Strudwick Returns to the Rangers

[Thrillhouse]

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has signed defenseman Jason Strudwick.

Strudwick, 31, appeared in 34 games with HC Lugano of the Swiss-A League this season, registering two goals and three assists, along with 28 penalty minutes. He also collected four penalty minutes in six postseason contests with the Swiss club.

Last season, Strudwick skated in 65 games with the Rangers, tallying three goals and four assists for seven points, along with 66 penalty minutes. His three goals and seven points established career-highs, while his 15:31 of ice time also set a career-mark.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound defenseman has appeared in 428 career NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, and Rangers, registering a total of 10 goals and 26 assists for 36 points, along with 636 penalty minutes.

A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Strudwick was originally drafted by the Islanders as the team's third round selection, 63rd overall, in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. He was acquired by Vancouver on March 23, 1998 in exchange for Gino Odjick. Strudwick signed as a free agent with Chicago on July 15, 2002. After the 2003-04 season, he signed with the Rangers as a free agent on July 20, 2004.

[Chicken_Soup]

wow, the Rags would be ones of the most gritty teams

[Humpzilla]

Don't fool yourself.

If Struds returns, Orr would be back to sitting in the pressbox.

[rtocchet]

Originally Posted by Humpzilla

Don't fool yourself.

If Struds returns, Orr would be back to sitting in the pressbox.

Maybe not....they probably want him as a defenseman.

[Celeronthugz]

Originally Posted by Humpzilla

Don't fool yourself.

If Struds returns, Orr would be back to sitting in the pressbox.

I have to disagree. Orr has been playing 7-9 minutes a game lately. Renney likes Orr a lot and I think he will continue to play him on a regular basis. The Rangers are 8-3-4 in the last 15 games Orr has dressed.

Strudwick is here to be a spare defenseman and in my opinion, step in if Liffiton can't keep up in the NHL. If Liffiton look solid, Struds will probably not play much. But with injuries to Tyutin, Rachunek, and Mara having a sore shoulder, Strudwick was definitely brought here to help out on defense.

Personally, I like Strudwick and thought the Rangers should have re-signed him this past off-season. He's a solid spare d-man/forward who is a tough customer. But I don't know how smart it is if they expect him to come and help in the middle of a playoff push after not having played in the NHL all year.

That being said, if he does play regularly, Rangers will have the most fighters on their roster of any team in the league. Way too many soft Euro's, so not the toughest. But in terms of guys who can fight:

Orr, Liffiton, Strudwick, Hollweg, Mara, Avery....that's 6 guys who can scrap in any game. Good job by the Rangers getting tougher as this season has gone on.

[Purely_Purinton]

Excellent, definately one of my favorite Rangers from last season, brings some grit to the blue line.

[dayne33]

You gotta like a guy that plays with heart!

[Blouin]

I hope he returns, good D-man who will fight

[mr.black]

Jason has old time hockey D-man written all over him. I was a fan of him last year, and hopefully the rest of this year.

[bigjack]

Originally Posted by Thrillhouse

http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/ho...nsbut_for.html

Great pickup, thanks for the info! Interesting move by Sather!

[sarge5050]

Originally Posted by Celeronthugz

I have to disagree. Orr has been playing 7-9 minutes a game lately. Renney likes Orr a lot and I think he will continue to play him on a regular basis. The Rangers are 8-3-4 in the last 15 games Orr has dressed.

Strudwick is here to be a spare defenseman and in my opinion, step in if Liffiton can't keep up in the NHL. If Liffiton look solid, Struds will probably not play much. But with injuries to Tyutin, Rachunek, and Mara having a sore shoulder, Strudwick was definitely brought here to help out on defense.

Personally, I like Strudwick and thought the Rangers should have re-signed him this past off-season. He's a solid spare d-man/forward who is a tough customer. But I don't know how smart it is if they expect him to come and help in the middle of a playoff push after not having played in the NHL all year.

That being said, if he does play regularly, Rangers will have the most fighters on their roster of any team in the league. Way too many soft Euro's, so not the toughest. But in terms of guys who can fight:

Orr, Liffiton, Strudwick, Hollweg, Mara, Avery....that's 6 guys who can scrap in any game. Good job by the Rangers getting tougher as this season has gone on.

I agree with you, I thought it was a bad move when they didn't resign him, there defense has been soft. By the way, you forget Shanny on the list of Rangers who can scrap if need be.

[NJDevils17]

i hope he comes back. he's not a bad d-man and and will fight anyone. he was basically the only ranger fighting last year. i would have made him captain last year and he's one of my favorite players even though he was with the rangers last year.

[mr.black]

The deal will be final if Jason passes a physical and signs off waivers.

[NJDevils17]

during the 2nd intermission of the rangers-thrashers game, strudwick was interviewed by sam rosen so that mean that there is good chance of him coming back as long as passes waivers and all that other stuff.

[OriginalSix]

It would be cool to see Strudwick back in the NHL. I liked him when he was on the Blackhawks and would like to see how he does in this new nhl thingy.