Morris to the Rangers

Derek Morris is heading to the Big Apple from the Desert for a good package of players including, Dimitri Kalinin, Petr Prucha and Nigel Dawes.

			2008-2009 Statistics		2009	2010
To Rangers	Position	Age	GP/MIN	Points	Cap Hit	Cap Hit
Derek Morris	D	30	57	12	$3.916 million	UFA
			2008-2009 Statistics		2009	2010
To Coyotes	Position	Age	GP/MIN	Points	Cap Hit	Cap Hit
Dimitri Kalinin	D	28	58	13	$2.1 million	UFA
Petr Prucha	F	26	28	9	$1.6 million	UFA
Nigel Dawes	F	24	52	19	$588,000	RFA

The Rangers turned out to get the most-prized (or most available) defenseman on the market for the deadline in Morris and ended up paying a pretty good premium to get the rearguard. On the flipside of that comment, Prucha and Dawes have been regular scratches for the Rangers, which led to a little bit of speculation on this side of the blog that thought they would be moved at the deadline. Prucha and Dawes are quick wingers, so the Coyotes will love having them, while Kalinin will fill a gap on the blueline that Morris leaves behind.

Pool-wise, Morris is a blueliner of Wes' in the Draft (also a Box 11 defenseman), who can help increase the offense from the blueline of the Rangers, which may improve other Rangers more than it really increases Morris' offense. The Rangers' blueline has been horrible offensively this season, so the influx of Morris should help greatly.

Prucha and Dawes are both Sheet forwards and they will be going to a team that will greatly accept a couple of young players with a little bit of experience. Look for their numbers to increase slowly before the end of this season and come back with some decent numbers in Phoenix, if they re-sign there.