Acquired from the Boston Bruins on February 27 in exchange for defenseman Aaron Ward.
Contract For Next Year: Unrestricted Free Agent
08-09 Salary: $1.95 million
08-09 Regular Stats: Five goals and 16 assists in 76 games.
08-09 Playoff Stats: One goal and one assist in seven games.
Career Stats: 63 goals and 176 assists in 639 games.
Thoughts: Paul Mara is supposedly a very nice and gracious man who is great in the locker room. Every team needs guys like that, especially ones that grow incredible beards at random points in the season. Mara is a relatively solid player defensively but has been known to have big lapses that lead to the other team getting chances.. But for his salary and his ability to score the timely goal here and there, I think the Rangers will find a way to keep Paul Mara again. He signed a one year contract last offseason and unless a team offers him a lot more money I would expect Mara to come back at a salary close to what he had this year.
Name: Lauri Korpikoski #29 
Born: Jul 28 ’86 (Age 22)
Height: 6′ 1″ Weight: 195
How Acquired: Rangers first round pick, 19th overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.
Contract For Next Year: Restricted Free Agent
08-09 Salary: $984,000
08-09 Regular Stats: Six goals and eight assists in 64 games.
08-09 Playoff Stats: Two assists in seven games.
Career Stats: Six goals and eight assists in 64 games.
Thoughts: Lauri Korpikoski was a bright spot for the Rangers whenever he touched the ice. Korpikoski averaged just under 11 minutes a game this past season in mostly a third or fourth line role. Korpi is fast, a good forechecker and very good in his own zone. His offensive game is somewhat limited but would probably give the Rangers more of a fourth line scoring punch at center then Blair Betts would. Korpi is the type of player that John Tortorella likes and I expect his ice time and role to increase next season.
Name: Scott Gomez #19
Born:Dec 23 ’79 (Age 29)
Height:5’11″ Weight:200
How Acquired: Signed with the Rangers as a free agent on July 1, 2007.
Contract For Next Year: Under contract through 2013-2014 with a 7.3 million cap hit.
08-09 Salary: Eight million
08-09 Regular Stats: 16 goals and 42 assists. Second on the team with 41 giveaways but first in takeaways with 57. Won 52% of faceoffs.
08-09 Playoff Stats: Two goals and three assists in seven games.
Career Stats: 148 goals and 430 assists in 706 games.
Thoughts: I like Scott Gomez and fully supported his signing and have defended him since he has been a Ranger. But, Scott Gomez needs to be better next season. He had a very slow start to this season but picked it up the last few weeks of Tom Renney’s time and seemed to be a perfect fit for how John Tortorella coaches but his numbers don’t represent that. Gomez always hustles and you will be hard pressed to find someone who skates through the neutral zone better than him, but its what he does when he enters the offensive zone that boggles the mind sometimes. Gomez hasn’t had a true linemate since coming to New York and if the Rangers decide to keep Gomez then getting him a true goal scorer to play with should be priority number one.
Name: Dan Girardi #5
Born: Apr 29 ’84 (Age 25)
Height:6′ 2″ Weight: 210
How Acquired: Signed as a free agent with the Rangers on July 1, 2006.
Contract For Next Year: One year left on his contract at 1.5 million
08-09 Salary: 1.5 million
08-09 Regular Stats: Four goals and 18 assists in 82 games with 207 hits.
08-09 Playoff Stats: Zero points in the seven game series.
Career Stats: 14 goals and 42 assists in 198 games.
Thoughts: Dan Girardi is a solid player and for the most part had a solid season. He hit a couple of bumps in the road over the course of the season but overall Girardi was a solid player the Rangers could count on. Why he played on the power-play for parts of the season is a little bizarre but that can’t be held against him. Overall I would expect Giardi to have another solid season next year with the Rangers trying to re-sign him early on to get him at a below market price.
Name: Brandon Dubinsky #17
Born: Apr 29 ’86 (Age 23)
Height: 6′ 1″ Weight: 205
How Acquired: Rangers second round draft choice, 60th overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.
Contract For Next Year: Restricted Free Agent
08-09 Salary: $633,333
08-09 Regular Stats: In 82 games 13 goals and 28 assists.
08-09 Playoff Stats: One goal and three assists in seven games.
Career Stats: 27 goals and 54 assists in 170 games.
Thoughts: Brandon Dubinsky came into this season with sky-high expectations. With the way he played last season with Jaromir Jagr, we all thought that Dubi would come in and get around 60 points or so as he continued to progress. Instead Dubi had a very inconsistent season on the stat sheet finishing with only one more point then he had the previous. Dubi never stopped hustling though and played excellent in the playoffs. In his third full season coming up, Dubi will be looked at to add more a scoring punch to his game ontop of his forechecking and skating abilities.
Name: Chris Drury #23
Born: Aug 20 ’76 (Age 32)
Height:5′ 10″ Weight:190
How Acquired: Signed with the Rangers as a free agent on July 1, 2007.
Contract For Next Year: Under contract through 2011-12 season with a 7.05 million cap hit.
08-09 Salary: 7.1 million
08-09 Regular Stats: In 81 games, 22 goals and 34 assists.
08-09 Playoff Stats: One goal in six games. Drury played the series with a broken right hand and sat out game one.
Career Stats: 240 goals and 338 assists in 578 games.
Thoughts: Captain Chris Drury is a bit of a polarrizing figure for Rangers fans. His play certainly doesn’t equal his salary however Drury does many little things on the penalty kill and defensively that make him very valuable. Still in the eyes of many Drury was brought here to score and not be a third line center. Drury will be at the center of trade rumors all summer along with Scott Gomez as it seems that one of them could be moved this offseason.
Name: Ryan Callahan #24
Born: Mar 21 ’85 (Age 24)
Height: 5’11″ Weight: 188
How Acquired: Rangers fourth round choice, 127th overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.
Contract For Next Year: Restricted Free Agent
08-09 Salary: $575,000
08-09 Regular Stats: 81 games played, 22 goals and 18 assists.
08-09 Playoff Stats: Two points in seven games. Led team with 24 hits.
Career Stats: 34 goals and 25 assists in 147 games.
Thoughts: Far and away the best Ranger player besides Henrik Lundqvist and Marc Staal this year. Cally came into his own especially under John Tortorella but his attacking forechecking style would fit under any coach. Cally is a must for the Rangers to sign and to a relatively long term deal. He is only going to get better and will continue to flourish under Torts. Ryan Callahan is a big part of the Rangets future.
Monzo: As mentioned, he needs to be locked up long term. My guess? 3 years $4.5 million.
Name: Blair Betts #15
Born: Feb 16 ’80 (Age 29)
Height: 6’3″ Weight: 210
How Acquired: Acquired from Calgary on March 6, 2004, along with Jamie McLennan and Greg Moore, in exchange for Chris Simon and a 2004 seventh round draft choice.
Contract For Next Year: Unrestricted Free Agent
08-09 Salary: $615,000
08-09 Regular Stats: 81 games played, six goals and four assists. Averaged 2:59 time on the penalty kill per game.
08-09 Playoff Stats: Zero points in six games. Betts had his orbital bone broken and suffered a concussion during game six when Donald Brashear cheap shotted him with a late hit.
Career Stats: 28 goals and 20 assists in 339 games.
Thoughts: Blair Betts is the heart and soul of the Rangers penalty kill and defensive system. He has been a rock on the PK since his first season with the Rangers after the lockout and has always been part of a fourth line energy unit. Betts’ big shortcoming is his lack of offense but, to me, his defensive play and ability to block shots offset and possible offensive shortcomings that he has. Betts is a real interesting case when it comes to the offseason. His play, especially with Freddy Sjostrom, on the penalty kill and the fourth line warrants a return but should the team let Artem Anisimov develop as a player on the fourth line or even Lauri Korpokoski? Betts will still probably get a salary under one million from the Rangers but I am sure that some team out there will offer him more.
Name: Nik Antropov # 80
Born: Feb 18 ’80 (Age 29)
Height: 6′ 6″ Weight: 230
How Acquired: Acquired from Toronto on March 4, 2009, in exchange for a second round draft pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and a conditional draft pick.
Contract For Next Year: Unrestricted Free Agent
08-09 Regular Stats: 7 Goals, 6 Assist in 13 Games with NYR. 21 goals, 25 assists in 63 games with Toronto.
08-09 Playoff Stats: Two goals and One assist in seven games.
Career Stats: 132 goals and 172 assists in 527 games.
Career At MSG: 16 points in 22 games.
Thoughts: Antropov was a big player for the Rangers down the stretch and helped propel the team into the playoffs. Not bad for just a second round pick, however Antro played up to his reputation of playing down in the playoffs this year against Washington with only three points in the series. His size and ability to move would be a great asset for the Rangers moving forward but as an unrestricted free agent, Antropov will most likely command more money on the open market then the Rangers will offer him.
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