Frolov heading to Rangers
With all the hubbub surrounding free agent Ilya Kovalchuk, a lot of focus has been diverted from a pool of other very talented and available players in the National Hockey League. Arguably the best of these other free agents, Alexander Frolov, has found a new home for next year with the New York Rangers.
The one-year deal between Rangers and Frolov was confirmed by Frolov’s agent Sergei Isakov, as transcribed from Soviet Sport via PuckDaddy. According to Isakov: “Alexander Frolov will soon put his signature on a contract with the New York Rangers. He made a decision that he will play one more year in the NHL. And then it will be clearer where he will continue his career.”
The deal makes a lot of sense for both parties. Frolov’s demands were far too high for anyone to satisfy him for the long term, unless they used a heavily front-loaded deal like Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils did. The Rangers chose to try to get him to bite on a one-year deal instead, and it seems to have worked.
Frolov has been a very on-again, off-again player during his recent tenure with the Los Angeles Kings which also contributes to the lack of long-term possibilities for the Russian left wing. According to Frolov’s agent, his client still has the talent he exhibited during his 71-point 2006-07 season. Isakov also claims that Frolov’s poor play was in part due to his lack of happiness with the Kings.
According to Isakov: “The Kings marred Alexander’s last season by criticizing him, shifting him from the first line to the third, by benching him. You can’t show a good game like this.”
He also cites the example of Maxim Afinogenov’s revitalization with the Atlanta Thrashers after his trade from the Buffalo Sabres as an example of Frolov’s situation. Afinogenov had a mere 20 points while playing only 48 games for the Sabres in 2008-09, but surged back with 61 points and a full 82 game season in 2009-10 after being traded. Similarly, Frolov hopes to improve on his 51-point 2009-10 campaign with the Kings.
If Frolov does finalize this contract, he gives the Rangers an offensive power that they have desperately needed for the past few seasons. Besides star right winger Marian Gaborik, the Rangers have not had any sort of elite scorer. This low scoring has caused an unhealthy reliance on the goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist. Although Lundqivst is one of the NHL’s best goalies, the Rangers lack of offence meant that he was doing far more work than any goalie can be comfortable with.
The Rangers would be putting Frolov, a pure sniper, on their starting line with Gaborik, a great puck-handler. This would create a plethora of scoring chances and offensive zone pressure that the team has lacked in recent years.
The terms of the contract have not been publicly discussed, but in the interview Isakov referred to the situation as “a forward worth a few million dollars for $800,000.” If that is the actual case, then the Rangers may have easily just gotten the steal of the season. Frolov may have had a rough year for Los Angeles, but could still easily put up at least 30 goals for the Rangers.
Even if the Rangers do pay more than that, Frolov should still be undervalued. At 28, Frolov still has a long career ahead of him and will really want to do well to boost his value for next season. If Frolov signs with the Rangers, expect a much stronger showing from a team that missed the playoffs via shootout last season.
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