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By Zach Schiff  February 1, 2010, at 12:32 am  You know who was good? Olli Jokinen from 2005 through 2007.
You know who isn’t that good anymore? Olli Jokinen.
Of course, if the rumors are true, and Olli Jokinen is about to be a Ranger (along with Brandon Prust for Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik), then he becomes the 3rd highest-scoring Ranger, behind Marian Gaborik and Vaclav Prospal.
And yes, he is a 1st-line center who can play with Prospal at left wing and Gaborik at right wing.
But the big thing is that Kotalik is making $3M for not only this year but the next 2 seasons as well. Jokinen’s cap hit is $5.25M, and he is an unrestricted free agent this summer. So the Rangers effectively clear $3M off the books for the next two seasons.
(Higgins is making $2.25M this year, but that’s unrelated because he’d be a UFA after this season, and the Rangers probably weren’t inviting him back for another campaign. The only thing that his salary has to do with this is that it’s an even exchange, just over $5M for just over $5M. Prust is making $500,000 only.)
Maybe Jokinen isn’t as good as his two seasons when he averaged over a point per game, but to add more offense this year while clearing $3M for the next two years is a good move.
Keep in mind that this doesn’t address the real problems of the Rangers cap issues – that would involve moving any combination of Wade Redden, Chris Drury, and Michal Rozsival. But the moves are going to have to be made before the Olympic break because there is only 1 game before the March 3 trade deadline.
By Zach Schiff January 20, 2010, at 2:29 am A week ago, I never thought there’d be a day when Aaron Voros and Christopher Higgins both score in Rangers uniforms.
Well, here it is. That Voros goal was very nice, but the thing that was excellent was the Brian Boyle pass – through traffic, an excellent pass for a primary assist.
Not much I can add here that you won’t find elsewhere, but it’s huge when 8 different Rangers can find the net – and none of them have the initials MG.
I’ve been saying all along that the Rangers need offense besides Marian Gaborik, and that the Rangers need to hit the other team and stand up for themselves.
Tonight, they did that. If the players that don’t score often – Callahan, Dubinsky, Drury, Lisin, Anisimov, Avery, Higgins … … … – can find ways to score, this team can be be a playoff team. If they go back to only having Gaborik and Vinny Prospal scoring, it will be a long offseason.
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Two emails in my inbox today from a site I used to write on. And I stopped, because it was ridiculous.
1) Should the Rangers trade for Vinny Lecavalier?
2) Should the Rangers buy-out Ales Kotalik?
No, they should not trade for Lecavalier. He is a decent player this year and was alright last year. What about in 8 years from now when he’s 38, has millions of dollars in the bank, a Stanley Cup ring already, and couldn’t care less about playing?
And buying out Kotalik? Scratch a man 3 straight games and this crap gets written. Do people really not have any other ideas in their heads?
There are at least 5 guys ahead of Kotalik in the Buy-Out Department, not the least of whom would be Vinny Lecavalier if they traded for him. Plus, if they buy out his contract, who would shoot the puck for the next 2 and a half seasons? Michal “Miss the Net” Rozsival? Wade “Pass First, Defense Later” Redden?
C’mon. Have something original to write… or work for the Jay Leno Show.
By Anthony De Franco January 19, 2010, at 2:17 am Cheick Kongo is a dangerous man. He might be coming off a couple of losses, but he is a dangerous striker in a division full of guys that can put you on the mat with just one punch. Not to mention the fact that those losses came to Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez, Two guys who are in title contention.
Another of the TapouT Signature series, This shirt is an interesting take on the French flag. Congo is a native Parisian, and one of the few French fighters out there. He trains at The Wolf’s Lair in England, where some of Europe’s best, including British MMA poster boy Michael Bisping plies his trade.
MMA Warehouse has it for 27.99
For more TapouT Signature shirts, check out The 3rd String Store.
By Anthony De Franco November 6, 2009, at 1:30 pm Ok, What?
From Rotoworld:
Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports that the Brewers have traded J.J. Hardy to the Twins for Carlos Gomez.
Hardy was a goner with the Brewers committing to Alcides Escobar at shortstop and the Twins have long been a rumored destination for him, so this deal makes sense. Gomez fell out of favor in Minnesota after arriving in the Johan Santana trade, but the speedy center fielder will be given a clear path to everyday playing time in Milwaukee as the replacement for free agent Mike Cameron. Nov. 6 – 11:57 am et
Okay, I get that J.J. Hardy was a goner. I get that they think that Alcides Escobar is the next big thing, but coouldn’t they do better than Carlos Gomez? Gomez has sick range in centerfield, but his bat really leaves something to be desired. How do you expect to run out a centerfielder who hits .246/.292/.346 and expect to make the Playoffs?
This just goes back to certain teams obsession with speed and defense. While Gomez is a great defender, does that lineup have enough pop in it with Ryan J. Braun and Prince Fielder to just give up an out in the lineup?
As for Hardy, he was a +5 win player in his heyday. The Twins want him to just get back to about half that. His .229/.350/.357 was accompanied by a 45 pont drop in his BABIP. There’s reason to beleive that he will improve, and regain some semblance of his previous form.
In short, the Twins got better, and the Brewers fans are likely to be really pissed by May.
By Anthony De Franco October 12, 2009, at 10:22 pm It looks like this fight could be a number one contender match to see who is going to face the winner of the Shane Carwin/Brock Lesnar. Here’s the news, as always, courtesy of MMA Weekly:
Heavyweights Junior Dos Santos and Gabriel Gonzaga are expected to meet at UFC 108 on Jan. 2 in Las Vegas.
Multiple sources on Monday told MMAWeekly.com that the fight has been agreed to and contracts are expected to be signed shortly. Fiveknuckles.com was first to report the pairing on Sunday. The bout has yet to be officially announced by the UFC.
Sources tell MMAWeekly.com that the match-up is expected to groom the next contender for the heavyweight title.
Dos Santos (10-1) last month emerged from a starmaking turn against Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at UFC 103 in Dallas. The 25-year-old Brazilian battered Filipovic with a crisp striking attack that caused the former Pride champion to quit with three minutes left in the 15-minute bout. It was his second upset victory since taking to the Octagon at UFC 90, where he knocked out the highly touted Fabricio Werdum in the first round.
The two Brazilians both would provide interesting matchups for the potential heavyweight champs. Gonzaga is big enough to hang in with either Carwin or Lesnar. His jiu-jitsu is among the top of the heavyweights, and his striking is sharp enough to give either wrestler problems. Dos Santos is more of a striker, but is coming off a destruction of MMA Legend Mirko Cro Cop. His other two UFC fights both ended in the first two minutes.
This fight should be very interesting. While Dos Santos is a striker by trade, he also is a black belt in BJJ under the Nogueira brothers. If it goes to the ground, I’d give to advantage to Gonzaga. If it stands. then I’ll take Dos Santos via stoppage.
By Anthony De Franco September 6, 2009, at 6:28 pm What in god’s name is going on right now? This has been the weirdest cut down day of all time. There is always some teams that make some moves to improve their team right about now, but there have been some really strange moves that have placed weird players in weird places.
The most recent has former Giants TE Michael Matthews heading to New England via trade. The Giants will receive a 2011 conditional draft pick for the man who couldn’t crack their final 53.
My main question remains: What does Bill Bellichick want with Matthews? He’s a pretty decent blocker, but any Giant fan will tell you that throwing to Matthews is like throwing the ball into the hands of the other team. He can’t catch, and even when he does, he can’t seem to hold on to the ball.
His role in New England will that of a blocking tight end, but you are telling me that with over 700 players being cut yesterday, Bellichick couldn’t find some other guy that wouldn’t have cost the Pats anything in terms of compensation?
A very strange move indeed. Whatever. Maybe now Hakeem Nicks will wear 88 instead of 18.
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