The Rangers Stole Tim Erixon

Let’s be clear about one thing here, the Rangers absolutely stole Tim Erixon from Calgary, and the Flames fans are not happy about it.  Not only did the Rangers acquire Erixon for Roman Horak and their two 2nd round picks this year, but they also got a 5th round pick in this draft.  To wrap up the trade: the Rangers get Erixon (23rd overall pick in the very strong 2009 draft) and the 134th pick in the 2011 draft, in exchange for Roman Horak (127th overall in 2009) and the 45th and 57th picks in the 2011 draft.  Not a bad swap.

For Calgary, it was obvious they couldn’t sign Erixon, so they had a choice of taking the package the Rangers gave them, or taking just the 53rd overall pick in this draft.  It was a bad situation regardless, so they took the best package they could get and will look to make the best of it.

As for the Rangers, this is highway robbery of Jay Feaster and the Flames.  Scouting reports for Horak, who had little or no future with the Rangers due to depth in bottom six forwards, show him anywhere from a second line forward to a career AHLer.  I tend to stay in the middle ground of these scouting reports, and say that he probably will wind up as a third line player who can chip in offensively.  Horak is a known entity, while the 5th round pick the Rangers received is not.  Seeing as how 5th round picks are generally toss ups, let’s call this aspect of the trade a slight win for Calgary.

If the 5th rounder coming to the Rangers for Horak is a slight win for the Flames, then the Rangers, for all intents and purposes, got Tim Erixon for two 2nd round draft picks.  Erixon, had he re-entered the draft, would have been a top-10 pick in this weak draft.  While some may argue where he would have been selected, he would not have fallen to the Rangers at #15, that’s for sure.  When removing names from the deal, the Rangers essentially traded the 45th and 57th picks for a top-10 selection in this year’s draft.

Even if you want to say that Horak could have fetched a third round pick (which is a big reach), then the Rangers traded two 2nd round picks and a third round pick for a top-10 pick and a 5th round pick.  This is a steal of epic proportions, possibly on the level of Scott Gomez for Ryan McDonagh.  No wonder Calgary fans are angry.