NYI vs. NYR: Mark Streit vs. Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival
Posted 4:24 PM ET | Comments 6
As we all know, I am an Islanders fan and I usually write only Islanders blogs, but I felt I should address the signing of Wade Redden as I see it. As July 1st came for the Islanders and the Rangers, I made sure that this year I would be better prepared for the sounds of crickets and mice running through the Coliseum, while also preparing myself to hear announcements all day about the Rangers signing all of Gods creation to their roster for the upcoming season. I figured Snow would try to stick to his plan of rebuilding, while maybe trying hard to go after Radim Vrbata or possibly even Kristian Huselius. This young talent seemed to make the only sense considering we are looking to keep the roster young and rebuild mostly from within. I also figured the Rangers would be throwing obscene amounts of money at Mats Sundin and Marian Hossa, while also trying to retain Sean Avery and Jaromir Jagr for as little as possible. Well, I was in for a surprise, and I am pretty sure everyone could agree they were surprised as well.
It is approximately 3:00 PM EST on July 2nd, and so far we have seen things that are very unexpected from both the Islanders camp and the Rangers camp. The Islanders have locked up Mark Streit to a five-year contract worth $4.1 Million per season, and they have also locked up Yann Danis to compete for either the back-up position on the Islanders, or the starting position in Bridgeport. The Rangers have been relatively active as well, signing Wade Redden to a six-year contract worth $6.5 Million per season, Patrick Rissmiller (3rd-4th Liner), Anton Voros (4th Liner), Brian Fahey (AHL Defenseman thus far), Andreas Jamtin (Europe), and re-signing Rozsival and Valiquette. To sum it up, it has been a very active day in New York, especially in the defensive spectrum. Let us look at the signings of Mark Streit vs. that of Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival. Please keep in mind I am not bashing the Rangers, simply expressing an opinion that I know is shared by many.
Mark Streit will join the Islanders in a rebuilding time period. While I feel he is only worth maybe $3.5 Million per season, his contract is a reflection of the inflated prices that seem to be overtaking the NHL! Last season, Streit put up a phenomenal 62 points (13 Goals, 49 Assists). On the power-play, he was used as a quarterback while also constantly sneaking in the back door for a goal. He put up 7 goals and 27 assists for 34 points on the man-advantage, which shows why he is labeled as a PP perfomer. While these are great numbers, I would not expect to see the same numbers next year. We do not have the firepower that the Canadiens do, and therefore I will be pleased if he is able to put up 40-45 points and help to quarterback our power -play. What can we expect from him defensively? He will most likely be part of our 5-6 pairing defenseman, logging approximately 18+ minutes per game, and we can hopefully watch his defensive game flourish under Nolan, as much as his offensive game has developed under Carbonneau. He is capable of playing solid defensively, with the occasional lapse every so often. His contract will prove to be a great signing more in years three through five of the contract when our young talent has developed and made us a contender. By that time, one can only imagine the price of contracts for a defenseman who puts up points! At only thirty years of age, we are getting him entering his prime and hopefully he will be able to demonstrate his offensive abilities, and let Campoli and Gervais learn from them.
Wade Redden will join the Rangers in what I believe will be a defining season for the Rangers. Drury and Gomez are now active leaders, however, they no longer have Avery, and it seems like Shanahan, Jagr, and Straka are all on their way out as well. It will be tough to replace the talent that those four contributed, but I believe players like Nigel Dawes and Brandon Dubinsky are full of talent and ready to demonstrate why they will be stars in this league some day. Wade Redden will be making $6.5 Million per season over the course of the next six years. This is essentially the same amount of money that Lundqvist is making. Now I am not digging into the Rangers, I just enjoy stirring up hockey conversation, but do all the Ranger fans out there, or any hockey fans for that matter, believe that Redden is as important to this team as Lundqvist? Over the past two seasons, his play has significantly dropped off, not even taking into account his point totals. His play during the second-half of this past season and especially in the playoffs was atrocious, and many believed he would only make around $4 Million this year at best. I understand the need for a puck-moving defenseman, but I feel that the Rangers should have been able to get Redden for much less. He only put up a total of 38 points this season, while playing a total of 80 games. For a team that features Alfredsson, Heatley, and Spezza on the power play, that is simply unacceptable for an offensive defenseman! Do I feel that he is great at making the breakout pass or skating the puck out of the zone? Yes, he is still great at doing that. However, last season he seemed to have lost a step, and was making very bad turnovers in his own end. His presence along the boards was missing, and he seemed almost afraid to go 100 percent at all times. Do I feel he is capable of being a great defenseman, yes, but I have to say I am worried for the Rangers and Ranger fans if he plays as he did the past two seasons in Ottawa. This is a tremendous cap hit to deal with for a struggling 3-4 defenseman, especially if he continues his play. What I feel makes this worse is that the Rangers continued to make a bad payroll decision by re-signing Michal Rozsival to a four year, $20 Million contract. Rozsival may have a great shot, but we can all agree he is not that great in his own zone or at shutting down other teams top units. For $11.5 Million, the Rangers could have gotten Streit easily over the Isles, and they could have thrown a nice sum of money at Orpik, and still had money left over. The Rangers sorely lack that crease-clearing, hard hitting defenseman. Orpik would bring that to the table! Streit would have filled the same gap that Redden is going to fill and just as well, and Orpik would have been used as the shut-down man possibly alongside of Staal or Girardi. To keep looking on the bright-side for the Rangers though, hopefully Redden will be able to help Staal, and soon Sanguinetti, develop into better offensive defenseman. He is a true veteran, and also a leader in the locker room, and will be a great influence on the kids.
Before Ranger fans jump down my throat about how I am putting down their team, please understand, I really am just expressing what I feel was a bad signing for the Rangers. The Rangers have a much better team than the Islanders right now and that is obvious to anyone who watches the NHL. I do feel it is easier for the Rangers to sign those big-name free agents, hence the reason they could have had Streit over the Islanders any day of the week. I feel Streit and Orpik would have been more beneficial to the Rangers in the long run than Redden and Rozsival. They take up a tremendous amount of cap-space for number 3-4 defensemen. I do think Redden could be a great come-back player, but if he isnt, it will be hard to unload such a high-priced, underperforming player. I am also going to say straight out that I know the Islanders are not getting the next Lidstrom in Streit. We are getting a mediocre defenseman with a tremendous offensive upside. But for $4.1 Million, Garth Snow definitely made a savvy investment into our future. Obviously only time will tell how these investments pan out, but for right now, this is an opinion I hold strongly. Please feel free to leave your opinion, it is greatly appreciated! Good luck to everyone adding whoever else they would like on their rosters, and good luck to both the Islanders and the Rangers.
-Justin
(NYIsles16)
It is approximately 3:00 PM EST on July 2nd, and so far we have seen things that are very unexpected from both the Islanders camp and the Rangers camp. The Islanders have locked up Mark Streit to a five-year contract worth $4.1 Million per season, and they have also locked up Yann Danis to compete for either the back-up position on the Islanders, or the starting position in Bridgeport. The Rangers have been relatively active as well, signing Wade Redden to a six-year contract worth $6.5 Million per season, Patrick Rissmiller (3rd-4th Liner), Anton Voros (4th Liner), Brian Fahey (AHL Defenseman thus far), Andreas Jamtin (Europe), and re-signing Rozsival and Valiquette. To sum it up, it has been a very active day in New York, especially in the defensive spectrum. Let us look at the signings of Mark Streit vs. that of Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival. Please keep in mind I am not bashing the Rangers, simply expressing an opinion that I know is shared by many.
Mark Streit will join the Islanders in a rebuilding time period. While I feel he is only worth maybe $3.5 Million per season, his contract is a reflection of the inflated prices that seem to be overtaking the NHL! Last season, Streit put up a phenomenal 62 points (13 Goals, 49 Assists). On the power-play, he was used as a quarterback while also constantly sneaking in the back door for a goal. He put up 7 goals and 27 assists for 34 points on the man-advantage, which shows why he is labeled as a PP perfomer. While these are great numbers, I would not expect to see the same numbers next year. We do not have the firepower that the Canadiens do, and therefore I will be pleased if he is able to put up 40-45 points and help to quarterback our power -play. What can we expect from him defensively? He will most likely be part of our 5-6 pairing defenseman, logging approximately 18+ minutes per game, and we can hopefully watch his defensive game flourish under Nolan, as much as his offensive game has developed under Carbonneau. He is capable of playing solid defensively, with the occasional lapse every so often. His contract will prove to be a great signing more in years three through five of the contract when our young talent has developed and made us a contender. By that time, one can only imagine the price of contracts for a defenseman who puts up points! At only thirty years of age, we are getting him entering his prime and hopefully he will be able to demonstrate his offensive abilities, and let Campoli and Gervais learn from them.
Wade Redden will join the Rangers in what I believe will be a defining season for the Rangers. Drury and Gomez are now active leaders, however, they no longer have Avery, and it seems like Shanahan, Jagr, and Straka are all on their way out as well. It will be tough to replace the talent that those four contributed, but I believe players like Nigel Dawes and Brandon Dubinsky are full of talent and ready to demonstrate why they will be stars in this league some day. Wade Redden will be making $6.5 Million per season over the course of the next six years. This is essentially the same amount of money that Lundqvist is making. Now I am not digging into the Rangers, I just enjoy stirring up hockey conversation, but do all the Ranger fans out there, or any hockey fans for that matter, believe that Redden is as important to this team as Lundqvist? Over the past two seasons, his play has significantly dropped off, not even taking into account his point totals. His play during the second-half of this past season and especially in the playoffs was atrocious, and many believed he would only make around $4 Million this year at best. I understand the need for a puck-moving defenseman, but I feel that the Rangers should have been able to get Redden for much less. He only put up a total of 38 points this season, while playing a total of 80 games. For a team that features Alfredsson, Heatley, and Spezza on the power play, that is simply unacceptable for an offensive defenseman! Do I feel that he is great at making the breakout pass or skating the puck out of the zone? Yes, he is still great at doing that. However, last season he seemed to have lost a step, and was making very bad turnovers in his own end. His presence along the boards was missing, and he seemed almost afraid to go 100 percent at all times. Do I feel he is capable of being a great defenseman, yes, but I have to say I am worried for the Rangers and Ranger fans if he plays as he did the past two seasons in Ottawa. This is a tremendous cap hit to deal with for a struggling 3-4 defenseman, especially if he continues his play. What I feel makes this worse is that the Rangers continued to make a bad payroll decision by re-signing Michal Rozsival to a four year, $20 Million contract. Rozsival may have a great shot, but we can all agree he is not that great in his own zone or at shutting down other teams top units. For $11.5 Million, the Rangers could have gotten Streit easily over the Isles, and they could have thrown a nice sum of money at Orpik, and still had money left over. The Rangers sorely lack that crease-clearing, hard hitting defenseman. Orpik would bring that to the table! Streit would have filled the same gap that Redden is going to fill and just as well, and Orpik would have been used as the shut-down man possibly alongside of Staal or Girardi. To keep looking on the bright-side for the Rangers though, hopefully Redden will be able to help Staal, and soon Sanguinetti, develop into better offensive defenseman. He is a true veteran, and also a leader in the locker room, and will be a great influence on the kids.
Before Ranger fans jump down my throat about how I am putting down their team, please understand, I really am just expressing what I feel was a bad signing for the Rangers. The Rangers have a much better team than the Islanders right now and that is obvious to anyone who watches the NHL. I do feel it is easier for the Rangers to sign those big-name free agents, hence the reason they could have had Streit over the Islanders any day of the week. I feel Streit and Orpik would have been more beneficial to the Rangers in the long run than Redden and Rozsival. They take up a tremendous amount of cap-space for number 3-4 defensemen. I do think Redden could be a great come-back player, but if he isnt, it will be hard to unload such a high-priced, underperforming player. I am also going to say straight out that I know the Islanders are not getting the next Lidstrom in Streit. We are getting a mediocre defenseman with a tremendous offensive upside. But for $4.1 Million, Garth Snow definitely made a savvy investment into our future. Obviously only time will tell how these investments pan out, but for right now, this is an opinion I hold strongly. Please feel free to leave your opinion, it is greatly appreciated! Good luck to everyone adding whoever else they would like on their rosters, and good luck to both the Islanders and the Rangers.
-Justin
(NYIsles16)
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23 New Blogger - New Ideas - New York Islanders!
23 Some NYI Predictions and a Proposal for Atlanta...
24 Berard, Sim, and Some Other Isles Thoughts
23 Some NYI Predictions and a Proposal for Atlanta...
24 Berard, Sim, and Some Other Isles Thoughts
02 NYI vs. NYR: Mark Streit vs. Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival
03 Snow's Savvy Signings - Isles Put on Some 'Weight'
07 Sean Bergenheim: Another Contractual Dispute?
16 Nolan Voted Off the Island
03 Snow's Savvy Signings - Isles Put on Some 'Weight'
07 Sean Bergenheim: Another Contractual Dispute?
16 Nolan Voted Off the Island
03 Islanders Draft Recap - Part II
05 Islanders Draft Recap - Part III
06 Islanders Draft Recap - Part IV
08 John Tavares Press Conference
09 Chicago Blackhawks RFA Situation Update
09 Reconsidering Nikolai Zherdev
10 Does Alex Tanguay Make Sense?
12 The IslesNet Mailbag 7-12-09
13 This Week's U.F.A Signings
13 Should the Islanders Acquire Cheechoo?
14 The Hiring of Jacques Lemaire
14 A Clarification on the Tanguay Situation
15 The NYI and the Phil Kessel Situation
17 NYI: The DiPietro and Roloson Show?
20 Islanders Offseason Progress Report
27 IslesNet Monday Morning Wake-Up
28 NYI: Center's-a-Plenty
05 Islanders Draft Recap - Part III
06 Islanders Draft Recap - Part IV
08 John Tavares Press Conference
09 Chicago Blackhawks RFA Situation Update
09 Reconsidering Nikolai Zherdev
10 Does Alex Tanguay Make Sense?
12 The IslesNet Mailbag 7-12-09
13 This Week's U.F.A Signings
13 Should the Islanders Acquire Cheechoo?
14 The Hiring of Jacques Lemaire
14 A Clarification on the Tanguay Situation
15 The NYI and the Phil Kessel Situation
17 NYI: The DiPietro and Roloson Show?
20 Islanders Offseason Progress Report
27 IslesNet Monday Morning Wake-Up
28 NYI: Center's-a-Plenty
Justin as a fan of neither the Rangers or Islanders, I agree with much of your assessment. The NYR did overpay and I'm not sure they got the most for their money...in a few years time, the Redden deal in particular is not going to look very good. The Isles on the other hand got pretty much a steal with Streit at a much more reasonable price. Nice job.
Not a bad signing for the Islanders. From what I saw last year, Streit is a good PP quarterback, as you said he won't hit the 60 points this years with the Islanders but, 30 points are guaranteed, wich is not bad for a Denfeceman. The actual question mark about Mark Streit, it is his defensive play. He was oftenly soft in the d-zone and doesn't use his small frame. He needs to be with a big guy. It's a good signing for the weak Islanders (sorry but it's the truth) but this PP specialist doesn't worth 4 millions. Think about it, 4 millions for a guy who is only great on the PP and who's defensive play struggles? Isn't Mark Streit supposed to be called a DEFENCEMAN?
Although I agree with you that Rangers overpaid for Redden, his price was this high because of such signings as Finger and Campbell. The bottom line is that if the Rangers were to have him, they had to pay that amount. Is he as important as hank? Absolutely not. Are Gomez and Drury more important that Hank just because their contracts are larger? NO! Only time will tell if this is a good signing. In Redden's defense, he had to deal with a lot over the past season (his family issues and trade talks), yet he still had more points than any Ranger D-men, other than Rozsy. So I certainly think that Rangers upgraded, even though that they overpaid by about a mill. On the other hand, I think Streit will help Isles offensively, but he is horrible in his own zone. He was a -6 with Habs, whereas Redden was a 11. So, although not a bad signing by Isles, expect to see a lot more pucks go into your own net when Streit is on the ice.
i think the rangers screwed up big time. they i love gomez and drury but they over paid for them, and now they over pay two mediocre defensemen. i understand the market is insane but where are they getting this offense from? zherdev was a great pick up but dubinski is not puttin up the numbers he did last year if jags doesnt resign and now loosing shanny, jags,straka and avery, that point output needs to be replenished and as much as i love the kids, i dont think they have those numbers in them, maybe half... there offense struggled big time last year and now that they are loosing a couple of their top forwards they are in big trouble.... i am a islander fan and my team sucks but i tell it like it is.. if your a ranger fan and feel good about there offense right now then your crazy... they wrote some insane contracts these past 2 years and it is going to kill them..... watch
Just a couple of points. If you think that Streit will improve defensively with the isles I think you are mistaken. The Canadiens are coached by Carbonneau and managed by Gainey. either of them could be titled Mr. Defense.Redden is really a misunderstood player. In assesing his play you have to remember the entire Ottawa team collapsed last year. Not being a Sens fan but having the opportunity to watch him here in Ottawa I would have loved the Oilers to sign him. He has been asked to accomplish to much and the Sens (as a team) are lacking in netminding and defensive systems.The unfortunate part of free agency is that if you want the player...you pay the salary. Are any of these players worth the money they get?
i agree with sabata, redden was playing on a horrible ottawa team with changes in coaching and management there was so many problems going on in ottawa, redden has the potential to have a fresh start in the big apple and hopefully join rosival at the blue line where they can get the feel of one another and be a great defensive force, on the other hand i do agree we need to sign either shannahan or jagr to a one year deal, im almost positive jagr would want to finish his career here in new york and i hope he does, as well as for gomez and drury the market is high you have to expect for their talent that they are going to get paid that much by any team they would have signed to in the NHL, but definately expect young players such as dubinsky and dawes to step up and put up numbers but only time will tell we will see how some of our youngsters step it up in the season to come. nice blog though i agree on some points but on some i disagree