RANGER MOVES…JOHNSON VALIQUETTE SWAPPING JERSEYS? 

According to Steve Zipay at Blue Notes and Andrew Gross at Rangers Rants goaltender Steve Valiquette has been put on waivers. If he clears, he will be sent to Hartford.

Zipay and Gross spoke with Head Coach John Tortorella and reports the following exchange.

Tortorella added, “Valley’s on waivers. We’d like to send him down (to Hartford) on conditioning but don’t think we can because of our cap problems. We want to get him down there playing and get his game back… We’re trying to get Valley’s game back, we’ll see how he gets things accustomed down there, see how he gets playing down there…It’s a tough situation for Valley, I think he’s been here for four years, he hasn’t played a whole bunch, sometimes your skills may diminish. It’s just been a little bit of a struggle for him. He works his ass off on the ice but he hasn’t played much and I think that’s hurt him. If he goes through, he gets an opportunity to play some minutes today and get his game back.”   

In terms of who would get the call-up if they can get Valiquette to Hartford:

“It’ll be (Chad) Johnson…Johnson gets to practice with us, I’m not sure where it all sits with him playing. That’s the way it’s working, it’s a little bit of both.”          

Chad Johnson, selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fifth round (#125 overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, has posted a 10-6-1 record with a 2.10GAA, .926% along with three shutouts (2 of them back-to-back) has been recalled by the Rangers. Johnson was a top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award in 2008 and earned CCHA Player of the Year honors, and was named to the CCHA First All-Star Team. He was also selected to the NCAA West All-American Second Team and has played well since getting his chance in Hartford. The major concern we’ve seen in his game is rebound control. He does seem to give up quite a few. At the AHL level that’s one thing. It’s an entirely different case in the “The Show.”

Should Valiquette NOT clear waivers and get claimed, then certainly the call will go to Miika Wiikman for the promotion back to Hartford. Wiikman has been nothing short of tremendous since going down to Charlotte. In the five games since being assigned to Charlotte, Wiikman has posted a 3-1-1 record with a shutout, an excellent 1.98GAA and a .930%.

The Rangers also put in a waiver claim on 6’1″ 203-pound center Erik Christensen formerly of the Anaheim Ducks. On Christensen, Zipay and Gross spoke to Tortorella and solicited this response.

“Christensen, we claimed him. I haven’t seen him play in a while, the scouts were involved in this here. Brash is out, he’s hurt. I’m not sure what it’s going to be (how long). It’s a guy I know our scouts have watched and have had interest in him, a center ice man, and it’s an opportunity for him. Dubi’s still out, it’s a situation we’ll see what it’s about and when Dubi comes back some decisions will have to be made. This is basically a chance for him.”         

As we see it, since Christensen is a center, which could spell doom for Brian Boyle. The Rangers current fourth line pivot has apparently not impressed Tortorella, who put him in the stands a game ago. We would think that Christensen is covering for Dubinsky for now, but could usurp Boyle’s fourth line center role if he plays well. As Tortorella said, “This is basically a chance for him”

Here’s the official release:

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has acquired forward Erik Christensen off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks.

Christensen, 25, has appeared in nine games with Anaheim this season.  Last season, he skated in 64 games with Anaheim and the Atlanta Thrashers, registering seven goals and 21 assists for 28 points, along with 20 penalty minutes.  His 21 assists marked a new career-high.  He recorded five multi-point efforts on the season, including four two-assist performances.  Christensen ranked second on Atlanta in faceoff percentage, posting a 54.6% (233-427) success rate, at the time of his trade to Anaheim on March 4.  He also tallied two assists in eight playoff contests, collecting his first career post-season point in Game Two of the Western Conference Quarterfinal matchup at San Jose on April 19.

A veteran of five NHL seasons, Christensen skated in his 200th NHL game on March 3, 2009 against Florida.  He established career-highs in goals (18) and points (33) while skating with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2006-07 season.  Christensen tied for the NHL lead with eight shootout goals that season, converting at a 57.1% (8-14) success rate in the shootout.  He also set a new career-high for points in a game with two, three-point efforts – January 16 against NY Islanders (two goals and one assist) and March 29 at Boston (two goals and one assist) – and posted a career-high, three-game goal-scoring streak from December 1 to December 5 (three goals).

The 6-1, 203-pounder has appeared in 226 career NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlanta Thrashers and Anaheim Ducks, registering 42 goals and 56 assists for 98 points, along with 112 penalty minutes.  Christensen made his NHL debut on November 1, 2005 at New Jersey, and he notched his first NHL goal in his second game on November 3 against the NY Islanders.  In addition, Christensen has recorded two assists and six penalty minutes in 12 career playoff contests with Pittsburgh and Anaheim.

Prior to turning professional, Christensen spent four seasons with the Kamloops Blazers and Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL), registering 133 goals and 153 assists for 286 points, along with 265 penalty minutes in 338 games.  In 2002-03, he captured the Bob Clarke Trophy as the WHL’s leading scorer with 108 points (54 goals and 54 assists) in 67 games with Kamloops.  He also appeared in 29 WHL post-season contests with Kamloops and Brandon, tallying 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points, along with 28 penalty minutes.

The native of Edmonton, Alberta was originally selected as the Pittsburgh Penguins third round draft choice, 69th overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.