January 15, 2011, HockeyPrimeTime.com examination of the New York Rangers start to second half of 2010-11 NHL season and salary cap flexibility

Rangers are clicking, adding pieces at halfway point

Atlantic

Written by Denis Gorman

Friday, January 14, 2011 23:55

The Rangers are buying in to John Tortorella's physical brand of hockey and are being rewarded in the standings. They also are in decent salary-cap shape, which matters in the Atlantic Division. John Tortorella was asked to handicap the Eastern Conference and the final 41 games of the regular season when his New York Rangers reached the official midpoint of the season this week. His response addressed the big picture, and may have undersold the near future. “It’s going to be hard,” Tortorella said Wednesday afternoon, a few hours AROUND THE ATLANTIC before his team would beat Carolina 2-1 in overtime. “Just looking at us, it’s going to be a fight. I’m trying to stress upon our club we need to re-establish who we are more consistently, especially our starts. The games are going to be tougher. The second half is a grittier game. Things don’t come as easy. We need to get a jump. We need to get a jump on the mindset of how we have to approach this.” The win, coupled with road triumphs in Dallas and St. Louis, could have been perceived as prologue to their week’s worth of games against the NHL’s best: The Rangers had home dates against Montreal (Tuesday), Vancouver (Thursday) and Philadelphia (Sunday) with a Saturday night skate in Montreal thrown in for good measure. The stretch of four games in six nights began with a 2-1 loss to the Habs and was followed up with a 1-0 win against Vancouver on Thursday. Tortorella’s team has shown an ability to forecheck, skate and play a physical brand of hockey while remaining responsible in the neutral and defensive zones throughout the season. But would it not be prudent to change the Rangers’ style of play to a trapping, counter-attacking style versus top-quality opponents? Wouldn’t that limit the possibility of losses? That’s not how the coach sees it. “You still have to play the way the way you feel you can be successful. You will have some ebbs and flows through (the season),” Tortorella noted. “Good teams get out of it.” Contending teams also make deals to bolster what they have. The Rangers made such a move Monday, trading defenseman Michal Rozsival to Phoenix for let wing Wojetk Wolski in a swap of maligned underachievers. General manager Glen Sather told reporters in a late afternoon conference call that Wolski “was a guy I’ve been interested in awhile. Sometimes those things come up and they came up fairly quickly. “We thought it was too good of an opportunity to turn down.” The soon-to-be 25-year old Wolski is a skilled player that has yet to consistently harness his ability. Wolski has scored 227 points (85 goals and 142 assists) in 357 games with the Avalanche, Coyotes and Rangers. He adds to New York’s corps of forward’s talent level, makes an organization that is youth-oriented even younger, and, most importantly, is relatively low cost compared to the play he is replacing. Wolski is due to make $3.8 million this year and next year whereas the 32-year old Rozsival will make $5 million in 2010-11 and 2011-12. Wolski proved his worth on the ice by scoring the game's only goal Thursday against the Canucks. According to capgeek.com, the Rangers have $57,070,569 allocated in salary for this season and are $2,329,410 under the cap. Of the Atlantic Division franchises, it could be argued that the Rangers are well-positioned to add players for the short and long term, while still being a playoff contender. Philadelphia only has $410,192 of available space. Pittsburgh and New Jersey are capped out. New Jersey’s financial situation is so tenuous that there has been speculation recently that the organization may be forced to trade RFA left wing Zach Parise if he is not amenable to signing a long-term deal in Newark. The Islanders are a full $18,165,755 under the cap, but believe the state of the Nassau Coliseum makes the franchise unattractive to prospective free agents and, as such, have commissioned a strategy focused on drafting and developing young players. Notes The NHL announced that Flyers coach Peter Laviolette will run the Eastern Conference bench during the All-Star Game. The Flyers have the best record in the East at 27-10-5. Philadelphia forward Claude Giroux was also named to the team. … Devils GM Lou Lamoriello began the process of deconstructing the team by trading captain Jamie Langenbrunner to Dallas for a conditional third-round pick. John Grigg of The Hockey News notes that the deal benefitted both franchises and the player. … Sidney Crosby suffered a mild concussion after absorbing hits from Washington’s David Steckel and Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman. The Penguins announced that their superstar center will not play or practice “until he is symptom-free,” according to Dan Bylsma. … G Kevin Poulin stopped 48 of 51 shots in the Islanders' 4-3 home shootout loss to league-leading Vancouver on Tuesday night. It was the second game this season in which the Islanders surrendered 50 or more shots in a game. The Isles allowed 52 shots in a 7-2 loss to the Rangers on Dec. 27. On Twitter: @HockeyPrimeTime and @DenisGorman Photos by Getty Image

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