The term “roster freeze” is a misnomer as it applies to restrictions on player transactions during the course of the Olympics.
For while teams will not be permitted to make trades until midnight Feb. 28, the night of the gold medal game in Vancouver, clubs are allowed to make moves essentially as usual within their own respective organizations.
Waivers and waiver-related demotions are in force, uninterrupted. Players who can be sent to the AHL without having to clear may be demoted at any time, but those having played in either 16 of the last 20 games before the break or those on the roster for three-quarters of the games through the end of January would not be permitted to play in any minor league games until NHL teams resume practice sessions on Feb. 24.
Which means that Rangers on the bubble might be in jeopardy if Glen Sather wants to open cap space between the conclusion of this afternoon’s pre-hiatus finale at the Garden against the Lightning and the March 3 NHL trade deadline — not that the general manager intends to take expensive items off the Broadway rack.
Donald Brashear is in Hartford after the Rangers’ ignoble experiment with the 38-year-old, one-time enforcer proved to be an absolute failure. His demotion coupled with replacement-puncher Jody Shelley’s acquisition from San Jose will net a cap gain of approximately $200,000 the rest of the way, or the cost of a hearty team meal.
The Rangers at the moment have no cap space, but that’s because of the recall of defenseman Corey Potter, who will replace Michael Del Zotto in this afternoon’s lineup. Evgeni Malkin’s skate sliced Del Zotto’s chest, just under the heart, in an early first-period collision in Pittsburgh on Friday.
The wound, three days after Henrik Lundqvist’s skate sliced Marian Gaborik’s right thigh in a practice mishap, required 50 stitches to close. Gaborik, who was unable to push off in a cameo appearance (six first-period shifts worth 4:02 of ice) against the Penguins, will not play today. It’s impossible to project how effective he will be in the Olympics for Slovakia, whose first game is Wednesday against the Czech Republic.
In any event, once Potter is returned to the Wolf Pack, the Rangers will have approximately $550,000 of space. If the roster remains untouched, the Blueshirts would thus be able to add approximately $2.6 million in full-season contracts, or not all that much for a club with so many deficiencies.
As such, it appears the Rangers, who intend to dress Shelley on a regular basis, will be carrying two extra forwards in Aaron Voros ($1 million) and Enver Lisin ($790,000). Deleting either from the roster would create additional, albeit modest, space at the deadline if Sather wants to buy rather than sell.
* The Rangers, who want Chad Johnson and Matt Zaba to play for the AHL Wolf Pack during the recess, have placed Steve Valiquette on re-entry waivers for recall in order to comply with NHL regulation mandating that clubs have two goaltenders on the roster. Valiquette would thus return to New York on paper.
Blueshirts, 3-8 in last 11 overall following Friday’s 3-2 overtime victory in Pittsburgh, are 1-4 in last five at Garden and 13-15-4 at home on the season. Only Florida (12) and Toronto, Edmonton and St. Louis (11 each) have fewer home victories this season.