NEW YORK, NY – The 2010 NHL draft season brings with it another opportunity for Glen Sather to do his utmost to bury the franchise with talent that is not ready to make it to Broadway. The Hartford WolfPack is stocked with decent young talent but the late season shuffles by Sather may indicate the parent club’s lack of confidence with their ability to hit the big time.
There are problems all over the roster for Sather, many self-induced. Starting with the salary cap issues, the Rangers are hamstrung with gargantuan salaries such as Wade Redden’s who is scheduled to make $6.5 million. The much discussed and debated solution to Redden’s salary cap hit is to reassign him to the minors or a simply buyout his contract.
Henrik Lundqvist and Marian Gaborik, along with Captain Chris Drury, will consume $21.4 million in 2010-11.
Where the Rangers will not be hurting is the unrestricted free agent category. The departure of players like Ollie Jokinen and Vaclav Prospal can hardly be called losses with their salaries and age (32 and 35 respectively). The more dire issue for their free agent list is centered on defensemen Marc Staal (23) and Dan Girardi (26). Money will be needed for these two. Staal only made $826,667 last season while Girardi made $1.5 million.
As stated, the holes in the roster are wide spread and few of their rankings give any positive indication with the club ranked 16th in offense, 10th in defense, 13th on the power play, 7th on the penalty kill, and 21st in face-offs. With those numbers it is no wonder the Rangers missed the playoffs this season.
A pure offensive forward would be an ideal addition to the Rangers side and solve one component of their on-ice effort. So how does a general manager fix all of the problems with an underachieving squad with one draft pick? They don’t, but they do try to build with the first one and go from there. Can Sather do just that?
There are some excellent goal scorers with high International Scouting Service rankings still available at the 10th pick including Nick Bjugstad (but he has had consistency issues), Ryan Johansen (6’ 2” and needs to add weight before banging in the NHL), and Ryan Sheahan (defensive-minded forward).
There is also Austin Watson who was traded from the Windsor Spitfires to Peterborough this season. He had a no-trade clause with the Spitfires but waived it since while playing for Windsor he was skating on the third and fourth lines and languished.
In 10 games with Peterborough, Watson averaged two points per game (9 goals and 20 points). He is 6’3” and 185 pounds (somewhat light for the NHL) and shoots right. His ISS ranking is slotted in the 12th overall and with Central Scouting he is ranked 14th among North American skaters. On the down, side he suffered a broken ankle while stopping a shot in a CHL prospects game. The injury limited his ice time and has bounced between the 8th and 12th spots on the ISS rankings but he has consistently received good reports for his two-way play and solid performances in all three zones.
EJ McGuire, Director of NHL Central Scouting, has this to say about him. “Except for an (ankle) injury Austin Watson may well have been the most improved and the best up-and-coming player. His style reminds many of Kris Draper,” added McGuire.
So, the Rangers GM needs to make an important decision that will have impact on Broadway and quiet the boo-birds in the blue seats, along with the rest of Madison Square Garden. Can he make the decision that improves the roster sooner rather than later?
Pro Hockey News thinks this year the Rangers will make the right call and tap an OHLer whose stock is rising.
“With the tenth pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, the New York Rangers select right wing Austin Watson of the Peterborough Petes.” To learn more about Austin Watson click on his name.
Contact LM.Davis@prohockeynews.com
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