New York Rangers free agency analysis column for HockeyPrimeTime.com

'Boogey Man' no laughing matter

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Written by Denis Gorman

Friday, July 09, 2010 18:40

A tsunami of derisive laughter flooded the NHL on July 1. The storm emanated from the league office and grew uncontrollably due to the incredible and immediate power of television media and the internet. The damage has not yet abated. The recovery process has not begun. It will not begin until the night of Oct. 9 in Buffalo. The final assessment won’t come for at least four years. Who caused such an outpouring of ceaseless ridicule? AROUND THE ATLANTIC New York Rangers general manger Glen Sather, who signed former Minnesota enforcer Derek Boogaard to a four-year free agent contract worth $6.5 million. Listed at 6-foot-8 and 257 pounds, Boogaard is perhaps the NHL’s most feared pugilist. He possesses the kind of frightening knockout power last seen on Broadway in the persons of Colton Orr and legendary enforcer Joey Kocur. Boogaard has totaled 544 penalty minutes in 255 NHL games over five seasons. The other parts of his game are missing. Boogaard has not scored a goal since his rookie season of 2005-06. He has career totals of two goals, 12 assists and a minus-12 rating. Boogaard’s lack of production and plodding skating, combined with the length and value of his contract, were the common criticisms. The Rangers also had an enforcer under their employ in Jody Shelley. Shelley and Brandon Prust were repeatedly praised by John Tortorella for “changing the culture” in the Rangers’ room after being acquired in separate in-season trades with San Jose and Calgary, while ably handling the on-ice policing duties. The 34-year old Shelley eventually signed a three-year, $3.3 million free agent contract with Philadelphia. There are valid arguments against the Boogaard signing. What has been forgotten – or perhaps conveniently ignored – was the lack of protection the Rangers afforded themselves for wide swaths of last season. The lack of a backbone was highlighted by two incidents. The first was when the Flyers' Daniel Carcillo pummeled the Rangers' leading scorer, Marian Gaborik, in a January game in Philadelphia. Later in the season Sidney Crosby cross-checked and slashed Henrik Lundqvist during a game at Madison Square Garden. The attacks led to Tortorella to recently opine that the organization needed to add “more jam to the hockey club,” and to have more of a “presence around our blue (and) protect our goalies a little bit better,” discussing the organization’s short and long-term future after the entry draft with local beat writers. With Boogaard in the fold, it's tough to fathom opponents will consider bullying the Rangers as they did in the past. The 28-year-old Boogaard also fits into the organization’s public mandates to stockpile young talent. Sather vowed to the New York Post prior to the start of free agency that he would not “overpay” a free agent, and that the organization’s young players will have opportunities to earn jobs at the NHL level. Sather re-signed centers Vinny Prospal and Erik Christensen, grinding winger Prust and defenseman Dan Girardi. He was able to convince Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh to leave Wisconsin to ply their trade at the professional level. Backup goaltender Martin Biron and Swedish forward Mats Zuccarello-Aasen were also signed as free agents. On Friday, Sather traded Aaron Voros and prospect Ryan Hillier to Anaheim for defenseman Steve Eminger. His last task is to re-sign Marc Staal to a long-term contract. The Rangers as currently constituted are better than the team that lost to Philadelphia in a shootout on the season’s final afternoon. The only question is if enough has been done for the Rangers to have a puncher’s chance to contend for a playoff berth. Should the Rangers reach the playoffs, Sather will have the last laugh. Notes Philadelphia announced yesterday that it had agreed to a one-year deal with Nik Zherdev. The fourth overall selection in the 2003 draft, Zherdev had disappointing stints with Columbus and the Rangers. Zherdev played last season for Atlant-Moscow of the KHL and totaled 13 goals, 26 assists and 79 penalty minutes. … Newsday reported that New York Mets COO Jeff Wilpon spoke with Charles Wang about the possibility of the Islanders relocating to Willets Point, Queens. Wilpon would build a new arena for the Islanders across the street from Citi Field, the Mets' new state-of-the-art park. … The Devils offered UFA winger Ilya Kovalchuk a seven-year contract worth $60 million according to Monday’s New York Post. By Friday, however, Kovalchuk had not accepted the pact. … Pittsburgh passed on re-signing UFA defenseman Sergei Gonchar. Instead, GM Ray Shero added defensemen Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek from New Jersey and Phoenix, respectively. http://www.hockeyprimetime.com/news/atlantic/boogey-man-no-laughing-matter