I always like to let the HOOP-LAH die down before I analyze anything, especially trades. The Rangers made two deals, they were:

1. G Al Montoya and LW Marcel Hossa to Phoenix for RW Fredrik Sjostrom, G David LeNeveu, LW Josh Gratton and a conditional pick in the 2009 Entry Draft.
2. St. Louis traded D Christian Backman to NY Rangers for the Rangers’ 4th-round pick in the 2008 Entry Draft.

Now, the initial reaction among many is somewhere along the lines of; huh? what? or ugh… But if we dig into these, Sather actually pulled out solid deals. Lets analyze the first.

- Montoya is finally gone. To me, we didn’t get enough for him. He finally gets a change of scenery but he steps into almost the same situation in PHX. Bryzgalov isn’t going anywhere and they have another hot prospect as well fighting for the backup spot. Tough luck for Al. Hossa is gone, and lets just say I wont miss him. I still think we could have got more for these two. Now we got Frederik Sjostrom in return. Sjostrom was a 3rd liner (probobly 4th here) grinder in PHX with some offensive upside. He will have to fight to get into this lineup though. Look for him to get a shot though. David LeNeveu is a young goaltender with a little NHL experience. He will probobly be down in Hartford backing up Wiikman. And finally, Josh Gratton, an enforcer type who will be down in Hartford as they need a phsycial presence. He could get called up if Orr or Hollweg go down to injury or poor play. The pick in ‘09 is always good as well. So this trade gets a B- from me. We should have gotten more for Montoya but the Rangers are gelling and Sjostrom gives us good Depth up front.

- Backman for a 4th was a better deal than the PHX one. Backman is a solid veteran defensive defensman. He won gold with Sweden at Turin ‘06 on the second D-pairing. Expect him to jump right in and give Strudwick a rest as Mara recovers from his facial injuries. I’m sad to see Strudwick get the crap end of this deal but Backman is definitly an improvement. Backman will probobly compete with Malik for ice-time. I give this trade a B+ because the 4th rounder isn’t that much and were still in good shape.

Overall, I give the Rangers a B grade for the deadline. We didn’t lose any important youth, and we added depth to a team that finally looks like it is coming together for good. Remember, we didn’t make any crazy moves at the ‘94 deadline :D. Plus Sjostrom and Backman are Swede’s - it gives Henrik someone to hang out with as he knows them well from the Olympics and World Championships.

As for Thursday, it will be a test. Everyone will be excited to see the lineup and especially Backman, who will be most evident in the lineup. I hope Renney doesn’t switch things up too much. Backman will be wearing #55 and Sjostrom will be wearing #20, meanwhile Gratton and LeNeveu are down in Hartford as expected (http://rangers.lohudblogs.com/). This is my best guess at what the lineup will/should be:

Avery-Dubi-Jags
Dawes-Gomez-Shanny
Straka-Drury-Cally/Sjostorm
Hollweg-Bets-Orr

Staal-Rozi
Toots-Girardi
Malik/Mara-BackmanScratched: Prucha, Struds.

Thats my best guess. I’m looking forward to Tommorow. Look for a preview post. - Rob