LOS ANGELES — The lead-in to the first round of the NHL Entry Draft that will be conducted here tonight has been dominated by trades and trade talks, with clubs seeking to shed contracts in order to gain maneuverability under the salary cap.
Taylor Hall, the two-time Memorial Cup MVP, is all but certainly headed to Edmonton to play for head coach Tom Renney as the overall first pick. This isn’t a draft likely to be remembered for its top-end talent, but rather for its depth through the first round.
The Rangers, who hold the 10th overall selection, have been contacted by the Bruins regarding Marc Savard, who would be the ideal set-up man for right-wing sniper Marian Gaborik. But Ranger GM Glen Sather is unlikely to deal for the one-time Blueshirt pivot because of the contract under which Savard carries an annual cap charge of just over $4M through the 2016-17 season.
Even though the contract is front-loaded and buyout-friendly, with the 31-year-old pivot due to receive $25.5 million over the first four years of the deal and $2.55 million over the final three years, NHL club executives and agents are unsure if the buyout formula will be changed in the next CBA.
The Blueshirts, who are in desperate need of a first-line center, were in on the Jason Arnott talks before Nashville shipped the pivot to New Jersey.
The Rangers will monitor the situation with budget-conscious Dallas regarding 30-year-old playmaking pivot and power play quarterback Brad Richards, who has one year at $7.8 million remaining on his contract.
With the 2010-11 cap set at $59.4 million, the summer cap is $65.34 million. The Rangers thus have approximately $15 million of space with which to operate the next three months. They are likely to spend between $7-7.5 million on impending restricted free agent defensemen Marc Staal and Dan Girardi.
Tonight, the Rangers are expected to follow an organizational philosophy in which skating ability and pure skill (accompanied of course by the proper character) are the attributes most prized in prospects, regardless of position.
Never reluctant to select a Russian, the Blueshirts could have the opportunity to pick talented right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, who has played the last two seasons with Novosbirsk of the KHL. If Sather’s information is that Tarasenko is open to leaving Russia to sign with an NHL team, the Rangers would likely leap at the chance to draft him.
Kitchener center Jeff Skinner, Medicine Hat center Emerson Etem, Portland winger Nino Neiderreiter are possibilities, as is big-time scoring wing Brett Connolly, who missed nearly all of last season with hip problems.
The Islanders, who hold the fifth overall selection, are believed to have zeroed in on defensemen Cam Fowler, Erik Gudbranson and Brandon Gormley. There is always the chance, though, that GM Garth Snow could make a deal to slide down a few slots while acquiring an additional selection in a later round.