Allison Spotted?

1) As we were discussing the Isles trade with one of our N.Y. area sources, they also let slip that they had spotted free agent forward Jason Allison in the metro area. They didn't say specifically which team he was linked to, but recent events make a possible move there more likely now than a week ago.

2) Certainly it would be far fetched to believe the N.J. Devils are the team. Their salary cap troubles are well documented. Its also pretty certain that Allison is not a Lamarello type player. That leaves the Rangers and Islanders. Who coincidentally have recently shed significant payroll. The Rangers by waiving troubled/underachieving defenseman, Sandis Olzonish, and the Islanders by virtue of their curious trade of Alex Zhitnik. (Discussed earlier here)

3) Its not a secret that Glen Sather and Tom Renney are not too thrilled with the production from their off season free agent acquisition, Matt Cullen, and would love to reduce the team's reliance on Jagr, and Shanahan for offense. However anyone who has seen the Rangers can tell you their central problem is defense NOT scoring.

4) The Isles have been a rumored destination of Allison since this past summer, but acting GM Garth Snow has repeatedly denied the club is looking to make a deal for additional scoring. Has this changed? The Isles, like the Rangers are disappointed with the production from their second line center, Mike York. However, its unlikely the team could unload the overpaid(2.8 mil) center until the deadline, if even then.

5) The questions that are left unanswered are: What is Allison seeking as far as salary/years? Has he stayed in decent enough shape that a team signing him would get anything from him. Perhaps this is why Allison was in town last weekend. For a physical as well as negotiations? The trade freeze would NOT prohibit a team from signing a free agentWe will stay on top of this situation as it develops