His current cap hit is under $4M per year, and I could see him getting $7M on the open market; perhaps the Rangers can convince him to sign between 6 and 6.5 by offering a longer term. Although with three brothers in the Carolina Hurricanes organization, it may not be New York who gets the hometown discount...
Known primarily as a shut-down defender (which will happen when two of your three brothers are All-Star-caliber forwards) and shot-blocker, he is one of the players who learned to hone their offensive game under John Tortorella, whose qualities often get overlooked because of his attitude. He reached the 25-point mark twice under Torts, both times finishing in the plusses and with nearly 10 goals and averaging 25 minutes per game; he was a minus player before and after those seasons.
He'll be more fragile now that he's had at least one serious concussion, but will likely still be very effective when called upon. This is the fourth ''jersey and stick'' card I'll have showcased, all of them Rangers players, all from Panini's 2011-12 Luxury Suite set; it's as if someone at Panini stole a shipment of game-used equipment en route to a game...
It's card #26 in the series - just like the regular card, but thicker and with holes for the memorabilia - and shows him wearing the Blueshirts' off-white Winter Classic uniform from 2012, wearing the alternate captain's 'A'. I got it in a trade for a couple of football jersey cards and an index card signed by CFL and NFL legend Doug Flutie.
