The New York Rangers continued their free agency spending on Thursday by signing 30-year-old forward Ales Kotalik to a three-year, $9 million deal. It's a move that could signal the end of restricted free agent Nikolai Zherdev's tenure in New York after one, uninspiring season. As for Kotalik, he spent the 2008-09 season with Buffalo and Edmonton, while he's scored at least 20 goals in three of the past four seasons. He's also one of the best shootout specialists in the league. General manager Glen Sather, however, continues to sign checks with a stamp. Or so it seems.
According to Capgeek.com, the Rangers now have $49 million committed to 17 players for the 2008-09 season, leaving the team just over $7 million in cap space to fill out the remainder of the roster.
I mention the possibility of Zherdev's exit because he would likely carry an asking price somewhere between the $2.25 million Chris Higgins recently received, and Kotalik's $3 million. Keep in mind, Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky are still restricted free agents, while Marc Staal and Daniel Girardi are eligible for restricted free agency following the 2009-10 season. Can the Rangers afford to invest another $2-$3 million in a talented, yet one-dimensional player that seems to disappear for weeks at a time?
Doesn't seem likely. Especially since they have over $29 million (in terms of salary cap space) committed to Chris Drury, Michal Rozsival, Wade Redden, Marian Gaborik and now Kotalik through the 2011-12 season. And that doesn't include the $6 million that goes to Henrik Lundqvist.
So, having said that, where can Kotalik actually help the Rangers?
1) The Power Play. The Rangers' power play has been rather anemic the past two seasons, going 109-for-716 (15 percent) with the man advantage. The struggles, of course, have carried over to the postseason where the team has converted just 11 of its 73 opportunities. Enter Kotalik, who has averaged over 20 power play points in each of the past four seasons. Just as a point of reference, Drury was the only Rangers player to record 20 points on the power play this past season.
2) Shootouts. Love them or hate them, shootouts count and since the league introduced them prior to the 2005-06 season, the Rangers have been involved in 55, including 16 this past season. Kotalik comes in as one of the better shootout specialists in the league, going 20-for-38 in his career. He was tied for second in the league with eight shootout goals during the 2008-09 season.
He's a nice player that should help, but when you consider the Rangers' current cap situation it's a steep price to pay.
