Rangers GM Glen sather gives permission to Tim Kennedy to seek a trade...Kennedy scored 10 goals in Buffalo last season

December 12, 2010 1:23 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@andystrickland

Andy Strickland

I am a fan of Kennedy so if he can find an opportunity to play on another team good for him.  He is not going to get a chance on the Rangers anytime soon with the logjam at forward they have and he is definitely an NHL caliber player. Hell ship him over to long island if he wants they can use all the help they can get.

All of that sounds all nice and good, but the problem is with the money issue.  Richards has a cap hit of $7.8 million dollars for the rest of this season and the Rangers only have $1.5 million left in cap space.  The Rangers could shed the contracts of Matt Gilroy and Todd White, but that only clears $4 million dollars and then they still need to find another $2 million+ to have space for Richards.  The Stars also have more than enough cap space to take back a big contract like Michal Rozsival or Chris Drury, but why would they? It makes no sense for them to take back a bad situation for a great player.

After working out the money situation would you be willing to trade away some of Michael Del Zotto, Derek Stepan, Evgeny Grachev, Ethan Werek, Ryan McDonagh, 1st round picks, etc. to acquire him?  Richards is going to cost a steep price and there is no guarantee at all he will stay when he hits the open market this summer and there are going to be a lot of teams seeking his talents.

There is no debate that Richards is a terrific terrific center.  Right now he leads the Stars in goals (11) and assists (19) and put up 98 points last year with 36 goals and 62 assists to go along with a ridiculous +33.  He is also a great power play guy with 43 PP points last year and 13 this year. I don’t think anyone has to be reminded how much the Rangers could use a boost on the power play.  He would be great for this team on so many levels, but with the price tag as a whole could the Rangers really be hot after him? The media seems to think so.

I was told Saturday the New York Rangers’ interest in Brad Richards (set to be an unrestricted free agent July 1) is serious enough that they’re willing to pony up assets before the Feb. 28 trade deadline to make sure he doesn’t go elsewhere should the Dallas Stars decide to put him on the market in order to get value before he leaves. This despite the fact the Rangers could get him July 1 without giving up any assets. – ESPN

This is going to be an extremely interesting situation to monitor.  It is a touch call for Glenn Sather to make, but with a team who has a contending shot do you make the dive for this year? I think I would despite the fact that the Rangers have a young team with a bright future.

It didn’t take long for Chris Drury to get hurt this year breaking his finger in training camp, before games even began.  He came back for all of one period 2 games into the season on October 15th, but then broke his finger again and was scheduled to miss 6 weeks.  Well 7 weeks have passed on Drury took a CT scan with some great results….

It’s believed the captain had targeted either this weekend or next week for his return, but that will have to be pushed back following the CT-scan that revealed the finger has not fully healed. – NY Post

“Nice play, old man.”

It was a jibe from an opposing player after the puck hopped over Redden’s stick during a recent game. He’s heard stuff like that and shots about how much money he makes (about $81,000 a game, or more than a typical AHLer makes in a season). – Edmonton Sun

“He’s what I call a ‘pacer,’” the scout said. “He’s used to playing a lot of minutes every night, so he paces himself each shift.” – Edmonton Sun

“I thought his play has been up and down. It’s been a bit of a struggle, he has to finish harder,” Gernander said. “I know he’s not a rock-’em, sock-’em defenceman, but he’s got to finish his checks with force. He has to be there 100%, with conviction.”
- Edmonton Sun

His career is done. He really needs to just retire already and go play over in Europe because he is just going to keep taking constant abuse if he does not. It is a little depressing that he hasn’t even had a little self respect for himself and actually perform well in Hartford. Oh well if I was raking in $6.5 mill a year I would probably do the same…..maybe…..not.

With the 10th pick in the 2010 NHL draft the Rangers selected Moose Jaw Warrior’s defenseman, Dylan McIlrath, shocking mostly everyday.  At that time McIlrath was known as a bruiser, but also a BIG project s0 what has he done since then to justify the pick?

First we will look at what he was known for, toughness. He has only had 3 fights this year, but 2 of them just make you go wow.

Those are two very big very tough opponents he has there so these are no fights to laugh at. For someone who is so young he already has great ability with both hands and as seen in the video against Cody Beach he knows how to take a shot too. It will be entertaining to watch him fight in the NHL at the very least. And in listening to the announcers you get the sense he understands “when to fight”.

Now onto his offensive game. Last year he posted 7 goals, 17 assists, 24 points, +20, and 169 PIMS for Moose Jaw. This year he has 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points, +1, and 33 PIM in 16 games. That puts him on pace for 8 goals, 20 assists, 28 points, and 134 PIM. Only a slight improvement over last year.

If you really look at his stats, however, you can break his year down into 2 separate seasons:

Before October 12th – 8 games -  0 goals, o assists, o points, -9, and 18 PIM
After October 12th – 8 games – 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points, +10, and 15 PIM

The difference in results is just staggering. It was as if overnight something in his head clicked and he started realizing his potential.  While looking at the performance so far you have to be pretty pleased if this new trend continues.  It is very possible it took him sometime to settle down and get readjusted to the WHL after his time Traverse City.

byndblueshirts

Laurie Carr

@byndblueshirts: RW Jeremy Williams has been recalled from the #WolfPack by the #NYR. Williams leads the Pack in goals (4) & is 2nd in points (6) thru 8 GP.

Oct 24, 2010 @ 02:33:49 PM, UTC from web

Brandon Prust will play tonight so there is speculation that he Jeremy Williams may be taking Todd White‘s spot in the line up.

The Bad: I would have liked a roster update ready to move Alex Frolov, Tim Kennedy, and Steve Eminger to the Rangers. The new faceoff system is a little confusing, but I feel once I get the hang of it  I will love it. I still hate this fighting system.

The Good: The new hitting physics are great. I just love them. So is watching the sticks break and get knocked out of the players hands. The best thing might be that Wade Redden is no longer on my team! I love celebrating after goals as well it just feels so right doing it with Sean Avery and Vinny Prospal.

Overall: This game is pretty amazing. I like it so far no real bad complaints about it. I think they could have done a better job with some of the ratings, but so far the gameplay is pretty sick. I would definitely recommend it for hockey fans.

Kennedy was bought out of his deal with Buffalo last month after being awarded $1 million dollars in arbitration. During his rookie season last year he posted 10 goals and 16 assists in limited minutes.

The Rangers already had an enormous amount of 3rd/4th line players signed and this contract just stiffens up the competition. Some moves are going have to be made with this many players, but you can be pretty certain that Kennedy will make the team and it might not be a bad thing(see below) with his potential as a great grinding 3rd line player, but players like Sean Avery, Brian Boyle, Todd White, etc. are going to have be on full force during camp.

That goal was just filthy and you can clearly see he has some speed and skill.

An arbitrator recently rejected the $102 million over 17 years the two sides had previously agreed upon because it circumvented the salary cap or in other words they tried to cheat the system.

This contract is about the same money over two years less so the cap hit would increase approximately $600K if the figures are right and keep him under contract until he is 42.

The money, years, and cap hit have never been a problem with me.  The problem was that if he is going to get $95 million by the time he is 37 why stay around the rest of the time for $7 million more. It was pretty obvious they were making the deal so he can retire early.  As long as this deal is paying him $3 or so million for his 38, 39, 40, seasons etc. I will be fine with it because then it means there is a chance he stays on the cap the whole time instead of retiring early and allowing Lou to have his cake and eat it too.