“I say high, you say low.
You say why and I say I don’t know, oh no.
You say goodbye and I say hello”

-Hello, Goodbye, The Beatles

Free Agency day is at once the best of times and the worst of times. It’s a time when we say hello to new faces and goodbye to others.  Everyone has their opinion. Some players and fans are happy. Others are not.

Overall, two days in, I think the Rangers are holding their own. I cannot imagine how difficult it is for Glen Sather in this capped environment. The highest bidder usually wins in most circumstances. Once the bar is set on the price for a particular type of player, there is precious little time to reevaluate the other players left and to determine how best to fill in your gaps. Some folks like to complain about Sather fishing, smoking cigars and eating ice cream cones but at this time of year, I’m sure he earns his keep.

Wade Redden wasn’t even on my radar. I would not have thought he would leave Ottawa after spending 11 seasons there. I would have thought Sather would have targeted a younger player as well. It was rumoured that the Rangers were going after Campbell. Campbell went for a ridiculous amount of money for eight years. Redden is the puckmoving powerplay quarterback the Rangers so desperately need. He has experience. Sather addressed his most pressing need with the best deal for the best player available. $6 million dollars for six years may seem high and long to some. After all, Redden is 31. But, Redden’s deal pales in comparison to Rozsivals.

Heaven help you Michal Rozsival if you do not live up to this contract. If you thought the treatment Malik got was bad, the Garden Faithful will crucify you. You will become the new whipping boy if you don’t produce. Considering Rozsival’s physical state and hometown status, you would think he’d have come a little cheaper. I guess Sather knew he had to give up Tyutin to get Zherdev. Keeping Rozsival makes sense. 

I think most people could see the handwriting on the wall for Sean Avery.  Yes, indeed, Sean will be cutting a swathe through the Southern Belles in Big D with his new boss, Big B. Tony Romo better get a chastity belt for Jessica Simpson because Avery is coming to Dallas and he does blondes.  Brett Hull has a bigger ego then Avery. Let’s see how long this honeymoon will last. At least Sean had the decency to sign with a Western Conference team. I am sure there are many Ranger fans out there who want Sather’s head on a platter for losing “Vogue Boy”. If these fans didn’t see this coming, they are blind.

You don’t cross Glen Sather. Avery cast the die when he bucked Sather by going to arbitration last summer. Then, like it or not, his circus act performance during the playoffs made the Rangers a laughing stock and caused the creation of the “Avery Rule”. Without Shanny to reign in this loose cannon, Avery would have just created more problems then he is worth. Four years at $3.87 million was too much for Glen to  gamble on the “Avery Effect”.

Finally, we learned today that we lost one Russian for another. As much as I hate to see Tyutin go, hockey is a business. There is little room for sentiment. Tyutin was homegrown and one of the original post lockout kids that we all came to love three seasons ago. He showed such promise. Many say his development stalled and they might be right. Still, it is sad to see him go. God speed Fedor. You were a good Ranger.

Tyutin and Backman for Zherdev and Fritsche is a good trade. Zherdev has skill and speed and should compliment Gomez well. He should be exciting to watch. Will he take the place of the fiery Avery or, dare I say it, Jaromir Jagr? That remains to be seen…

Hello Zherdev, Redden, Fritsche, Rissmiller  and Voros.

Goodbye Avery, Backman and Tyutin.

Stay tuned for the next episode of “As the Free Agent Turns”.

Posted under New York Rangers