Sather's Monday Machinations

The Korpedo has been fired to Phoenix in return for Enver Lisin. I really am not sure that Glen Sather knows that there are 30 teams in the NHL, as he only seems to deal with three or four. But whatever, at least he is doing something that doesn't involve screwing over us fans. As for the other party, Dan Maloney retrieved another of his draft picks from a New York system that wasn't fit for them.

Lauri Korpikoski was given every opportunity to grow when Tortorella was hired and he never stepped up his game. Korp was tried on the second line, the third, the fourth, in the middle, on the wing ... he certainly is capable of playing at the NHL level but he simply didn't make the most of his chances. So now he's gone.

In his place is Lisin, an uber-fast youngster who has serious scoring upside. He is a soft skill player who is good around the net but isn't big on going through traffic. Lisin is a solid replacement for Freddie Sjostrom, with less physicality and a better scoring touch. Like Sjo, he will probably start on the fourth line and try to work up from there. Then again, if Zherdev comes back and Byers shows up to camp in shape then Lisin may be bound for Hartford but I'm not so sure Z will return - that soap opera is still playing out. One thing is for sure, I wouldn't want to face the Rangers in a shootout with Gabby, Kotalik and Lisin ...

Sather also handed out some contracts earlier today. As completely expected, Ryan Callahan re-signed with the Rangers. The team didn't include the terms in their press release but Newsday's Zipay says it is a two-year deal worth $4.6 million.

If so, that could very well be a steal. Cally was a huge part of the team last season and stepped up his play even further when Torts came to town. His balls-out hustle certainly fits with the coach's style so he should do even better with a full season in the system. Plus, with him around for two more years perhaps I can finally get him to sign my Victoria Cup puck. Haha.

And finally (I think, it is getting late), goaltender Chad Johnson was signed by Sather as well. As I said when we traded for him on draft day, he still has a way to go before becoming a NHL goaltender but is good for organizational depth.

I mentioned to my buddy Pete earlier that it didn't seem like Sather was done and today certainly showed that he is certainly not on summer vacation. So what's next? Dubi dealt, Dubi re-signed, Z re-signed, Z signed and traded, Rangers walking away from Z or something totally out of left field?