Rangers Will Get Richards

Leading up to today, there has been rampant speculation that Brad Richards will be traded.

More recently, the list of teams has dwindled from “a Pacific Division team” (Los Angeles) and a “team in the Atlantic” [New York Rangers].

As recently as yesterday that the market had been cornered and a rumor out of the Richards camp that he’ll only waive his No Trade Clause to go to the Rangers.

With Richards becoming an Unrestricted Free Agent on July 1st, and looking for a hefty raise that could price himself right out of Dallas, the time for the Stars to move him is now.

On the other side of the potential deal, the Rangers have time on their side. Yes, Rangers General Manager Glen Sather wants to make moves to improve his team today, but he does not NEED to get Richards done. The problem is, and is also the biggest question over Ranger Fans’ heads, does Sather feel he needs Richards now?

I think yes. I think this deal gets done today, but the problem is the closer it gets to the Deadline, the more likely it becomes that Sather does to resort to his old free-wheeling ways and succumbs to Dallas’ high demands.

Currently, the asking price is believed to be Artem Anisimov, a first round pick and another player/pick/prospect. Earlier this morning it was reported that Dallas wanted Anisimov, the 1st and two of the three latter options. Obviously that is an outstandingly high price for a rental, but if Richards wants to stay on Broadway, is willing to deal, and Sather feels he is the final piece of the puzzle to get them to an extended playoff run, look for the deal to be completed.

If he’s not that critical to the Rangers’ post-season blueprint, the July 1st is only 4 months away.

Your Disease is Killing Me

Earlier this season, and even before the season started, I had written that the New Jersey Devils would be wise to trade Jamie Langenbrunner.

My logic was simple, he quit on the season after being benched, he whined about it to the media, and then seemed to mentally checked out just in time to watch the team unravel in the playoffs.

Was my logic factually sound? Absolutely not. Was it based entirely on facts? I cannot confirm, nor deny any of the occurrences behind closed doors, but I can tell you that it looked like he quit on the team to me during the end of season games, and the team looked unmotivated during the post season, which I feel warrants a strike against the captain.

The Devils did not deal their captain, nor did they remove the captain’s C away from him. All fair moves with sound logic by rookie head coach John Maclean who seemed focused on maintaining team stability as a way to get the season off on the right foot.

The season, however, failed to meet any of the expectations which everyone had established for them as it began.

In one of the worst starts in franchise history, the Devils went from projected Atlantic Division Champions, to worst in the league, literally.

Is it fair to place the entire blame on the Captain? Not at all.

The rookie coach should undoubtedly shoulder a majority of the blame. He was the one who failed to keep the team motivated on a consistent basis. He failed to change his game plan after game after game of pitiful efforts and lack of any offensive production. He was the one who couldn’t finish a post-game interview without saying the word “uhhh” fewer tha 3 times in a sentence. [Okay so that last one doesn’t really have any bearing on team successes or failures, it was just awful to listen to.]

Even after MacLean’s firing, the Devils did not immediately turn their season around. Under new head coach Jacques Lemaire, the Devils initially continued to flounder.

However, as soon as a certain piece of the machine was removed, something happened.

On January 7th, the Devils traded their Captain back to the Dallas Stars for a conditional draft pick.

The next night, two nights after falling to the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 in very disheartening fashion, the Devils matched up against those same Flyers and put forth a much more spirited effort. They failed to win the game, but it was as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders and they begin to play with more heart, energy and focus.

After playing the Flyers, the Devils squared off against the Tampa Bay Lightning. This pivotal game was the first of 16 wins out of their past 19 games.

Post-Langenbrunner, the Devils are 16-2-2. They have cut a 27 point deficit in the playoff race down to just 9. They’re also a mere 4 games from returning to .500 hockey.

On the other side of the trade, the Dallas Stars had looked poised to contend for top spot in the Pacific Division. Their trade for Langenbrunner was motivated with aspirations of solidifying an already cruising team in their quest for a deep playoff run. At the time of the trade, Dallas was a solid 24-13-5.

Since then, it has been an abysmal downward spiral for the Stars. They’ve gone a dismal 7-10-1, and went from the Pacific Division lead, to now being on the outside of the playoffs looking in and needing help to claw their way back in to the race.

Now, Dallas’ playoff hopes are nowhere near as perilous as the Devils, seeing as the entire Western Conference has apparently become one jumbled pack of teams beating the hell out of one another over the bottom 4 spots. [Detroit and Vancouver seem to be locks for the post-season]. 5th through 12th place are separated by only 4 points going into play tonight. But the Stars should undoubtedly be concerned as their recent trends have not only planted the seeds of doubt into their heads, but they’re starting to grow roots.

Of course, this could be a complete and utter coincidence that one team who did not have one player to start the year could go from division leaders to missing the playoffs after acquiring him, but the turnaround of the New Jersey Devils since dealing Langenbrunner has been outright remarkable.

Seeing the statistics makes you think even more, could Langenbrunner, a two time Cup winner, really be a curse?

Either way, it should make the final 20+ game push to the end of the season for both teams that much more interesting.

Rangers are 1 of 4 teams in on Scuderi

Former Pittsburgh Defenseman Rob Scuderi is being coveted by four teams, including the New York Rangers, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune.

This would be the first major move following the trading, or salary dumping, of Scott Gomez to the Canadiens. Provided the deal is not similiar to the Wade Redden move of last summer, this would be a great addition for the Blueshirts.

Their top priority right now should be acquiring a 20-30 goal scorer, but suring up their backline will also help. The team has 3 significant Restricted Free Agents in Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan and Nikoli Zherdev, but other the Rangers would have ample time to decide whether or not to match any other offers from other clubs.

Scuderi put himself on the map with an outstanding performance this season, and an even better playoffs, where he was a critical component on the Penguins blue line, along with Sergi Gonchar.

The Wild and Stars are the two other confirmed teams, with the Lightning believe to be the 4th.

Prediction: As much as I could see the Rangers being Scuderi's new home, if the rumors of Tampa being in on the sweepstakes are true, I see him going there. They are again, stopping at nothing to get as much defense as they can, but they continue to forget you need to put pucks in the net to win, and Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Ryan Malone and Steve Stamkos cannot do it alone.