Todd White Goes to Bite the Big Apple

			2009-2010 NHL Statistics				2011 Cap Info
To New York	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Years	Cap Hit
Todd White	Forward	35	65	7	19	26	1	$2.375 million
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To Atlanta	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Years	Cap Hit
Patrick Rissmiller	Forward	31	0	0	0	0	1	$1 million
Donald Brashear	Forward	38	36	0	1	1	1	$1.4 million

Late on Sunday night, word creeped out about a deal that saw Atlanta dealing Todd White to the New York Rangers for an undisclosed package going the other way. On Monday morning, the reports were confirmed that White did go to the Big Apple and in return, the Thrashers received minor-league forward Patrick Rissmiller and aging tough guy, Donald Brashear.  Immediately following the trade, the Thrashers put Brashear on waivers for the purpose of buying him out.

The word on the tweet is that the Thrashers were wanting to part ways with White this Summer, but an off-season shoulder surgery saw to it that it would be difficult (or damn near impossible) to buy him out, so a deal to cut his near-$2.4 million salary, get a minor-league capable replacement and buyout a smaller salary worked out just as well for their salary cap hit and budget for the coming year.

White had a serious decline in points in 2010, going down from 73 points in 82 games to 26 in 65 games, but injuries during the year were seemingly a good cause for that kind of downturn.  At age 35, it may be a struggle to return to such big numbers, but the Rangers have a little more depth down the middle and could easily part ways with Brashear, who didn't fit into the line-up much last season and has seen some replacements be signed for the 2011 season.  I wouldn't be looking for big things from White, as he would have to step over some pretty big contracts to play with former teammate in Minnesota, Marian Gaborik, but he is a guy that can jump in there when injuries or cold snaps appear in the line-up, even if it's just for the short-term.

Well, if this is a budget move for the Atlanta Thrashers, it looks like a bit more of a cash deal. Even if the Thrashers were to buyout Brashear, his entire $1.4 million will count against the cap, since he signed a 35+ deal, which doesn't have many outs from the cap hit, a good move by the Rangers to move that, since they are in such dire straits with the ceiling anyways. The Thrashers would absorb the cap hit without paying all the money and having him on the roster and both teams can move on.

With White in the fold, the Rangers now have an annual cap hit, by my numbers, of $59.37 million (just under the ceiling) for 21 players on the roster, 13 forwards, 6 defense and 2 goalies. That's a full playable squad today, without a training camp to decide anymore.

The Thrashers, on the other hand, with Brashear in the line-up, have 18 players signed on for $38.9 million (well below the floor), but will only open up a roster spot when he's bought out, while the cap number remains the same. I'm not including Rissmiller in the Thrashers totals yet, as I would suspect he'll have to impress at camp before making a dent against the cap.

This was a particularly long blog post for a trade that I think has very little impact in the overall scheme of things. Sure, White has a good chance of reclaiming some glory with the Rangers, I just see him having some trouble getting past Brandon Dubinsky and Chris Drury to be the number one pivot for the team. Of course, at a second glance, Dubinsky did have troubles maintaining a stay on the top line and Drury is developing into one of the most expensive checking centres in the league, so I guess not everything is written in stone here. 

This deal also leaves even more doubt about the future of Marc Staal with the Rangers, who is still waiting for his new deal with the club.  The Rangers are oh, so close to the cap ceiling and are going to have to get creative with their numbers soon, including a move on the blueline.  The popular consensus is that Wade Redden is the odd-man out, but I've got to see that to believe it.