The local teams were all quite active on the first day of free agency for the NHL. Here is a quick recap of who is coming to the tri-state area.
New York Rangers
The Rangers added the big time defenseman that they have been looking for over the past two years in Wade Redden. Redden had a down season for the disappointing Ottawa Senators last season, with 38 points, much of which can be attributed to the death of a close family member and a deteriorating locker room situation in Ottawa. Redden, at age 31, received a six year contract for 6.5 million per season. This seems extremely high, but when you consider Redden’s pedigree of multiple All-Star appearances, and market value set off by an earlier deal that the Blackhawks gave Brian Campbell, it is a good move. We might not love him at the end of the contract, but we needed a number one defenseman, and got him.
The Rangers also reupped Michael Rosival for four more years at five million per year. This to me was kind of a head scratcher, seeing as they got a better version of Michael Rosival in Redden, but Rosival has still been an anchor for the Rangers throughout his years at the Garden.
Finally, the Rangers added a few good role players in Patrick Rissmiller, who played for the San Jose Sharks last season, and will most likely compete for a fourth line position, and Aaron Voros, who plays a similar game to Ryan Hollweg. It will be interesting to see if either one of these guys was brought in to fill Sean Avery’s shoes.
With these moves, the Rangers have been left with approximately eight million dollars in cap room to negotiate deals for Avery, Jagr, and any other free agent acquisitions.
New Jersey Devils
The Devils were also incredibly busy today, reupping important defensive forward Jay Pandolfo to a multi year deal, as well as late season acquistion Bryce Salvadore, who was terrific down the stretch for the Devils. The Devils also turned back the clock today, bringing back Bobby Holik on a one year deal at around 2.5 million dollars. The most note worthy signing of the day was Brian Rolston, formerly of the Minnesota Wild, and former Devil as well, a forward who can score, set up, and kill penalties with the best of them. This move will pay tons of dividends for the Devils.
New York Islanders
The Islanders were much more quiet then their two counterparts today, but made a great signing in defenseman Mark Striet, who played for the Canadiens last year, and signed a five year contract. Streit is well known around the league as a power play QB, and was heavily pursued by the Rangers as well before they picked up Redden. He will provide a veteran presence on a youthful Islanders team.
Filed under: NHL - Devils, NHL - Islanders, NHL - Rangers, Writer - Christian Chiavetta
