Adam Raider Reflects on the NHL Draft, Discusses Rangers, Free Agency

Dylan McIlrath will hopefully bring the presence of Jeff Beukeboom.

Few hockey writers have a track record such as Adam Raider. A former member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, Adam has been featured on Beckett Hockey, Blueshirt Bulletin, Hockey Digest, The Hockey Magazine, The Hockey News, and USA Hockey Magazine.

On top of that, he is the co-author of 100 Ranger Greats, the book being featured in a trivia contest on this blog right now. He also has two books coming up for publication, one on the defunct Minnesota North Stars called, The Green and the Gold, and the other on the Dallas Stars titled, Hockey Night in Texas.

Below, Adam and I discussed the weekend’s NHL draft, the Rangers upcoming free agency, and a little about his career in writing. Here is our conversation:

GC: Many fans are up in arms about the Rangers first round draft selection of Dylan McIlrath. What do you think of this pick? Also, how would you rate the Rangers overall draft, including all subsequent rounds?

AR: Since Jeff Beukeboom retired, the Rangers have really lacked a big, physical presence on defense. You realize how much a player like that is missed when you see opposing teams crashing Henrik Lundqvist’s net night after night. So on the one hand, I understand the thought process behind why the Rangers drafted McIlrath.

He certainly has the size and the nasty streak that’s been missing, but I question whether a player like that was worthy of a tenth overall pick. He’s really, really raw and it will be a few years before he’s close to being ready for the NHL. We won’t know whether this was an inspired pick or a disastrous pick for a long time.

New York’s second round choice, Christian (son of Steve) Thomas, is an undersized right wing whose chances of making the NHL are about 50-50. But if he has half of his father’s tenacity, this could be a decent pick.

The rest of the players drafted last weekend seem to be long shots of ever making the NHL, but that’s not unusual. The vast majority of players drafted by NHL clubs will never make it beyond the minor pros.

GC: With the Rangers in need of a steady backup goalie, do you think they will target a free agent, re-sign Auld, or give Chad Johnson the job?

AR: Backup goalies are not usually a high priority but if the Rangers are serious about reducing Henrik’s workload – and they should be – then I think they need to sign a veteran like Alex Auld. It won’t be easy, though. Thanks to some really bad contracts, and the need to resign some of their restricted free agents, they’ll have to pinch every penny this summer. Auld was fine in limited duty last year so I’d have no problem giving him 15-20 starts to take some of the pressure off Henrik.

GC: Is there any chance that the Rangers can sign Ilya Kovalchuk? And if not, what forwards will they pursue in his place, if any?

AR: With the Rangers, there’s always a chance. The question, though, isn’t whether they will, but if they should. The Rangers don’t have a great track record when it comes to investing millions of dollars on hired guns from outside the organization (Marian Gaborik being a recent notable exception). Plus, Kovalchuk is a one-dimensional goal scorer. Other than a lot of pouting, what will he give you during the inevitable cold streaks? Under the circumstances, and given the anticipated price tag, I don’t think that signing him is a risk worth taking.

Greg, I’ve said it many times before, but I guess it warrants repeating: the big problem with the Rangers isn’t that they lack a 50-goal scorer. It’s that they lack chemistry. Free agents come and go so the club never gets a chance to develop any kind of bond or sense of brotherhood. The Rangers have had lots of talented players but they rarely gel into a cohesive unit.

You can’t buy chemistry, no matter how deep your pockets are. It only comes with time, patience, and smart drafting. Rather than buy a player like Kovalchuk and hope he fits in, the Rangers should put in the hard work to draft and develop their own superstars. If that means another rebuilding period, so be it. It worked for Pittsburgh and Chicago, didn’t it?

GC: Given the recent news about the contract negotiations between Staal and Sather, is there any chance things will go awry? And what kind of contract do you think Staal deserves?

AR: Last season proved that Marc Staal is still trying to figure out what kind of player he’s going to be. His role is still a little fuzzy, though part of that might stem from the coaching change. It’s obvious that he has the tools to be a very good defenseman in the NHL for many years to come, but I wouldn’t pay him more than $3.5-$4 million a year.

However, Staal’s agent, Bobby Orr, can point to the insane contracts Glen Sather lavished upon Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival and say “My client is more valuable than those two, so why should he earn half as much?” In a way, it’s a valid argument. Ultimately, I think the Rangers will find a way to keep Staal but they will end up spending a lot more than they had originally planned.

GC: Moving to your writing career, you have two books coming out, one on the Minnesota North Stars and one on the Dallas Stars. What can you tell us about these, and when will they be released?

AR: This was originally one very long book that was to have been released in 2004. It was a complete history of the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise covering everything from expansion in 1967 to the Stanley Cup championship in 1999. Of course, it also included a lot of background on why the team moved to Texas and had profiles of fan favorites like Mike Modano, Dino Ciccarelli, and Brett Hull.

But then the NHL lockout happened and we had a change of plans (or, more to the point, my publisher at the time got cold feet). So I decided to re-edit the whole thing and break it up into two books. Think of it as a great hockey story, told in two parts.

I’m not sure when the first book will be released. I learned from my work on 100 Ranger Greats that things in the publishing industry tend to move very slowly, so I’ll just need to be patient and hope it happens before the NHL expands into Europe … or the Rangers draft a 50-goal scorer – whichever happens first.

Rangers Go Off the Board and Draft Bruiser Dylan McIlrath

With top-five ranked defenseman Cam Fowler still on the board, and top-ten Brandon Gormley, the Rangers chose to go past them and take fifteenth ranked physical defenseman Dylan McIlrath.

This move came as a complete shock, especially with two great defenseman available and goaltender Jack Campbell, who analyst Russ Cohen suggested the Rangers draft.

Needless to say, I was disappointed at the pick. Personally, I wanted Tarasenko, but that quickly faded with Fowler still on the board. But now, I am trying to find the light in this pick, and I guess when you consider that the Rangers already had his name stitched on the jersey, that means they really wanted him and targeted him over everyone else.

Fans and management alike swear by Gordie Clark’s brilliance at drafting, so I will trust him on this one. The Rangers have not have a tough-as-nails defenseman since Jeff Beukeboom; Purinton and Erik Reitz not included.

Myself and everyone else has been complaining about an abundance of softness on the Rangers, especially the back-end, and this move will fix that in a year or two.

If this is the direction the Rangers are taking, as in becoming more physical and able to stick up for themselves, then I like it. But as a player who earns his livelihood on fighting, if McIlrath takes one punch to the head in the wrong spot, it’s all over. That is my major concern.

My only beef with this pick is the fact the Rangers could have traded down, probably up to ten spots, and still would have been able to take him.

This is just a little of what he brings. He’ll be a fan favorite in a week.

Interview with Hockey Analyst and Author Russ Cohen

When it comes to hockey analysts, Russ Cohen is a jack of all trades. He hosts a hockey radio show on XM satellite radio, runs Sportsology, and even co-authored the ultimate book for New York Rangers fans titled, “100 Ranger Greats”, along with Adam Raider and the late John Halligan.

In this, our second interview, I asked Russ about the NHL playoffs, the upcoming draft and off-season, and of course, the New York Rangers. Russ also recounted his memories with John Halligan, fellow hockey historian who he worked closely with, who passed away just a few short months ago.

GC: As of right now, who are your favorites to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, and who will be the eventual winner?

RC: Greg, I originally picked the Capitals and Canucks in the preseason, and I will continue to pick these teams. I think the Capitals’ overtime win woke them up, and their goalie change to Varlamov was a big factor as well. Vancouver’s blue-line is beat up, but I think they can weather the storm.

GC: San Jose once again finds themselves having a phenomenal regular season only to struggle in the playoffs. Why do you think this is so? And if they fail to get out of the first round, whose jobs do you think will be in danger?

RC: I think they will get out of the first round. I don’t think anybody in management is in danger but I think there could be some personnel changes. If I were the GM, I might try to move Patrick Marleau or Joe Thornton.

GC: With the NHL draft coming in the end of June, which player do you think will be the first overall pick? And who do you see the Rangers taking with the 10th pick?

RC: Greg, I think the first overall pick will be Taylor Hall. You can’t teach speed and that sets him apart from anybody else in this draft. The Rangers need a goalie in their system in the worst way. Now I would pick Jack Campbell, but the question is who do I see them taking? Hmmmm. Ryan Johansen.

GC: The Rangers played their best hockey of the season down the stretch and still missed the playoffs by a point. What do you think was the main reason for this? And do you see Sather or Tortorella getting fired?

RC: Greg, It doesn’t appear that there will be any changes going into next season. I thought the choice of not using Marian Gaborik in the shootout was indefensible, considering Danny Briere was 0-2 or 0-3 in his career against Henrik Lundqvist and he scored. [Tortorella] didn’t give an answer to the media about that decision after that game which was weak. I think the fact that they didn’t carry seven defenseman for most of this season was a mistake as well.

GC: We all know what it would take salary-wise, but what are the chances of the Rangers landing a free-agent like Ilya Kovalchuk? And although I do not want him, will the Rangers make a push for Patrick Marleau?

RC: Well I think Marleau might be available and he is a top-line center. Kovalchuk will want $8-10 million so the Rangers can’t afford him. Marleau will want around $6 million and the Rangers could swing that with some moves.

GC: The question that every Rangers fan wants answered, is whether or not Wade Redden will be demoted to Hartford before next season. Is there any chance this can happen?

RC: Greg, I think the pressure to do that will be there this season. It’s my understanding that he has to attend camp before they can do that without taking a big cap hit. I think there’s a better than 50% chance that this will happen.

Russ, Adam, and John at a book signing

GC: Finally, this is our first interview since long-time Rangers PR man, author, and enthusiast John Halligan passed away. Can you tell us what it was like co-authoring a book with him?

RC: Greg, it was a life changing experience. He and I instantly formed a friendship, something he and Adam had already shared. He treated me like an equal, and I certainly wasn’t. He took my opinions into consideration no matter how wacky they were. And at times during these conference calls when we were determining the final list in “100 Ranger Greats”, the conversation did get silly at times, no thanks to me. The three of us were a team and I enjoyed every minute of it and it didn’t end there. John would join me on my XM Business of Hockey Show, he taped some Authors Roundtable Podcasts on our site http://www.rangergreats.com, and they are still there for anybody to listen to. There will never be another John Halligan and I will do everything I can to keep his legacy alive. Thanks for asking about him and thanks for the interview.

I want to thank Russ for taking the time to do the interview, and to also ask that everyone check out his websites and if you have XM radio, give his show a listen!