Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Coyotes and Rangers Swap


The Phoenix Coyotes send forwards Fredrik Sjostrom (Box 8) & Josh Gratton (non-pool) with goalie David Leneveu (non-pool) to the New York Rangers for forward Marcel Hossa (non-pool) and goalie Al Montoya (non-pool).

To RangersAgeGames/MINPointsContract (July 1st)
Fredrik Sjostrom, F245119RFA
Josh Gratton, F2510RFA
David Leneveu, G2400RFA
To Coyotes
Marcel Hossa, F26368RFA
Al Montoya, G2300RFA

This is a very convenient deal for both teams, as they both have players that are a little impatient with their now former clubs. Hossa was not seeing as much ice-time for the Rangers as he possibly would have liked, while Montoya was getting really impatient, but didn't have a leg to stand on being lower on the depth chart to Henrik Lundqvist (John P.). For Phoenix, Sjostrom's inconsistent play saw him sit in the press box for a few games at a time, but when he got back into the line-up, he didn't excel the way the Great One would have wanted him to. Leneveu was starting to become a dependable goalie in the minors, but hadn't received the billing to be the guy in Phoenix just yet.

On the outside, the real gem of this deal was Montoya going to the Coyotes. He should get a shot to challenge Ilya Bryzgalov (Peter) in the desert in training camp and likely get the back-up role that should suit the young American keeper until he can usurp the starter's job during a cold spell.


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