The Rangers Tribune

Zherdev's Day Has Finally Come

The long awaited day has finally come, the day in which Nikolai Zherdev's arbitration hearing will take place in Toronto, Ontario. A lot has happened leading up to this event, and the drama and suspense has done nothing but increase vastly. Zherdev tied for the team lead in points scored (58), as he registered 23 goals and 35 assists in 82 games played with the Rangers last season. Based on his play early on last season, the 24 year-old winger was on pace to score more than just 23 goals. Nik led the team in most categories in the month of November, but then once the All-Star break came in January, Zherdev seemed lost out there. Z had several long stretches where he couldn't net a goal, or even record a point. When fans thought Nik was at his all-time worst after the second half of the regular season, they were taken by surprise when matters got even more awful, as the young Russian did not obtain a single point in the seven game playoff series with the Washington Capitals.

The decline of Zherdev's game picked up speed once Tom Renney was replaced by current head coach, John Tortorella. It seemed as if Zherdev was just not meant to play under a "Torts" type coach, because Nik just was not himself on the ice. Tortorella recognized Zherdev's fall, the lack of effort, and the one-dimensional play Nik was bringing to the ice, so he benched him for two whole periods late in the regular season. Well, that didn't help even the slightest bit, the action just made matters worse. Zherdev and Tortorella are not made for each other, as they hold polar-opposite personalities.

So just to recap what has happened so far this summer as far as Zherdev goes; We learned that Zherdev received a qualifying offer of $3.25 million from Glen Sather and the Rangers in late June. Then, in early July, a Russian article was translated and quoted Zherdev on saying that he felt he wanted to come back to the Rangers, but he also wanted around $4 million. From there, another Russian interview had Nikolai saying that he felt Renney had more trust in him than Tortorella did. All was quiet after the Russian interviews, until early this week, we found out that Zherdev and his agent, Roland Hedges, put in a bid of $4.5 million for his arbitration hearing which takes place today.

Here is the order of events that will take place from now until a decision is made on the final salary for Zherdev, and the options the Blueshirts and Nik will have. The arbitration hearing will take place sometime today in Toronto, ON, Canada. The Rangers will send a representative and Zherdev will be present with his agent. The arbitrator will listen to both cases, and consider the bid each party puts in. Once the actual hearing is complete, the arbitrator has 48 hours to make a decision on a final salary for Zherdev. After the arbitrator sets the salary, the Rangers have 48 hours to consider the option to reject the amount and allow Zherdev to become a UFA, accept and sign Zherdev to a contract, or accept and sign Zherdev and then eventually trade him for something in return. If the Rangers reject the arbitrator's set amount, and Zherdev becomes an un-restricted free agent, then Nik and his agent have the right to talk to any team in the league to try and negotiate a deal, or Nik can always make the move toward the KHL, where he comes from.

In my opinion, anything over $4 million is too expensive for a one-dimensional player like Zherdev right now, and the Rangers will end up rejecting the offer if that is the case. If Zherdev is awarded anything under $4 million, but higher than $3.25 million, Glen Sather and the Blueshirt Brass will most likely consider signing, and then trading Zherdev for something in return. If Zherdev is awarded $3.25 million, then the Rangers will likely sign him, as that is the amount the qualified him at, but that is very doubtful.

So the options are wide open right now, but the arbitrator's final decision, which we will find out anywhere between today and early next week, will change that. I would love to have Zherdev on this team, as he is great depth scoring, but at $4.5 million it will be impossible to fit the Russian into the lineup. This promises to be a very interesting situation, but I feel that after this is all settled, Glen Sather will be making any last moves he wishes to before camp begins in September.

(Image courtesy of AP Photo)

Dubinsky Update, Higgins Hits the Stage

So it seems that all the attention is not on Nikolai Zherdev, who's arbitration hearing was held earlier today. (See Below Post) The New York Post learned a bit more information on the Dubinsky front today. We were told earlier in the month that Dubinsky rejected his qualifying offer, but not much was released since then. Today, The Post found out that Sather and Dubisnky's agent have been talking often lately:

"The Post has learned the team is in conversations with Dubinsky's representative regarding contracts of varying lengths, though neither party would characterize the state of the discussions that will accelerate upon the conclusion of Zherdev's final 96 hours."

As I have stated before, I feel Dubi will be signed once the whole Zherdev thing is settled, but until then, it is still up in the air. Read my post on Dubi from last week HERE.

Also, newly acquired Ranger, Chris Higgins participated in the 12 Angry Mascots Show at Comix Comedy Club last night. The Blueshirt Banter was there, and interviewed him after the show. I highly recommend reading the interview. Here is a portion of what Higgins had to say on stage, courtesy of Blueshirt Banter:

"Anyway onto Higgins: During the show he admitted to only having met two Rangers in person—Avery and Voros. Also in the interview—which is below the jump—Higgins also said he hasn’t met Tortorella yet but they have spoken on the phone. He also said that Lundqvist was the best goalie in the league and they would always have a shot with him in the pipes."

Make sure to check out my post about Zherdev's arbitration hearing (below) that I posted earlier in the day, if you have not done so just yet.
(Image courtesy of AP Photo)

My Rangers Third Jersey Design

You may have noticed that as the summer gets older, the hockey news gets much slower. There has been talk, however, about the Blueshirts bringing back the third jersey, so for lack of a better thing to do, I created my very own third jersey design for the Rangers.

The third jerseys were done away with once the NHL switched to all Reebok sweaters two years ago, but just last year, teams started to bring them back. I have a feeling that the entire NHL will eventually add an alternate jersey to their arsenal, and that could happen within the next two seasons. If the Rangers were to bring the alternates back, they should let Sean Avery design it, he is a fashion professional after all. So without further or do, here is my third Jersey Design, which was also featured on the Manic Ranger (second jersey):

It is basically the current version of the former Navy Blue Liberty Jersey that the Rangers wore back in the day. I also wouldn't mind this design in a white jersey, because I was one of very few fans of the white liberty jerseys. Comment and tell me what you think.

Joel Lundqvist to Sweden

Steve Zipay at Blue Notes is reporting that Henrik Lundqvist's identical twin, Joel, has signed a contract with the Swedish Elite team, Frolunda. Henrik and Joel played on that very team before making the move to the NHL. Joel registered 7 goals and 19 assists for 26 points in his three year NHL career with the Dallas Stars. Obviously the Blueshirts got the better of the two brothers.
(Sent from my BlackBerry)

Rangers Represented Well on USA U20 Team, Grachev?

Beyond the Blueshirts reported today, that Rangers prospects Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, and Ryan Bourque were all invited to be a part of a four game series between the Russian Under 20 team and the USA Under 20 team. The series will take place next month in Lake Placid. Ryan Bourque has been a part of the USA team once before, but this is a first for Kreider and Stepan.

Another storyline, which is a bit alarming, is that Blueshirts prospect, Evgeny Grachev was not invited to the team Russia camp. Grachev's absence on the invite list is certainly not because Team Russia did not consider him, but it could be one of two other factors; Either the Rangers believe Evgeny has a good shot at making the NHL roster this season and they don't want to risk injury, or it is because of the concussion that kept Grachev out of his last two OHL playoff games last season. We did find out that Grachev sat out in the final day of development Camp earlier in the month because of an injury, but it was not specified if the two were related.

(Photo courtesy of teamusa.org)

Zherdev Submits Arbitration Bid: $4.5 Million

Reports are coming out of the New York Post that Ranger RFA, Nikolai Zherdev and his agent, Roland Hedges, have submitted a bid of $4.5 million in his arbitration hearing which takes place on this coming Friday. So this means that Zherdev believes he deserves something along the lines of $4.5 million per year. The bid is also a tell-tale sign that the 24 year-old winger also feels that he is a much better player than he actually has proven.

Let me put this in perspective for you. Zherdev registered 23 goals and 35 assists for 58 points with the Rangers last season. Nik went on to contribute a grand total of zero points in the Blueshirts' seven playoff games. For this, Nik is convinced that he deserves four and a half million per season. A player that scores under 60 points, gives a half effort every night, and posts a goose egg for the playoffs dos not deserve over $4 million. Phil Kessel of the Boston Bruins, who seems like he will be going to another team, is expected to get a contract paying him somewhere between $4.5 and $5 million. The difference between Nik and Phil is that Kessel scored 36 goals last season (13 more than Zherdev), and registered 11 points in only 4 more playoff games than Zherdev.

The Rangers are yet to submit their bid of what they think the Russian youngster should be paid, but I am expecting something between $3.25 milion and $3.75 million. Sather realizes that he does not need Nik on this team, therefore there is no reason to overpay for him. If arbitration lands Zherdev anything below four, there is a chance that the Blueshirts can sign, and then trade him. If arbitration awards Zherdev what he wants, then I expect Sather to walk and move on.

(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

Construction Day

I have decided to give the Rangers Tribune a bit of a makeover, so I will be trying some different things on the site today. Don't be surprised if you see some changes that appear and disappear, as I am just trying some things out. Just thought I would keep readers in the loop.

Thanks for your cooperation.

Avery Makes a Fashion Statement

Women's Wear Daily reports that Rangers forward, Sean Avery has signed a one-year contract with Common Wealth Utilities, agreeing to serve as a design collaborator and marketing pitchman for the New York-based men’s wear label. Avery mentioned that he likes the clothing line, and wants to learn more about the industry.

Read the full article at Women's Wear Daily: http://www.wwd.com/wwd-publications/wwd/2009-07-23?id=2218689&date;=today#/article/menswear-news/ranger-sean-avery-joins-commonwealth-utilities-2219058?navSection=issues&navId;=2218689

(Photo courtesy of topnews.in)

What About Dubinsky?

Ryan Callahan, Christopher Higgins, Enver Lisin, Brian Boyle, Dane Byers, Corey Potter are among the numerous Ranger Restricted Free Agents that have already received contracts and have been re-signed by General Manager Glen Sather. Take notice that 23 year-old center, Brandon Dubinsy is not mentioned within that list. Obviously, this is because he has yet to be re-signed as an RFA, and suspicion has begun to grow.

After yesterday's signing of Enver Lisin, many began to worry why Dubi has yet to be re-signed by the Blueshirts. Well, I will present you with the most realistic situation to try and explain this puzzling situation. Dubinsky and his agent realize that the team needs a center to play with Gaborik, and Drury is not the favorite for that position, and that coming straight from Tortorella's mouth. They are also cognizant of the fact that Dubi's availability is always asked by General Managers when talking trade with Glen Sather, mainly because of the bulky potential and expectations that Brandon carries along with him. With all that said, Dubinsky and his agent are probably looking to make a bargain here and cash out for more than Sather would like. We know that Dubinsky rejected his qualifying offer, which is common among RFAs, but this has been on-going since then, and I believe that the Ryan Callahan contract changed the direction of conversation that Dubi's agent and Slats were having. Many will say, "Well how does a 41 point scorer bargain for a high-paying contract?". This is how.

Another situation, which is total speculation, is if Glen Sather was holding out to re-sign Brandon, and waiting for the Zherdev situation to be completed. If Sather ends up signing Zherdev and needs to trade him, which is likely to happen, Slats can then have a solid package of Zherdev and Dubinsky to ship away for a number one center in return. Slats would have a solid foundation for a trade with Dubi and Zherdev, and he would build on it from there, based on what the specific team's asking price was. This move would leave us with a decent center to compliment Gaborik, and it has been rumored that the Blueshirts were in search of just that.

Situation one, where Dubi and his agent try to cash out is the much more likely one. Sather has made a clear youth movement based on the moves he made, and I doubt he will go and trade one of our better youngsters that is talked so highly upon withing the organization. Dubinsky is a big part of this team's future plans, and Tortorella knows that, and always explains his liking for Brandon's game, and how he will turn him into the player he is expected to be. Yet another reason to keep him here.

In the end, Dubinsky will most likely be re-signed, and playing in a Ranger uniform next season. Worst comes to worse, another team gives Brandon an offer sheet, and Slats has to match/top it, but that is even doubtful. If Dubinsky was traded like my pure speculated theory above, the Blueshirt faithful would be irate, so I don't see that happening, just projecting a possible scenario. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

Roenick: "Chelios Wants to Play in New York"

Jeromy Roenick has put his well known big mouth to use once again, this time informing the media that Chris Chelios wants to play for the New York Rangers and Glen Sather. Here is the quote:

"Chelly wants to play until he's 50," Roenick said. "Chelly wants to play in New York, for the Rangers and Glen Sather. And I'll tell you this: No person had a bigger effect on my career."

Chelios, 47, filled the role of seventh defenseman for the Detroit Red Wings in the last two seasons. In 2008-09, Chelios only played in 28 games in the regular season, and six in the playoffs. It is a great accomplishment to be able to play a sport even at such an old age like Chris does, but the Rangers are in the process of a youth movement, and Chelios would not fit well in the lineup. Chelios is a great leader and personalityto have in the locker room, but that is about it. Chris' days are limited, and I don't believe that the fans of New York want to see those limited days spent here in New York.

Rangers have plenty of defensive depth in Del Zotto, Sanguinetti, McDonagh, Potter, Sauer, and Gilroy. So there is really no need to add a player that is way past his prime to the lineup. Thanks, but no thanks, Chris.
(Image courtesy of AP Photo)