Waivers and a Defenseman

October 4, 2011 | Posted by Leslie Treff

At noon today, two things happened that affected the Rangers. First, it was announced that Dale Weise, who was reassigned to the AHL on Saturday, but had to pass through waivers to get there, was claimed by the Vancouver Canucks.

To be honest, I was somewhat surprised that he was reassigned to Connecticut last weekend. Weise had a good camp and did not look out of place on the ice with the Rangers fourth line in exhibition games. Yes, his fighting skills at this level are iffy, but if he stayed away from duking it out with the big guys and just agitated, played rough along the boards and went to the net, Weise can be effective. He has good hockey sense and can probably be a 10-15 goal per year player. Lots of character and leadership skills too. It’s a mystery to me why the Rangers did not keep him or at least package him with someone more attractive to get a good player–like a defenseman.

Instead of keeping Weise, the Rangers decided to stick with the veterans, Sean Avery and Erik Christensen. But it was a waste, as it is only three days later and today, the Blueshirts put Avery on waivers, signaling the likely end of his career in New York. Avery at times looked good in camp this fall, but he just does not have the speed or the release that he once had. And he is Avery, so no matter what he does, he does not get the benefit of the doubt on calls. This has hurt the team all along, but as long as he was doing more good than harm, his antics were worth putting up with. Not anymore. And when the Rangers combine that with the ability to clear $1,937.500 in salary (courtesy of CapGeek), it seems like waiving Avery is a no brainer.

Rumor also has it that defensemen Stu Bickel and Brendan Bell were also placed on waivers by the Rangers today. Not confirmed, but this would smack of a deal for a blueliner in the works. The Rangers, who are desperate to solidify their D, need a veteran blueliner (aged 26-33) who can average 16-20 minutes on the ice per night–and need to obtain him either by trade or off the waiver wire as soon as possible. Expect this to happen over the next day or two, as the beginning of the season is just three days away.

It does appear that Mike Sauer will return for opening day/night on Friday, but Marc Staal is still out, with no timetable for his return (today it was announced that he will not be making the trip to Europe). The team has its work cut out for it, as with the return of Sauer, there will only be three solid, reliable D-men available for opening night.

Stay tuned for more moves as they should be coming within the next 2-3 days.

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