Rangers move down, load up on forwards
Beukeboom taking on new job as Rangers set to add vet coach
CHICAGO — At least Jeff Gorton was selfaware of how these draft recaps go.
“We always come here and tell you we got all our guys,” the Rangers general manager said Saturday at United Center after rounds 2-7 were completed. “So that’s what I’m going to tell you.”
His Blueshirts had two first-round picks Friday, and completed their draft Saturday with five more picks, eventually taking five forwards and two defensemen.
First, they traded their top slot No. 102, to the Sharks to obtain Nos. 123 and 174. With 123, they took 20-year-old defenseman Brandon Crawley, who played with the London Knights of the OHL this past season, ranking second among the league’s defensemen in plus-minus rating (plus-55) after helping them win the Memorial Cup in 2015-16. Crawley is 6-foot-1, 203 pounds, and is a native of Glen Rock, N.J.
With pick No. 145 they took Swedish defenseman Calle Sjalin, 17, who led junior players of his Swedish league in points this past season. In the sixth round they took forward Czech forward Dominik Lakatos, and with their second pick in the round, they took forward Morgan Barron, from St. Andrew’s College, who is committed to Cornell next season.
Their final pick in the seventh round was Patrik Virta, a 21-year-old Finn who won the Saku Koivu Award as the best forward in the Finnish Elite League.
After having no first-round picks, the Islanders had five selections in rounds 2-7, starting things off with Finnish 18-year-old Robin Salo — no relation to former NHLer Tommy Salo — in the second round (46th overall). Salo was second on his team among defenseman with 15 assists.
With pick No. 77, they took Benjamin Mirageas, an 18-year-old defenseman from Massachusetts playing in the USHL who is committed to play at Providence next season. At No. 139, they took Sebastian Aho — no, not the Hurricanes player who was in the Calder Trophy conversation this season. Aho is a 21-year-old Swedish defenseman.
CHICAGO — Now that the NHL draft is over, the Rangers can focus internally, and that is starting with a change in the coaching staff.
First-year assistant Jeff Beukeboom will no longer hold that job next season, and all signs are pointing to veteran headman Lindy Ruff taking over the defensive responsibilities, if not more. Because the deal with Ruff was not completed, general manager Jeff Gorton would not confirm the new hire. But he would confirm Beukeboom is not leaving the Rangers’ organization, just shifting roles.
“We met with Jeff and we agreed on both sides to offer him another job,” Gorton said on Saturday afternoon at United Center, where rounds 2-7 of the draft took place. “He wanted to do something else, so we’re going to put him in another role. It’s yet to be defined, but he’s definitely going to be part of the Rangers going forward. As far as his replacement, that’s ongoing, trying to figure that out now.”
This was Beukeboom’s first year behind the Rangers’ bench after a stellar career as a Rangers defenseman and four years as an assistant with AHL Hartford. Ruff spent 15 years as the coach of the Sabres and four with the Stars before being fired after this past season. He would bring more experience to the staff, but one has to wonder how much head coach Alain Vigneault would be looking over his shoulder.
“It’s always nice to have experience,” Gorton said. “[Beukeboom] had plenty of experience, but it’s just a mutual thing, and I think we have a better role for him right now. As we move forward, who replaces him, if he’s going to be experienced or not, we’ll see. We’ll talk to some people and hopefully have some results soon.”
As far as the Rangers’ big two remaining restricted free agents, forwards Mika Zibanejad and Jesper Fast, Gorton said he is working on getting both signed — with Zibanejad’s deal possibly waiting to see what the market bears. “We’re open to anything as far as Mika,” Gorton said. “We want to make a good deal. It could be short-term, it could be long-term. We’re wide open. I’ve had conversations with [his agents]. I think we’ll see how the market plays out a little bit and then we’ll go from there.”
The discussions with Fast seem closer to getting done, with Gorton saying he would “like to have something done relatively soon.”
Wednesday’s expansion draft kind of threw a wrench into negotiations, and Fast held some leverage with a certain amount of players needing to be exposed to the Vegas Golden Knights.
“In some cases, it’s whether they’re more attractive with a contract or not to another team, like Vegas,” Gorton said. “Those are questions we ask. Jesper has been a good Ranger, and hopefully we get it done soon.”
Veteran defenseman Kevin Klein is contemplating retirement, still with one year on his deal that carries a $2.9 million salary-cap hit. Gorton said he spoke to Klein recently, but all they decided was that they would talk again soon.
“I don’t really have an update,” Gorton said. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find out.”
The Rangers need a backup goalie, but impressive 21-year-old Russian prospect Igor Shestyorkin is not in the mix. He is under contract in the KHL for the next two years, a deal that Gorton called “pretty iron clad.”