Paul Chiasson/THE CANADIAN PRESS

Paul Chiasson/THE CANADIAN PRESS

The storm before the calm? It’s fair to say that the free agency ‘frenzy’ that opens on Friday will be a lot less exciting following the handful of moves that shook the league on Wednesday. However, did PK Subban going west affect the Rangers? What does Taylor Hall in Jersey mean to the Rangers? Let’s take a look at some of Wednesday’s goings on.

PK Subban traded to Nashville for Shea Weber

One Norris trophy winner traded for a perennial Norris trophy contender. Everyone knew PK Subban was on borrowed time in Montreal. However most people assumed that if the Habs would move their (by far) best skater, it would be for young players, blue chip prospects and/or quality draft picks. In Shea Weber the Habs appear to have made change for changes sake. While Weber is slightly less mobile, not quite as dynamic but a monster with a monster shot and no doubt a quality defender, like Subban he too brings with him an onerous price tag for the long term.

So how does this influence the Rangers? It doesn’t really. The Habs still own an elite goaltender in Carey Price and they still have a bonafide number one defenseman patrolling their blueline. It will be other changes that the Habs make that will tell us how they measure up in relation to the Rangers. It will be interesting however to see how Weber acclimatises to the East.

Steven Stamkos stays in Tampa

There is a lot to be said for the benefits of Florida State Tax. Oh, and that Tampa Bay should be a legitimate Cup contender for the foreseeable future. The one free agent worth the Rangers blowing their load over, Stamkos will definitely not be a Ranger as he re-upped for what appears to be significantly less than he could have got on the open market.

Dear Glen, Dear Jeff; this is how you maintain a contender – you get elite players to take (comparatively) team friendly deals.

How does Stamkos staying put affect the Rangers? By not holding Tampa to absolute ransom the Lightning should be able to retain most of their young core and stay among the best in the East. While Ben Bishop will almost certainly be sacrificed, the Lightning are fine in net with Andrei Vasilevskiy. The joys of developing prospects folks.

Edmonton trade Taylor Hall to the Devils for Adam Larsson

Seriously, is there something in the Alberta water? Is it set in stone that when you assume control of the Edmonton Oilers you become an idiot? Peter Chiarelli got fleeced in what he received for Taylor Hall. Since 2012 Hall, a legitimate elite young forward and signed to a reasonable deal (four more years at 6m per) has only been outscored (points/60 5v5) by Sidney Crosby and Jamie Benn.

Let that statistic sink in and then realise the return – Adam Larsson – is a subpar possession player, has a career high of 24 points and isn’t even durable having only one full 82 game season under his belt. Yes the Oilers had a glut of young talent up front, yes they needed a young defenseman to help their uneven roster but really, this is the best they could do?

How does Hall’s arrival affect the Rangers? Well, the Devils will certainly be stronger up front, but as one sided as this trade may appear, the Devils do lose one of their top four blueliners from a solid but uninspiring unit. This move influences the Rangers because it arguably removes a trade partner for the Rangers to move out Girardi or Staal and it also potentially sets a marker for a trade return.

There’s no question now that if Adam Larsson equals = Taylor Hall, the Rangers should at least be able to get a guy that can stand on skates (or doesn’t come with a brutal contract) for Marc Staal. No?

Elsewhere on Wednesday

Some common sense did prevail around the league as Tomas Hertl signed a sensible bridge deal with the Sharks (2 years, 3m per), Seth Jones got a reasonable contract from Columbus as he signed on for 6 years at $5.4m per season and the Blue Jackets then bought out former Ranger Fedor Tyutin.

Could Tyutin be a depth option for the Rangers? Tyutin’s offense has all but disappeared and he plays the wrong side, but given the lopsided composition of the Rangers blueline if we assume for a moment that significant change is still coming to the Rangers defensive unit (we can but hope) then stranger things will have happened if the Rangers do talk to Tyutin’s agent come Friday.

TSN’s Darren Dreger commented on Wednesday that he would be stunned if Milan Lucic doesn’t sign in Edmonton. We can only hope Lucic signs in Edmonton before Jeff Gorton gets tempted into a rash decision. Whatever he signs, we can assume Lucic’s deal will look horrible in the latter years.

Minnesota re-signed Jason Zucker for two years at $2m per, which isn’t a terrible decision (what, a reasonable contract you say? Never!) while Eric Staal went on the campaign trail insisting he can still

Sedate Signing Season instead of Friday Frenzy

Free agent Friday promises to be a little less exciting thanks to the bunch of moves that went down on Wednesday. Not many of the apparent Ranger targets have left the market as Friday approaches but many of the big names are no longer in play. Free agency has become less and less spectacular in recent years and this could be the worst of all, particularly given the relatively flat salary cap.

 

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