Thursday, July 29, 2010

Frolov Adds Firepower To The Rangers


You've all heard by now that Alexander Frolov, a free agent from the Los Angeles Kings, is now a New York Ranger --- something our fellow NYR bloggers have highly criticized as 'just another Slats acquisition (with the exception of Blueshirt Banter).

The Dark Ranger thinks the nay-sayers are all wrong -- because this was one hell of a signing, especially for one-year at $3 million!   If Staal is signed, along with the Frolov signing, this virtually guarantees Wade Redden will not make the roster.  (You asked for it, you got it).

Yes - Frolov's stats were declining last season, and because of it everyone jumps on the 'declining stars go to the Rangers' negative bandwagon, but I don't see this as the case at all when it comes to Alexander Frolov.  He has been a loyal and constant force as part of the Kings -- yes, there is attitude -- but how different is that from our own management and locker room?  He is a two-way player, who scores on the power-play, a dirty-goal guy who plants himself in front of the net (didn't Drury do that for Buffalo?), and throughout his career as a King he averages 20-25 goals a season -- and a plentitude of assists.  Furthermore, at half the cost of either Chris Drury, Wade Redden and Mickey Mouse Roszival, I find little to complain about.  If anyone questions his motivation as a player in the NHL, perhaps you ought to think about his turning down a multiple-year-20-million-dollar offer in the KHL for a 'one-year for $3mill to play on the New York City stage' as a damn obvious motivating factor --- this guy is hungry and wants to prove himself.  That works for me.

Go here for an interview with Frolov and why he chose The Rangers.

And stop it Rangers fans who think youth will not be served this season!  Frolov answers the age-old question "who is going to score goals on this squad?" and playing on the Gaborik line will only take pressure off Gabs and limit opposing teams triple-covering him every other game.  The goal scorer needed is 'check'.  
The young'ens in the system will prove themselves in camp and Torts will allow any Baby Ranger to step up to have their chance to play as long as they're NHL-ready and fit in the system.

With the exception of Staal not being signed and a continued much-needed D-man quarterback, most of the Rangers issues have been addressed this off-season and The Dark Ranger is especially looking forward to camp and the exhibition games to see who fills the missing pieces.

I post all this via Paris, one of the only countries without hockey (makes me so sad, except for a loyal devoted group of Canadian ex-pats), so I'll be off the grid the next couple of weeks as I am painstakingly posting this very post from a Parisian internet cafe'. Everyone around me is looking suspiciously French (and thank God not in a Montreal kind of way).

Hopefully our Dark Ranger brethren, Graying Mantis and J_Undisputed will come out of hockey hibernation and entertain the hockey masses in hockeyland when there is Rangers news to report.

So until camp, Happy Summer Rangers fans and see you soon.

p.s.  I am sure Alexander Frolov will be missing many things about being an LA King, or maybe it's just me that would miss certain things below...

tdr

Here's the official FROM TSN if you missed it:

The New York Rangers made it official on Tuesday, announcing they had agreed to terms with free agent forward Alexander Frolov on a one-year deal worth $3 million.

"Alex is a highly skilled player who we feel will play a key role in improving our offense and play in all situations," Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather said in a statement.  "He is strong competitor and has the ability to play either wing position."

The 28-year old Russian sniper suffered through a down season in Los Angeles last year, scoring only 19 goals, his lowest total since his rookie season, and adding 32 assists.  He was also made a healthy scratch by Kings head coach Terry Murray, who openly criticized Frolov's desire.

In an interview with Russian newspaper SovSport on Monday, Frolov's agent Sergei Isakov blasted the Kings for the way they handled his client, stating that they deliberately spoiled his season.
Frolov reportedly turned down a four-year deal worth approximately $20 million to return to Russia and play in the KHL, as his agent stated that he wanted to play one more season in North America before deciding his long term future.

In 536 career games, all with the Kings, Frolov has 168 goals and 213 assists for 381 points, along with 210 penalty minutes. He also helped Russia capture a silver medal at the 2010 IIHF World Hockey Championship in Germany.

2 comments:

  1. Dark, Frolov is a very good pickup. 3 million, 1 year and not much of a risk. If he is productive then he and the Rangers prosper. If not then we all know the story LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kots, if not, with a one-year contract then he's gone. Wish we could all say that about some other Ranger contracts we have to live with for the next 3-4 years...welcome back, btw.

    tdr

    ReplyDelete

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