If there was one player whose stock rose the most during the Stanley Cup Playoffs it may have been that of New York Rangers defenseman Anton Stralman.
Stralman became a key shutdown guy alongside Marc Staal for the Rangers and his steady play throughout the playoffs wasn’t missed by teams in need of defensive help this summer.
While the Rangers would like to keep Stralman around, talks with the potential July 1 free agent are getting tricky as Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports shared:
Talks between Rangers and Anton Stralman are not going as expected. We'll see if it's gona change in the next few days. #tvasports
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) June 25, 2014
You have to assume that talks “not going as expected” means Stralman is looking to land more money and term than the Rangers were hoping.
After struggling to find his way in the NHL for so long (being dumped by the Blue Jackets and Maple Leafs along the way) you have to assume he’s looking to cash in on his new desired status.