The Dark Ranger: It's Again Hurricane Season for Cullen

Bio of TDR

TDR is a working professional in entertainment and is obsessed with the game of hockey. More fourteen years ago, this site emerged as a means (or an outlet) to tell some truth'isms about the game post-lockout, rather than the crud fed to us through knuckleheads like Jimmy Dolan and his lemmings universe. Today, there are a hundred Rangers sites and is thankful and grateful to all those that have come after him, but honorable thanks go to his fellow Dark-writers, Graying Mantis and J_Undisputed. And "Let's Go Rangers!"

Bio of General Ganz

General Ganz is a cynical yet well-informed student of the human spirit. He's a professional of sorts, with a post-graduate education, some experience working in real companies, and some limited athletic ability. The total small package. He got picked on a fair bit as a kid, and he experienced his first human-non-relation kiss in his teens. He also grew up on the other side of the tracks, thereby helping to cultivate a healthy contempt for dreamers and optimists whose rosy upbringing gave them something to smile about, even when "life produced lemons." Like it or not, his only mission is to point out the potholes you're lucky enough to miss on your drive to work. To find the blemish on your daughter's carefully-stitched (and not-yet-paid-for) wedding dress. To take that little smidgen of hope that your favorite hockey teams fill you with, and pour orange paint on it. Oh, and he is a Blueshirts fan, and takes most of his fashion direction from Ron Duguay (whose name he dropped as a way to close the deal on that first kiss).

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

It's Again Hurricane Season for Cullen

From The Blueshirt Bulletin:
The Rangers today traded Matt Cullen back to Carolina for defenseman Andrew Hutchison, prospect Joe Barnes, and a third round draft pick. In what is primarily a move to shed Cullen's remaining three years at $2.875 million out from under the salary cap, the Rangers also pick up a player in Hutchison projected as a power play quarterback, but who has yet to become an NHL regular at age 27 because of concerns about his defensive zone play and his lack of strength. Barnes, 21, is a center with size and offensive upside, but his first pro season last year was cut short after 15 games due to a major concussion.

The Dark Ranger says:
This will free up some cap room to allow the Rangers to solidify both Sean Avery and Hossa to avoid arbitration -- one would hope, because arbitration creates indifference with two sides pitted against each other, which typically leads to one year contracts and free agents jumping ship. In speaking with a source attached to the Hurricane franchise, Hutchinson was a rotating defenseman -- not someone of strength and generally the last option of defense - not someone to solve the Rangers defensive weakness. I think most people felt that Malik was going to be traded before others -- perhaps with Nylander out of the picture, the Blueshirt Brass didn't want to completely upset the European-card too much this NYR trading season, making our good friend Jamomir feeling 'not-at-home'.

Matt Cullen never clicked here in the Big Apple. It was probably a good move. The Dark Ranger approves this one.

tdr

2 comments:

FAUX RUMORSWednesday, July 18, 2007 12:11:00 AM
1) A deal that works for both teams. Cullen back in his comfort zone will probably regain his pre-Ranger form and assist the Canes to get back into the playoffs
2) For the Rangers they jettison almost 3 mil in payroll. They didn't get back too much, but they didn't need to right now. They have their sites on first getting Avery signed to a multi year deal(avoiding arbitration) and hopefully beefing up the defense before October.
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The Dark RangerWednesday, July 18, 2007 9:03:00 AM
fauxrumore,...agree on all counts. Additionally, that 3 million plus change leaves open more room for New York to establish that defensive need -- I hear that Peca is considering the job.

Could work.... TDR likes it.

It's too bad about Cullen because I liked his level of play, but at certain points he was thrown into our rag-tag defense and penalty killer. Strange, but that probably helped him in the long run and Carolina will benefit because of it.
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