With one move yesterday, Rangers general manager Glen Sather accomplished two goals.
By trading veteran defenseman Michal Rozsival to Phoenix for 24-year-old forward Wojtek Wolski, the Rangers not only found a replacement for Alex Frolov, who was lost for the season with a knee injury in Saturday’s 2-1 win over St. Louis, but also opened up more playing time for the organization’s group of young defensemen.
“We’ve been trying to build this team around the youth,” Sather said. “And when a player like this, who’s 24 years old, who’s 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds and has been a very good, prolific goal scorer in the past, and you’re moving a guy that’s 32-years-old with this year and next year left on his contract, it was a good opportunity for us to get younger and bigger, and give the kids the opportunity in defense to play.”
The deal also gives the Rangers some additional cap space to play with. Wolski has a $3.8 million cap hit for this year and next, while Rozsival’s cap hit over the same period is $5 million.
Wolski won’t have to wait for his Garden debut, expected to be on the ice for the Rangers tonight when they take on the Canadiens. He had six goals and 10 assists in 36 games with Phoenix this season, but has registered three points in his past 17 games.
The 2004 first-round pick by Colorado had 23 goals, 42 assists and a plus-21 rating last season with the Avalanche and Coyotes. He had six goals and 12 assists in 18 regular-season games with Phoenix last year, before scoring four goals and adding an assist in seven playoff games for the Coyotes.
“He’s got all the talent in the world,” Sather said. “The opportunity is gonna be here for him to play in a pretty good position, and we look forward to seeing him play.”
Sather said the deal came together quickly in the wake of Sunday’s announcement that Frolov would be lost for the season after the forward suffered a torn ACL, sprained MCL and medial meniscus tear in his right knee in a collision with Blues forward Brad Winchester.
“I’d spoken to [Phoenix general manager Don Maloney] about a month ago, but there wasn’t any way we could make a deal,” Sather said. “When the injury happened yesterday, things became a little more urgent.”
Rozsival, 32, was in his sixth year with the Rangers, having signed as a free agent before the 2005-06 season. He had 42 goals and 134 assists in 432 games.
“I was very happy with the way [Rozsival] played,” Sather said. “He’s a good player, he’s durable, he works hard, he’s played through a lot of pain in his career. . . . We have nothing but good things to say about him.”
Along with replacing Frolov, the move also opens up an opportunity for the Rangers to bring defenseman Michael Del Zotto back from Connecticut, who has two assists in three AHL games since being demoted earlier this month.