The NYR Facts Of Life: #25 Anders Eriksson

For each player who suited up in a Blueshirt this season we will take the good, we will take the bad and take them both and see what we have. At the trade deadline the Rangers gave up Miika Wiikman and a seventh round pick in the 2011 draft for #25, Anders Eriksson.

#25's #s: 8 games, 0 goals, 2 assists, +2, 0 PIM.

Take the good: The Rangers picked up a solid defenseman for a goaltending prospect who was never going to get a shot and a low level pick. After being called up at the end of March he had four games of more than 16 minutes of ice time and just one with less than 13. The salt-n-pepper-bearded 35-year-old brought one Cup ring and more than 1,000 professional games of experience (NHL, AHL, Sweden and Russia) to the team and showed no panic while playing smart, positional hockey.

Take the bad: Tortorella plugged Eriksson into the lineup at the expense of Hobey Gilroy, rather than the real problem on the blueline, Wade Redden. Gilroy would have benefitted from playing alongside the calm Eriksson and the team would have benefitted from being without the turnover-prone, soft albatross Redden.

Take them both and then we have: Another great trade by Sather. Too bad Glen is incompetent when it comes to signing players because he has been quite adept at dealing them of late. Eriksson is good fifth or sixth defenseman or an exceptional seventh-defenseman to have around. Seeing as Ryan McDonagh is staying in college, Corey Potter is poised to move on as a UFA and the team has shown no trust in Mike Sauer, Ilkka Heikkinen and Bobby Sanguinetti, keeping Eriksson another year is a prudent option.