In the grand scheme of things NHL scouts are the forgotten man when it comes to a teams success.
But in the case of the New York Rangers this season, the scouting staff did their best David Copperfield impression and made magic happen in the Big Apple.
Going into training camp the Blueshirts had four NHL defensemen under contract with Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, Marc Staal, and Dan Girardi; whom was a superb find in 2006 as an undrafted free agent signing.
To make matters worse GM Glen Sather had little cap room after signing free agent sniper Marian Gaborik to a $37.5 million contract over five years.
It seemed as though nothing short of a miracle was going to make the Rangers a playoff contender this season.
Even if Henrik Lundqvist was the second coming of Jacques Plante, Sean Avery played like Mark Messier, and Gaborik suddenly transformed into Pavel Bure, the Rangers had way too many holes on the blue line to be taken seriously.
But then came the emergence of 25-year-old free agent signing Matt Gilroy out of Boston University, and the 19-year-old phenom Michael Del Zotto; who was drafted 2 ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Daniel Sallows
Scouts Honour: New York Rangers Scouts Saved Season
November 25th, 2009 by Daniel Sallows Leave a reply »
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