NO one had more of a vested interest in Nikolai Zherdev succeeding as a Ranger than Glen Sather. And yet not even the general manager, who sacrificed Fedor Tyutin to get Zherdev last summer and who exercised his ruling authority to extend the 24-year-old winger a $3.25 million qualifying offer for 2009-10, could conceive of paying him even a nickel more.
So Zherdev was as good as gone the moment he filed for salary arbitration. He knew it and so did readers of The Post. Now, following yesterday’s announcement that the Blueshirts had exercised their right to renounce arbitrator Elliott Shiftman’s illogical $3.9 million contract award, Zherdev can be described as either a free agent or as unemployed, depending on one’s perspective.
Credit Sather for not throwing good money after bad. Credit Sather for not compounding the error he made last July in believing Zherdev could replace Jaromir Jagr as the Rangers’ go-to guy.
And then credit Sather — who did not make himself available for comment yesterday — for somehow constructing a roster that appears to be a mediocre, crazy-quilt patchwork of players collected from outposts around the league while somehow almost spending to the cap.
Credit, indeed.
Tyutin, who for a long time was considered the crown jewel of the organization (how’s that for being damned with faint praise?), didn’t merely become expendable last July 1 when the Blueshirts signed Wade Redden and re-upped Michal Rozsival, he all but had to go, given his contract and status.
His status was that of a third-pair defenseman — Redden, Rozsival, Marc Staal and Dan Girardi were ahead of Tyutin on the depth chart — who somehow would be making $2.875 million. No third-pair defenseman in hockey is worth that much.
Of course, there had been no reason whatsoever for Sather to give Tyutin a contract of that magnitude, except perhaps that the defenseman was represented by Paul Theofanous, with whom Sather has an interesting relationship, to say the least.
Tyutin for Zherdev represented a fair exchange. But there is no lens through which bringing Zherdev back for $3.9 million could be portrayed as reasonable. You don’t overpay one player because you have overpaid others; you don’t give Zherdev more than he’s worth — or anyone other than arbitrator Shiftman believes he’s worth — because you have done so with Redden or Chris Drury.
The Rangers underwent an extreme makeover last summer, notably cutting ties with Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan, Martin Straka and Sean (he’s baaaack!) Avery. Then they traded Petr Prucha, Nigel Dawes, Dimitri Kalinin and Dan Fritsche during the season. Now, 10 of the 21 players who appeared in the first-round series against Washington are no longer in the organization.
What’s the frequency, Slats? What’s the plan when an Ales Kotalik is signed for three years at $3 million per rather than leaving a spot open for one of the young guys the organization always seems to be touting? What’s the plan when Lauri Korpikoski is traded away after one season for a project named Enver Lisin? What’s the plan when a third-round draft pick is traded for a fourth-line center named Brian Boyle?
The NHL’s statistically-best penalty-kill unit of Blair Betts and Fred Sjostrom was not invited back. The critical power-play deficiency at the point has not been addressed. There is no bona fide first-line center. There is no bona fide No. 1 defenseman. There is no cap room.
There is also no Nikolai Zherdev. Credit Sather for getting one right.