Hollywood Shuffle

The Rangers have traded Ryan Hollweg to Toronto for a 2009 fifth round draft pick that originally belonged to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The trade of Hollweg brings to a close one of the great stories from the Rangers' first post-lockout season, the HMO line (or OHM line as some would have it) that energized the veteran contingent of mostly Czech players with their hard work and diligent skating. Dominic Moore was traded after that first season, Jed Ortmeyer left via free agency after the second season without ever getting an offer from the Rangers, and now the hard-hitting but often reckless Hollweg makes his exit. The Rangers will get to see what kind of impact he makes in an enemy uniform four times next season.

For our take on Hollweg's exit, see Blueshirt Bulletin+. The Hollweg trade is one step toward relieving the glut of third and fourth line wingers the Rangers have amassed, one of the Ranger-related subjects in Larry Brooks's Sunday column in the Post that come after his analysis of NHL revenues. For other New York area reports on the trade, see Blue Notes, Rangers Report, Blue Seats, Slap Shot, Howlings, and NYR.com. Slap Shot also has an item on Alexei Cherepanov's agent explaining that his client will continue to hone his craft in Russia this season before considering an attempt at the NHL and is looking forward to playing with Jaromir Jagr in Omsk -- thanks to Laurie Carr for providing us with a translation, but because of technical difficulties here in the home office, the Times blog had it up first.

Comments

[john reed]

YAAAAAAAAAA! Bye Bye Hollweg

[alamo]

The Rangers continue to make all the right moves. Thank you for relieving us of Ryan Hollweg's horrible play and stone hands.

[Ted]

boom

[eric]

SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ya!

[Buck]

Finally!

[Buck]

How much $$$ does that free up $800k ? (Now put Shanny on the 4th line )

[bdubs]

thank god!!!

[Ted]

While the Hollweg trade is a relief there still is the question as to why Sather signed Rissmiller and Voros (especially giving Voros a whooping 3 year deal?)

Also that Brooks article upset me because of Naslund's full no movement clause through the two years. Im afraid if he bombs next year than the Rangers will pull what the Ducks did with Bertuzzi and hafta buy him out. Hopefully i'm wrong though

[Buck]

Ted,
Sather signed Voros and Rissmiller to try to fill the Avery void......doubt it will work though

[NYR4]

Put Shanny on the 4th line. Are you kidding me?!?!?!? He can still play on one of the top 3 lines, 4th line would be like a slap in the face. But we need the kids to develop. Lets give Prucha a chance. The guy scored 30 goals two years ago and 22 goals the year after that. All with limited ice time.

[cwgatti]

Usually, I am not so scrutinizing of Sather's moves. But I have to say that I don't feel too good about this team right now. There are a lot of low end forwards on this team. Sather must be thinking of packaging these guys for something. Maybe nothing blockbuster, but something. This team just makes no sense to me right now.

[cwgatti]

I am not crazy about shanny, but 3 of those useless contracts could be scrapped for Shanny to come back. That must be what Sather is thinking. . . .

[Buck]

Prucha actually led the NHL in goals scored by players that played under (I think it was 10 minutes) a game

[alamo]

cwgatti, I understand your apprehension losing a player of Jags stature and the lack of true stardom, but its exciting that we are changing direction without losing our youngsters. Plenty of questions abound, and no question we are not a first tier team....however, ill take overall team speed increase and a power play that should be markedly better.

[earjjy]

Ryan is a great guy, and i wish him luck in toronto!

[roc]

According to NHLNumbers.com the Rangers have over 4 million dollars in cap space left. Thats without Dawes,Fristche and Sjorstrom signed. I still think there are moves to be made they still need a second line winger. Petr Purcha is not the answer. We need to move him too.

[Greg L.]

WOW this new BB+ thingy is cool , no more Wicky here ...and a few other door knobs not here either....ahhhh , But they doooo got me curious if there talking in there about the low lifes onhere...but we are all Ranger fans so it can't be that bad . Thamk god that " ORR guys is gone " just like the Rangers ..this place is cleaned up a bit. :)No more silly girls yakking garbage on the comments...oops hope thay don't see this!! Naw , perty safe in here!!

RANGERS moves Cwgatti are all good , losin Jagr suck , but hey ..you love it!

[roc]

Also With uncle Teddy being fired and the Icelanders not making any major upgrades to there roster they are def tanking this season (like the LA Kings are) so they can try to get stud prospect John Taraves. Bush league Franchise!

[baals]

the headline should have been "Holleluja"

[bdubs]

wait a sec i dont have a subscription and yet i can comment? wtf?

[Ted]

Does anyone know how good Taveres is supposed to be? I know its a stupid question since he's like 16 or something, but are they comparing him to be the next Sidney Crybaby?

[bdubs]

yea ted he's supposed to be REALLY good th enext next next next one.....lol

[Buck]

There is a pretty sweet video of Taveres on you tube....check it out

[Jameson]

I have really liked all the moves this off-season.

I'm skeptical of the Kalinin signing, but it's just a 1 year deal and Kalinin has had good years.

I think Redden retires a blueshirt and wouldn't be surprised if that day comes before his contract ends if he can't handle 1st pair-d kind of minutes. If he can be steady like a lot of great d-men have been over their later years I wont be surprised if he plays well through his contract and goes back to Ottawa for a discount price for a year or two.

All the forwards we've got can play a big roll next year. Avery isn't a guy that needs to be replaced necessarily. He's a unique player that you like to have but it's not like you need a pure agitator to win. You need guys that will stick up for teammates, that's what we have in a lot of guys on this roster. We'll be fine with Avery if everyone else plays as they should next year.

[GH]

I'm surprised they got a 5th round pick out of the deal. I would have tossed in the pick just to get Hollweg out of town. Tool.

My $0.02 on other moves:
Jagr/Straka - would have liked to keep both but I understand the need to move on.

Redden - I'm scared he may be the second coming of Greg DeVries. Sather overpaid a bit to get him here.

Avery - liked the win/loss record with him, otherwise that's about it. I feel his act wore thin throughout the entire organization. He is grossly overpaid now. Can someone fill his void without being a total ass?

Rozi - could be the best #3 d-man in the league, too bad he's being paid as a defacto #1.

Naslund - was once part of a scary good line. Anything left in the tank? Will be under LOTS of pressure to perform.

Zherdev - I liked Tyutin but this is an outstanding trade, well worth the risk. I have nothing to hang my hat on other than hope, but I think he will gel with Gomez and score a decent amount (35+) goals.

Shanny - merely a shell of his former self. Needs to hang up the skates and become an asst coach. Hate to say it because he is a good guy and a certain lock for the HOF.

Kalinin - could be a surprise force on the 2nd or 3rd pairing.

Two guys I want to see step up and succeed -- Drury and Prucha. Drury looked tentative all last season, he needs to find a comfort zone. Prucha just needs ice time. I fear he may get traded before camp even opens.

My sleeper pick for the season -- Dawes. I think he'll get over 25 goals.

[Bob Merchant]

"My sleeper pick for the season -- Dawes. I think he'll get over 25 goals."

And i was surprised to see a free agent ticker on the NHL channel, Direct TV. It listed all free agents and I saw Dawes...restricted. Just surprised me that he was not signed.

[John]

Hollweg is gone...does that mean Betts is next? Did the acquisition of Rissmiller make him expendable?

This team has a bunch of guys who would be default third-line players, but someone is going to have to step up to the second line. One of these guys--Dawes, Korpikoski, Callahan, Prucha, Fritsche, and Voros--is going to have a great camp and get those second line minutes and the points that come with that role. Probably not Korpikoski or Callahan, definitely not Voros. Dawes is a good choice, but I still believe in Prucha! He just had his sophomore slump a year late. He's going to see power play time with Jagr gone and Shanahan probably gone. Who knows, maybe Korpikoski is ready to become to player we were expecting when the Rangers drafted him.

[LAURA]

GET SHANNY

[jagrmiester]

Laura,

AGREED!!!!!!!!!!!!!, get shanny now!!!

[cwede]

I expect and hope we sign at least 4 of the 5 the restricted FA's - Dawes, Fritsche, Sjostrom, Moore. Jessiman, if his future is not here, I'd like to see traded for another comparably drafted prospect. But IF he improves this season as much as last, he may actually make it as big NHL winger.

[cwede]

Shanny as a ROLE player makes sense. Some here see 4th line even-strength minutes an insult, or a waste. I'd play him 4th line when even, but on the FIRST PK and PP units.

[NYRanger4Life]

For all of those now clamoring to trade Betts & Orr....(now that Hollywood is gone) dont hold your breath. With the Blueshirts fighting the cap - these players serve their purposes (PK specialist / 4th line center & one dimensional toughness) quite well, and more importantly, earned a combined $1.2 million.

[Buck]

I would gladly take a 8th round draft pick for Jessiman

[Buck]

Trading Betts and Orr would be a HUGE mistake

[Garnets]

I agree, getting rid of Betts and Orr would not be smart for the rangers. They already have relatively cheap contracts and, betts is a great penalty killer who isnt afraid of putting his body in front of it

[GardenFaithfulinFLA]

Bring back the Captain - Shanny!

[jagrmiester]

lets get the signing of shanny over with sooo i can stop thinking about him!

[scinoc]

Shanahan? A role player at age 41? There isn't a younger player that can play those minutes? It's time to move on. Please...and the leadership angle is so overrated. If Gomez, Drury, Naslund (a former captain), Lundqvist, etc., can't supply leadership, then we're in tough shape. He's had a Hall of Fame career, but for those who didn't notice the second half of the year and the playoffs...we couldn't keep up with the play. He was most effective on the PK, where he could use his smarts, and his limited mobility was minimized.

[paddyduke]

Shanny is the last piece to the puzzle. He is exactly what the team needs to establish a positive and productive chemistry. Talent has never been the problem here, it's the ability to work together as a team that we have struggled with. Good chemistry is the essential ingredient needed to win championships. Come on Slats, see the light, don't let him slip away!

[njaco1215]

If Shanny dosnt return this season I dont see a captain being named yet. Captain by commitee my be the best way to start the season with the three A's being given to those who step up and show true leadership. maybe not nameing an actual captain untill the all-star break or even next season. let the C be earned by those willing to show true leadership

[GardenFaithfulinFLA]

I believe the man was playing injured the second half of last season. There was a post during the wild week of July 1 that was made - just because a player is injured doesn't mean he's washed up!!!!

[GardenFaithfulinFLA]

Paddyduke,
Thanks - very well put!!!!

[Joe in DE]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. You guys telling Shanny to hang it up are killing me. When we were 23rd in the league in scoring last year, you guys running the 3rd highest scorer on the team out of town. Shanny is old and played half the season hurt, and still scored 23 goals. Retire? There are a number of teams that would be beating the door down to have a guaranteed 20+ goal scorer in their arsenal, not to mention his experience and leadership skills. We have a ton of UNPROVEN potential on our team right now, and from my perspective it's just as feasible to miss the playoffs as it is to go to the Finals. Who's to say this Zherdev kid lights it up? What if Fritsche gets hurt? What if Voros is worse than Hollweg? What if Prucha's game is gone for good? We banked on Drury and Gomez having instant chemistry with Jagr last year, and if not for Hank playing out of his head for the first 1/3 of the year, we would have been fighting for an 8th seed at the end.

I was totally sold on Shanny the day that Jagr went to him for one-timer lessons (they showed the clips on MSG) and then Jagr scored 2 goals that game from the high right circle with one-timers. The guy is a proven winner, leader, and goal scorer. I bet he has 1 damn good season left in him, I'd love to see him on board

[jagrmiester]

he is turning 40 not 41

[ledhed]

TSN reporting that the Rangers have agreed to terms with Dan Fritsche!

Sather keeps it going!

[rangerbill94]

Was that what it was, Sanny playing hurt? When did that happen? If he was hurt, why was he playing at all? Every statistic was down for him and they will continue down. His play against the Devils was simply bad. VERY BAD. Here was a team that we comtrolled for 50 minuts per game and Shanny just couldn't keep up. What did he have, one goal and 2 assists? He was knocked off the puck many times. He was very slow getting back into the defensive zone. Yes, when he was allowed to park out in front on the PP he got some good shots off. In the game today, a player needs to be effective in all three zones and the video doesn't lie. He just couldn't get it done. Frankly, I don't understand why Renney played him as much as he did. There would have to be some pretty serious injury he had to justify his play before I'd sign him to any contract. If nobody signs him, I'd invite him to camp and see if he can make the team.

I am one Rangers fan that is tired of all the great players doing their farwell tour through the league ant our expense. It may sound cold, but "What have you done for me lately" is the only tune I want to hear.

[paul arensburg]

"There are a number of teams that would be beating the door down to have a guaranteed 20+ goal scorer in their arsenal, not to mention his experience and leadership skills."

If this were true about Shanahan, how come nobody else in the league wants him? I repeat, nobody in the NHL wants Shanahan. I also thought he was terrible on the pk in the playoffs, as were the Rangers.

[f-champs]

Shanny was terrible last year, I don't care what the stats say. He still has the smarts to score but he he just can't skate. This team is built for uptempo hockey now, spending on Shanny would be a waste.

[Pavel]

Shanny was playing injured last year. He should've rested up and let Korpi or Parenteau play (they were called up a couple times but never got to play, except for Korpi in the playoffs).

Shanny is still a trooper though. His leadership qualities are very important.

[scinoc]

Rangerbill, Paul, f-champs -- Your points are all very accurate on Shanny, and I couldn't agree more. It's senseless to sign an aging, over-the-hill HOFer as a role player.