John Tortorella said 35-year-old Todd White’s demotion to the AHL Whale earlier today was a result of the “organizational philosophy of going forward with kids,” but the fact is that the front office finally recognized the folly of carrying a spare with a $2.375 million cap charge.
GM Glen Sather did well over the summer in shedding Donald Brashear and his automatic $1.4M over-35 cap hit from the books by dealing him and minor-leaguer Patrick Rissmiller ($1M) to the Thrashers for White in what essentially was a sum-zero cash exchange.
But instead of reaping the full reward of the transaction by sending White to the minors at the end of training camp, the Blueshirts kept White as the 13th forward until today, thus burning $1.073M in cap space on a player who averaged 7:40 per while recording two points (1-1) in 18 games.
The Rangers thus will save approximately $325,000 of pro-rated space on the trade.
“Whitey is a good man, but I was never able to give him a really good opportunity in an offensive position,” Tortorella said. “But honestly, he’s 35 and we’re looking to try and develop a team with our youth.”
A 12-year NHL veteran who recorded a career high 73 points with Atlanta two years ago (22-51), White was sent to the minors after passing through waivers for the fourth time.
With Derek Boogaard sidelined, the Blueshirts have only 12 forwards on the roster. Should the need or desire to add another arise, 22-year-old Dale Weise, who made in his NHL debut in Philadelphia on Dec. 18 before returning to the AHL, is the likely candidate for promotion.