Over the next week, The Rangers Tribune will be looking at all of the new additions to the Blueshirts by introducing the daily series, "New in Blue". In it, I will talk about the player's past performances on other teams, and how I think they will contribute to the Rangers. Today, we kick off the series by taking a look at newly acquired enforcer, Donald Brashear.
Only a few hours into free agency on July First, the news broke that Glen Sather signed 6-3, 234 pound winger, Donald Brashear. The initial reaction from fans, including myself, was negative, especially when we found out that Donald was going to be paid $1.4 million over the next two years. Well, after some time of letting things fall into place when it comes to this team, the Brashear signing wasn't as bad as fans first thought. In my opinion, the instant negativity that was being displayed by fans was because of the hit that Brashear landed on former Ranger, Blair Betts in game six of the playoff series with the Capitals. There is no question that it was a dirty hit, but as Rangers Captain, Chris Drury perfectly stated, Brashear is wearing our jersey now, and all past events must be forgotten, and we must get over them.
Right before the Rangers signed "Brash", former Blueshirt, Colton Orr signed a four year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. That left Sather without an enforcer on this team, so he quickly pounced on Brashear and signed him. Donald was the best available fighter at the time, so I feel like Sather threw him the $1.4 million contract to make sure that he had him locked up. Brashear, in my opinion, is a better skater and a better fighter than Colton Orr, hence the reason why Tortorella supported the signing so much. Brashear fits into John Tortorella's system much better than Orr would have. Brash may be slow, but he is still an improvement offensively when comparing him to Orr.
Donald has played for four different teams, Rangers being the fifth, in his fifteen year career so far. The former Capital's Assistant Captain has recorded only 85 goals in that span, but at the same time has registered well over 2,000 penalty minutes. His most penalty minutes in a season was in 1997-98 when he sat in the box for a total of 372 minutes. Most of these minutes being penalized are not for dumb penalties either, as it is more often than not for fighting. When you talk about the heavyweights of the NHL, Donald Brashear is always amongst the top. In fact, I would label Brashear the second best fighter in the league, behind Georges Laraque. When a player is willing to engage in a fight with Brashear, they are well aware of what they are stepping into, and that is a stocky player that can throw hay-makers like a boxer, and will never give up on you until you are on the ground.
All in all, the contract Brashear was given is not the greatest, but the type of player and presence that he brings to the team is huge. As we know, Marian Gaborik has had an injury prone past, but now with Brashear on the team, players will think twice about going after Gaborik with an intent to injure, because they know what they will eventually have to deal with. Another thing that makes this signing great is the coach the Brashear will be playing under. In the past, Donald was sometimes labeled as a "dirty" player. Well, Torts has already made it clear that if he sees Brashear making an attempt to injure someone, or take cheap shots of any sort, it will be dealt with, and Donald will face the consequences.
Also, the statement made by Chris Drury that I mentioned above, also included this phrase in regards to the Brashear signing, "I don’t think one guy in here had a problem with it, or is going to have a problem with it. And if anyone does, they can come see me." That was a very bold statement, and something that a Captain should be saying, so kudos to Chris on that one.
(Image courtesy of AP Photo)
