Frolov excited for Rangers future
Newly-signed left winger Alexander Frolov is more than up for the challenges of switching coasts and conferences.
On Thursday, Frolov gave a press conference at the legendary Madison Square Garden to talk to reporters about his future with the New York Rangers. Frolov was signed by the Rangers on Tuesday to a one-year contract worth around $3 million. The Rangers and Frolov are both counting on an improvement from Frolov’s uncharacteristic performance that resulted in only 19 goals through 81 games in 2009-10 for the Los Angeles Kings.
Frolov is well aware of the expectations regarding his performance. He told the reporters: “I think you always need to have something to improve. As an athlete, if you stop and you think you have nothing to prove, you're probably done as an athlete. Every time you go to practice or you step on the ice, you need to do your best and prove something to yourself."
It is that drive for improvement that resulted in the Russian national deciding to take a pay cut and remain in the National Hockey League rather than taking the extra money that was being offered to him by Kontinental Hockey League teams in his native country.
Frolov reportedly turned down multi-year, multi-million dollar deals with KHL teams in order to sign with the Rangers, though he himself admits the difficulty of such a decision.
According to Frolov: "It was kind of a hard decision for me to make. It's been going on for probably two weeks. But I decided to stay here in the NHL and play here for New York. I'm really excited about it."
The Rangers are a much needed departure for Frolov from his previous team, the Kings. Rumours were abound regarding Frolov’s apparent rift with Kings coach Terry Murray, though it's unclear whether the feud caused Frolov's lack of production or whether it was the other way around.
Frolov is not one to dwell on the negativity of the situation, and is instead looking toward his future. “It doesn't matter now what happened," Frolov said. "I'm ready to move on. I'm here as a Ranger right now and I'm looking forward to next season.”
Frolov added: "It wasn't a great year for me. (But) I know what I'm capable of, and people around the League know what I can do [...] I think I know how to score and how to produce and I'm really looking forward to next season."
The Rangers certainly hope Frolov is capable as the team’s stagnant offence was the main reason behind the Rangers’ inability to make the play-offs. Though nothing is certain yet, the Rangers could now actually have an offensive line by playing the Russian left winger and star right winger Marian Gaborik on the same line.
Like any rational hockey player, Frolov would be in favour of being a part of such a line.
"It's up to the head coach and the coaching staff," Frolov said. "But it's a real good possibility we can play together, and I'm looking forward to it."
The rest of the Rangers line-up is also ready for Frolov to join the ranks. Former Kings teammate Sean Avery said: "I think he's going to fit in real nice here. I played with him for three or four years in L.A., and he's a big-city guy. He's a guy who'll be able to handle the pressure of The Garden and he's going to score some goals, for sure. He's a big guy and he gives us a little bit of size up front. He's got great hands. When he scores, he scores pretty goals. He'll score big goals, too."
If Frolov does return to form, the Rangers immediately become a serious Eastern Conference team. If he continues his poor performances from the Kings, the Rangers will pretty much remain the same team that missed play-off qualification after being unable to score even in shootouts.
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