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The Best UFAs From The Stanley Cup Finals Losers |
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As per the tradition of these Stanley Cup Playoffs it is time to look at the key Unrestricted Free Agents of this past round's loser. And so, with the wounds of Stanley Cup defeat still fresh, it's time to look at the New York Rangers who are now just a couple of weeks away from hitting the open market. No doubt the Rangers will try to re-sign a few of these players but even the draw of returning to a Cup finalist might not be enough to stop them from making their services available to the highest bidder.
Pro-scouts have had a chance to watch some of these players for a long time and, as often is the case, the last impression tends to be the strongest. GMs around the league will extrapolate future success based on the last couple of weeks and there will be more than a few handsome pay increases in the Fernando Pisani order of things or careers will be extended in the Ben Eager order of things.
There are a total of 6 Unrestricted Free Agents on the Rangers right now and some important RFAs. The likelihood of re-signing everybody is pretty low. Here are the best UFAs from New York.
NEW YORK RANGERS
C - Brian Boyle (29). 82GP, 6-12-18. Brian Boyle is a Faceoff winning Centerman who played a little over 13 minutes a night for Vigneault's Rangers in the playoffs. But casting his 52.9% on the dots in the shadows is his massive 6'7" 244lb frame. The Oilers covet size and often let silly things like ability matter less and less when it comes to Free Agent signings. Now Boyle had the worst Corsi Rel on the team at -6.9% but he also had a caustic amount of Defensive Zone Starts (49.2%) so with that bit of context he might be a good bet for the Oilers. Did I mention his 6'7" frame?
C - Dominic Moore (34). 73GP, 6-12-18. Moore suffered the same sacrificial fate as Boyle under Vigneault. He was also close to 50% in Defensive Zone Starts and had a Corsi Rel of -5%. And, like Boyle he played around the 13 minute a night mark in the playoffs. The biggest difference between the two are some unfavourable vital statistics for Moore. He's 4 years older, 7 inches shorter, and 50 pounds lighter than his behemoth counterpart and as such if the Oil have a shot at either they would undoubtedly choose Boyle. Still, if the club wants to fill bottom 6 roles with real NHLers instead of AHL pretenders then Moore could be an option.
LW - Benoit Pouliot (27). 80GP, 15-21-36. Living up to one's Draft position can be a difficult task, especially if you happen to have been taken 4th Overall. It's safe to say Pouliot will never cover that bet given his career high in points is the 36 he put up this past season, but he has still gained a lot of favour with the stats crowd nonetheless. Pouliot is a possession machine and has posted better than good Corsi numbers everywhere he has played (55.1% this year) and even on good teams he has been pushing the river with positive Corsi Rel (+3.4% this year). Despite the fact that points arent coming at the rate you want for someone with his pedigree, Pouliot is a quality player and a really great option for the bottom 6.
D - Anton Stralman (28). 81GP, 1-12-13. Stralman is destined to be underrated in the extreme because he stands less than 6 feet tall and under 200 pounds, which for a Defenseman in the NHL is less than ideal, but good things happen when Stralman is on the ice. Really good things. Stralman played roughly 19:30 a night for the Rangers facing largely 2nd pairing opposition and absolutely killed it in the possession department. He lead the Rangers Defense in Corsi% (56.5) and in Corsi Rel (+6%) and he did the same last season as well. He was paired largely wit h Marc Staal but his WOWYs will show you that it wasnt Staal doing the heavy lifting.
THOUGHTS
I think the Oilers would love nothing more than to poach Brian Boyle and potentially Benoit Pouliot from the Rangers. MacT said roughly a year ago that he wanted a bottom 6 that could contribute and in Pouliot they could have someone who can get the puck moving the right direction and in Boyle they could get someone who checks the box in the "Huge Frickin Guy" category that theyve desperately wanted for so long, plus he has experience playing against some decent opposition in tough situations.
As for Stralman, he's exactly the kind of useful, quality NHL player the Oilers could use on their Defense to bring them back to competent levels and to push the young guys down in the order. The biggest setback to that might not even be his lack of size, but probably the fact that he is a right handed Defenseman and the team already employs Schultz, and Petry on the right hand side. Despite the fact that better things happen when Stralman is on the ice than those two in general I'm not sure the Oilers would see him as a big enough improvement (they would likely be wrong) to add in, especially since they are looking for 3rd pairing players and 1st pairing players.
The Rangers also have Daniel Carcillo and Raphael Diaz set to become UFAs but I'm not convinced Edmonton would target either of them since they have a middleweight tough-guy and enough Defensemen who can bring what Diaz could.
Their best UFAs are the Rangers' to lose and should be benefitting from the pay increases that tend to happen after a Stanley Cup appearance. And with the Rangers set to buy out Richards there should be enough money to get it done. We just wait to see how things play out.
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