Rangers trade Cullen...

Supreme Commander · Post #1 » by **Supreme Commander** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 6:59 pm

RealGM Staff Report - New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has acquired defenseman Andrew Hutchinson, center Joe Barnes and a third round pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for center Matt Cullen.

Hutchinson, 27, skated in 41 games with the Carolina Hurricanes this past season, registering three goals and 11 assists for 14 points, along with 30 penalty minutes. He established career-highs in games played (41), assists (11), points (14), and penalty minutes (30)

I hate this move. The Rangers would have had some sick depth down the middle had they held onto Cullen. I understand the economics behind the decision, however, they didn't need to trade him this year. They could have waited until next offseason. Now, I guess Avery needs to switch or Dubinsky has to make the team. Bleh.

Post #2 » by **mjhp911** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 9:20 pm

Man, we've been busy this offseason. I actually like this move. Spread the resources around, to other areas of need.

Slamm Goodbody · Post #3 » by **Slamm Goodbody** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 10:05 pm

We had too many centers anyway and Cullen didn't really come on until the second half. We can afford to dump him and be a little more flexible in our contract extensions.

Supreme Commander · Post #4 » by **Supreme Commander** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 7:20 am

The Rangers aren't going to add another piece. This move was done with an eye to the future, so the team can sign guys like Lundqvist to a long-term extension next season. Why not keep Cullen for this coming season and have the deepest grouping of centers in the NHL?

My feeling on the trade will change if the team gets an upgrade on defense... but I don't think that's going to happen.

Slamm Goodbody · Post #5 » by **Slamm Goodbody** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 11:21 am

Supreme Commander wrote:The Rangers aren't going to add another piece. This move was done with an eye to the future, so the team can sign guys like Lundqvist to a long-term extension next season. Why not keep Cullen for this coming season and have the deepest grouping of centers in the NHL?

My feeling on the trade will change if the team gets an upgrade on defense... but I don't think that's going to happen.

I think Prucha can fit in pretty well on that spot on the 3rd line, and as a finesse player Cullen wasn't moving to the checking line, so I don't really see a place for him here anymore. Maybe I'm missing something but it just seems like he gets paid too much to be lost in the mix and pining for time on the third line. Depth is a nice thing to have, but we have to be realistic in how we spend our money. Drury and Gomez are nice additions, but we gave them a ton of cash and years on their deals, and something had to give elsewhere.

Regarding our defense, I don't know much about this Hutchinson guy we acquired. I can see his stats, but as you know defense doesn't always show up in a stat sheet. Is he any good? If he is, maybe we acquired a piece there. I also liked Mara at the end of last season, hopefully he'll stick around.