Fritsche and Rangers agree to deal, avoid arbitration

The Rangers signed 23-year-old center Dan Fritsche to a contract today, but did not release the terms.  Fritsche had applied for arbitration, but that will no longer be necessary.
I’m guessing that the Rangers have plans to use Fritsche as their 4th center, which leaves Blair Betts somewhat in limbo for now.

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NHL and Continental Hockey League reach agreement on player transfers

The NHL and the newly formed Russian Continental Hockey League (abbreviated KHL) agreed today at a meeting in Zurich to respect the validity of player contracts across all borders.
The immediate impact of the agreement will be to put an end to KHL teams offering big money to NHL players if they walk out on the remaining years [...]

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Is there a trade in the works for the Rangers?

Take a look at the Rangers projected roster for 2008-2009.  The top 3 lines and the defense are pretty much set, but there seem to be too many forwards.
Zherdev-Gomez-Naslund
Prucha-Drury-Dawes
Callahan-Dubinsky-Sjostrom
Voros-Fritsche/Rissmiller-[Anisimov?]
Hollweg/[Byers?]-Betts-Orr/[Moore?]
Redden-Staal
Rozsival-Girardi
Mara-Kalinin-[Sanguinetti?]
By my calculations the Rangers have an excess of 3 NHL forwards plus 3 more NHL-caliber forwards currently in Hartford.  Because of this, it might be a good [...]

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Great quote from Jagr; thoughts on NHL players going to Russia

The Jagr deal with Avangard Omsk is believed to be for two years plus an option for a third, and will pay Jagr about $7 million tax-free, which is the equivalent of about $11 million a season in the NHL.
Jagr had plenty to say, mentioning that playing in New York was an “extraordinary experience.”  He [...]

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Rangers sign Naslund and Kalinin; will not sign Jagr

Markus Naslund signed for 2 years, $8 million
Defenseman Dmitri Kalinin signed but deal details are still undisclosed.
Glen Sather officially announced they will not be re-signing Jagr.
Paul Mara deal in the works.
More later.

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Where do the Rangers stand?

Let’s go through a projection of how the Rangers roster might shape up:
Zherdev-Gomez-[Jagr or some UFA]
Dawes-Drury-Callahan
Sjostrom-Dubinsky-Prucha
Hollweg-Betts-Orr
Fritsche-Rissmiller-Voros
Shanahan?
Rozsival-Staal
Redden-Girardi
Pock?-Strudwick?-Sanguinetti?
The Rangers have $14.5 million in cap space but that number does not include Dawes, Sjostrom, Fritsche, Rissmiller, Voros, or Strudwick.
Assuming the Rangers will spend roughly $4 or $5 million between those players, they will have about $9 or $10 million [...]

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Rangers trade Tyutin and Backman to Columbus for Zherdev and Fritsche

The Rangers traded defensemen Fedor Tyutin and Christian Backman to the Columbus Blue Jackets for forwards Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche.
In addition to adding some size and depth up front, the move will clear up some cap space for the Rangers to potentially make some moves (i.e. re-sign Jagr, acquire either Naslund or Huselius).
In my opinion, moving [...]

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The Sean Avery era on Broadway is at an end

The Sean Avery era in New York is officially at an end. 
Avery signed a 4-year deal worth $15.5-million with the Dallas Stars.  If you’re keeping score at home, the Rangers let Avery go over a difference of a few hundred grand per year.  For a team that has no problem throwing ridiculous money around (e.g. “making it [...]

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Grading Day 1 of Free Agency: Rangers get a B+

Scott Burnside of espn.com assigns grades for the signings from day 1 of free agency.  Definitely worth a read.

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Rangers sign Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival

The Rangers signed Wade Redden, formerly of the Ottawa Senators, to a 6 year contract worth about $6.5 million per year. Redden is 31 years old, and had 6 goals and 32 assists last season while logging an average of 22:12 of ice time per game. The Rangers hope Redden will be the [...]

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