Steal of a deal

Panthers didn't get nearly enough from Rangers for Bure

After the Rangers traded for Florida winger Pavel Bure on Monday afternoon, CNNSI.com chatted with Sports Illustrated NHL writer Michael Farber to get the breakdown on the deal:

CNNSI.com: Did the Panthers get enough out of this trade? Bure led the league in goals scored the last two seasons. Florida seems to have walked away with the eighth-best defenseman on the Rangers' active roster.

Michael Farber: The Panthers didn't get nearly enough. Igor Ulanov has been a cipher all season. They're gambling on draft picks that are not likely to be in the top 10. Unless you want to watch goalie Roberto Luongo try to stop 45 shots a night, there's not much reason to go to a Panthers game anymore. Essentially, the Rangers stole Bure for the price of his contract.

CNNSI.com: Does the addition of Bure make the Rangers good enough to not only make the playoffs, but also make noise in the postseason?

Farber: Certainly it makes New York dangerous. We don't know how good they'll be but, certainly, with that potential scoring threat off the wing, the Rangers are a more dangerous club. Defensively, there are too many holes to think of them as a Stanley Cup contender but the Eastern Conference is up for grabs. Assuming Bure gives them a boost, they could certainly make some sort of run in the conference.

CNNSI.com: Bure is pricey -- the Rangers have acquired yet another $10 million player. Does this mean New York will definitely let Mike Richter and Theo Fleury walk away at the end of the season?

Farber: It means nothing of the sort. Any decision New York makes on Richter and Fleury will be a hockey decision. The Rangers are basically one of only a couple of teams who have that luxury. They may view Fleury as too much trouble and they make think Richter's best days are behind him, but whatever decision Rangers GM Glen Sather reaches, it will be a hockey decision, not a financial decision. Financial considerations are not even secondary with this team, they are tertiary.

CNNSI.com: How well will Bure fit in with the Rangers?

Farber: Essentially, Bure is one more hypertalented but mismatched part. This has been the Rangers' culture predating Sather and it continues under his regime because of the pressures to make the playoffs every year. The Rangers get the players and figure out where they'll fit in later. Given that, Bure is precisely the kind of winger who could play with Eric Lindros on the top line and make things work. But, long-term, you wonder if the Rangers wouldn't have been better in building a more solid base instead of plucking stars willy-nilly. Of course, this deal was too good to pass up. The Rangers got a house in the Hamptons while paying Staten Island prices.

CNNSI.com: What does the fact that the Panthers' ownership allowed interim general manager Chuck Fletcher to make this trade say for Fletcher and the future?

Farber: I don't know what to make of that. I don't think Fletcher is coming back and Mike Keenan may bow out after one year. He has worn on management and ownership. But when you trade Pavel Bure, it is not Chuck Fletcher making that call, it goes straight to ownership.

CNNSI.com: Everyone thought this would be a quiet period up to the trading deadline. Does this change the landscape? Now that one big name is gone, what will happen as the deadline approaches Tuesday afternoon?

Farber: We will have to see how Eastern Conference teams react to this trade, to see whether they perceive the Rangers as a legitimate threat or not. But I don't think this deal will cause any teams to completely redirect their trade deadline plans. I still expect movement, but I see it primarily for players who can patch a hole or fit into a particular situation.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber covers the NHL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.

 

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