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Thoughts?/Update Again
by Patrick Hoffman on 07/09/09 at 02:58 PM ET
Comments (4)
As was mentioned on a previous post here on KK, the New York Rangers have signed Ales Kotalik to a contract. He played with the Edmonton Oilers last season and posted 43 points (20 goals and 23 assists) in 75 games. Over the past four seasons, he’s averaged over 20 goals so at least Blueshirt fans know he can put the puck in the net.
The question, of course, will be if he can score on Broadway. Sure, the Blueshirts now have Gaborik to go along with guys like Chris Drury, Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Sean Avery but if one were to really take a look at the current makeup of this team, he or she would clearly see that they still lack a scoring stud at center. When will GM Glen Sather realize this?
Your thoughts?
Update 4:30 p.m.: Just to clarify something - it’s 3 million per year. Hmmm, what exactly is Sather doing?
Update: There’s more on the Kotalik signing from TSN.ca:
The New York Rangers signed forward Ales Kotalik to a three-year, $3 million contract on Thursday.
The 30-year old split last season between the Buffalo Sabres and the Edmonton Oilers, putting up 20 goals and 23 assists.
In the 2005-06 with the Sabres, Kotalik had his best season in the NHL, scoring 25 goals and adding 37 assists.
The 6’1, 227-pound native of the Czech Republic was selected 164th overall by Buffalo in the sixth round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.
Click here for more.
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Tags: Ales+Kotalik, Free+Agents, New+York+Rangers,
Comments
And one for you, Mr. Hoffman: do you think Kotalik is an insurance policy in case Zherdev bolts?
Posted by JG on 07/09/09 at 02:41 PM ET
JG - I would think that this move could spell the end for Zherdev. What bothers me is that we still need a NO. 1 center. Brandon Dubinsky is going to be a solid two-way player in this league but I don’t think he’s a first line center, yet.
Posted by Patrick Hoffman from White Plains, NY on 07/09/09 at 03:09 PM ET
IMO Zherdev is now guaranteed to be gone, they can’t afford both I don’t think, especially w/ Dubinsky & Callahan still unsigned
Also, TSN’s report has to be an error, it’s $3M per season, not total
Posted by PuckCentral.net from NJ on 07/09/09 at 03:20 PM ET
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The Goal Line Report will focus on all things Eastern Conference. Do I have a bias towards the Eastern Conference just because I am a New Yorker? No, but it certainly does make things easier! I’ll make my opinions known on Eastern Conference news bits (as often as I can), big games, hot and cold players, trades (I don’t make things up) and anything and everything else related to the Eastern Conference that I think is important for hockey fans to know. I will, in every sense of the word, be the beast of the East while also making sure to drop my thoughts on other hockey news items.
I, Patrick Hoffman, have covered the NHL since 2003 and have worked for a variety of hockey media sources including: Stan Fischler, Spector’s Hockey, TheHockeyNews.com, HockeyBuzz.com, McKeen’s Hockey, Blueshirt Bulletin, XM Home Ice Channel Hockey Blog, HockeyPrimeTime.com, FantasyHockey.com. NY SportsDay, and HokejaVestnesis.com.
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I thought Kotalik might be headed to Europe, to be honest with you. He’ll juice the power play a bit, pick up some shootout charity points for the Rangers, but otherwise play mediocre hockey.
Problem with the center ice position: with Koivu off the market, there aren’t many attractive UFA names left. “#1 Center” is a need that pundits list for teams all the time, but it’s still a commodity that usually doesn’t fall into GM’s laps. Getting one via trade will probably cost the Rangers a prime defensive prospect.
Sather really thought he was getting a long-term 1/2 punch at center with Gomez and Drury back in ‘07. Because he made that colossal misjudgment (among others), he’s more or less handcuffed himself.
Posted by JG on 07/09/09 at 02:39 PM ET