Blueshirts deal for Boyle, acquire Chad Johnson

June 29, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

Over the weekend, the Blueshirts not only drafted seven new players but also added a couple of others via small deals, acquiring forward Brian Boyle from LA for a 2010 third round pick and sending one of their 2009 fifths to the Pens for the rights to goalie Chad Johnson.

The move for the 6-7, 252 pound Boyle is a curious one. Especially because he’s been another bust from that famed 2003 First Round that saw Glen Sather pass up on some remarkable talent for (Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf, Mike Richards, Corey Perry, Dustin Brown, Brent Seabrook, Brent Burns & Ryan Kesler) failed project Hugh Jessiman, who the club finally gave up on, trading him to Nashville last year.

Speaking of which, our condolences go out to Jessiman and his family following the tragic passing of his Mom, who died following a fall when they were vacationing in the Scottish Highlands. Just awful.

As for the 24 year-old Boyle, who the Kings originally selected 26th that same year, he’s only played 36 career NHL games achieving a new career high this past season by getting into 28 in which he finished with four goals and an assist with 42 penalty minutes. Boyle scored three of those goals in the final eight contests also racking up more than half his PIM (24). He is listed as a center and obviously brings a lot of size. Does this spell the end of Blair Betts, who turns unrestricted at midnight Wednesday (really tomorrow)? I would’ve preferred to keep Betts, who was an invaluable penalty killer helping our team go No.1 in the category. It looks like the Rangers have other plans according to Newsday’s Steve Zipay by also qualifying classic tease Nikolai Zherdev while passing on Betts’ steady PK partner Freddy Sjostrom. If Betts departs, figure him to be realigned with Tom Renney back home in Edmonton.

While it’s true Betts didn’t provide much offense, I’m not so sure what to think because he’s one of those character players that brings intangibles. Will our PK suffer if both he and Sjostrom are gone? Brandon Dubinsky and Lauri Korpikoski both killed penalties effectively as did Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan. Assuming the three Group II’s get done and Drury’s back, at least that gives us two solid pairs. Maybe that’s the thinking moving forward.

Sather also indicated that he wants to give opportunities to our young D prospects in the system:

“There’s five defensemen”who are knocking on the door: Gilroy, Sanguinetti, Del Zotto, Sauer and Potter…and we have to start making room for our young guys.“

So, we shouldn’t expect a ton of moves for the blueline. Though he did leave it open to possibly add one steady defensive player. How about Rob Scuderi? Look at the job he did for the Pens and he’s from the area (Syosset, NY). A solid skater who was always overlooked until this past Spring. Figure Pitt to at least have interest in re-signing him. I’ve also suggested Scuderi for Buffalo. We’ll have to wait and see.

The Rangers also picked up Johnson from the Pens this weekend. The netminder was never signed by the Pens. An original 2005 fifth rounder, the 23 year-old from Calgary had a strong season for the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, posting a 14-16-5 record with a 1.66 GAA in 35 games. Looks like he’s just insurance for Matt Zaba and Miika Wiikman at this point.

Prospect Camp opened today. Here’s the roster with the five 2009 picks in blue:

C Ryan Bourque

C Max Campbell

C Paul Crowder

D Michael Del Zotto

D Tysen Dowak

D Mitch Gaulton

D Matt Gilroy

C Evgeny Grachev

D Iikka Heikkinen

LW Chris Kreider

D Tomas Kundratek

D Daniel Maggio

LW Justin Sorval

G Scott Stajcer

C Derek Stephan

C Ethan Werek

Other Invitees:

LW Chris Chappell

LW Craig Cunningham

D Luke Curadi

F Trent Daavettila

G Keith Kincaid

D Samuel Klassen

C Matt Maccarone

C Luke Pither

G Ben Scrivens

G Travis Yonkman

Here’s a brief synopsis of Day One from Zipay.

Also today, Ranger coach John Tortorella was named as an assistant along with Islander coach Scott Gordon for Team USA at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Joining him will be Ranger assistant trainer Bruce Lifrieri. Ron Wilson, who coached Team USA to the 1996 World Cup will be in charge. Congrats to all.