Get Ilya!

Seems like the Yanks and Knicks will be eating up the evening, so while I have a moment here is my simple free agent plan for the Rangers: Get Ilya Kovalchuk. For the past several years, the Rangers have been looked from offense at the deadline. Last offseason, they took a major step in correcting that by signing Marian Gaborik. Gaborik was plenty productive (particularly before the Olympics where he got hurt), but they still found themselves rooting around for goals at the deadline, before settling on Olli Jokinen, it had been Nantropov at the deadline back in the `08-`09 season.


Now that the Rangers have a lot of good prospects that look like they'd be quality Rangers, they shouldn't engage in trade ideas that will cost prospects. So to protect those prospects both now and at the deadline, sign Ilya Kovalchuk. He would join with Gaborik to give us two elite offensive talents, and those would help in getting back to the playoffs as well as in the playoffs. He's a legit 40 goal a year guy, in his prime, who doesn't require a loss of prospects and is absolutely worth a Gaborik type deal. What's more, Anisimov, Grachev, Pashnin and Valentenko as well as all the young scorers in the system could probably learn a lot from him.

Beyond IK, the Rangers do need a back-up goalie making back-up bucks. There's been some noise about them wanting defense, but why block the kids? McDonagh might be ready, Valentenko might be ready and so on and so forth. The Rangers have two defenders choking their cap as it is. Get Ilya, get the goalie, then fill in the blanks with kids and bargains. Go Rangers!