Sayonara Softie

The Rangers rid themselves of Mr. Softie The Backstabber today, dealing Erik Christensen to the Minnesota Wild for Casey Wellman. Sure they had to sweeten the deal with a seventh round draft pick but, hey, even the sanitation workers need to get paid for taking the garbage.

This is another win by Obi-Wan Sather. Glen turned a waiver acquisition into a decent scoring prospect who, at the very least, will be a huge help for Hartford. And he got rid of Christensen. Woo ha. It is absolutely delightful to see yet another smug, self-serving, slothful, so-called scorer dealt away for a useful asset. While Wellman is no Ryan McDonagh (not many are), he is quite capable.

Wellman - who scored in his lone career game in Madison Square Garden - can put the puck in the net. He will come to Connecticut well aware of the organization, having been a teammate of our boy Jed Ortmeyer in both Houston and Minnesota. On the other side of the equation, the Rangers are well aware of him and his abilities. They saw him long ago, back in his UMass Amherst days while watching his teammate Danny Hobbs - who they drafted back in 2007. Like the man he was dealt for, Wellman is a top-six or nothing guy - there is no point burying his ability on the third or fourth lines. It will be quite interesting to see what the Whale power play looks like with him on the same unit as Zuke and JAM.

Said it before, will say it again: Trader Sather is a genius. Signer Sather not so much, but Trader Sather = brilliant!!!!!!!!!

The NYR Facts Of Life: #26 Erik Christensen

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. And this time around we started with the high numbers and are up to #26, Erik Christensen.

#26's #s: 63 games, 11 goals, 16 assists, 3, 18 PIM (5 games, one goal, no assists, even, 2 PIM).

Take the good: Dude has some skills, no denying that. His lone playoff point was one purty snipe (or one awful mistake by the goaltender, depending on how you look at it). Five shootout goals in eight attempts, three that won games. The Rangers were 9-1-0 when he tallied a goal. He had a streak of 12 points in nine games from February 25th to March 20th.

Take the bad: Mr. Softie the Backstabber? Oh where to start? He called out his own teammate in public, an unforgivable sin for someone with no standing; Mark Messier could do it, Erik Christensen? No. On a team that blocked so many shots, Christy put his body in front of 11 over 63 games (two in the playoffs). He averaged just over two minutes of power play time per regular season game and managed seven power play points. Seven. He had an 11 game goal drought as the regular season came to an end, his second longest streak (13 games straddling his late December injury). Actually, after said injury Christy didn't block a single shot in 25 of the next 26 games. The whole idea was to keep him around because of his chemistry with Gaborik but Gabby had an incredibly disappointing 23 goals (including playoffs); Christy assisted on five.

Take them both and then we have: Brad Richards' roster spot? He is under contract for one more year so he can spend the season being soft and underachieving with Grachev in Connecticut.

Moves Down The Middle

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with forward Derek Stepan. ... This season, Stepan registered 12 goals and 42 assists for 54 points, along with eight penalty minutes in 41 games with the University of Wisconsin Badgers of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). ... The 6-0, 190-pounder skated in 81 career NCAA games over two seasons with Wisconsin, recording 21 goals and 66 assists for 87 points, along with 14 penalty minutes. ... The Hastings, Minnesota native was originally the Rangers second round choice, 51st overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. His father, Brad, was also drafted by the Blueshirts as a fifth round choice, 91st overall, in 1985.

Happy to get the kid in the fold but it is hard to see him at center ice in the Garden this year. The jump from college to the NHL has to run through the Canadian juniors or the AHL to be successful.

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with center Erik Christensen on a new contract. ... Christensen, 26, skated in 49 games with the Rangers this season, registering eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points, along with 24 penalty minutes and a plus-14 rating.

Christy showed good chemistry with Gabby right off the bat, and then again once Torts got his head out of his rear end and reunited them during the run at the end of the season. He is a cheap skill center that fits under the cap and still has room to improve at his age. At the least, when his two year deal is up, Stepan will be ready to step in and take his job.

The NYR Facts Of Life: #26 Erik Christensen

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. With the various albatrosses killing our cap and no faith in Hartford, Glen Sather turned to the waiver wire to pick up #26 Erik Christensen.

#26's #s: 49 games, eight goals, 18 assists, +14, 24 PIM.

Take the good: There were low expectations for Christensen when he was selected off the wire from Anaheim and he surprised everyone by immediately showing an on-ice rapport with Marian Gaborik. In one of Tortorella's many blunders this season, he refused to believe/accept that Christy complemented Gabby well and waited weeks before putting the two together on a (semi-) permanent basis. Christy repeatedly said during the stretch run that he was playing for a NHL job next season and the results proved it; he had eight points over his final 10 games including one of the best goals by a Blueshirt the entire year. In a rarity among the Rangers, he spoke frankly and honestly and was given the John Halligan Good Guy Award for it.

Take the bad: Christensen was the first Ranger shooter in the final shootout and had a less-than-stellar effort with a weak move and a weaker wrister from in close. Christy certainly worked well with Gabby but oftentimes he was too deferential to the Slovak sniper, passing when he should have shot. He had just three more shots (77) than Olli Jokinen did (74) in 23 more games - sure he is a different kind of player but that is just ridiculous considering the open ice he received when he was out there with Gabby. Just four of Christensen's 26 points came on the power play; his one goal with the man advantage came all the way back on New Year's Eve. He had two goals over his final 15 games, and they both came in the same game against the Leafs ... if that even counts, as they are the Leafs.

Take them both and then we have: Someone who deserves a NHL job next season, and perhaps even one with the Rangers. Christensen worked hard and stepped up his game come crunch time. He proved he was capable of holding down a top-six slot and, unless Sather can swing another deal to get rid of Redden, the GM won't be able to afford a top-line pivot to play with Gabby; Christy will come cheap. At the least, he can fill the position while Derek Stepan enjoys another season at Wisconsin.