Rangers Sign Ales Kotalik, Signals The End Of Nikolai Zherdev In New York

About TMR

I've played hockey my entire life and have always been a die hard Rangers fan. Now that I'm done chasing the dream, I play in a few beer leagues but it just isn't the same as the glory days. I started this blog a little over a year ago and it has since evolved into something I really enjoy. Do I one day aspire to be a professional sports writer? Possibly. My dream job is being a general manager of a professional hockey team. My mood is hopelessly attached to whether the Rangers win or lose on a given night. I despise Sidney Crosby, loathe Martin Brodeur, and think Ricky Dipietro uses more hair products than any man should ever use. My name is Ryan McFadden and I am the editor of The Manic Ranger blog. Be sure to comment whether you like what I have to say or not. I can be reached by e-mail at tmrangerblog (at) gmail.com

Written by Ryan McFadden

Thursday, 09 July 2009 20:59

I think Sather might have made his best signing of the summer. Bringing in Ales Kotalik accomplishes more than just adding a top six forward. Kotalik has established chemistry with former Buffalo 'mate Chris Drury (hopefully he rekindles Drury's better days w/ the Sabres), he is an absolute shootout stud, and most importantly he excels on the power play. Kotalik has averaged over 20 pts. on the power play the past two seasons. Largely being so successful because of his howitzer of a slap shot, something the Rangers need with powder puffs like Wade Redden firing away on the power play. The price of $3 million per for the next 3 seasons is not ideal. But this is one of the few contracts where the Rangers didn't over extend themselves that bad. Kotalik is a solid 20+ goal scorer and will fit in nicely either with Drury or Marian Gaborik.

It would have been a better signing if Sather could have bumped it down $500k or so. But in the end the Rangers saved themselves at the very least $250k in cap space with this signing b/c with Kotalik coming to New York, Nikky Zherdev's tenure as a Ranger is dead to rights. Zherdev and his agent misplayed their hand and severely inflated his value to the Rangers. Even though Zherdev has all the talent in the world, the Rangers need players who are committed to being a Ranger. The way Z played this season and his decision to goto arbitration this summer makes you question how much he desires to be with the team. It's a crying shame to lose a player of his talent, but the sting of Zherdev's impending loss is dramatically reduced because of is inconsistency and poor attitude. If the Rangers don't trade him before he becomes an UFA.. well have fun in the KHL buddy where you can put forth half the effort and still dominate on a nightly basis. I would have almost preffered the Rangers to leave the spot open, but since even before this signing it was becoming obvious the Rangers intended to let Zherdev walk, they needed to replace his production.

By my guestimation using cap geek the Rangers have around $2 million in cap space left with Voros and Rissmiller in the minors along with Anisimov, Boyle, Gilroy, Sanguinetti, and Byers on the team. That's also with Cally and Dubinsky making 2 million each. Oh yeah, that's also with Nikky Zherdev gone. What is realistically left for the Rangers is moving Michal Rozsival and picking up another defenseman along with another center or a left winger. The Rangers need Rozsival gone with a smaller one year contract on defense replacing him. With no significant contracts expiring next summer and the cap expected to go down, the Rangers need the space to re-sign Girardi and Staal.

Comments (4) Add Comment

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written by AJ, July 10, 2009

awesome....if higgins can keep up with gaborik you're looking at

higgins, dubinsky, gaborik
callahan, drury, kotalik

for the top two lines......i like callahan with drury because he sparks anyone he plays with, but i guess you could switch higgins and callahan depending on what works

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written by rangers rip, July 10, 2009

why couldnt they give zherdev 3 mil
i know at times he looks as if he is not hustling but for the majority of the season he has and even on his relaxed games he still is better than kotalik....and for most of the season he did backcheck, hustle and even drop the mits once lol......he dangles so hard and is soo dirty....rip ranger zherdev

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written by TMR, July 10, 2009

b/c of the CBA Zherdev is owed a 15% increase in salary automatically (it might be 10% actually i forgot). The min. he can make next season is 3.25 and he'll likely get a little more in arbitration.

i was so excited to watch him play but his houdini act got really old

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written by ElementCo27, July 15, 2009

I beg to differ. In my opinion it will be:

Kotalik/Drury/Gaborik
Higgins/Dubinsky/Callahan

at least for the beginning of the season to see how a reunion with Kotalik and Drury would do. The 2nd line would be a force do to the speed and strength that line would have. Dubinsky and Callahan with moves and immense hitting and Higgins with some open slots with that might make those 2 lines the greatest thing to hit the NHL in my mind.