Metro Hockey

Final Note to Our Readers

2010-03-16T11:33:00.002-04:00

As I said earlier, I want to thank all of our loyal readers who have been with us from the very beginning, from the bottom of my heart. This may have seen like an abrupt way to end such a good thing, but really, the blog had outlived it's time. I never intended on it becoming as big as it did. The purpose of this blog was to serve only a jump-start for all of our "writing careers", and now, with that purpose served, we will go our separate ways in hopes to continue the success on our own that we experienced as a group. I hope everyone will continue to follow our writings on the various blogs we will work at now.

For hockey and baseball analysis as well as movie reviews and other off topic writings, please visit Greg Caggiano's new blog, "From New York to San Francisco".

For all Atlantic Division hockey analysis, please check out Eric Bancker and Tim Brenna's blog at, "Atlantic Division Hockey".

Many thanks to everyone.

Farewell

2010-03-13T10:31:00.002-05:00

I wanted to thank everyone for the readership and support we have gotten here during our fantastic little run, but it was time for a change of pace.

Please follow Greg Caggiano at http://gcaggiano.wordpress.com/

Please follow Eric Bancker and Tim Brennan at: http://atlanticdivisionhockey.blogspot.com/

Once again, I thank you all for the support.

Auld to Honor Rangers History in Mask; Sean Avery a Healthy Scratch

2010-03-12T13:25:00.006-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Just a quick little write up for this afternoon. According to Steve Zipay, Rangers back-up goalie Alex Auld will be unveiling his new mask tonight. Zipay calls it, "Truly outstanding." This new mask will depict Mike Richter holding up the cup from 1994, along with Rangers goaltending legends Eddie Giacomin and John Davidson featured. With this mask, Auld will have done more to honor Rangers history in the few short weeks he has been here than Henrik Lundqvist has done in five years.

Personally, if it was up to me, Auld would be given a contract extension along the lines of $1-1.5 million each for two seasons. He would also become the number one goaltender the rest of the way because Lundqvist's recent play of late has not shown me anything that he still deserves to be this team's everyday goalie for the time being. Auld has been solid and should be given more starts, while Lundqvist can get his lofty head in the game.

As for tonight, John Tortorella continues his latest power trip, making Sean Avery a healthy scratch. There is no word on this move and although I am not a big fan of Avery, it is a puzzling decision to say the least. With the season on the line, this is not the time to be making examples. But the circus...err...I mean, show, must go on.

Tonight's line combinations, according to Zipay will be as follows:

Prospal-Jokinen-Gaborik

Dubinsky-Anisimov-Callahan

Prust-Christensen-Drury

Shelley-Boyle-Lisin

What is the over under on how many times Tortorella will change lines in the first period? I think by the time the third period rolls around, Jokinen won't even know what building he is playing in. But that's okay, have no fear; if the team loses, Tortorella will probably make them walk home from Atlanta to New York .

This just in: Dolan is preparing to sell the team to Barnum and Bailey. The transition is reported to be seamless.

The New York Rangers Season is Over; a Letter to My Readers

2010-03-10T21:25:00.004-05:00

Dear New York Rangers Fans,

With another listless and embarrassing loss tonight, at the hands of the New Jersey Devils, I think it is safe to say that the season is over for the Rangers and that there will be no playoffs come April. The Rangers desperately needed the win tonight over their arch rivals. They had lost three in a row and needed to find a spark and some energy. Tonight, the Rangers, yet again, leave their fans at a loss for words. Tonight, players like Brandon Prust and Erik Christensen outplayed the stars like Prospal and Gaborik. Lundqvist was absolutely brutal and the defense was like a sieve.

The Rangers must look to the very bleak future, and pray they can be bad enough for a good draft pick. It is that sad time when it is time to root for the Rangers to lose and teams like the Hurricanes, Islanders, and Maple Leafs to keep on winning.

There is so much wrong with this Rangers team that it cannot all be covered in just one article. I don't know where to begin. I was never on the Fire Sather bandwagon, and I'm still not--under one condition, and that is everyone going. Sather and the entire front office need to go, as does the coaching staff. The entire crop of personnel should also be shopped this summer. Girardi has to walk when the season ends. Words can not describe now atrocious he has played. I would say the same for Gilroy as well, and would not renew his contract. As for Wade Redden, does it even need to be said?

I would also hope that the Rangers seriously contemplate trading Gaborik and Lundqvist, more so the former than the latter, but both could fetch a very exciting return. Fans will not like it, but can you imagine what could be had for players of that caliber?

As for Tortorella, I would hope his tenure ends before this season ends. I don't care what anyone says about the roster being bad or whatever the excuse is. Fact of the matter is, he is not the right coach for this team. Never was, never will be. His tenure here has been a joke. His mantra of being tough has been a joke. His antics, both on the bench and in the press room, have been a joke. I don't like clowns, and if I did, I would go see the circus, which as of right now, calls Madison Square Garden it's home.

This article is really too short to describe what I really want to say, especially with a slew of expletives needing to be held back. What is yet to come will not be pretty and we must hold fast. Wanting the Rangers to just bow out and tank does not mean you are not a true fan. To all of you out there, I ask that you remain supportive of the team, but from a distance. Don't buy into what you hear from MSG Network or any Rangers related official. Don't buy the fact that Gaborik is healthy, and that all is well in the locker room; you are smarter than that.

We must now stand together and acknowledge that this season is over, and hopefully in a season or two, a new era of Rangers hockey can be ushered in. I will leave you now with this quote from George Orwell's 1984, because I think it pretty much sums up what the upcoming months will hold: "If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face, forever."

Sincerely,
Greg Caggiano

AHL: The playoffs are starting to take shape

2010-03-09T22:02:00.002-05:00

BY: Mike Kutniewski Jr.

As most teams have crossed the 60-game mark on the season, I think it’s time to take a look at how potential playoff scenarios would play out.

To date, one team has already clinched a playoff spot; the offensive powerhouse known as the Hershey Bears. Through 63 games, the Bears have already attained 100 standings points along with 49 wins.

Here are the first-round match-ups as of today. Keep in mind the AHL does divisional playoff formats through the first two rounds. In the Atlantic, the Worcester Sharks have turned around the season and have taken control of the division. The Sharks would take the 1st place seed and battle the 4th place Lowell Devils. Would make travel for opposing fans very easy no matter how the schedule plays out seeing the venues are less than an hour away from each other. The other Atlantic match-up would face off two other somewhat close teams as Portland would take on the 3rd seeded Manchester Monarchs. At the moment this season would see the end of the Hartford Wolf Pack’s 12-year playoff appearance streak.

In the East, the aforementioned Hershey Bears would take on the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Due to the fact the Atlantic has more teams, if the East Division’s 4th place team doesn’t end up with more standing points than the Atlantic’s 4th place team, the East team won’t make the playoffs. Currently, Bridgeport has 4 more points than the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. The other East battle would see two former bottom of the division teams with Albany taking on 3rd place Norfolk.

In the Western Conference the Hamilton Bulldogs are having a great season, but are not getting the recognition for it. Through 64 games the Bull dogs have 92 points and 42 wins. Hamilton would take on 4th place Manitoba in the North Division’s 1st round. Also in the division Rochester would take on the 1st year Abbotsford Heat.

In the West, the 1st round would see perennial power Chicago Wolves take on 4th place Milwaukee. The Rockford Ice Hogs would take on another 1st year team, the Texas Stars in the final 1st round match-up.

A lot can happen in the next few weeks to change these scenarios, but many of the annual playoff teams need to get on positive runs fast in order to have a chance to see its name on the playoff brackets when mid-April hits.

Devils Lose Two Pivotal West Coast Matchups

2010-03-08T18:40:00.002-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

The Devils had been on a downslide, having comprised a record of 6-12-2 in the 20 games played before the 2010 Olympic Games. That is not something that the Devils are used to this season and is hurting their chances at claiming the Atlantic division title. Most of the team was having a slump of their own, which included future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur whose stats were less than stellar in that stretch, posting a dismal .826 save percentage. With a few games under his belt, sniper Ilya Kovalchuk looked more comfortable and ready to produce. Zach Parise and Travis Zajac fell into slumps during that time as well but have since gotten out of those. If the team was going to continue the success they've had all year, they needed everyone producing.

That all around effort showed in their first outing since the Olympic break when they took on Stanley Cup favorites, the San Jose Sharks at "The Shark Tank". The Devils set the pace with 3 quick goals in the second period after the first ended in a deadlock. It was obvious that the Devils were controlling everything about the game up until the point where they came back out on the ice for the 3rd. Travis Zajac pulled the game to an unreachable limit as he made it 4-0 early in the third. However the Sharks charged back by scoring 3 goals in a 3 minute span to bring the game back to within a goal. The Devils scrambled in their own end for the majority of the third and didn't play the trap system that they normally utilize. They came out on top 4-3 but had a tough time making through the final stanza.

Fast forward to Friday night when the Devils came into Calgary to go up against the new look Flames. Both teams have had struggles in spurts during this year and they both converged on Pengrowth Saddledome to stake a claim at showing the other up. The Devils needed to show that they can beat strong teams in the West, so this was an important game for them. Like most games for the Devils, they tend to get on the board first and did so courtesy Zach Parise and his 29th of the season. But once again the floodgates opened up and the Flames scored 3 second period goals, which continued into the third as Matt Stajan and David Moss tallied to make it 5-1. The Devils gathered themselves and put together a valiant effort to get two late goals from Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk, but fell short. This was not the result that the Devils were looking for, especially since the Pittsburgh Penguins continue to win and are starting to pull away with the lead in the division.

The Devils looked to redeem themselves after a lackluster performance when they took on the Edmonton Oilers. Yes, the Edmonton Oilers that sit in last place and look primed for the top spot in the Taylor Hall sweepstakes. For the Devils, this had to be an easy win and would be the perfect team to play to start anew to get rid of this slump they have been in. The result of this game you ask? A big victory for one team for sure but that team was not the New Jersey Devils. The Oilers controlled the tempo from the puck drop until the end of the game, outshooting the Devils 35-22 and beat them 2-0. If not for a scrum between Ryan Whitney and Andrew Peters that ended in the latter receiving a ten minute misconduct, I would have never known the Devils showed up.

It's obvious to everyone that Jacques Lemaire needs to do something to shake up the team, although that isn't his style. If I was the big boss in charge, I would do something about limiting Martin Brodeur's playing time because he needs a rest. Giving Yann Danis more playing time is going to help both Brodeur in resting for the playoffs and Danis in allowing him to establish an identity in the NHL.

Along with that, the lines need to be jumbled to get certain players to contribute on a night to night basis. The scoring line of Dainius Zubrus centering Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrik Elias has been a bright spot and needs to stay put. I would put Brian Rolston on the opposite side of Zach Parise to see how that might work with Zajac at center. Jamie Langenbrunner would be put on the 3rd line with surprise performer Rob Niedermayer and rookie Vladimir Zharkov. The fourth line would consist of Dean McAmmond centering Jay Pandolfo and David Clarkson. McAmmond left the game after a hit so if he is in fact going to miss some games, I would put Rod Pelley in to center that line.

The defense pairings would also be altered because the defense hasn't shown much chemistry and has been one of the main reasons why the team has struggled of late. A matching of Bryce Salvador and Andy Greene would be the 1st pairing, followed by Mike Mottau with Anssi Salmela and finally, Mark Fraser with newcomer Martin Skoula. Yes, that's right Colin White's name is not on there and the reason for that is because he is nowhere's near the physical force and defensive wall that he used to be in the pre-lockout NHL.

Kotsy's Angle: Rangers Are in Playoff Mode Now

2010-03-05T18:12:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

This will be the third time I will have had a chance to sit down and chat with Chris Kotsopoulos, who spent one season with the Rangers back in 1980/81. He has always been good to me when I've needed an interview, so before I get to the main body of this article, I just want to tell everyone to check out his blog where he covers the Rangers, called "Kotsy's Korner".

GC: With the deadline ending Wednesday, are you surprised that the Rangers didn't make a trade? Do you think they would have gotten Souray had he not been injured?

CK: Surprised? Not really. Although they did make a minor deal a major trade is a lot tougher to complete because you have to have willing and equal trading partners today with the Cap situation. As for Souray, Yes.

GC: Last time we talked, you mentioned how this team needed to get tougher. Do you think the acquisitions of Brandon Prust and Jody Shelley will help this? And what was your immediate reaction to Donald Brashear getting sent to Hartford?

CK: Absolutely. With the acquisitions of Prust and Shelley you have instant deterrents to any liberties being taken with the Ranger players. It was a must to acquire them. Don't want to beat up on Brashear and I won't. He's been a tough guy for a long time in the NHL and I think his longevity has caught up to him. It simply didn't work for the Rangers.

GC: With the acquisition of Alex Auld, do you think the Rangers will rest Henrik Lundqvist more?

CK: First off, Auld was a good pick up. It's all up to "King" himself. He should be the one that decides as to when he needs a break or not.

GC: Marian Gaborik is injured again and no one knows how severe it is. What do you think the situation is? And can the Rangers make the playoffs without him?

CK: Lower Body injury, so your guess is as good as mine. (Laughs). You know anything can happen in hockey, but my answer is no.

GC: For the Rangers to make the playoffs, what are the most important things that need to happen for this team, besides improving offense?

CK: Lundqvist has to be spectacular, the defense needs to tighten up in all areas of the ice, special teams need to be special, and they must be physical and make it hard for teams to play against you. Essentially, realize that as a team, you are in playoff mode now!

GC: As a Canadian, how much did you enjoy the gold medal game on Sunday? Do you think it helped to boost hockey popularity in the US?

CK: It was great to watch. Obviously I enjoyed the victory by Canada. The USA team was an admirable opponent and my hat's off to them. Canada in the end earned it. But more importantly to me it's a huge win for "North American Hockey". The USA has closed the gap on the world big time and hopefully America will take advantage and showcase this great game of hockey. Are you listening NHL?

Chris Kotsopoulos was a veteran of 479 games with the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, and Hartford Whalers.

Eight Games Later, the Jokinen Trade is Paying Dividends

2010-03-05T11:29:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

There was always a stigma attached to Olli Jokinen that followed him around everywhere he went; he was a cancer in the locker room and not a team player. Eight games into his tenure with the New York Rangers, the complete opposite could be said. The trade that sent underachievers Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik to Calgary for the one-time superstar has been a complete win for the Rangers.

In 7 games with Calgary, Kotalik has registered 1 goal and 0 assists, while Higgins has not even recorded a point. Jokinen, in 8 games with the Rangers has 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points. Brandon Prust, the enforcer throw-in who also came over in the deal has 2 assists himself, putting him ahead of both spare parts that were dealt away. He also has a better plus/minus rating than all four involved players.

Jokinen has played his part well since coming over. He has played the point on the powerplay and has used his 6-foot-3 frame to drive to the net and win battles along the boards. But aside from his obvious set of offensive skills, what has intrigued me is his willingness to get physical and stick up for his teammates in the many scuffles that have taken place. Jokinen was never one to drop the gloves and fight, but he has never shied away from the pushing and shoving in the good ol' fashioned scrum. He was in the middle of it at least twice last night; once during the first period event when Dubinsky jumped in on Crosby after he took a swipe at Lundqvist. Jokinen could be seen trying to get at Crosby himself, as pictured above. He did the same thing later in the game.

This trade has proven to be a great success for the Rangers, and whether or not he re-signs for next season, if he continues this productivity and Kotalik and Higgins continue to slump, this could be Sather's best trade as Rangers' GM since he stole Jaromir Jagr from the Washington Capitals in 2004.

Should the Rangers be Planning for a Playoff Run Without Marian Gaborik?

2010-03-04T14:41:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano
Also Featured on Blueshirt Banter

It almost sounds like a contradiction in the title; construing such phrases as "playoff run" and "Marian Gaborik" together in the same sentence just begs to be scoffed at. Tonight, as the New York Rangers set to face the division rival Pittsburgh Penguins in a very important first home game back from the break, they will be doing so without Gaborik, who will be missing his sixth game of the season.

He is still listed as being day-to-day (aren't we all?) and the injury being a right knee laceration, which he suffered from a practice a week before the Olympic break, when he jumped over Henrik Lundqvist and caught a skate blade. Now, more than a month later, he is still injured, but it is no longer the laceration that is cause for concern.

Gaborik missed three games before heading to Vancouver to play for Team Slovakia in February, and even missed the first game of the tournament. Although not at 100%, he chose to play on for his team, and played very well. But then he got injured again, this time a groin problem, something which has plagued him his entire career. So now he was injured even more, and yet again he chose to keep playing for Slovakia in meaningless Olympic games.

With the regular season now ready to start up again, Gaborik returned back to New York where he missed the Rangers first game Tuesday night in Ottawa. As exciting as the Olympics were, this is yet another case of a team sending a perfectly healthy star player (save for a cut that was on it's way to healing) only to have that player return injured. If Gary Bettman is looking for any reason to not send NHL players to the 2014 games, this would be one of them.

So now to the actual injury. No one knows how severe it is. The reporters are writing that he could be in the lineup against the New Jersey Devils next Tuesday, but it may be worse than that. Behind the scenes there are those saying that Gaborik may actually need another surgery to fix his oft-injured groin, something that would derail him the rest of the way. If the team announced today that Gaborik would be out for the season, I would not be surprised one bit. Either way, the Rangers will have to play on, whether or not their $7.5 million star forward can play with them.

The Rangers must be prepared that even if Gaborik does return to the lineup at some point this season, that his chances of re-injury will be higher now than at any point in his career up to now. Glen Sather sitting still at yesterday's trade deadline ended up being perfect, because how much sense would it have made to bring in a player to compliment Gaborik without having Gaborik in the lineup?

Fans wanted the Rangers to make a move for a center, or forward in general, that could mesh with Gaborik, but now it definitely appears to be the right move. For the first time since 2001, the Rangers did not swap NHL players in a deal. If Sather thought this team had a great chance of making the playoffs, he would have traded for the sake of trading, and not stood pat. That really says something about the GM that 9 out of every 10 people hate. He showed some restraint, and should be lauded for that.

If Gaborik can not play on it would seem that the season is over, which would make the many people pushing for a "tank movement" happy. But the Rangers are just not going to die and sink to the bottom. They are going to claw their way into a playoff spot. As much as I have criticized them, and as bad as everyone makes them out to be, they really are not that bad. Obviously not having Gaborik will make it hard, but I still say this team scrapes their way into the playoffs; by which time if Gaborik can recover, will be rested and ready to go for a playoff run. But that all depends on his groin, something many of us did not want the fate of the season to rest on.

In retrospect, can anyone honestly seem surprised at this? He has never played a full season in his career and even when he was tearing it up this season, he still seemed to be dogging it. The Rangers have a very tough schedule ahead of them and now is no time to wallow in the sorrows of missing their superstar. They must dig in, put their nose to the grindstone, and find a way to make it to the postseason.

Devils Add Depth With Acquisition of Skoula

2010-03-03T19:14:00.002-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

The Devils made a splash way before the trade deadline when they nabbed the most coveted upcoming free agent in Ilya Kovalchuk on February 4th. There was plenty of surprise because of the Devils track record of picking up veterans who contribute in a certain area and almost never go after high profile players. So the acquisition of a veteran defenseman is a blip on the radar for Devils fans in the continued aftermath of "The Big Catch". But nevertheless, this trade will add another element to the complicated puzzle that is the New Jersey Devils.

The Devils acquired veteran defenseman Martin Skoula from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2010 fifth round pick, just one day after Skoula was sent packing by Pittsburgh, along with prospect Luca Caputi, to get Alexei Ponikarovsky. Skoula is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, thus making this a smart deal by Lou Lamoriello.

The former first round pick of the Colorado Avalanche has bounced around the league over the course of his career, with the Devils becoming his 6th team in 12 seasons. Skoula has some playoff experience from his days with the Avalanche and Minnesota Wild and also has a Stanley Cup ring from Colorado's win in 2001.

The reason for this move is obvious, it's a Devils pedigree. It seems like each year at the trade deadline Mr. Lamoriello makes a simple move to help push the team into the playoffs and to provide leadership. Last season, the Devils acquired defensive defenseman Niclas Havelid to boost the back end and provide a security blanket in their own zone. Havelid, just like Skoula, was set to be a free agent and was a solid contributor to the cause. The season before they acquired stay at home defender Bryce Salvador for agitator Cam Janssen, and as you can tell, this move has paid huge dividends for New Jersey.

No one was quite sure what Skoula was going to do after he failed to make the Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets opening rosters, but he eventually was signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins prior to the season opener.

What Skoula can provide for the Devils is an offensive presence from the back end and is another piece to a stellar blue line corps. Skoula can play the point on the powerplay and moves the puck well. He has been criticized for a lack of defensive ability and tends to get overpowered by opposing forwards. He won't be given big minutes and provides more of an impact when paired with a defensive defenseman (Mark Fraser comes to mind).

Rangers Stand Pat at Trade Deadline

2010-03-03T15:20:00.004-05:00

By Greg Caggiano
Also Featured on Blueshirt Banter

Despite a storm of names swirling around this team all morning and over the last few days, the New York Rangers chose to make only one move today, a minor league deal sending Jordan Owens to the Detroit Red Wings for Kris Newbury.

It is almost shocking that Glen Sather did not make a move because he has in every season since becoming GM of the Rangers, regardless of their place in the standings. The Rangers had one big move in their sights today, and that was to acquire defenseman Sheldon Souray on Edmonton, but he was hospitalized in just the last few hours with an infection in his hand, a result of a surgery he had just a few weeks ago. That was going to be the Rangers big deal today, but the injury threw Sather completely off and he chose to not make a move at all. The Rangers also reportedly made an offer for Tomas Kaberle of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

When looking back on it though, Sather did make his big move a month ago when he acquired Jokinen and Prust for Kotalik and Higgins. Any other year that would have been the deadline move, so in reality, the Rangers didn't do nothing this season. That move was made before the Olympic break which was actually the first of the two trade deadlines this season. All the big moves were made then, including Kovalchuk and Phaneuf.

As a side note, this was the most boring trade deadline day ever. TSN started their annual "Tradecentre" show at 8am and will be broadcasting through 6pm. There has been absolutely nothing and how the analysts haven't strangled each other out of boredom is beyond me. Their show today has been an absolute joke, and fellow writer Joe Alianello described it like Christmas morning, saving the biggest box for last only to find out it's clothes or something stupid. Loved when TSN announced, "Oh! Oh! Oh! We got a trade!....Joey Macdonald for a 7th round pick." It's time to sign off the air guys.

There is still a chance more deals will be announced in the next hour but it is believed to be that the Rangers are done and will not announce any moves. We all wanted deals to be made but perhaps not making any was for the better.

Islanders Trade Sutton to Senators

2010-03-03T09:02:00.009-05:00

By Eric Bancker

The Islanders got in on the excitement of the trade deadline last night as they dealt veteran defenseman Andy Sutton to the Ottawa Senators for a 2nd round pick in this years draft.

This move makes a lot of sense for the Islanders because Sutton is a free agent at the end of the season and they weren't going to resign him. Now the Islanders can save over 3 million on the cap and also get a 2nd round pick in this years draft which is great for them to help build their future.

The Senators get a big bodied defenseman that led the Islanders in blocked shots and hits. Going down the stretch every team looks for this type of player and the Senators look like they are going in the right direction.

Looking ahead to the next 6 hours, I see the Islanders trying to move Brendan Witt maybe for more draft picks. Dewayne Roloson's name has been thrown out there, the Flyers are a team that seems very interested since Ray Emery has been shutdown for the rest of the season. Martin Biron is another name but with the concern of Rick Dipietro's health I don't see the Islanders moving a goalie at this point. Blake Comeau is another player on the block, not a lot of buzz surrounding him but I hear 2 teams have stayed in contact with the Islanders about him, one being the Minnesota Wild.

Who knows what today holds but all I know is its Christmas in March. Stay tuned for more information as it comes in. Check us out on Twitter, Greg Caggiano is on top of that with all the breaking news that you need.

http://twitter.com/metrohockey

Where to Spend Tomorrow Morning and Afternoon

2010-03-02T22:49:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

There are so many big names on the block ready to be dealt by tomorrow's 3pm deadline. For the latest coverage, make sure you have yourself a Twitter account. Please add us to your follow list and Rangers Tribune as well. You will get the most up to the minute trade news as soon as we get it. Please follow:

@metrohockey

and

@RangersTribune

Search our follow list for more great hockey blogs and TSN analysts. Don't be left out of the loop on the busiest day of the NHL season.

Rangers Speculation: Greg's Rumor Chart Updated

2010-03-02T16:55:00.001-05:00

By Greg Caggiano
Also Featured on Blueshirt Banter

Please be advised that these are rumors and we are not claiming in any way that any of which is posted below will come to fruition. This is based on what I am hearing from sources both public and private inside certain organizations. Just wanted to condense them all in one article so we can keep track of them as the hours go by.

Involving the Rangers

1. Rangers are going full throttle after David Booth of the Florida Panthers. I wish they were not because I don't want to risk trading for a player that has spent more than half the season on the IR with a concussion. Names involved to be going the other way are Dan Girardi. But keep in mind that Girardi has been thrown around all over the place. Nathan Horton's name has also been more prevalent, but again, he is coming off a broken leg so I wouldn't risk it. Here's a name to consider that hasn't been mentioned: Gregory Campbell, a center whose dad coached the New York Rangers and won a Cup in 1994 as the assistant.

2. Rangers are in serious talks with the San Jose Sharks, inquiring about both Devin Setoguchi and Joe Pavelski. They will most likely have to settle for one or the other, but will probably have a better chance at Setoguchi. The price may be too high for Pavelski, but if San Jose wants to really move him (for reasons unknown to me), then Dubinsky and Girardi would be the combination headed out west.

3. What would a deadline be without Oilers and Coyotes speculation? Obvious names being thrown around from up north are Sheldon Souray and Andrew Cogliano. This trade, along with number 2, both hinge on each other because the Rangers only have a select group they are willing to deal. Peter Mueller from Phoenix has also been tossed around.

Rangers Waive Voros and Lisin

2010-03-02T12:30:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

As per the New York Post and TSN, the New York Rangers have placed wingers Aaron Voros and Enver Lisin on waivers. This expands the amount of cap room the Rangers have and will now allow them to take approximately $6.5 million in prorated salary. Although placed on waivers, both players will be in the lineup for tonight's game against the Senators. Marian Gaborik and Michael Del Zotto will both be scratched. I would think the Rangers are up to something big if they cleared that much salary. More information to come later.

In the meantime, follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/metrohockey

What Really Happened to My Chad Johnson Interview

2010-03-02T11:03:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano
Also Featured on Blueshirt Banter

First off, I would just like to say that I am more than happy to be a part of the writing team here at Blueshirt Banter and it is unfortunate that my first editorial will have to be something a bit controversial. Most of you remember just about a month ago when I had the chance to interview Rangers goaltender Chad Johnson for my blog Metro Hockey. The article was featured on this site by Jim, so most of you will also remember the subsequent removal of this interview from both our websites.

After about a month of toying with the idea of just how to explain what exactly happened, I decided that the best way would be telling the simple, plain truth. I will give you a day by day rundown of just what exactly happened regarding my interview with Chad.

January 7th: After seeing Chad Johnson had been called up and looked like he was going to stay, I added him on Facebook. This was without a doubt the real Chad Johnson. We all know the celebrity and sports figures Facebook profiles have "friends" numbering in the thousands. Since Chad was a relative unknown at the time, he had less than two hundred. I hardly ever conduct Facebook interviews but this one checked out. I even had three other writers, whose names I will not mention, take a look and they gave me the "okay" and it checked out. The most convincing piece of information was Chad's email address, which was visible right on his page.

January 9th/ ~9pm: I send Chad a message telling him a little about my blog and that I would like to conduct an interview with him. I'm not really expecting a response but I gave it a shot anyway.

January 9th/ ~10pm: Chad contacts me back through Facebook instant message asking how the interview would be conducted and what I was going to ask of him. I tell him that all I wanted to ask about is his playing style and what his experiences were like thus far, with his first NHL start happening just nights earlier. Chad agrees to do the interview and I send him five questions about fifteen minutes later.

January 9th/10:35-11pm: Chad and I have a discussion on the Facebook IM and he sends me the answers to the first two questions in separate private messages, because of how long they are. We then continue to have a little side conversation on hockey and some random items. Now, as a Ranger fan my whole life, this was an incredible moment. Just think, we grow up rooting for these guys from a distance and here I was shooting the breeze with a New York Ranger. I thank Chad for his time and he says he will answer my other three questions over the next few days.

January 10th/12:40-5 pm: I publish the article on Metro Hockey and it is met with rave reviews. Chad's answers are long and in-depth and really gave Ranger fans an insight into his game-day routines and playing styles. At around 4pm, Chad contacts me, thanking me for posting the article and that he will have the other answers for me soon. At around 5pm, Jim features part of the interview here on Banter where it is met with further outstanding reviews. People didn't understand how important all of this was to me. Here I am, a fan, who just conducted the first in-depth interview with a player brand new to the National Hockey League. I felt important, reads on my site went up, and Chad was happy as well, and more than willing to continue the interview.

January 13th/7pm: After going three days without hearing from Chad, I figure he is busy with hockey and I did not press him further. What I had gotten was already more than enough and if he never got around to the other questions I would have still been very grateful. Then at around 7pm, I get an email from Chad's agent, who stated that he has "heard " I conducted an interview with Chad Johnson but that it would have been impossible for me to do so because he had just gotten off the phone with Chad and he supposedly said that he never did such an interview and the person I talked to was an "impostor". However, the "real" Chad would still be more than happy to conduct an interview with me. He asked that I remove the current questions from the site and if I would still be interested in an interview. I agreed to this and emailed him back.

January 14th/~2pm: I phone Chad's agent and explain the situation further, even though I had emailed him the previous night. He tells me, "No harm, no foul. No one is angry and we all had a good laugh over it." The conversation was a month ago but those are as close to his words as I can remember. He then tells me he will email me Chad Johnson's contact information and to proceed with the interview.

January 14th/~3pm: I get an email from the agent and anxiously scroll down to see Chad's contact information. Now, what I am about to say next is something that I have not told anyone before. The email address by which to contact the "real" Chad was the exact same one I saw on the Facebook just days earlier. I quickly open Facebook to double check only to find that the whole profile had been deleted (it has since been restored). Annoyed and confused, I then email Chad telling him what his agent told me and that we were good to go. He responds very quickly saying that it was not a problem, and just to clear it with Rangers Public Relations.

January 14/~4pm: I email the Ranger PR Director, who I will simply refer to as PRD (for PR Department). I am not expecting an email in return from him because I had never gotten a response in the past with any of my inquiries. I explain to him the situation and that I have the permission of both Chad and his agent to conduct the interview. PRD responds to me within ten minutes saying that I should have gone through his office in the first place and that Chad will not be available to do the interview. So I guess the human being himself wanting to do the interview isn't good enough?

January 14th/~5pm: I CC an email to Chad and his agent telling them of my response and apologizing for any inconvenience. I then return PRD's email saying that I did not go through him in the first place because I had never gotten a response back ever before. He replied, "You just did on the first email you ever sent to me." Which is false because I had previous inquiries with both him and his assistant and they were never responded to.

About a week after all of this happened, I appeared on the Blueshirt Banter Radio Show to discuss what happened, and Eddie "The Mouth" Gieck summed it up perfectly when he said that the Rangers PR is simply afraid that Chad may have said something negative about the franchise. They are afraid of allowing a blogger not affiliated with the team to share in a spotlight in anyway. They are basically afraid of their own shadow. I even offered to send Rangers PR a sampling of my questions where they could have allowed/disallowed anything I would ask him. I did not get a response back on that one. Want to know what my dangerous and highly controversial questions to Chad were?

1. Can you tell us what it feels like to go from making the jump to the NHL from college hockey in less than a year?

2. Your style of play appears to be so calm and keeps movement around the crease to a minimum. Where did you learn to play this way? And what advantages does it have?

3. What is your immediate feeling upon completing your first start in the NHL? You didn't appear to be nervous, but what was going through your mind right before the puck dropped?

4. Whether you finish the season up with the Rangers or down in Hartford, what do you hope to accomplish by the end of the season?

5. In just a week, you went from backing up on the Rangers to starting in Hartford, then back up again to start for the Rangers. Did this make it more difficult to play? And what was your routine like on the day of a game?

Don't you just know that somehow, Chad would have found a way to bash the organization with an unrecoverable statement that would have sent shock waves through the franchise by answering those questions? Rangers PR is afraid of their own fan base because they know Ranger fans are smart enough to realize that all is not well with the front office. They were afraid that I would have conducted this interview with Chad and had some sort of hidden agenda behind it all. Remember, this is the New York Rangers, the so called classiest organization in hockey.

In a conference call yesterday, I spoke to Jim, Nick, and Joe about all of this and once again, we were all on the same page. The Ranger fan is not allowed to voice his opinion and the amateur blogger is not allowed to have any part of the spotlight whatsoever. I will always be a fan of this team, no matter how bad I was treated by the organization. The same can be said with Jim here on Banter, who has been treated in an even more disgraceful way than myself.

The Rangers are now down to three quality beat writers. For a New York team, that is almost laughable. The Rangers hardly get any coverage on TV and radio and still they fail to acknowledge the amateur blogosphere. But for some reason they are afraid of us. The mighty New York Rangers, afraid of some kids trying to get their foot in the door and cover the team while having some fun. They can ignore us all they want, they have that right. But they must also understand that we are still here, and we won't be going away anytime soon.

Could Poor Performance By Brodeur in Olympics Affect the Devils?

2010-03-01T19:46:00.007-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

There is no doubt in any one's mind that the 2010 Winter Olympics were in fact the most exciting and nail biting in recent memory. The gold medal game between the United States and Canada was unbelievable and showed just how the game should be played, with grit and determination.

Canada were the favorites before the tournament even started and had been since the announcement of Vancouver acquiring the rights to hold the 2010 Olympics. The goaltenders came up big in the gold medal game, time and time again. Ryan Miller was, hands down, the best goalie of the tournament, helping the U.S. get as far as the gold medal game and Martin Brodeur... no wait that wasn't him in the net... that was Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo. Sorry about that, Brodeur was supposed to the starter for the Canadians.

What was supposed to be a done deal with Brodeur in the net turned into an absolute disaster for the Canadians. They played Norway first so Team Canada's head coach Mike Babcock put adopted Vancouver son Luongo in the net, which ended in a 8-0 drubbing.

The next game was against Switzerland, who upset the Canadians in 2006 at the Winter Olympics in Turin. Brodeur got the nod and almost everyone was expecting the Canadians to steam roll the Swiss. Someone spoke too soon. With his team up 2-0, Brodeur was in good shape to secure the win. However, the momentum went in Switzerland's direction after two second period goals by Ivo Ruthemann and Patrick von Gunten. Those two goals came on only 9 shots in that period, a period that the Canadians dominated up until then. Although the Canadians came out on top in the end, a 3-2 shootout win, it was Brodeur's lackluster play that kept Switzerland in the game.

After Switzerland almost upset the host country, coach Babcock felt it was a good idea to give Brodeur the nod (again) against the United States. After all, Martin Brodeur is considered one of the best goalies of all time, this should have been an easy game for him, right? Wrong again.

The United States pounced on Brodeur early, getting two first period goals from Brian Rafalski on plays that Brodeur most certainly would want back. Rafalski's first went off of a stick out in front and Brodeur was out of position, leading to a 1-0 lead. Canada would tie it up but just 22 seconds after Eric Staal made it 1-1, Brodeur decided it was smart to come out and bat the puck out of the air but wasn't expecting it to go on the stick of Brian Rafalski, who added his second of the game to make it 2-1.

Throughout the game Brodeur showed flashes of shaky play, he gave up too many rebounds and also wandered out of his net a few too many times. His best moments were during a stretch in the 2nd period when he had to make back to back breakaway stops on Dustin Brown and then Bobby Ryan. He had to sit on the sidelines as Roberto Luongo made up for his bad performance and got the Canadians the gold medal. If his play during the Olympics continues into the season for the Devils, that most certainly will mean another first round exit.

The Devils play him far too much in the season as he has averaged 62 games a season over the course of his career, playing 70 games or more 11 times. Last season was an exception to that as he suffered a serious injury and missed 51 games. During that time, bench rider Scott Clemmensen proved his worth and helped propel the Devils into the playoffs but was immediately replaced by Brodeur for the first round matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes. And we all know how that turned out for the Devils last year.

Brodeur is on pace for 78 games this year and it's no wonder why he struggles in the playoffs. Maybe it's because he doesn't get enough rest or maybe it's because of the fact he's 37 years old and can't do all the things that he used to do? Yes, he had a great first half but has tailed off lately and was ice cold before the Olympics started. The Devils can't afford to have a bad second half and really need to start giving Yann Danis some games.

The combination of playing too much and not playing well enough has been nagging Marty and for the Devils sake, they better hope that he picks up his game or else they won't get far in the playoffs, even if they picked up the best player on the trade market in Ilya Kovalchuk. In order to win a championship, you need a good effort from everyone which includes the goaltender.

Should the Rangers be Sizing up a Jersey for Sheldon Souray?

2010-03-01T13:56:00.003-05:00

By Greg Caggiano
Also Featured on Blueshirt Banter

The New York Rangers need to acquire two things at the trade deadline this coming Wednesday; a physical, crease clearing defenseman, and some offense. A healthy Sheldon Souray would accomplish both. The oft-injured 33 year old has one of the hardest shots in the entire league and plays with a mean streak. It was actually during a fight that Souray received the injury he is on the IR for right now.

I, myself, have been calling for Souray's acquisition since 2008, a year after he signed in Edmonton. His first choice during the 2007 off-season was to sign with the Rangers, but he entered the game too late, after they had already signed Scott Gomez and Chris Drury; there was no money left. Souray waited a week, hoping the Rangers could free up enough cap space to sign him, but it never happened and he landed in Edmonton. His first season there was less than memorable when he only played 26 games due to injury while recording 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points. It appeared that it was the right move after all not to sign him.

Then came last season, and the Souray we all know and love was back. He scored 23 goals (12 on the powerplay) to go along with 30 points and 98 penalty minutes. The stat that was the most telling, however, was his plus/minus. Souray had become infamous in Montreal for scoring 26 goals and ending up a -28 on the season. But last year, he was a +1 on a not so very good Oilers team.

But now it appears Souray is in the midst of one of those injury plagued seasons. He has only appeared in 37 games thus far, and has 4 goals and 9 assists to show for it. I know for a fact that Glen Sather is talking to the Oilers right now, wanting to acquire him. But do they really want to gamble on another high risk, high reward player?

The first question you must ask yourself is, what does trading for him accomplish? Well, we all know he has a knack for scoring powerplay goals and recorded one of the hardest slapshots on record during a team skills competition in Edmonton last season. The Rangers powerplay, after starting out the season on fire, has now slipped to the middle of the pack. What was going to be their "powerplay savior" has since been shipped off to Calgary after a mediocre showing. If the Rangers want to go anywhere, they will need their special teams to click once more. A point paring of Del Zotto for passing and Souray for the shot could be a lethal combination.

When it comes to overall team toughness, the Rangers have to be near the bottom of the league. Time and time again we see players get pushed around and hit and no one sticks up for them. We also see Henrik Lundqvist get repeatedly bumped into, and the defensive corps, which I like to call the "Broadway Ballerina Troupe", stands around and watches. Souray is one mean, nasty, S.O.B and will not stand for any of that. He fights and hits, and when healthy, can be a player to instill fear into opponents when they get in the crease area.

Getting back to what I said earlier, I wanted Souray the day he hit free agency and I want him still. Last July I even created this fan page for him titled, Get Sheldon, which I hoped would have started a movement to acquire the defenseman. Getting him would help this team down the stretch, but at what price would we be willing to pay?

The Rangers would need to trade Michal Rozsival or Wade Redden in order for it to work. Whether it is a straight up deal, a waiver burying, or a three-team trade, one of those salaries needs to come off the books. Edmonton is looking to shed salary and will probably have half their team traded by Wednesday, so taking back a large salary is probably not a realistic scenario, unless there is some youth involved. The rumors of a trade of Brandon Dubinsky for Andrew Cogliano are false, but when included as part of a package, then it could happen.

Glen Sather would need to work his trade magic with Edmonton. Tom Renney loved Michal Rozsival in New York and was the only reason he was re-signed after Jaromir Jagr left town. A trade would need to look something like Rozsival, Dubinsky, and Girardi for Souray and Cogliano.

Girardi has been brutal this season and when looking at the various Ranger blogs out there, I think it would be safe to say that Girardi would win a voting on, "Which Ranger is most likely to be traded?" As for Cogliano, he has struggled mightily this season but is one of the fastest skaters in the game. Could putting him with Gaborik set off a spark?

If that exact trade were to happen, I think the Rangers would be the overall winners, but Edmonton makes out well too. Souray is owed $9 million over the next two seasons ($5.4 million cap hit) while Rozsival is owed only $7 million ($5 million cap hit). Cogliano, meanwhile, is an RFA and mill only get a raise to about $1.5 million.

This leaves the Rangers a defenseman short, but with Potter, Sanguinetti, and Heikkinen in the mix, I think the Rangers would take that gamble. After all, none of those three could play any worse than Girardi has this season. The Rangers have also just recalled Corey Potter this morning, which means they could be working on a trade that will result in the loss of a defenseman.

A trade for Sheldon Souray is not simple, it comes with a lot of baggage. There are a lot of positives and negatives going both ways, but in the long run, I think it would be a good move provided they don't give up too much. My message to Glen Sather will be the same as it was a year ago; "Get Sheldon."

USA Loses a Game for the Ages

2010-02-28T17:56:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Five years from now, teenagers in the United States will be saying that they got into hockey because of this game. Even though Team USA lost, what this game will do for the sport of hockey in a country where it currently sits fourth tier will be unmatched.

The numbers will not be in for a few days but it can be certain that this was the most watched hockey game in the history of television in the United States. People that do not even like hockey were glued to the set for nearly three hours as Canada dropped USA 3-2 in overtime. Canada had jumped on top 2-0 early, but the US climbed back in it, scoring once in the second and the game tying with just 24 seconds to go in regulation.

I sat literally at the edge of my seat for the third period and overtime, and I'm not even a big fan of Olympic hockey. This was one for the ages, an epic matchup between two countries who like to think of themselves as hockey giants. Even with the Canadians grabbing gold, popularity for hockey in this country will skyrocket.

And so the tournament ends, what the players were calling the best two weeks of hockey the world will ever see. In four years these teams will meet again, and word is Gary Bettman is thinking of pulling NHL players out of the Olympics from here on out. I was a fan of this at first, but after watching this game, I think it is safe to say that the sport of hockey needs the best players on the greatest stage. This game will be remembered forever in the annals of hockey history.

Rangers Claim Goalie Alex Auld Off Waivers

2010-02-27T12:19:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

The New York Rangers have claimed goaltender Alex Auld off of re-entry waivers from the Dallas Stars this morning. The move will only have a cap hit of $125,000 and ends up being cheaper than having Chad Johnson sit on the bench.

This is a fantastic move by the Rangers because they have needed an experienced goalie to be Henrik Lundqvist's backup. Steve Valiquette was not going to get called up, meanwhile it was a waste in having rookies Chad Johnson and Matt Zaba split time by sitting on the bench. Auld is a very cheap and reliable option and will probably only play four or five games down the stretch. He owns a career 83-81-26 record while playing for Canucks, Panthers, Bruins, Coyotes, Senators, and Stars since the 2001/02 season. He has been a backup in every season but one, when he won 33 games for the Canucks in the year following the lockout.

This move ensures that the musical chairs game between Johnson and Zaba will come to an end and it will more than likely spell the end of Valiquette's career with the organization, as there is now a log jam of young goalies in the Rangers farm system. The 29 year old Auld will now be there to give Lundqvist a breather down the stretch, and now, God forbid he gets injured, Auld would be a better option to have in there than anyone else that has backed up this season.

Auld is a free agent after this season and will most likely be testing the market for a starting job. If not, it may be wise that the Rangers look to extend his contract, should he play well enough down the stretch.

Gaborik Leaves Game Injured: How Bad is it?

2010-02-27T11:03:00.003-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

In last night's game between Slovakia and Canada, the Slovaks fell behind 3-0 before making things interesting late in the third period when they scored twice to get within one and then missed a wide open net and ringing it off the crossbar, what could have been the tying goal. Game breaker Marian Gaborik was nowhere to be seen on the ice during the period, because he left the game due to an injury in the second period.

Nothing has been confirmed yet as to how severe the injury is. Bob McKenzie of TSN writes, "No official word on Gaborik's injury, but as yet unconfirmed reports suggest it may be the groin. At the very least, Rangers cause for concern." Yet a report from a Slovakia newspaper (had it translated) says, "Gaborik was experiencing minor discomfort but now is okay and should be ready to go for the bronze medal game tomorrow." One makes it seem serious when the other does not.

Truth is, the injury is definitely lower body and Gaborik has a history of groin and hip problems and even suffered some in the pre-season, which have gone all but forgotten. His groin was a disaster waiting to happen and now it is possible that it has finally come to the point where Gaborik has re-injured himself seriously...again. The Rangers cannot survive without Gaborik, who has account for roughly 25% of the team's total goals scored.

Team Slovakia will take on Finland today in the bronze medal game and there is no word on the status of Marian Gaborik. I was never a fan of having NHLers play in the Olympics and this just reinforces why; the Rangers send a perfectly healthy superstar who is getting paid mega bucks to a completely useless tournament and they get him back injured. Serious or not, if Gaborik is in the lineup for Slovakia today it will prove that Olympic hockey is a joke, and may help Bettman decide that the NHL will stop sending stars in 2014.

With Deadline Approaching, Rangers Must Look to Deal

2010-02-25T20:58:00.003-05:00

By Joe Alianello

Many New York Ranger fans think the season has been over and done with for quite some time based on the team’s play three quarters of the way into the season. The NHL standings paint a different picture with the Rangers only one point out of playoff contention. I sometimes wonder if Ranger fans bother to watch other teams around the National Hockey League. If they were to, they would see almost every club has their own struggles and the Rangers aren’t as bad as many think.

The New York Rangers are a team that cannot score and that is where their problems are rooted. General Manager Glen Sather addressed that issue by acquiring Olli “Icy Hot” Jokinen from the Calgary Flames in exchange for struggling winger Christopher “don’t call me Chris” Higgins and Ales Kotalik. Not only did Sather shed salary on the remaining two years of Kotalik’s salary, but he received a center man in Jokinen who can effectively man the point and has the potential to light the lamp every time he hits the ice. Great move by Sather as Jokinen has already proven to be an effective player for the Rangers.

Heading into the March third trade deadline, Glen Sather must look to improve his hockey club. The team has a plethora of toughness up front with team favorite Aaron Voros and newly acquired tough guys Brandon Prust and Jody Shelley. Donald Brashear has been expelled to Hartford and I think this may help lift the dark cloud that was clearly over the team for some time. Brashear was a good soldier, but when a player feels as though he should play and the coach thinks otherwise it is never good for the team as a whole.

Brashear is a shadow of the player he once was, but at 38 it is difficult to fight player almost half your age and still compete at a high level. Sather made a mistake in signing Brashear, but had it gone well and liked management had planned things would have played out much differently in a positive fashion. Too bad Sather and company were watching Youtube clips of Brashear from the late 1990’s when they decided to target him on July 1 and handed him 2 year/2.8 million dollar deal. Good intentions just five years behind the curve.

As far as improving the club, I assure you Ranger fans, the backup goaltending position is not of concern to the Rangers upper brass. Head Coach John Torterella will ride Lundqvist as much as he can. Expect Chad Johnson to get 1-2 starts in the next 20 games. If the backup goalie situation was a priority you could have expected Dallas Stars goaltender Alex Auld to have been claimed when he was on waivers and finally cleared today. Considering the Rangers passed on a capable backup I do not believe it factors into their plans for improvement heading into the March third deadline.

Look for Sather to make two trades before the deadline. The first trade will be to acquire defenseman Sheldon Souray from the Edmonton Oilers. Although Souray is injured he could be ready within two weeks of when the NHL resumes play on March 1. Souray has struggled, but the Rangers could use his shot from the point and the toughness he brings on the backend.

I could see the deal involving Andrew Cogliano as well who the Rangers love as they believe he would be a perfect fit with Marian Gaborik despite his recent struggles. Can’t speculate who would have to go the other way, but think Dan Girardi and Artem Anisimov could both be real possibilities. Don’t buy into the rumors of Brandon Dubinsky being shopped he is part of the teams future plans.

As far as another player, the Rangers may look into acquiring expect Paul Kariya to be one of those guys who may catch the Rangers eye. The Rangers cannot add salary heading into the 2010-2011 campaign, but can definitely take an expiring contract or two. St.Louis has been shopping Kariya and defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo and the Rangers may want to take on both.

Michael Rozsival has always gotten a bad rap for his play. Truth is Rozsival can log big minutes and only gets a bad rap because of his salary. Rozsival is slated to make a total of $7 million in the final two years of his deal with a cap hit of $5 million in 10-11/11-12. A team like St. Louis will never spend to the cap so taking on a $5 million cap hit is a non issue as they are paying Roszival less than his cap number. The man running the show in St. Louis would most likely like a young winger and maybe a third or fourth rounder headed the other way to complete the deal. Deals are difficult to complete in the NHL, but with some finagling anything can happen.

I look forward to see what the Rangers do, come the March 3^rd deadline as the Rangers are never quiet on deadline day.

With the proposed deals this is your New York Rangers after the March 3^rd trade deadline

Prospal-Cogliano-Gaborik

Callahan-Jokinen-Dubinsky

Kariya-Drury-Avery

Prust/Shelley-Boyle-Voros

Figure Lisin and Chritensen are delt away in deals to St.Louis/Edmonton or elsewhere

Souray-Staal

Del Zotto-Colaicovo

Gilroy-Redden

Only time will tell with what the Rangers will do on March 3rd. Stay tuned, because heads are gonna roll.

Sweden Eliminated; Lundqvist Returns Home Uninjured

2010-02-25T09:51:00.003-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

For every Rangers fan, there was something inside tearing us apart, which was who to root for. Do you root for your home country, which for the majority of us is the United States? Or do we cheer on the fan favorite and reigning gold medal winner Henrik Lundqvist who plays for Sweden? I cheered him on last time and was prepared to do so again, until after last night, when they were upset by Slovakia by the score of 4-3. This will go down as the second biggest upset of the tournament, right next to the USA's defeat of Canada on Sunday night.

The bright side of this is, though, that Henrik Lundqvist will return to the New York Rangers uninjured, and not fatigued, as he will have played two less games than his last Olympic tournament in 2006.

When the Olympics came, I thought it would be a break; two weeks to not have to watch or worry about a mediocre Rangers team. On the contrary, this is where the stress actually would begin. I'm no fan of the Olympics at all, everyone knows this, but even with my distaste for the tournament, I still found myself flipping through the games just checking to see if Lundqvist, Gaborik, or Jokinen were still healthy. That is all that matters to the Rangers in the long run, the safe return of all the players they sent out.

We all remember four years ago, when Lundqvist played his heart out to a gold medal and came back to New York a different goalie. He played worse down the stretch than he had the entire season, mainly due to injuries like a hip flexor and migraines when the playoffs rolled around. The extra games he played that season at such a high stress level were the cause. The elimination games have a game-seven mentality, and to continually play in these games will wear a player out eventually. Hockey is as much mental as is it physical, so as much as I wanted to see Lundqvist repeat with the gold medal, it is good to see him back early.

The Rangers have begun to practice already and I will imagine that they will give Lundqvist a few days off before he must take part. The gold medal game is Sunday and the Rangers will be back in action Tuesday night. With Sweden gone, it's time to cheer on Team USA, which I believe has a good shot at winning the gold. But don't overlook Finland, because remember, they won silver four years ago and their puck movement skills have probably been the best in the tournament. It will be no easy task but I think whoever wins the USA/Finland matchup will win the gold medal, even if it is against Canada.

Please check out our newly set up New York Rangers forum, BROADWAY BLUE, which is jointly run by Metro Hockey and Rangers Tribune.

New Rangers Forum is Up and Running

2010-02-24T10:05:00.003-05:00

I would like to invite all New York Rangers fans out there to check up the new forum I have set up called Broadway Blue. With your help, we can help make this the optimal forum on the net for Rangers and hockey discussion. We just launched last night so it may take some time, but with your help, we can do it.

Helping me moderate and run the forum is Nick Montemagno, the creator of Rangers Tribune and writer for Blueshirt Banter. We will need more with the growth of the forum, so if you are interested let us know and we will keep you in consideration.

So please, for great Rangers discussion, check us out at http://broadwayblue.co.cc.

*Please note: Broadway Blue is in no way associated with the New York Rangers or National Hockey League in any way, shape, or form. It is an independently run outlet.*

In One Year's Time: The Anniversary of When the Rangers Fired Renney

2010-02-23T11:29:00.004-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

One year ago today, the flustered and incompetent Tom Renney was relieved of his head coaching duties by general manager Glen Sather. One year ago today, the fiery and successful John Tortorella was hired to bring a new brand of hockey to the Rangers who had lacked exactly that. One year later, the team is playing worse than it ever did under Renney.

No one doubted that it was time for the organization to move in a new direction at the time of the firing. The head coach's preaching had fallen on deaf ears. His defense first system was no longer allowing any flow in the game and the team's offensive minded players wanted no part of it. The games were becoming increasingly boring and ridiculous as the Rangers relied on getting games to overtime and then to a shootout where they could then have their best chance at winning. The coach who had taken a motley crew of washed up veterans and underachieving youth and turned them into a team that won forty games three years in a row had lost his luster.

On top of his success in winning at least forty-two games in each of his three full seasons with the team, the record he had at the time of his departure was 31-23-7, but the team was slipping in the standings after an amazing first two months. They went into their annual disappearing act in the month of December from which they never recovered. Still, to even have that record with your leading scorers being a headcase in Nikolai Zherdev and the 35 year old Markus Naslund was an accomplishment in itself. Nevertheless, the team needed a spark and the firing was welcomed by nearly all, including myself.

So John Tortorella got to work with what he had and after five games or so, the trade deadline came and saw the departures of Petr Prucha and Nigel Dawes as well as Dmitri Kalinin. Nikolai Antropov and Derek Morris were brought in as well, and they were clearly moves wanted by the coach, because of his love for having big bodies around the net. The team slightly improved and limped into the playoffs. Tortorella did not have enough time to instill his work ethic and system because of the limited time left in the regular season, so he waited for the start of this season.

Marian Gaborik signed here in July because of his wanting to escape from a defensive minded Lemaire in Minnesota. Donald Brashear was also brought in because Tortorella has always respected the enforcer. Vinny Prospal's signing was also an effect of the head coach because the two had worked well in Tampa Bay together. This lead to the departures of Colton Orr, Freddy Sjostrom, and the retirement of Markus Naslund. Derek Morris and Blair Betts also said goodbye and Brian Boyle and Enver Lisin were to become fourth line mainstays.

So there it was, an improved team, however so slightly. John Tortorella promised a no-nonsense coaching style full of hard work, speed, and a fast paced offensive style. He has been known as a firebrand around the league and this was welcomed by the fan base who wanted their ultra calm and mellow Tom Renney to be shown the door.

It has now been exactly one year, and has the team looked better now than they did last year? Both coaches employed polar opposites in coaching style. However, the team looks exactly the same; boring and no flow. Thought Tom Renney liked to change lines a lot? John Tortorella looks like a veteran carny juggler compared to him. Granted, the lineup is not as good as one would like but when you look on paper, they really are not that bad.

Just look at how the team is performing in relation to what Tortorella is all about. It seems they have already started to tune him out. For Renney, it took almost four seasons. For Tortorella, it has not even been a full one. This would not be so bad if it wasn't for the antics that we have witnessed by the new coach since February 23, 2009.

Renney was a model of professionalism. He stayed calm on the bench no matter what, and unfortunately that was look at as not caring or not wanting to fix things. Actually, it shows how much more mature he was to be able to maintain his composure when the team in front of him played like utter garbage. He went into every press conference calmly and handled every reporter in a courteous manner. He answered all of their questions and was widely regarded as the most professional coach in the league.

Tortorella has been the polar opposite. Flash back to the first round playoff series against the Washington Capitals last season. In a game after which he railed on Sean Avery for losing his cool and then benching him, Tortorella triumphs that with an act of stupidity unseen by a head coach in the last decade. While behind the bench Tortorella would stand up and reach over the glass and spray water on fans because of something they said. Fans yell obscenities at the opposing team every game. This is not new and should be ignored, especially by the coach. In an ironic twist of fate, Tortorella himself would be suspended for one game because of the incident just days after benching Avery.

When it comes to press conferences, I would be lying if I said I don't look forward to them, especially after a Rangers loss. They are funny and entertaining, but they are also highly unprofessional. On several occasions, Tortorella has gotten into on camera verbal altercations with beat writer Larry Brooks, including one where he, in not so many words, challenged him to a fight. Harmless, but immature. In five seasons (three full) with the Rangers, how many times did this happen with Renney? None.

Then there are the famous, "I'm not going to get into that right now" or "I'm not going to dissect the game" lines. It seems we hear that at least twice in every conference when a reporter asks an inconvenient question. The whole purpose of a press conference is to talk about the game and all the aspects, however bad they may make a coach look. If you're not going to answer the questions, why bother showing up at all?

To say the Rangers would be drastically better with Renney coaching this year's team would be a stretch, because we don't know if the same players would have been brought in for him. But when watching Tortorella handle this team, I have been thinking since about November that maybe Renney should not have been fired and the Rangers missing the playoffs before overhauling in the summer would have been a good idea.

The problem with Renney towards the end of his tenure was a lack of offense. Tortorella promised a fast paced energetic style and the players have reacted by playing more lethargically than ever before. Defensive breakdowns have also been more prominent when dissecting the team. This would be alright if the Rangers were actually scoring, but it seems they only get two goals a game from the same player. It has been exactly one year since Tom Renney's departure, and can anyone honestly say the team would be worse off with him this season?

Is Drury's Olympic Performance Helping His Trade Value?

2010-02-22T16:10:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

In three Olympic games so far this tournament, Rangers captain and Team USA stalwart Chris Drury has tallied two goals and an assist, averaging a point per game. He has played and killed penalties with an energy and fire Ranger fans have not seen from him in what is his third year of a five year contract. No one doubts his determination, hard work, and defensive ability, but unfortunately, the annual $7.050 million sum his he paid to score fifty points has worn thin with the fan base and has left the team handicapped within the salary cap restrictions. This was alleviated slightly with the departure of Scott Gomez this off-season, but it's still there.

When looking at Drury's contract, it appears to be un-tradeable; one of the highest paid centers who has the offensive ability of a third liner. Drury himself has even found a majority of his playing time this season on the fourth line, making him the most expensive bottom six forward in the league. Why would anyone want to take a chance on this overpaid underachiever, especially one who lacks vocal leadership abilities? That is where these Olympics come in.

Drury looks like a completely different player in this three games and has left most of us asking, "Why can't he do that in the regular season?" The answer is unbeknownst to me, especially because he goes through his annual disappearing act at the beginning and end of every season but still ending up with average numbers of more than twenty goals and fifty points. The Rangers will be going nowhere with him as captain and it would be for the good of the franchise if he could be traded.

He has a full no trade clause, but let's think for a second that the Rangers found a team that he would be willing to waive it for. Would that said team be willing to take a chance on him? A team that is looking to do damage in the playoffs and one that needs a veteran who has "been there, done that" may be enticed by Drury, who always seems to come through in the clutch. He has played in the Stanley Cup Finals and won a Cup, and he has thrived in Olympic hockey, perhaps the greatest stage in the world.

His trade value, if he even had any before this Olympiad started, has just skyrocketed, because he is showing that he is not washed up any more, that he still has enough gas left in the tank. What team could be willing to take him back? The Colorado Avalanche come to mind, because of the success they are having and their lack of veterans. They have enough cap space available to accommodate him and Drury actually played well when he was there in 2001, the last time the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup. It could be a very good fit for them all around, and leave everyone feeling happy.

Canada's Game? USA Triumphs over Host Country

2010-02-21T22:29:00.006-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

Once the schedule for the Olympics was released, everyone knew what game was going to be the most anticipated; that being a February 21st matchup between the host country, (and favorites going into the tournament) Canada, and the new look Americans. Usually a game between these two teams is tops on the list but there was plenty of fuel put on the fire because of Canada hosting the Olympics this year and the fact that they are considered the best team in the tournament and are favorites to win it all. These two countries can't stand each other when they lace them up and go on the ice and have been bitter rivals for as long as anyone can remember. As U.S. head coach Ron Wilson said earlier in the tournament, "We know that coming in here, we are the villains and the only people that are going to cheer for us are Americans."

There was no doubt that the Olympic coverage was constantly previewing what would take place during this game and how it would end up, with almost every correspondent siding with Canada. Boy were they in for a surprise!

The game started with an intense amount of emotion as the crowd was deafening, the pace was quick and swift and bodies were flying all over the ice. The Americans were the ones to get on the board first when defenseman Brian Rafalski picked up the puck at the point and fired a low shot that deflected off Canada's prized possession, Sidney Crosby's stick and in between the legs of goaltender Martin Brodeur. The U.S. got the first goal of the game just 41 seconds into the contest, giving them a boost in the early stages.

Canada would counter however with a tally from Eric Staal after Canada's Brent Seabrook kept the puck in the zone and handed it off to the goal scorer. What appeared to be a momentum shift in the Canadians favor after some quality chances led to a play that Martin Brodeur would want back. The puck came flying into the Canadian zone and the best puck handling goalie in the league came out and batted the puck forward, which led to Rafalski's second goal of the game and 4th of the Olympics. Not only was it an idiotic play, but it also led to a boost for the Americans emotionally as they got all over Canada through, as I will soon reveal, the entire game.

The second was a period controlled by strong defensive play and physically to set the tempo. The Canadians tied up the score as Dany Heatley found himself open in the slot with the U.S. defense scrambling. The U.S. went from a first period of only six shots (yet they scored two goals), to a second period of 13 and they limited Canada to 12 shots in the second as opposed to the 19 they allowed in the first. As the hits just kept on coming, the U.S. pulled ahead when several players battled out in front of Brodeur and the puck bounced around in the slot until Olympic veteran Chris Drury swooped in and buried the opportunity. After this goal, the U.S. added two breakaways by Dustin Brown and Bobby Ryan where Brodeur had to be sharp and make some important saves.

The Americans weren't able to capitalize on a power play early in the third but were given two more chances with the man advantage, ultimately leading to Jamie Langenbrunner's back breaker to make it 4-2 U.S.A. Brian Rafalski's wrister from the point deflected off of Langenbrunner ever so slightly and continued to deflect off of Brodeur's stick and in between his legs.

Even with the lead, the Americans needed to continue throwing the body and play smart defensively. They did a great job of keeping Canada from getting solid scoring chances until Crosby's power play tally that squeaked past Ryan Miller with 3 minutes and change left in the third period. Although the Canadians threw everything they could on the net, they were given the knockout blow when Vancouver's favorite American, Ryan Kesler, skated up to Corey Perry and poked the puck around him into the empty net to give the Americans a 5-3 lead, ultimately sealing the Canadians' fate.

This will go down as one of the most exciting USA/Canada matchups of all time and is a great achievement for the Americans as they were expected to be a middle of the road team and not necessarily a contender. The U.S. had a strong effort throughout the game; being physical every chance they got, utilizing their speed and creativity in the offensive zone, working hard and playing the Canadian players close in the defensive zone and the determination that they showed in wanted to beat the favored team. There is no doubt that U.S. goaltender Ryan Miller was the best player in this game, stopping 42 shots and making huge saves at pressure situations. There were far too many times to recall where the Canadians had a good scoring chance and each time were snuffed out by Miller. The Canadians had nothing to counteract the Americans overall strong game and were frustrated time and time again because of the effort shown by the U.S. players.

The Americans can use this excellent game to propel themselves into medal contention and nobody can take this performance away from them.

Team USA Starts on Right Foot in Victory over Swiss

2010-02-16T19:36:00.006-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

The moment that everyone has been waiting for...the Olympics have arrived! The ice hockey competition gets under way today as three games are scheduled in Vancouver, with the United States playing earlier today against Switzerland in what looked to be a great physical matchup.

The US Olympic team, hand picked by Brian Burke, comes into these games younger and with less experience as only three members have played in the Olympics before, those being Brian Rafalski, Chris Drury and this year's team captain Jamie Langenbrunner. The youth and exuberance of this team certainly makes it exciting, as young superstars like Patrick Kane, Zach Parise, Paul Stastny, Ryan Suter and Ryan Miller build the core of what may be a medal team this time around. Well when you look at it, anything would be better than when all those old guys went to Torino and only got one win, leading to an eighth place finish.

Both sides were physical to start the game and would continue that style throughout, with the Swiss beating up on the Americans during the first. It was obvious to anyone that was watching that the American players had nervous energy around them and had to get the jitters out to come together as a team. Those nerves went away after Bobby Ryan fired a shot high over Swiss goaltender Jonas Hiller's glove hand to give US the lead with 61 seconds left in the first stanza.

The Americans gain plenty of momentum off of this as they went on to score two goals in the first half of the second period to pull ahead 3-0 over the Swiss. The first was from David Backes, who after a great opportunity by the Swiss, picked up the puck in the defensive zone and skated the length of the rink, flying past defenseman Yannick Weber and deking out Hiller for the 2nd US goal. A short while later, the Americans got a powerplay tally from Ryan Malone after defenseman Ryan Suter laid into a shot from the point that bounced off Hiller and dropped down in front where Ryan Malone was able to jab at it and put the puck in the back of the net. The Americans outshot the Swiss during the period 14 to 4, which goes to show who controlled that period.

The third was when the Swiss really turned on the heat and started straying away from their normal defense first mentality as they fired off chance after chance. The U.S. defense had a hard time containing the Swiss onslaught in the third, where they got 6 shots on Ryan Miller, which included an unusual goal by Roman Wick. Wick, the Ottawa Senators 156th pick in 2004, skated into the zone and appeared to make a pass towards the net when Miller reached out with his stick, deflecting the puck up and over his pad to give the Swiss an opportunity to get back into the game with the score 3-1. It would end this way but not before the Swiss added a flurry near the end of the game.

There were some things to take out of this game such as the Americans giving the Swiss too many odd man chances and the defensive play was sloppy. The fact that they only had one practice under their belt led to these faults but it helps that the first game ended with a win. Several players stood out to me as being solid in their first turns in the Olympics, including the goal scorer David Backes, as well as defensemen Ryan Suter and Jack Johnson. Backes was using every chance he got to throw the body and finish checks along with his speed and his strong forechecking ability that made the Swiss rearguards cough up the puck more than once. Both Suter and Johnson provided a calming presence on the blueline, where most of the anarchy happened in this game but it was great to see that they both played very well on both sides of the puck, especially in the defensive zone.

Now that the Americans got the victory and were able to put together a decent effort in their first game, look for them to carry that success into Thursday's matchup against Norway.

Struggling Devils Power Past Preds

2010-02-12T23:03:00.004-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

Going into tonight's matchup, there were two different stories. The first being the New Jersey Devils who have been a pretty good job of losing leads and just missing out on what should have been wins, as their 1-3-1 record in the last five games goes to show. The other side shows a Nashville Predators team that has been on and off, showing that they can put together great efforts in 5-3 win over Colorado last Thursday and just recently a strong 2-1 win over the New York Rangers; however this team also lost to San Jose in a game where they fell apart after a power play goal and also allowed a late goal against the Islanders that led to a shootout, with the Isles coming out victorious. Basically whichever team showed that they wanted to get out of a rut was the team that would come out on top.

New Jersey took the initiative to get on the board first, as Travis Zajac lit the lamp at 9:49 of the first period after Jamie Langenbrunner drew Predators goalie Pekka Rinne out of the crease, leaving Zajac alone in the slot to bury it into the empty net. Devils forward Dainius Zubrus took a tripping penalty, leading to a power play opportunity for the visitors, who sits 23rd in the league at 16.8% efficiency. Nashville tied the game up late in the first off of a tic-tac-toe passing play that started with J.P. Dumont handing it off to Dan Hamhuis and ending with Colin Wilson setting up fellow rookie Cal O'Reilly in the high slot, where he fired a snap shot over the left shoulder of Martin Brodeur.

If this seemed familiar to the Devils as of late, then being scored on less than a minute into the second period to lose all momentum from a dominating first is a normal occurrence. Predators agitator Jordin Tootoo put his team ahead just 46 seconds into the period, taking a shot from a few steps over the blueline that found its way past Brodeur. If you thought that the Devils were just going to sit back and take another loss, think again. They answered back with a tally from Patrik Elias, who has four points in four games since returning from concussion symptoms. Elias received a pass from Mike Mottau at the opposing blueline and flew into the zone, ripping a slapper to the inside of the far post. Elias' goal came a minute and fourteen seconds after Tootoo gave the Predators the lead.

Devils coach Jacques Lemaire changed things up during the game, placing Patrik Elias in between Ilya Kovalchuk and Jamie Langenbrunner to start the third, and that smart move paid off. The moment that every single New Jersey Devils fan had been looking forward to, seeing #17 blaze past opponents to put in his first in the red and black, finally came during the third period. After several strong shifts by Kovalchuk during the game, he notched his 32nd goal of the year (more importantly his first as a Devil), when he received a no look backhand pass from Elias that he picked up, pulled back and fired barely over Rinne's glove. Kovalchuk's goal ultimately turned out to be the game winner in a strong effort from the Devils.

The Devils added two more goals in the third, a power play tally from Zach Parise, his 27th on the year, and later on an empty net goal from captain Jamie Langenbrunner. All in all, the Devils ended the game with five players having multiple point games: Kovalchuk, Elias, Parise, Langenbrunner and Zajac. With the win tonight and the Penguins overtime loss to the hands of the Rangers, the Devils currently sit first in the division and second in the Eastern Conference. It was a statement game for the Devils tonight in the fact that they had been in a rough patch lately and hopefully this success will lead to more victories once the NHL resumes play after the Olympics.

The Devils will take on the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh Saturday evening. The game will be available on MSG Plus (HD).

Join the Rangers Tank Movement

2010-02-11T14:16:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Tired of losing? Content with the fact that firing the coach or general manager will do nothing to stop this mediocrity? Well, have no fear! You are not alone. The season is over. They can fire anyone they like, make any trades they want, but we, the United Tankers Association of Rangerfanland (UTAR), are devoted to seeing this team tank and miss the playoffs, so that the Rangers may end up with a good draft pick and force ownership/management to do something.

Please take one of the slogans mentioned below and chant it every time you can. I think it's good for your digestive tract:

Fall for Hall!

Sellout for Seguin!

Flop for Fowler!

Need for Nino!

Have another slogan? Post it to our wall or leave it in a comment here! Please join our official Facebook group at the United Tankers Association of Ranger Fanland

New York Rangers Need to Play the Lottery

2010-02-11T11:41:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Last night was the game where the Rangers were missing their star forward. Last night was the game where the Rangers needed someone to step up in his absence. Last night was the game where no one showed up to play.

After yet another game of listless, uninspired play, the Rangers should be setting their sights on one thing and one thing only-- the draft lottery. This is where the bottom five teams in the league get entered in a powerball-like sweepstakes for a chance to land the top draft pick. The lower a team finishes, the more balls they get entered into the machine. The Rangers will never be bad enough to get the last place pick, but all they have to do is get in, and they will have a chance. This year's draft is considered to be very weak, with only a few big names available: Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, and Kirill Kabanov. The Rangers currently sit as the sixth worst team in the league, yet when you look at the other side of it, they are only four points out of a playoff spot.

So why tank instead of win? That's a good question because you know the Rangers will never go into a complete sell-everyone-and-lose mode, because it's New York. No team can do that in a city as big as this. What most of us can agree on is that the Rangers need to be sellers at the trade deadline. Every player except Gaborik, Lundqvist, and Del Zotto should be fair game, and I mean everyone.

The Rangers need to start with doing something about Chris Drury, the so-called captain who has been nothing but a mucker out there on the ice. He has done absolutely nothing this season to warrant wearing the captain's C, and has even found a nice comfortable spot on the fourth line. Would the Rangers waive him? No, but I think Redden has a better shot of that being his fate than Drury. If I am Glen Sather, I am calling up Colorado and Phoenix asking if they will take him. Drury does have a full no-trade clause, but I think he would waive it to go to either of those two very successful teams out west. How does Drury for Svatos and Liles from Colorado sound? Or maybe for Peter Mueller on Phoenix? Rangers must explore those options.

They must also look into trading Vaclav Prospal, a player who came at the most affordable rate we have seen in years and someone who is producing at very high levels while centering Marian Gaborik. If Dominic Moore and Nik Antropov fetched a 2nd round pick last season, isn't Prospal worth a 1st? That is further reinforced when you look at Carolina wanting a 1st round pick for Ray Whitney, a player who is older, making more money, and has had a less successful season. Maybe the Rangers can trade him for a pick and then re-sign him in the off-season.

Now to Donald Brashear, the Rangers enforcer who has not played a game in forever. I honestly cannot remember the last time he laced them up. A complete waste of $1.4 million has been sitting on the bench thanks to coach John Tortorella, who begged Glen Sather to bring him in. As much as fans love to rip on Brashear, we can only wish that our biggest problem was a 4th liner who is making peanuts compared to other players. He has supposedly requested a trade today because he is unhappy with his situation, and I don't blame him. The Capitals, his former team, could use an enforcer back and perhaps the Rangers can ship him along with Correy Potter there for a 3rd or 4th round pick. I would call that a win.

I said earlier that Redden had a better chance of being waived than anyone else on the team, but that doesn't mean they will do that. If they were to, however, you can be sure it would happen in the off-season so it doesn't end up as part of the spotlight. But would there be a team out there that would take the beleaguered underachiever? Very unlikely, but with Sheldon Souray stating he would waive his no-trade clause to come to the Rangers, perhaps Sather can use some persuasion to make an even swap of the two.

In all honesty, not many of these moves are likely. The Rangers have never had the number one overall pick because they were never bad enough for it. They were also not good enough to get anything done. In this day and age, being mediocre in the NHL is worse than being terrible. A type of "no man's land", as I like to call it, can destroy a franchise like nothing else. Rangers are on the cusp of both making the playoffs and tanking for a lottery pick; the parity in the NHL has allowed for that to happen. But in being so close to both, which direction to the Rangers head in? The only way something seems to get done with this franchise is through embarrassment, so maybe a year without playoffs is for the greater good. The Rangers can then get rid of the coaching staff because they have done a horrendous job this season. Tortorella is a win-now coach, and this Rangers team won't be in that mode for at least another two seasons, and that is the grim truth.

Gaborik's Injury Worse Than What We Are Being Told?

2010-02-10T13:00:00.003-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Yesterday in practice, Marian Gaborik was cut by a skate blade just above the knee. He was on the ice for a while before being helped off by his teammates. Since then, word has gotten out that he is fine and may even be available to play in tonight's game versus the Nashville Predators. But now, I am hearing word from a different source that things may not be as peachy as the team is letting on. From Jonathon Ragus over at our affiliate site MVP Gotham:

Is the injury Marian Gaborik suffered from goalie Henrik Lundqvist's skate worse than we hear?

Gaborik was helped off the ice after Lundqvist's skate sliced into his knee. The team said he received a few stitches and would be okay but why did they make him unavailable for comment? Now we hear rumblings of a huge New York Rangers and Florida Panthers trade.

To make matters worse for fans and writers, the team re-called defensemen Corey Potter from Hartford of the AHL on top of hearing that Dan Girardi was the name being shopped around.

If this injury is worse than everyone thought, will the Rangers reshuffle the deck in order to compensate for Gaborik's loss in the lineup?

Now, according to Larry Brooks' Twitter, Gaborik is not expected to be in the lineup tonight, which leads me to believe the speculation may be true. What was discussed in private with my sources is that the Rangers may be looking to complete a couple of big trades in case the injury is more severe than they are letting on. Edmonton and Florida are said to be the two upcoming trading partners. I'm sure there will be more information as the day goes on.

Save the Women and Children as Islanders Ship is Sinking

2010-02-09T10:20:00.004-05:00

By Eric Bancker

The Islanders have gone from a team that seemed poised to take a run at a playoff spot but they now find themselves in 13th place in the Eastern Conference as they have lost 7 straight. The Islanders need to put an end to this skid tonight as they prepare to face the Nashville Predators who have been on a bit of skid themselves, 3-6-1 in their last 10.

Nothing has really gone right for the Islanders during this losing streak. The defense has been abysmal as they are averaging 3.85 goals against per game. The offense as been pretty much non-existent as they have only averaged 1.28 goals per game.

You never want to go through a streak like this but I think the Islanders are doing it at a good time. The Islanders have four games before the Olympic break, that's including tonight's game (Predators, Penguins, Lightning, and Senators). If the Islanders can take a couple of these games before the break they will be fine. The Eastern Conference isn't exactly top notch and after the Olympic break they will have 20 games to right the ship.

The trade deadline is also looming and the Islanders don't seem as though they are going to make any big moves. They waived veteran defenseman Brendan Witt, who's contract is up at the end of the year. I can still see him getting traded to a playoff team that wants a big, physical defenseman. Two years ago, Hal Gill was traded from the Maple Leafs to the Penguins for a 2nd and 5th round draft pick. I can see the Islanders pursuing the same type of deal for Witt. Martin Biron is another interesting player that the Islanders may move. Biron's time on the island wasn't what Garth Snow imagined when he signed him this summer. A team that may be interested in Biron's services are the Islanders in-state rivals the New York Rangers. The Rangers are in need of a backup goalie for Henrik Lundqvist. Its also reported that Snow may hold on to Biron just in case DiPietro's health becomes an issue again.

Looking ahead the Islanders dont have an easy schedule, they have many games against Atlantic Division rivals. the Flyers twice, the Rangers twice, the Devils twice, and the Penguins twice. So 40% of their last 20 games are against divisonal opponents and they also play 7 games against western conference teams (Blackhawks, Blues, Flames, Blue Jackets, Canucks, Ducks, and Kings) most of which they are on the road for. If the Islanders dont come out of the Olympic break fresh and ready to go then they will be able get early tee times on the golf course in April.

AHL: It’s Sharks, Lions and Devils at the top of the Atlantic

2010-02-08T23:28:00.002-05:00

By: Mike Kutniewski Jr

The Worcester Sharks lead a 3-team march to the top of the Atlantic Division with 66 points. The Manchester Monarchs (65) and Lowell Devils (64) are helping making it three’s a crowd toward the leader-board. Even the 4th place Portland Pirates (61) are showing the crown is far from decided.

The 5th place Hartford Wolf Pack (57pts) currently lead the East Division’s 4th place team the Adirondack Phantoms by seven points and would take the place as the 4th seed in the East playoffs. This is due to the fact the Atlantic has more teams than the East division.

The division is well represented among the league leaders in many categories. Hartford’s Corey Locke is 3rd in league scoring with 20 goals and 39 assists. Springfield’s Charles Linglet is 5th with 12 goals and 41 assists. Worcester’s Steven Zalewski stands at 8th with 18 goals, 32 assists and Portland’s Mark Mancari is 10th with 20 goals and 29 assists.

Springfield’s Colin Fretter is 8th in the league with 22 goals, which his teammate Linglet is 3rd is assists with 41. Locke stands at 5th in assists with 39. Worcester’s Danny Giroulx has dished out 33 helpers on the year, while his teammate Zalewski has helped on 32 scores.

The division is showing where its physical play stands as the top two leaders are Springfield’s Kip Brennan with 256 and Lowell’s Louis Robitaille has accumulated 225 to date.

In between the pipes Manchester’s Jonathan Bernier is 3rd with 21-13-5 and a 2.01. Hartford’s Chad Johnson, currently on recall to the Rangers, is 4th at 14-8-2 and 2.03. Bridgeport’s Nathan Lawson is 9-9-3 2.20, Lowell’s Mike McKenna 16-9-2 2.29 and Portland’s Jhonas Enroth 20-14-1 2.34

The other local affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers currently stand at 55 points, two behind 5th place Hartford.

It’s look at the moment that the Atlantic’s playoff scenarios are far from decided as seven teams are within 13 points of 1st place.

Devils Lose to Flyers in Nail Biter

2010-02-08T21:50:00.008-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

These two teams have history if you look back through the years at the memorable playoff battles and regular season tussles for supremacy in the Atlantic Division where it was either the Devils or the Flyers that would clinch the top spot by season's end. Although the rivalry with the New York Rangers is much stronger than that of the Flyers, the Devils still consider the "Broad Street Bullies" as their enemies and with the new addition in the form of Ilya Kovalchuk, this heated matchup just got taken to a whole new level.

Tonight's game was the first of a double header between the teams, the other game set to take place Wednesday at the Prudential Center.

It was quite clear that the Devils were going to look to exploit the Flyers' habit of taking penalties early on in the game. Danny Briere took a high sticking penalty so the new look Devils power play took to the ice and cashed in on the man advantage. Devils sniper Zach Parise got his 26th goal of the year when he scored on what can only be a humorous play if you're not a fan of Chris Pronger. The 25 year old tried to send a pass to Patrik Elias, who was breaking in, but the puck went off of the skate of the dirtiest defenseman in the league. The Devils wanted to match the Flyers in physicality throughout the course of the game, proving a point when Bryce Salvador fought goon Dan Carcillo and beat him hands down to give his team momentum.

The second period started with a bang, in more than one sense, when the Flyers power play was taken apart by Anssi Salmela and after fending off Flyers captain Mike Richards put the biscuit in the basket shorthanded to give the Devils the lead 2-0. But what I didn't say was that at the same time Salmela shot the puck, Flyers forward Jeff Carter coasted in on the back check and leveled Salmela from his blind side. From one side, it looked like Carter purposely came in to take off Salmela's head and from another view, it seemed like Carter was just trying to put bump him off the puck. Either way Salmela was knocked out cold and was seen laying on the ice for several minutes before being taken off on a stretcher. Salmela was seen bleeding and sustained a broken nose and lost several teeth but according to Devils trainers was feeling okay and was able to walk around so that is very good news.

As the hits just kept on coming, the Flyers gained momentum when forward James van Riemsdyk, a New Jersey native, ripped a snapshot low to the glove side of Martin Brodeur, giving the rookie 13 goals on the year. And as if the wheels were falling off the wagon, the Flyers pounced just a minute and twelve seconds later when Jeff Carter fired a one timer off a pass from Scott Hartnell to tie it up with 24 seconds left in the second.

For the first half of the game, it was all New Jersey in every aspect of the game until less than three minutes left in the second when the Flyers scored two quick goals to mount a comeback. The third showed plenty of chances coming from the Devils players, including Zach Parise and Patrik Elias, but they were having a hard time getting past the Flyers defense, led by Kimmo Timonen. The aforementioned Timonen went on to set up the game winning goal, feeding captain Mike Richards in front of the net who fired it past Brodeur for his 23rd of the year.

Although getting outshot, the Devils had the majority of the chances and got a big opportunity to stretch this game further when Timonen was called for boarding Parise with 1:52 left in the game. New Jersey's power play looked strong and moved the puck well but it all came down to the Flyers defense stepping into the passing lanes and blocking shots, leading to the Flyers 3-2 victory over the Devils.

Don't worry Devils fans, the Flyers may have gotten this game but there is always the chance to spoil the fun Wednesday night in New Jersey.

Kovalchuk Shines in Debut as Devils Come From Behind to Beat Leafs

2010-02-07T14:35:00.007-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

The Devils players were awestruck when their newly acquired teammate stepped out on the ice for the pre-game warmup against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Never before had they seen someone as talented as the young Russian on their very own team, which as many of you know is defensive minded and has a team first mindset.

Kovalchuk's debut came against the Maple Leafs, which is the third time the Devils have faced them in eight days. The previous two matchups ended in a Devils 5-4 overtime win and more recently the Leafs dominating the Devils 3-0. The Devils were looking for some payback with their newly coveted asset after the Leafs new acquisitions controlled the previous game.

The Devils got on the board first as Dainius Zubrus jumped through the air and whacked in a bouncing puck past Jonas Gustavsson. The play started when Colin White dumped in the puck from center ice where Gustavsson stopped it and sent it around the boards. Kovalchuk pounced on it along the half wall and fired the puck towards the net, at that point bouncing off of Dion Phaneuf and Zubrus flung himself towards the puck, redirecting it into the net. On the Devils first goal of the game, Ilya Kovalchuk got his first point in the red and black.

The Leafs fired back with a power play goal by Tomas Kaberle, who launched a slapper from the point over Martin Brodeur's left shoulder just 3:39 into the second period. The Leafs continued their success on the power play as Lee Stempniak circled the Devils penalty killers and fires a slapshot through the five hole to make it 2-1. The Devils only took four penalties during the game but were scored on twice. The downward spiral continued as while regrouping in their own zone, Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner skated into defenseman Colin White, leading to Leafs forward Rickard Wallin picking up the rubber disc and beating a surprised Brodeur to push them ahead 3-1.

This year's team is no stranger to coming back from several goal deficits to claim a victory so it was no surprise that the Devils surged in the final five minutes of the third period, scoring three goals to put them over the top by a final of 4-3. The comeback started with a tally from Dean McAmmond after Mike Mottau flipped a pass to Vladimir Zharkov, who sent a pass over to McAmmond who backhanded it in while having Luke Schenn draped over him. The Leafs found themselves in a pickle as they went a man down with less than a minute left after Alexei Ponikarovsky took a hooking minor. The Devils pulled a Soviet Union passing play when Ilya Kovalchuk sent a pass across to Dean McAmmond who sifted a pass to Travis Zajac for a one timer that went top shelf with the extra man. The comeback was complete after Jamie Langenbrunner dug the puck off the boards and laid it off for Mike Mottau. Gustavsson left a whopping rebound from the Mottau shot where Jay Pandolfo swooped in and fired it in from one knee.

After the goal, the camera panned to Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello who was smiling from ear to ear. Well Lou, when you make a smart move by stealing a star player in a trade and that player provides to your team's success, there's plenty to smile about. Two assists in your first game, not bad Mr. Kovalchuk.

Support the Stache: Rangers Should Extend Jokinen's Contract

2010-02-06T14:00:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

His mustache looks like something out of a 1970's porno film, not my observation, but that of others. Makes sense though. There, I'm covered. So anyway, I just love the handlebar mustache that Olli Jokinen is sporting because he has guts; it's just asking for ridicule. You don't grow one of those unless you're okay with nine out of every ten people doing a double-take and staring at you for ten minutes and walking into a wall because they weren't paying attention to where they were headed.

I am currently working on trying to grow one myself, because in all the humor, it's just pretty bad-ass. The handle-bar mustache doesn't work for everyone though. Remember when Karel Rachunek had that thing on his face in the 2007 playoffs? It looked like it could get up and walk away any time it felt like it. But for Jokinen, the subject of many facial photoshops on the internet, it just works.

So, now onto the actual player. Since being acquired from the Calgary Flames with Brandon Prust, in a robbery that had underachievers Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins heading the other way, Jokinen, the four-time 30 goal scorer has played very well. It has only been two games, but he is proving to be the first center with both size, strength and skill that the Rangers have had since Eric Lindros was acquired in 2001. Not that Jokinen is at his skill level, but comparisons can be made.

Jokinen has never been thought of as a physical player, yet in his first two games, he has clearly been seen taking the body, getting physical along the boards, and driving to the net. He's even showed some fire in crease-area scrums, something the Rangers will need out of him. His penalty minutes totals have also been in the 60's, and sometimes above, which means he has some fighting majors in there as well. There has been a stigma about him ever since he left Florida that he doesn't have any gas left in the tank. This is completely wrong. He is only thirty-one years old and has scored more than 26 goals in each of the last six seasons, and is on pace to do so again.

People have also questioned his motivation and have said he isn't a great person to have in the locker room. But after watching him interviewed, I see a player who in sincere in wanting to help this team win. He wants to play in the post season, something he has had the misfortune of only appearing in one time, in his eleven year career. In the only series he played in, he recorded five points in six games. Give him more chances, and he could definitely expand those numbers.

When the Rangers acquired him, I was not ultra-thrilled. I was happy about the trade but I was not expecting much. It has only been two games but I'm just getting a feeling about him. Seeing him on the powerplay in the Rangers last gave against Washington has definitely left a positive affect. There is a rumor that the Rangers and Jokinen have begun talks for a contract, but they are at very early stages. If this is true, I would definitely be on board for extending his contract beyond this season, because he is currently slated two become a free agent this summer.

Jokinen is currently making $5.25 million, and I would think that since his play has slightly slipped over the last two years, his pay would decrease as well. I would not be opposed to offering him a 3 year deal at $4.5 million per. For a guy that will get you more than 25 goals and 60 points, I think that is a fair price to play. Support the stache, and give Jokinen a contract extension!

The Big Catch: Kovalchuk now a Devil

2010-02-05T11:02:00.002-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

The anticipation for what was to unfold for Ilya Kovalchuk has been built up since last year's trade deadline. There was buzz that he would be gone by last season's deadline, but he was still a Thrasher. Rumors were that Kovalchuk would be moving during the summer but that all turned out to be false. There certainly has been plenty of buzz surrounding this topic and now it can finally be put to rest.

The day started with the former first overall draft choice turning down an offer by the Thrashers, which reportedly was a 12 year, 101 million dollar deal. This led to Waddell's statement that talks with Kovalchuk were at an "impasse", meaning he's getting shopped. After speculation that the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins were all in the running for his services, the Devils shocked everyone by plucking the most coveted player. The New Jersey Devils acquired the 26 year old sniper along with former Devils prospect Anssi Salmela for Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, disgraced prospect Patrice Cormier and the Devils' 2010 first round pick.

Um...WHAT?

I'm sure that's exactly what many of you are saying, wondering what exactly was Don Waddell was thinking when he gets a top four defenseman, a rookie forward and a cheap shot artist for a player who has scored 40 or more goals five times in his career and is on pace for 48 goals this year?

It's an extremely huge pickup for the Devils, who acquired one of the most entertaining and skilled players in the NHL by far. This is a franchise player we are talking about here, someone who change the outcome of a game just by dangling and stick handling his way through an entire team to score. This may in fact turn out to be one of the best trades the Devils have made in the history of the team.

Kovalchuk is an explosive goal scorer; someone who can go through an entire team and can fire a one timer that not even the best goaltenders can see. On top of his powerful shooting ability, he possesses tremendous speed, that helps him blow past defenders at ease. His skill set is quite dangerous and considering that he's a "rental" player, the Devils can decide to retain his services if they feel it necessary.

Kovy has the ability to change a team's demeanor just by the way he plays and has shown that he can play more of a team game than the one sided game that he was labeled with earlier in his career. Now that he's been captain of the Thrashers, Kovalchuk has matured and will provide leadership and a goal scoring threat that the Devils so desperately need. This couldn't have come at a better time, as the Devils have struggled lately and were shutout earlier in the week by the new look Toronto Maple Leafs, whom they face again tonight.

The Thrashers picked up several players that may help the team out in the future, but aren't dynamic in any way. Johnny Oduya will be another defender on an already strong defense corps for Atlanta and will struggle to play up to his salary level for a mediocre team. Niclas Bergfors is a player who oozes with offensive potential, but is only 22 and can't be depended upon to make up for Kovalchuk's departure or for filling in the franchise role. Bergfors is a top six forward but still needs to develop his game. Patrice Cormier may not have a hockey career if he is in fact criminally charged for his vicious elbow on Mikael Tam so why would Waddell want this loser?

Don Waddell has a reputation for trading star players (ex. Dany Heatley and Marian Hossa) for players who have yet to develop and draft picks but he may have sealed his fate after this disastrous trade. Getting rid of Kovalchuk, who I think is the most exciting player to watch in the NHL, is a move that may haunt Waddell if he isn't able to coax him into coming back after he gains some playoff experience with the Devils.

Whatever way you want to look at it, this trade may go down as the biggest steal since the San Jose Sharks got Joe Thornton. Now that the Devils filled the gaping hole that was a prolific goal scorer, they can push forward and continue to dominate the East. There might be a parade in New Jersey in June with Kovy at the front...you never know.

Devils Rob Ilya Kovalchuk From Atlanta

2010-02-04T20:27:00.003-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

The Devils completed the biggest trade robbery in recent NHL history tonight, when they traded Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier, and a 1st round pick to the Thrashers for Ilya Kovalchuk (and possibly Anssi Salmella). This ends weeks of speculation as to where the Russian superstar would be heading. This is an excellent deal for the Devils as they give up hardly anything to land a 50-goal scorer. Cormier is currently serving a year long suspension and the possibility of assault charges so why Atlanta GM Don Waddell wanted to make this trade is mind boggling. More info tomorrow.

Off the Rink: Win a Football Signed by 22 Heisman Trophy Winners

2010-02-04T17:30:00.004-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

It's not often that we go away from hockey here, but this is for a special cause. The wife of the man who I used to coach hockey with for two years is working to help the athletic office of the school her son goes to, which is Mother Teresa Regional School in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.

They are having a raffle where the prize is a football autographed by 22 winners of the Heisman Trophy for College Football. All a ticket costs is $5. Autographs on the football are: Dick Kazmaier (1951), Howard Cassady (1955), Paul Hornung (1956), John David Crow (1957), Pete Dawkins (1958), Gary Beban (1967), Steve Owens (1969), Jim Plunkett (1970), Johnny Rodgers (1972), Billy Sims (1978), Charles White (1979), George Rogers (1980), Mike Rozier (1983), Ty Detmer (1990), Gino Toretta (1992), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Ron Dayne (1999), Chris Weinke (2000), Eric Crouch (2001), Jason White (2003), and most recently Tim Tebow (2007) and Sam Bradford (2008).

The prize is pictured above and will be a great addition to the collection of any football fan or sports fan in general. It is also for a very good cause, as all the proceeds will go towards the school's athletic office, which we all hope will fund hockey one day. The ticket cost is only $5 and if you are interested, please email Mrs. Ann Margaret Duminski at amdheisman@yahoo.com. Do not email me with any questions because I have nothing to do with the actual raffle. All questions and purchasing of tickets must go through her. If you live in the area and know the location of the school, they can also be purchased there. The contest ends on March 15, so buy those raffle tickets before then!

A Realistic Look at What it Would Take to Land Ilya Kovalchuk

2010-02-03T17:34:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

All sources are pointing out that a deal for Ilya Kovalchuk is going to happen before the Olympic break, and most agree that it may even happen by the end of this week. The interested teams have been narrowed down to the Rangers, Devils, Flyers, Bruins, Kings and Blackhawks. I, like many, predicted last week that Kovalchuk would be dealt to the Kings, but now, something is telling me that the Rangers may be in the front running. They have already made a "low ball offer" to get the juices flowing, but if they were not sincerely interested, they wouldn't have made an offer at all.

Glen Sather is going to go all out in the next few weeks, but it will be tricky, as he will try to land the superstar without sacrificing the future. So just what would it take to get him? Darren Dreger of TSN reported that Don Waddell is asking for five assets. When it comes to draft picks, the Bruins are the favorite in that department. But when it comes to cheap youth, the Rangers may have the edge. Below is a three way deal I have drawn up that could land Kovalchuk in Ranger blue.

To Toronto
Wade Redden
2010 First Round Pick

To Atlanta
Ryan Callahan
Brandon Dubinsky
Bobby Sanguinetti
Chris Kreider
2011 First Round Pick

To Rangers
Ilya Kovalchuk
Johan Hedberg
Garnet Exelby (from TOR)

Where Toronto fits in is as follows; Brian Burke has already publicly stated that he would be willing to take on bad contracts in exchange for draft picks. For the Rangers to make this deal work, Redden has to be dealt. It is not realistic he would be waived, nor would Atlanta want him. But with Sather being good friends with Burke, perhaps some persuasion and this year's first round pick would be enough to sway him.

As for Atlanta, the Thrashers do extremely well here and the Rangers really do not sacrifice much of the future to get him. Fans will have a tough time saying goodbye to Callahan and Dubinsky, but they can be replaced. I for one am not crazy about either one and would not shed a tear over them. But for Atlanta, they get these two young, energetic players that isn't a bad deal for a player they know is not going to re-sign with them. Chris Kreider is also included, and he could be enticing as well, since he is the fastest player in the Rangers farm system. Grachev could also be substituted for him. As for Sanguinetti, apparently the rest of the league thinks highly of him, although he has been pretty much a non factor here. The Rangers also include next year's first round pick to seal the deal.

For the Rangers, they obviously land Kovalchuk and get tough-as-nails defenseman Garnet Excelby from from Toronto. He has been rumored to be traded to the Rangers for weeks now, so it makes sense. They also get veteran backup goalie (and Ranger killer) Johan Hedberg. They could then send Chad Johnson down to the AHL to give him more playing time and they could also call up a forward like P.A Parenteau or Corey Locke.

From a Rangers standpoint, this is about as realistic as a trade proposal could get. It will take a lot, and some fans won't be happy. But if you have the chance to get a player of Kovalchuk's caliber, you have to do it. A trio of Gaborik, Kovalchuk, and Lundqvist would be second in the NHL only to Crosby, Malkin, and Fleury. Secondary scoring would still struggle, but when you look at last year, the Cup Champion Penguins secondary scoring wasn't so hot either.

Sather's Last Stand: He's Not Done Yet!

2010-02-02T16:05:00.000-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Look at that picture, he almost looks angelic, doesn't he? That's right, he is the angel of trades, or more like a god. And last night, he committed yet another robbery of a fellow General Manager. With many speculating that this will be his final season as Rangers GM, Sather is beginning his final fight, his last chance to right the many wrongs he has committed during his tenure in New York. It hasn't been all bad, but unfortunately, the ignorant will not have their minds changed that he still is the right man for the job.

Sather came to the Rangers after Neil Smith destroyed the farm system single handedly. It was he, who many people like to forget, traded away future stars such as Marc Savard and Mike Knuble for washed up veterans, not Sather. People's blind hate towards this man have meshed his tenure with that of Smith's, which had players like Stephane Quintal, Valeri Kamensky and Sylvain Lefebvre being signed. Sather has not once traded away promising youth for washed up veterans, that is, unless you have a hard-on for Al Montoya.

Yes, he signed Bobby Holik, Gomez, Drury, Redden, and re-upped Rozsival, but this was at a time when the Rangers needed that player in one way or another. This is an example of right intention, wrong outcome. Holik was brought in to be a solid 2nd or 3rd line center. It was the coaching staff who used him the wrong way. With Nylander out the door, Gomez and Drury were the two best marquee centers available, and he nabbed them both, overpaying terribly. But what he paid them was fair market value, although some will deny it. Redden's contract is horrendous, but when Brian Campbell gets 8 years and $56 million, then Redden's is fair market value as well, and so is Rozsival's when you consider he was coming off a ten goal season.

All those signings went horribly wrong, but where Sather cannot be stymied is in the trade market. Sometimes I wonder if he ever worked for QVC. It's hard to believe that the same man who made those signings was also responsible for trading Igor Ulanov for Pavel Bure, Jan Hlavac and Kim Johnsson for Eric Lindros, Anson Carter for franchise savior Jaromir Jagr, and most recently, Scott Gomez for Higgins and McDonaugh. With Higgins being sent to Calgary last night with Ales Kotalik for Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust, the Rangers basically got Gaborik and Jokinen for Scott Gomez. Good deal, no?

I have stuck by Sather for many years. Has he angered me? Of course. Was I saddened when Brian Leetch was traded in 2004? Absolutely. But mistakes are made, and now he is beginning to fix them. Even his haters will admit his pure genius when it comes to trades. Last night was another example of that, and I can assure you, he's not done yet.

Sather will never be fired; it does not matter how many screaming morons show up at that rally on the steps of Madison Square Garden on March 7. Deep down we all know it. His time will be up sooner or later, but I obviously want him to finish out the year, and maybe one more next season. The farm system is strong and if we give it more time, we will have a bright future. From a poster on a Rangers forum who has proven to have insider info throughout the years, he said, "From a farm system perspective, Sather has positioned the organization to make the next GM look pretty good. Much like Muray did for Burke in Anaheim." All teams have bad drafts. Hugh Jessiman was a dud, but would you rather have a thirty goal scorer in him or Lundqvist, who was drafted in the 7th round? That's just how fate works.

So getting to the point of the article, I think Sather knows he only has so much time to right the wrongs he's made. Whether or not the Rangers can get Ilya Kovalchuk is for another article, but you can be sure he will pursue it, and according to the New York Post, the Rangers have already made a low offer to the Thrashers, who are now rumored to be wanting five assets in return. With the Olympic deadline coming up in two weeks, and the official deadline two weeks later, more moves will be made. This team will not just fold up and die, even with people begging for a tank.

Many people want Messier to take over as GM, and to be honest, I'd rather have Sather until he's 95 than have Messier running this team. He'll hire all the good ole boys such as MacTavish for head coach, Lowe for his assistant, probably throw Glen Anderson in there too; or worse, Wayne Gretzky, the man responsible for the disaster in Phoenix for the last few seasons. Ranger fans want to have a team of homegrown players. Well, in three years, that's what we'll have. Messier knows what it takes to win, yes, but remember how they won in 1994. Messier will take a page from Keenan and Smith, and that is the win-now, sacrifice your future mode. Glory is great, but it's not worth costing the next ten years of a team's future.

Trade Official: Rangers Land Jokinen and Prust from Calgary

2010-02-02T07:13:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Very short article because I'm up way too early for this. Finally, after a whole day and night's worth of speculation, the deal agreed upon by the Rangers and Flames Sunday night has been finalized. The Rangers ship the unwanted Ales Kotalik and the underachieving Chris Higgins to Calgary in exchange for Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust.

Although Jokinen has struggled in the past two seasons, he was a four time 30 goal scorer with the Florida Panthers and has recorded 20 or more goals in six straight seasons. He is as close as a first line center that the Rangers have had since Michael Nylander left, and hopefully he will mesh well with Marian Gaborik. The Rangers also get a young scrapper, Brandon Prust, who is said to be fearless, although he is short in stature. Perhaps getting him is just as important as Jokinen.

Whether the deal turns out to be a bust or not, the Rangers win this hands-down. Chris Higgins, a 20 goal scorer only has 6 on the season and has struggled every step of the way, while Kotalik has been benched in eight out of the last nine games. The two just did not work out. Jokinen has the potential to be a top-flight player, although I must admit, I am not expecting much. He is on the final year of a contract, making $5.25 million, and when the summer arrives, the Rangers will have some cap room. I don't think he will be enough to push the Rangers into the playoffs, but who knows, with some more Sather magic, anything is possible.

Possibility of a 3-Team Trade Arises

2010-02-01T17:34:00.003-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

With nothing to do but speculate, let's think out loud here. The rumblings are that Callahan may be involved in a trade, which I still think is highly unlikely considering how Tortorella feels about him. However, if Callahan is included in some trade, I would almost guarantee it would be a three way deal. Provided the Rangers are still willing to deal with the Flames, that is the first team and the Maple Leafs would now be a second to enter the picture.

Brian Burke was extremely active yesterday and he is now in a need for forwards and given his friendship with Glen Sather, a deal between the two teams is likely. As I said, this is entirely speculation, but the basics of a 3-way deal would probably be as follows:

To Calgary
Chris Higgins

To Maple Leafs
Ryan Callahan
Ales Kotalik

To Rangers
Olli Jokinen
Garnet Exelby
Alexei Ponikarovsky

Since so much time has elapsed, I would venture a guess that something out of the ordinary is up. The Rangers are in too deep for nothing to happen, and even if Calgary does back out, Toronto is a sure suitor for the Rangers. Kotalik's refusal to waive his NTC may have to do with the fact that Calgary is far away, but since Toronto is a lot closer, it may be a better option if he is worried about his family.

We Jumped the Gun: Jokinen Deal Far From Over

2010-02-01T16:58:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

From a major outlet like TSN all the way down to a small one like ours, it looks like we all jumped the gun when we declared the Jokinen trade to the Rangers a "done deal" last night. The rumor last night was that the Rangers would land him along with scrapper Brandon Prust in exchange for Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik. As convincing as the earliest reports were, there is just something not right here.

Our correspondent Joe Alianello was at the game in Colorado last night and had a clear view of the press box. He says he saw Sather sitting there calmly all night and did not notice him making one phone call, which led us to believe last night that the deal was completed before the game or during an intermission. But what doesn't make sense here, is that why was Chris Higgins allowed to play if he was no longer property of the Rangers? So that means a deal was not finalized before the game. That clears that out of the way.

Now to something else. There are two reasons, well, actually three, why this deal has either been stalled or fallen apart all together. The first is Ales Kotalik's stubbornness to waive his no trade clause. I don't know how this is even an issue since Kotalik is clearly not wanted in New York and will be given ample playing time in a new locale, something he was not getting here. The second reason is that the Flames pulled out of the deal after initially agreeing with Sather to make the trade. The reasoning for that, according to TSN, was that Calgary stalled because they wanted Jokinen in the lineup for tonight's game against Philadelphia. How does that make any sense? You want to trade someone but you pull back because you want him to play one more game for you? If it is that important, then don't make the trade at all.

That leads to the third reason, and what I believe is really happening. A source has informed me that because of Calgary's alleged pulling out of the deal, the Rangers have now become annoyed at that and may ax the deal all together. Although it was in the Rangers favor, this deal should not be made at all. Calgary had their chance, agreed, then backed out. Very unprofessional if what I'm hearing is true.

Either way, it should prove to be another late night as we await confirmation that the trade has been completed or is dead all together. I also would not believe that rumor floating around that Ryan Callahan is involved. I'm not his biggest fan, but not only would that be a bad deal for the Rangers, but it would upset John Tortorella, because he clearly has a crush on him.

More later as I get it.

Rangers Acquire Olli Jokinen from Flames

2010-01-31T22:47:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

After a tumultuous couple of hours, that included Ales Kotalik being sent home before the game to await his fate via trade, it appears we have a trade that has been finalized. It has not been confirmed by anyone in the Rangers organization, but TSN is calling it a done deal. The Rangers have sent Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins to Calgary in exchange for Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust.

This is an excellent trade for the Rangers as Jokinen is a free agent after this season and the Rangers will save some money in the long run. Kotalik was a waste of $3 million sitting on the bench and Higgins was snake bit all season long. The Rangers, in exchange for them, get a player of first line caliber and a very good fighter.

Jokinen will be on the first line with Gaborik and we can expect Prospal will be moved to the wing. Prust, meanwhile, can be the enforcer that the Rangers need and his acquisition pretty much seals the deal for either Brashear or Voros. Expect a move regarding one of them happening very soon.

Glen Sather tonight showed why he needs to remain GM of the Rangers. Whether Jokinen ends up being a bust or not, this is a great deal. I never liked him and always thought of him as overrated, but his skill level could go well with Gaborik. Only time will tell, but this is great for the long run. He truly is the trade magician.

Our correspondent Joe Alianello was at the game in Colorado tonight and told me that he saw Sather sitting calmly in the press box for the entire game, leading us to believe that this deal was completed before the game started, or during the first intermission. Why Higgins was still allowed to play is a mystery as of right now.

One thing is for sure, Glen Sather is not done with the deals. This one was pretty big but I get the feeling that this is just the calm before the storm. Expect something even bigger to come in the next few days.

I think the attendance for the Fire Sather rally just dwindled a little bit.

Kotalik Leaves Rangers, Trade on the Horizon

2010-01-31T20:02:00.004-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

According to several sources, Ales Kotalik has been informed that he will be traded and because of that, he is no longer with the team. Who he will be traded to is not yet known, but I would have to think that it is going to happen in the next twenty-four hours. If I had to guess, I would say he gets traded to the Atlanta Thrashers, but this is just a hunch. The Toronto Maple Leafs are also a possibility. How about for Garnet Exelby?

Ten NHL Trade Predictions

2010-01-31T18:22:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

On the heels of the blockbuster trades the Toronto Maple Leafs orchestrated today, that may have very well got the ball rolling, especially since the Olympic Break during this NHL season basically created two trade deadlines. With no trades allowed during the break that starts on February 14, you can be sure that some more deals are going to happen very soon. The actual deadline itself is three days after the break ends on March 1, giving teams a short amount of time to think. Below are some players rumored to be on the way out, and I have given my predictions (most coming from Darren Dreger's top-ten list, but he did not give destinations).

1. Ilya Kovalchuk to the Los Angeles Kings

Don Waddell is in attendance of tonight's game between the Devils and Kings, and combined with the fact that Los Angeles is rumored to be one of the top three teams in the running for him, and I think we have an instant winner. For the first time in a while, the Kings have a team that can make the playoffs; an excellent mix of youth and experience, and they have the cap space to boot. I will lean heavily that Kovalchuk goes to Hollywood, but I will also say that the Maple Leafs will be second in the running, and that the Rangers have an outside chance. Given that Atlanta would want offense in return, unless Sather can create a miracle, he will not end up on Broadway.

2. Marty Turco to the Detroit Red Wings

Dallas is currently on the outside looking in, but their veteran soon-to-be free agent goaltender, Marty Turco, is rumored to not want to come back next season. With that fresh in management's heads, they will look to deal him. The perfect suitor would be the Red Wings. After appearing in the Stanley Cup Finals two years in a row, it appears their streak of success is running out as they too are on the bubble. Jimmy Howard has been decent, and Chris Osgood has been pretty bad, so a move for a bonafide number one goalie makes too much sense. Dallas can then rely on the very steady Alex Auld to carry them the rest of the way.

3. Ray Whitney to the New York Rangers

The Rangers are slipping faster and faster by the day, and although I, like many other fans, have jumped aboard the tank wagon, hoping the team will keeping losing and end up with a good draft pick, that is logistically not going to happen. If the Rangers were to make a push, they would need experienced scoring, and Whitney brings just that. He has a good touch and can still bring speed even at 37 years old. He could be what the Rangers have been missing on the top line; a winger besides Gaborik that can score. Put Prospal between them, and you have a more dangerous line. Not enough to catapult the team far, but it's definitely an improvement.

4. Alexei Ponikarovsky to the Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins are still in search of secondary scoring, something that if they can get more of, could lead to another Stanley Cup. Brian Burke is not done wheeling and dealing, so I see him being dealt. He can be the perfect compliment to Evgeni Malkin and will probably fetch a second or third round pick, and you know that is exactly what the Leafs are now looking for in their mid-season rebuild.

5. Ethan Moreau to the Florida Panthers

This is just a gut feeling, and I cannot tell you why. The Oilers are going to try and trade half of their roster in what has been a disaster of a season. With Souray injuring himself today, it is unlikely they will trade him, but if he does get dealt, I still say it is to the New York Rangers. Back to this, the Panthers are in the heat of trying to make the playoffs and can use some more grit in their offensive corps. Moreau plays with his heart on his sleeve and is the team captain. He won't bring a ton of offense, but he won't disrupt Florida's chemistry either.

6. Lubomir Visnovsky to the New Jersey Devils

The Devils offense has been terrible this season, but their offense has been lights out. The Devils never seem to make any major moves, so I can definitely see them pulling the trigger on a steady powerplay quarterback in Visnovsky. He has a bomb of a shot and is a slick skater, and can give the Devils a better offensive punch. Maybe they can somehow send Dainus Zubrus the other way for him.

7. Kim Johnsson to the Nashville Predators

As close as the Wild are to making the playoffs, I just don't see it. Johnsson is making a little more than four million, and has struggled mightily this season. However, he is still very solid and has a good shot. The Predators, who have a good corps of defense already can improve that by acquiring him. He blocks shots, runs the powerplay, and is just a smart hockey players. They also have more than thirteen million dollars in cap space. (How come they aren't in the running for Kovalchuk?)

8. Evgeny Artyukhin to the New York Rangers

Not a blockbuster by any stretch of the term, but he is a player that just seems destined to be reunited with Tortorella on Broadway. He has size and a mean streak, something that the Rangers need. He could be very good on the fourth line, maybe even the third. He isn't going to bring a ton of offense, which is the Rangers main problem, but he could help with the toughness he brings.

9. Paul Kariya to the Ottawa Senators

The Senators are doing very well this season despite losing Dany Heatley during the summer, and dealing with injuries to their entire top line at some point this year. With everyone gradually coming back from injury, they will only get better. But that doesn't mean they will be content with what they have. The Blues will be looking to trade the veteran, impending free agent. Ottawa won't have the cap space for this outright, so they'll have to get creative, but I think they can pull it off.

10. Jonathon Cheechoo to the Toronto Maple Leafs

The trades made by Burke today leave the Leafs with a ton of holes at the forward position. Cheechoo has struggled in every season ever since his 56 goal outburst in the year following the lockout, but he is cheap and needs a change of scenery. This just seems like a small move Burke would make. He has been mind boggling so far, so I really can see this happening.

Maple Leafs Make Two Blockbuster Trades in Less Than an Hour

2010-01-31T13:27:00.003-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

The last place Toronto Maple Leafs and the struggling Calgary Flames completed what could be the biggest trade in the post-lockout hockey world, when they sent Dion Phaneuf, Fredric Sjostrom, and Keith Aulie to Toronto for Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers, and Ian White. As Pierre Maguire said during the NBC intermission report just minutes ago, this is a good deal for both teams; short term for Calgary and long term for Toronto.

It has been rumored for weeks that Calgary's franchise defenseman may be on the way out, and today the deal finally came true. Their struggling offense gets a boost in this deal as they land two more potential twenty goal scorers and the hard hitting defenseman Ian White. Toronto, meanwhile, bolsters their shoddy defense with the very physical Phaneuf, which adds to an equal caliber in Mike Komisarek, who has been battling a shoulder injury this season.

If that wasn't crazy enough, just a half hour later, the Leafs sent Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for goaltending outcast J.S Gigeure. Toskala has been a sieve in his tenure with the Leafs, so getting rid of him (for anyone) was a very important move. Gigeure has not been as good as years ago, mainly because of him losing the starting job to Jonas Hiller, but perhaps a change of scenery and the confidence of being a number one again will make him play better.

There is something puzzling in all of this, and that is the fact that the Leafs lost four forwards today int he two trades and only gained back one, a fourth liner in Fredric Sjostrom. This means that some call-ups are on the horizon and we may see their first round pick Nazem Kadri very soon. But also, I think this signifies that Brian Burke is not done with trades, and more will be coming before the Olympic Break.

No matter what the position in the standings is for the Maple Leafs, they just got ten times better today, especially if they can find some offense which they just lost. For the long run, they just solidified themselves. This season may be lost, but Burke just improved their future with two blockbusters that came seemingly out of nowhere.

Devils Set to Take on Maple Leafs

2010-01-29T18:46:00.003-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

The second best team in the Eastern Conference gets set to take on the second worst team in the Eastern Conference. Is it going to be all that difficult? Well it is the regular season after all and anything can happen, which includes lopsided matchups going sour. The Devils suffered two big losses during the earlier part of this week against the Senators, who shut them out, and the surging Sabres, who defeated them in a shootout. For the Devils, this is a game that they shouldn't take lightly and need to come out firing on all pistons.

Ok, Toronto is in fact in a mess right now and doesn't have the most skilled group of characters but they can still become spoilers for teams looking to clinch playoff spots. I doubt that they will be able to pull it together and make a run but there's no way that top contenders in the East can just go out there and expect to rack one up in the win column without even trying. Toronto doesn't have a whole lot but they do have plenty of tough, physical players which gives them an advantage over several teams in the East.

The Devils keys to the game are simply to put everything they got on net because the Leafs goaltenders are atrocious and are one of the reasons why the team has fared so badly this year. The Devils have several players who provide the offense and they need a few of them, especially Zach Parise and Travis Zajac, to kick it into high gear. The Devils also need to focus on neutralizing the Leafs threats, those being Phil Kessel, Alexei Ponikarovsky and Jason Blake. If the Devils play their defensive-minded game, then they will surely come away with a victory. And the final key for the Devils: start Yann Danis. Brodeur has looked sluggish so the Devils need to start resting him to keep him sharp for later in the season and playoffs so Danis should be able to provide a strong effort, that is if he plays.

The prediction for the game: Look for the Devils to pull together and get a win out of this one by a score of 3-2. And if the Devils need to focus on one thing, they need to shut down the Maple Leafs best player according to Joe Micheletti... Colton Orr (go ahead, laugh away).

Top Five Things I Learned from Listening to Joe Micheletti

2010-01-29T13:00:00.003-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Color analysts serve one purpose, and one purpose only; that is to blow the truth out of proportion when it's good, and to sugarcoat it when it's bad. Enter Joe Micheletti, the television color analyst for the New York Rangers, on MSG network since 2006. I really have nothing against him, I swear. I find him to be a very intelligent and "colorful" individual. But then there are times when I almost want to tear up because of how bad he is when compared to former long-time analyst John Davidson, who did not get along well with ownership, partly because he liked to tell it the way it is.

Joe Micheletti's incessant nonsensical sugarcoating of the Rangers was alright at first, but now it is at a point where I actually want to mute the television and do my own play by play. Had I been in a coma for this entire season and woke up during the Rangers listless performance in a 5-1 dismantling at the hands of the Conference worst Carolina Hurricanes, I would have went lollipops over just how good the Rangers are doing this season. He truly is amazing at what he does, and that is hiding the truth. Unfortunately, for the most part, Ranger fans are not dumb. The majority of us can see past his overblown rantings at the most minutest of details and think, "Doesn't he ever shut up?". That's the one thing Davidson never did; talk too much. Or at least when he did, we didn't notice it because what he said actually made sense. When the Rangers were losing, he was angry and said what was going wrong. When the Rangers were winning, he gave reasons for why the team was successful.

The truth is, this season has been nothing short of a disaster, but not through the eyes of Joe Micheletti. It's truly surprising at how bad it has gotten, because we are at an age where Twitter, Facebook, and the writings of beat reporters give us an inside scoop at what is going on in the locker room and what is happening with the team. But more importantly, it makes it easy for us to find out when something is not right. Ten years ago, when the Internet was not commonplace in every home, Micheletti could get away with what he says, because there was nothing to contradict what he is saying, except for the traditional newspapers, which really never went in that direction.

The Rangers have been terrible, embarrassing, disgraceful-- to name a few adjectives this season, yet how come every time I listen to a Rangers broadcast, I would think this team is in contention for the President's Trophy? Micheletti goes through lengths never seen in the history of sports broadcasts on television to make Rangers fans think that all is joyful in Mudville. Had he written Casey at the Bat, after the final strikeout I'm sure he would have added, "Oh but Sam, it was such a powerful swing! He just missed sending that ball out of the yard!"

To say I have only learned five things from listening to Mr. Micheletti over the better part of the last three seasons would be an understatement. I don't believe there is a limit of characters I can type in this article format, but just in case, I will pick the top five things I have learned from listening to Joe Micheletti:

1. Marian Gaborik has the best release in the history of hockey. Never have I seen a player miss the net with his shot with such pizazz! Such flair! Gaborik has been nothing short of amazing this season, but come on now, do we even have to point out how spectacular his shot is when he misses the net? Watch closely next time: when he shoots the puck wide we will see MSG show five replays from every angle possible just so Micheletti can say how close he was and how good the shot was. My favorite line, "Oh what a release on this guy, Sam!"

2. Marian Gaborik has a powerful stride. He's fast, yes. But Micheletti would have us think that he could out-skate Mike Gartner on a jet pack. Every time Gaborik rushes through the neutral zone, and whether he loses the puck or not, we have to listen to just how great of an attempt it was. One step...two steps...boom! He's gone! "Oh my goodness, Sammy, did you see the stride on this guy! I'm telling you, he is one of the fastest in the game!"

3. Having Brian Boyle because of his size is more important that having Henrik Lundqvist. Have we ever seen a perennial fourth line player get any more attention from a color analyst than Brian Boyle? I think he's good at what he does, but when you're a fourth liner and get more attention than Blair Betts did during his tenure with the Rangers, then there is something wrong. Boyle gets about four minutes a night at even strength time, yet I know when he is on the ice every time (can't say the same for Chris Drury, unfortunately). When Boyle throws a hit, or God forbid, actually skates past someone, we have to listen for a good minute on how his size is so valuable to the team, and oh yeah, he has a quick release too! Just think back to the other night in the third period, when Boyle rushed through the neutral zone. He made it past the blue line and carried the puck into the zone, before losing it, mind you. On the next stoppage of play, though, MSG actually zoomed in on the play so we could see Boyle using his six-foot seven-inch frame to go absolutely nowhere.

4. Henrik Lundqvist, on no occasion, will ever be beaten down low. Okay, we get it, Joe. Henrik Lundqvist will stop pucks below the waist. We hear it on every save, and in every shootout. In fact, I think Micheletti is the cause of Lundqvist's slip in play this season. Why? Because opponents are shooting high on him every chance they get, which is something that didn't happen for three seasons. Joe's constant badgering of "Can't beat him low, Sammy! Can't beat him low!" has made opponents shoot high. Joe should spend more time criticizing Lundqvist for dropping down too early and not coming out of his crease. But oh wait, Ranger criticism is not allowed on MSG Network. Hey, that 1994 team sure looks good though, right?

5. Tyler Myers is a better defenseman than Leetch, Bourque and Orr combined. No, he's not a New York Ranger (maybe one day, when he's 35), but that doesn't mean I didn't learn something from this. Tyler Myers, as most of us know, is a rookie defenseman on the Buffalo Sabres and is having a very good season. But the first time the Rangers played the Sabres, before the game even started, Micheletti went on and on about how good this kid is. That wasn't so bad until the game started. Every time Myers was on the ice he was mentioned, "Sammy, you'll never believe how much they trust this kid! He's six-foot, eight inches and they play him more than twenty minutes a game! Twenty minutes for a rookie, Sammy! He kills penalties and quarterbacks the powerplay too!" I'm voting for his Hall-of-Fame induction right now. He's too good to actually have to play out his career.

Poor Sam Rosen. He went from gold in John Davidson to bronze in Micheletti. Honestly, I have nothing against him at all, but I think it was time something was said. I still feel bad for Sam though; if he knew it was going to be this bad he would have wanted to lose his hearing instead of his eyesight, so that we may never have to hear, "I think it hit the post!" when the noise was so loud it would have woken Helen Keller up from a nap.

The picture I included above is actually a photo-shopped image of Nazi Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels. Part of me feels bad for making it, since Micheletti never killed anybody, just millions of my brain cells.

A Tribute to Mediocrity: A Poem and Photo Album

2010-01-28T11:23:00.010-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come
The Rangers are tanking, and Torts is a bum.
Game by game they cannot score, they appear to be in a trance
Chris Higgins couldn’t score at the Bunny Ranch.

They practiced the powerplay for more than an hour
Pass by pass out of the zone, the team has gone sour.
The locker room is as disjointed as an abandoned zoo
My goodness management, what are we to do?

Fire the coach, fire the trainer
Fire Sather too, it’s a no-brainer.
Away with the mediocrity, it must go
Man oh man, how much this team blows.

Dolan is sitting counting his cash
How many years did Sather give “Brash”?
And all the opponents, winning and having a ball
Tank! Tank! Tank! Set our sights on Taylor Hall.

All Michelletti does is spew his propaganda
Voros fights like a giant, tranquilized panda.
The goals against, they are really starting to pour
Hey fans, it’s okay, we still have 1994!

Well my friends, this short poem is over
Our toughest players can be moved with a leaf blower.
Coaches, management, players, they all dropped the ball
I’m just praying it isn’t too late for Taylor Hall.

Images that sum up the season thus far:

And you wonder why he didn't stick up for Gaborik against Carcillo?

Looks like Henrik Lundqvist from last night's game against the Hurricanes.

Johnny Juggles can't keep the same lines together for more than a period.

What's that you're saying, Chris? Can you use a megaphone please?

This poster just went up in Jim Dolan's office. Nice to know they care!

Look closely, he's there...I think.

Last Place Hurricanes Embarrass Rangers at the Garden

2010-01-27T21:24:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

The Rangers didn't show up tonight. Why should I?

As a side note, join this Facebook group: Beat the Rangers. We want Taylor Hall.

Devils Prospect Suspended Indefinitely for Cheap Shot

2010-01-26T18:50:00.008-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

The most hotly contested subject in not just the NHL, but hockey in general, is the crackdown on headshots. Now we have all seen various incidents over the course of the past several years that involved a player viciously hitting an opponent in the head, which in most cases, led to a serious injury. The NHL has addressed the issue but has yet to set up guidelines to define what a headshot is and the repercussions of such an act. The Canadian Hockey League, which controls all the junior leagues in Canada, has implemented a policy of an indefinite suspension until the length is determined to be enough to fit the crime. The commissioner of the aforementioned league, David Branch, has a reputation of being a strict disciplinarian and his policy is being put to good use after what transpired during a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game on January 17th.

During overtime of what was a spirited and hard fought game between the Quebec Remparts and the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, a violent and despicable act was committed that can change two players futures. With three minutes and change left in the extra session, Rouyn forward Patrice Cormier came off the bench and skated through center ice. Meanwhile, Remparts defenseman Mikael Tam skates the puck up the ice, gets into the neutral zone and dumps the puck in. At the same time that Tam fires the puck into the Rouyn zone, Cormier throws his elbow up into Tam's head and he collapses. The result of this low life cheap shot was Tam going into convulsions on the ice and he was taken to a nearby hospital for brain trauma.

Do we really have to ask why such a thing continues to happen at all levels of hockey? It's quite clear what it is: a total lack of respect.

Cormier, who was the captain of the Canadian World Junior team this year, is considered a player who plays with a chip on his shoulder and has a penchant for delivering questionable hits. It didn't seem like a surprise that he would get suspended for this offense. It's absolutely unacceptable to go head hunting and try to injure an opposing player. Instead of throwing his elbow out and striking Tam in the head, Cormier could have simply shouldered him in the chest or tried to bump him off the puck but his ignorance led to a stupid decision that now is being investigated by the league and even law enforcement.

That lack of respect showed by Cormier is something that needs to be rectified because it seems that this kid doesn't allow the opposition the right to protect themselves from a vicious cheap shot and it sickens me that he was the captain of any team, no less a whole country on a national stage. What kind of example is he providing when he's throwing elbows and brutally eliminating players to the point that they are convulsing?

Cormier's career is in jeopardy right now because of his actions and will be on the sidelines for his final year of junior eligibility. He is set to appeal the suspension and apologized for what he did but can we really trust him to not do something like this again when he's got a tendency to play dirty and the fact that he compares himself to Todd Bertuzzi, who brutally sucker punched Steve Moore in 2004, ending Moore's career?

This could have been avoided if Patrice Cormier would have played the game without reckless abandon and could dig deep and find some respect to show other players when going up against them. Hockey is supposed to be about having fun and establishing friendships with those you play with, not go out there and see if you can kill somebody. This incident is just another prime example to young hockey players of what you shouldn't do and that if you play in that manner, than you will suffer the consequences.

I will be extremely surprised if Cormier does in fact play for the Devils in the future because I guarantee that there will be plenty of players that will put him in his place for playing like a low life scumbag.

Some words of advice for Cormier: Clean up your game and apologize to all that you have affected over the years with your hammerhead mentality.

To view the incident spoken about in this article, follow this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJgPgtsP1iY

If Dion Phaneuf is Available, Rangers Must Pursue Him

2010-01-26T17:20:00.003-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

According to various sources, the Calgary Flames are looking to trade star defenseman Dion Phaneuf. Normally, the Rangers would not be linked to anything like this because of their limited cap room and in order to acquire him, they would have to shed a large contract to make the trade happen. But then, on MSG Network two games ago, Sam Rosen mentioned how Flames' scouts had been in attendance for three straight Rangers games, including the general manager himself, Darryl Sutter, who attended the last one. Very rarely does a GM come in person to scout a game, and if he does, that must mean something is in the works, or at least the attempt is being made.

When you look at it, Phaneuf is everything the Rangers lack on the blue line: a noticeable physical presence with a bomb of a slap shot. He is the tour-de-force of the Flames powerplay and is actually a top-tier fighter. He has already played in 375 games over the course of the last four seasons and change, and has put up 226 points during the time; 128 of those coming with the man advantage. He also happens to be only 24 years old. He seems to be the perfect defenseman because he does everything. So why are the Flames looking to trade him, then?

Your guess is as good as mine. From Phanuef's standpoint, he may be unhappy in his present location and wants a change of scenery. From management's perspective, the team is in a pretty tight salary cap situation (much like the Rangers) and with Jay Bouwmeester making nearly $7 million a season and Phaneuf himself making $6.5 million for the next four years, it would do much to alleviate their situation should they move him. Their defensive corps which consists of the two mentioned above along with Robyn Regehr at $4 million and Cory Sarich at $3.6, ties up nearly $19 million in just four defenseman alone.

Meanwhile, the Rangers situation is not much better. Should the Rangers go after a young stud like Phaneuf, Marc Staal would definitely have to be thrown in there. But even then, the Rangers would not be able to afford it. The Flames surely would not take Redden since his contact is identical to Phaneuf's, which means that they would have to take Michal Rozsival as well as Staal. Below is a trade proposal I have drawn up between the two teams. It was difficult to do because the Rangers have roughly $800,000 in cap space while the Flames have $1.2 million.

To Flames
Michal Rozsival ($5 million)
Ales Kotalik ($3 million)
Marc Staal ($800,000
Total: $8.8 million

To Rangers
Dion Phaneuf ($6.5 million)
Craig Conroy ($1.05 million
Total: $7.55 million

In this deal, both teams are able to maneuver within the cap restrictions. The Rangers get Phaneuf to be that physical presence along the blue line and to chip in offense on a struggling powerplay. They also get an experienced center in Conroy who is a free agent after this season. The Rangers, aside from defensive physicality, also have a weakness up the middle and the veteran and New York native could help with a third line center role. The 37 year old also kills penalties and has plenty of playoff experience. Could be a voice in the locker room that the Rangers are missing. In the deal the Rangers would also be short a defenseman, in which case they could call up either Bobby Sanguinetti or Ilka Heikkinen, both of whom are rookies that had a brief taste earlier in the season.

For the Flames, they lose out on Phaneuf but also get a cheaper Michal Rozsival whose contract is two years shorter. Rozsival has played extremely well of late and has only six less points than Phaneuf on the season. Without the pressures of New York City, he would probably be very successful out west. They also get Marc Staal, so they don't lose out on youthful, franchise caliber defensemen. He is a restricted free agent after this season and would probably fetch only around $2 million. And to help with the loss of a heavy shot on the powerplay, Ales Kotalik is thrown in as well, where he would be used correctly and flourish as he did in Buffalo.

I'll just add one more thing, and that is what people have been bringing up when mentioning the possibility of Phaneuf coming to New York, and that's Sean Avery. We all know of the incident that occurred last season when Avery made an off-color remark about Phaneuf's girlfriend, which led to a league wide roasting of Avery by the media, and his suspension/banishment for more than twenty games. It has been suggested that the two would not be able to co-exist in the locker room and that Phaneuf should not be acquired. The fact about not being able to get along may be true, but let me ask you one thing; if you have the chance to land a franchise caliber defenseman in his prime, you're not going to do it because Sean Avery might not like it? If you still think you don't want him for that reason, then get your head checked.

Interview with Maple Leafs' Blogger Steve Dangle

2010-01-25T20:39:00.010-05:00

By Eric Bancker

If you’re a passionate hockey fan like myself, you find yourself up at all hours of the night when you can't sleep searching Youtube for hockey videos. During one of these moments I found myself looking at video blogs but I found one that caught my eye, a blogger by the name of Steve Dangle.

Steve brings comedy as well as a great knowledge of the game of hockey. He brings his viewers recaps of every Leafs game and all the while doing it from a non-bias standpoint. As a passionate fan of any team in any sport it is hard to talk about you team and not be bias so I commend him for that.

Steve has gone from a guy just talking to his webcam about his beloved Leafs to a guy just talking to his webcam about his beloved Leafs, who has also covered the World Junior Classic courtesy of Nike and also has an internship with Leafs TV…I don’t know about you but I’m kind of jealous.

Talking to Steve and reading his answers to my questions, you see a guy who is having fun with what he is doing and all the while being taken back by what his videos have turned into. I look forward to interviewing him again someday.

EB: First of all let me thank you for taking time out of your schedule to do this interview.

SD: Thanks! No prob, Bob. That's not your name? That's embarrassing...

EB: Looking back to a couple of years ago when you made that first video, could you have ever imagined all the fame that you have?

SD: No. Never. Getting lots of people to watch wasn't the point. It was more something I made for my friends to kind of laugh at. Now I'm interning, I went to the World Juniors, I've covered Marlies games, been on Leafs TV... I haven't even computed it all.

EB: You now have an internship with Leafs TV which is an amazing opportunity. What do you want to do with your career? Could we see Steve Dangle on Hockey Night in Canada in 10 years?

SD: You just never know. I've learned that nothing is ever certain, and with broadcasting changing a million miles a minute, who knows. Before I started making videos, sports broadcasting as a career was sort of a "hey that would be cool" thought in the back of my mind, but I wanted to write TV Shows. I was a drama nerd in school (act surprised) and I really liked writing. I wrote for the school newspaper, did the morning announcements and all that. I'm still a young guy (21) and I'm so new to all this. Most people in media I've met often say "This is what I want to do - this year." Maybe one day I'll decide I hate this and become a zoo keeper. Until that day comes, I'm happy with the way things are going.

EB: You recently were able to cover the World Junior Classic, courtesy of Nike. How was that whole experience and did Nike contact you or did you contact them?

SD:Saskatoon was unbelievable! I can't emphasize that enough. The whole tournament was incredible. It was a bit nerve racking because I was really a rookie at that stuff but they never put pressure on me and were always supportive and helpful. They contacted me. They had to surgically reattach the jaw back to my face. Doctors these days can do some pretty marvelous things. It was an amazing opportunity and I had a fantastic time. Yeah they didn't win, but I can't walk away from an experience like that and not be incredibly grateful.

EB: In one of my more recent articles I bashed Brian Burke for his selections for the USA men’s Olympic team. As a passionate Leafs fan, do you feel that he is leading the Leafs in the right direction to win a championship?

SD: Well clearly there's some work to be done, and Burke can't be faulted for all of that. There were all sorts of reasons to think the Leafs would be better than last year hading into the season. Even if you didn't think they'd make the playoffs, they looked like they were in the running. A lot of his rebuilding, signings, and draft picks haven't really had a chance to do anything yet. Bozak and Hanson are AHL rookies and going great. Bozak has been a good call up, Hanson made the AHL all-star team, Kadri needs time, Paradis needs time, Blacker, D'Amigo, Ryan - the list goes on. In terms of building for the present, there isn't much he can do. Everybody is saying he should trade Kaberle, but with the no-trade, that's difficult. And besides that, he would have to be convinced that whatever he got in return was to the benefit of the team. I'm VERY interested to see what he does with this team for the rest of the season, because tanking isn't an option.

EB: With the trade deadline getting closer, it appears as though most teams will do their dealing before the Olympics. Do you see the Leafs making any moves, big or small? And if you were in Burke’s shoes what moves would you make?

SD: Whether he'll do anything before or after the Olympics you can never tell. He's the GM of team USA. Would that make him more likely to do his NHL dealing before or after? Does that mean he'll have time to discuss trades during the games or will he be too busy? It's a mystery, and part of me likes that. It's exciting. As for what I would do if I were in his shoes - it's only partially up to him. Other teams have to want what he's got at a price they agree to. I suspect guys who can be role-players, perhaps 2nd or 3rd-liners on other teams may be dealt, but that's a complete guess.

EB:Final question, who is your favorite hockey player of all-time? And why?

SD: Very hard to say. In terms of watching him - Alex Ovechkin. He's a bull in a china shop out there and he can score at will. I've never seen anybody that loves hockey like he does. I can't wait for the day he hoists the Cup above his head - which may be sooner than you think. In terms of who my childhood hero was - Felix Potvin. Whenever I played hockey in my driveway as a kid, rolling around and being a spaz, I was Felix Potvin. "Ohh and Potvin makes a huge save! *hahhhhh* Felix the Cat Potvin with another one! *hahhhh*" He was my childhood idol. Meeting him a couple years ago was really cool.

To see Steve Dangle’s videos checkout
http://www.youtube.com/user/stevedangle?blend=1&ob=4&rclk=cti

Also checkout his twitter
http://twitter.com/Steve_Dangle

Devils Need to Look for a Versatile Physical Forward

2010-01-22T18:18:00.010-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

If you're not familiar with the makeup of each team in the NHL, it comes down to several categories that define a team with each component responsible for a specific function to secure a team's success. The Devils exemplify what it is to be a strong team that has contributors who provide plenty of stability and in turn, beating the competition more often. The one flaw in all of this is the Devils lack of an energy player, in other words somebody who can spark the team with a big hit or a fight.

Each team seems to have their own unique version of an agitator, like Jarkko Ruutu in Ottawa or Steve Ott from Dallas and the only pest who makes designer handbags, Sean Avery for the Rangers. But if you've noticed, the Devils don't have such a player. Many consider David Clarkson to fall under that category but he hasn't proved that he can score and frustrate in one combined effort. Clarkson has more recently improved on his offensive game and should stick to it to help boost a top heavy offense.

This leads to what I'm about to propose the Devils should contemplate in terms of filling that void: Raffi Torres.

There are plenty of reasons why Torres would be a great fit for a Devils team that looks to be stronger than ever and possible Stanley Cup material. He currently plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are a total mess and more than likely will be sellers at the trade deadline if this tailspin continues. One commodity that will be dangled in front of general manager's faces will be the 28 year old Torres, who is in the last year of his contract and is enjoying what could be a career year. In 49 games this season, Torres has amassed 16 goals and 10 assists for 26 points and has a four game point streak going.

The former Edmonton Oiler might not be considered a top agitator in the league like he was four to five seasons ago, but what Torres brings to the table is an ability to crush opponents with bone rattling body checks and create energy for his team by means of a solid body check or dropping the gloves. Many defensemen and forwards make sure they know where he is at all times because he could take anyone off their feet.

Many Oilers fans, as well as hockey fans, still remember his concussion inducing hit on Milan Michalek during the Oilers amazing run to the Stanley Cup Finals. The hit was a momentum changer which saw the Oilers oust the highly skilled Sharks in six after being down two games to none. Torres contributed not only in the physical sense, but also on the scoreboard as he piled up 11 points in 22 games and got the game winning goal that sent Edmonton to the Stanley Cup Finals. So you can see that Torres is a good playoff performer from what's on his resume.

Another asset that Torres brings to the Devils is effort. Even though the Blue Jackets are a somber bunch, the 6-0, 223 lbs winger continues to bring his all each game in and each game out. Torres has become one of Ken Hitchcock's go to guys when it comes to playing in all situations and he hasn't disappointed. Although not a fast skater, what Torres lacks in speed he makes up for it with his hustling and determination. The fact that he combines a nose for the net with a strong physical presence at a smaller size means that he is a player who can give a team a great effort. That example would help show the younger players what it means to bring 100% effort each game.

No matter which way you slice it, the Devils and Raffi Torres are a match made in heaven. The one problem with a possible deal is the $2.75 million that he makes this year, which may put the Devils in quite a predicament with cap space. Depending on who the Devils would be willing to part ways with, this could very much happen and if it was to come true, the New Jersey fans would be excited to see him don the red and black. I think for someone of Torres' caliber, the Devils would more than likely deal a 3rd rounder along with a depth player like Dean McAmmond or Matt Halischuk, someone that the Blue Jackets would want to join the team immediately.

The Devils can't go wrong if they acquire Raffi Torres, because if things don't work out in Newark then he can go via free agency however I see that he could be a powerful influence on the team if he were to be traded there.

Goon Hockey Returns as Rangers Lose to Flyers

2010-01-21T21:29:00.004-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Old time hockey is great, but unfortunately, tonight had none of that sort. Tonight was a chance for goon hockey to rear it's ugly head. The Flyers defeated the Rangers tonight by a score of 2-0; below are some observations:

1. The Rangers got off to another slow start, almost identical to that of the game against Tampa Bay the other night. Unfortunately, the Rangers never got going, and the Flyers are a better team than the Lightning. There was no offensive flow throughout the game, and they may have had only three prime scoring chances for the entire night.

2. With the Rangers trailing 1-0 in the second, Daniel Carcillo showed why he isn't the biggest lunatic, goon, and loser in the entire National Hockey League. He got into a shoving match with the Rangers' Marian Gaborik, a superstar who has only one fight in his entire seven year career. Carcillo then drops the gloves and fights Gaborik. He only landed one punch during the bout and got mostly helmet, which led to his hand bleeding and he headed off to the locker room to get it fixed. But what is wrong here, is that Carcillo should not have dropped the gloves in that situation. Gaborik is not a fighter. He never was one and he never will be. He had no chance to defend himself and it is only by the grace of the hockey Gods that he did not get seriously injured.

3. What is more infuriating than observation number two, was the fact that the Rangers on the ice did nothing to stop Gaborik from getting pummeled by Carcillo. Dan Girardi was literally three feet away, watching the entire thing unfold and he did nothing. When it comes to your superstar getting attacked, to hell with the third-man-in penalty. You need to jump in there, regardless of the penalty.

4. Hats off to Brandon Dubinsky for getting into it with Carcillo after the fight. The both of them tried to climb over the penalty box wall to get at each other. Somehow Dubinsky ended up with the extra penalty. How he got that is beyond me. Kudos to Sean Avery as well, for challenging Carcillo late in the second period and actually winning the fight. Aaron Voros would also get involved with Arron Asham in the third period, but it was a weak fight with no clear winner.

5. Has a spontaneous combustion of a human being ever been witnessed before? I was almost positive we were going to witness one tonight with John Tortorella. He was seething after the Carcillo incident and again when the second period ended. The camera caught him after the buzzer sounded; he was literally rocking back and forth in anger, shaking like he was going to explode. Would have loved to be a fly on the wall in that locker room.

6. Say what you want about Donald Brashear: he's old, he can't fight, he's washed up, whatever the attack may be. But even if all of that is true, tonight is the express reason why he needs to be in the line up. Ranger fans will not admit it because once they get on something they never let go, but Brashear is still respected around the rest of the league. It could not be stressed enough how he needed to be in the line up tonight, unless he had an injury that we are not aware of. He would have stuck up for Gaborik, and if he wasn't on the ice, he would have jumped off the bench to come to his aid. I have no doubt, because that is just the type of guy he is. Worth a possible suspension? Absolutely.

7. So anyway, are the Rangers back on a goal scoring drought? After scoring fourteen goals in two games, they were due for a clunker but we must hope that this doesn't reverse all that was accomplished in the last two games.

If Kotalik Gets Traded, Where Will he Go?

2010-01-21T13:15:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Just two days after writing this piece, suggesting that the Rangers needed to move Ales Kotalik because of his lack of production and limited no-trade clause that kicks in next season, our friends over at Blue Shirt Banter may have some inside scoop as to if he is really on the move or not. They were able to speak to Kotalik's agent, who had this to offer up:

Kotalik has asked for a trade, telling the Rangers he is not happy with the organization, and wants to be traded, released, or he will defect to Russia. Kotalik has allegedly told the Rangers he would like to be traded out west.

To read the article in it's entirety, please click here. So if there is truth to the matter, where will Kotalik end up? The Rangers would be looking to just flat out dump salary here, and would not even need a player in return. A late round draft pick or a mid level prospect could be a decent grab if the Rangers do move him.

Analyst Brian Monzo seems to think that he will be dealt to a team on the cusp of making the playoffs, and cites Detroit or Atlanta as possible suitors. I will agree with him on Atlanta, but I just don't see the Red Wings going after him. The Wings, I believe, will be busier trying to improve their goaltending situation and I would not be surprised to see Marty Turco headed there before the deadline from Dallas.

My prediction, is that Kotalik will be traded to the Tampa Bay Lighting. This is just a hunch. They currently sit in 13th place, but at the way the Eastern Conference is structured, they are only four points out of a playoff spot. Even with their high powered offense, their powerplay is only in the middle of the pack, and Kotalik can help playing the point with them. Tampa also has the cap space to accommodate him without sending back a player in return. Only time will tell what the truth is.

Former Rangers PR Man and Author John Halligan Passes Away

2010-01-20T13:55:00.003-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

The New York Rangers family lost a member today, as John Halligan passed away late last night from complications of Parkinson's Disease. He was only 68 years old, way too young to go. John was with the Rangers' Public Relations department for more than twenty years and proved to be one of the nicest, classiest men in the business. He was also one of the most knowledgeable people when it came to Rangers hockey. This led to him co-author 100 Ranger Greats, which came out just last October, along with other must-reads including Game of my Life: New York Rangers, The New York Rangers: Images of Sports, and New York Rangers: Seventy Five Years.

His co-author, Russ Cohen, and I will be working on a tribute piece for John to be upcoming later in the week. Please keep an eye out for it. Russ and the other author, Adam Raider, would like to invite you to send any condolences to be passed along to John's wife Janet. You can send them to rangergreats@aol.com. Click here to read a reprinted article from 2007, which covered John's reception of the 2007 Lester Patrick Award.

Rest in Peace, John. You will be sorely missed.

Rangers Destroy Lightning 8-2 at the Garden

2010-01-19T21:31:00.004-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

The last time the New York Rangers scored 8 goals in a game was January 23, 2001. Jeff Toms had a hat trick in an 8-4 defeat over the Boston Bruins. Theo Fleury, Eric Lindros, and Toms himself each had 4 points while Mike York had 5. Mike Richter outlasted Byron Dafoe in net. Does that bring back memories, or what?

This time, however, the Rangers got all eight goals from eight different scorers in an 8-2 defeat over the Tampa Bay Lighting. Marian Gaborik would be the shining point getting with 4 assists and the Rangers got goals from Dubinsky, Prospal, Drury, Girardi, Lisin, Staal, Voros, and Higgins, in that order. What is probably the most shocking is who exactly the last two goal scorers were. Voros gets his first goal since November 28, 2008 and the slumping Higgins gets his first goal in seven games.

Lundqvist did not have much work and Niittymaki was pulled after five goals to make way for Dustin Tokarski, who gave up the other three in relief. The Rangers also score 6 goals in back to back games at home for the first time since 2003. Is this a game for firsts or what?

There really isn't that much more to add. The Rangers were ahead every step of the way and pounded the Tampa Bay Lightning into submission. Aaron Voros, adding to his goal, was involved in two fights; one with Zenon Konopka and the other with Ryan Malone. Dubinsky also got in on the fisticuffs with a late fight with Jeff Halpern.

The Rangers may finally be headed in the right direction, with 14 goals in just the last 2 games and not much pressure on Henrik Lundqvist. I would like to see them play this way against a team that has an actual defense, but for now, I'll take the excitement and hope the Rangers haven't exhausted their goals quota for the month.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates!

Rangers Must Find a Way to Move Kotalik

2010-01-19T13:07:00.004-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Sure Michal Rozsival and Wade Redden have not lived up to expectations since signing their respective contracts two seasons ago, but the two of them can at least be effective in some way, even when they are not scoring. The same cannot be said for Ales Kotalik, whom the Rangers inked to a three year/$9 million deal this off-season. He was good early on, providing that punch from the point that this team had lacked for years, but now, more than halfway in, Kotalik is proving to be the biggest bust the Rangers have signed in recent years.

Let's look at it this way, Michal Rozsival has increasingly upped his play since earlier in the season. He has done so well of late that he has found himself on the top defensive pairing with Marc Staal, and is eating up important minutes, even late in games with the score being close. Rozsival, who scored 13 goals in the year prior to signing his contract, scored only 8 last season and is on pace for even less than that this season. But even so, he has been very effective and although I would not hesitate to move his contract, his defensive play is no longer proving to be detrimental to the team.

Wade Redden's tenure has been nothing short of a disaster. He signed a six year/$39 million contract when coming off a mediocre year in Ottawa. Last year, early on, he was horrible, but picked it up late in the season and into the playoffs. It seems he is doing the same this season. He still always remains relatively calm with the puck and has increased physical play, including getting into his second fight in as many seasons in the last game. If he can develop a mean streak that we saw against Montreal the other night, then he can be effective as well. Last season he dropped Chris Clark in a fight, and Sunday he held his own against Benoit Pouliot. Can the coaching staff convince him to do this more often?

Now to Ales Kotalik, the so-called "powerplay specialist". He was doing exactly that at the beginning of the season, quarterbacking the man advantage and scoring goals left and right. At the end of October, he had 5 goals and 7 assists. Two of those goals came while on the powerplay as well as all seven assists. In the three months since, he has only 3 goals and 7 assists. If one looks at his even strength numbers, they will find that in 44 games, he has only 4 goals and 2 assists. These is worse than Chris Higgins' numbers.

This could be ignored if he was producing on the powerplay, but he isn't. He has been utterly invisible there and has even found himself a healthy scratch five times this season, including his sixth tonight when the Rangers face Tampa Bay. His effectiveness is close to zero. He has lost his spot on the powerplay and when he gets time at even strength he has done nothing. He has only 2 goals in his last 27 games. On a team that needs secondary scoring to be successful, and as someone who is being relied upon to put the puck in the net, this is inexcusable.

Is it entirely his fault? No, absolutely not. He had career years in Buffalo playing alongside Chris Drury, and he only got two games on the same line with him this season. There was not a chance given to him for chemistry to develop. He has also found himself on the fourth line with Boyle and Brashear for the last month. He had his chance, failed, and now he isn't getting another one.

The Rangers will have to find a way to trade him. There are teams that need a powerplay quarterback, which Kotalik is, when used the right way. This signing has Matt Cullen written all over it. Cullen, if you remember, was the point-man on the Carolina Hurricanes' powerplay the year they won the Stanley Cup, when he recorded career numbers. He was signed by the Rangers to do just that, but Renney hardly played him there and his totals sunk. He was than traded that off-season. Unless Tortorella can get him going again, Kotalik's play is a bigger detriment to the team than anyone else at the present time, and even more so if he sits on the bench with that big of a salary. If they are going to move him, they must do so now, because when the second year of his contract kicks in, so does his no-trade clause.

Slumps End as Rangers Defeat Canadiens

2010-01-17T21:34:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

The Rangers' lackluster period could not have been more far from how they finished the game. After trailing 2-0 heading into the first intermission, it seemed that another night of boredom and frustration was about to unfold. But that would all change just less than a minute into the second period.

Ryan Callahan would get the Rangers on the board when he deflected a Marian Gaborik wrist shot from an impossible angle. This would be the Rangers first goal on home ice in more than an hour and forty-seven minutes. Brandon Dubinsky would then go on to net a pair and give the Rangers a 3-2 lead in the second period. Then all hell broke loose for a span of five minutes. With his team now leading, Aaron Voros bumped into Canadiens' defenseman Andrei Markov, and was then ambushed by Benoit Pouliot and Josh Gorges. Sean Avery jumped in and fought Gorges in a decently long fight. Tempers were flaring and the Rangers showed some emotion that was missing for the last few weeks.

But that was not it for the period. Less than four minutes later, Redden went at Pouliot and challenged him to a fight, which ended up being pretty evenly matched. Four more minor penalties were also handed out on the play. For that period, old-time hockey was back in action. It was by far the most exciting period in a long time.

Heading into the third, Ryan Callahan would score his second of the game, on the powerplay, and was followed by Gaborik's 29th of the season (first in five games), and Drury's 7th. Gaborik's goal was scored on a 2 on 1 with Dubinsky, who was looking to pass all the way, even if a possible hat trick was on the line.

The six goals scored tonight superseded the teams total for the previous five games and marked the first time since January 6th that the Rangers scored five goals or more in a game. It certainly was not a masterpiece, but it was by far the most exciting game of the season. The Rangers have desperately needed a game like this for weeks, and finally got it. This performance should not mask the Rangers need for more offense, but it should be a nice place to build from here on out.

Bears Clawing the Way to the Division Lead

2010-01-17T17:40:00.003-05:00

By Mike Kutniewski Jr.

The Hershey Bears are on a tear, that could lead them to yet another East Division Crown. The record of 31-9-0-2 gives them a 16-point lead over 2nd place Albany, who stands at 22-16-2-2. The good news for the rest of the division is four teams go to the playoffs and even last place Norfolk has a shot with 36 standings points.

The Bears have won 9 of 10 and have almost doubled their opponents goal tallies on the year. As of now, the way the team is clicking, Chocolatetown will be rocking come Calder Cup playoff time.

Some players from the East Division are among the league leaders. Keith Aucoin and Alex Giroux of the Bears are the top 2 scorers, with 54 and 51 points respectively. Dustin Jeffery of Wilkes-Barre is 5th with 43 and fellow Bear Andrew Gordon is 6th with 42. Bears goaltender Braden Holtby currently leads the league with a 1.70 and a 12-2-0-1 record. Aucoin (24), Giroux (21) and Gordon (19) are 2,3,4 in goals scored. Adirondacks Stefan Legein is 7th with 18. Aucoin (33) is 3rd and Giroux (31) is 4th in assists. The Penguins Jeffrey is 5th with 30. Syracuse’s Kevin Harvey is 6th with 134 and Albany’s Zack FitzGerald is 9th in PIMs with 125.

Could go on and on about how the Bears, at this point, are involved in many of the league leads and look to continue the success through the 2nd half of the season.

Are the Rangers Targeting Lecavalier?

2010-01-17T13:44:00.005-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Last night, Bruce Garrioch of the Toronto Sun wrote an article saying that the Rangers are eying up Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning. This is not surprising since the Rangers desperately lack scoring and John Tortorella won a cup with Lecavalier as the captain of his team; it makes perfect sense.

Normally, I would be ultra gung-ho about this. "Go get 'em, Slats!" is what I would be yelling. But although acquiring Lecavalier would improve the team's offense, it would only be a slight improvement, and his contract is killer to this team's current situation. Lecavalier's cap hit will be roughly $7.7 million annually until 2020. That is an absolutely egregious sum that the Rangers would be shelling out to a twenty-nine year old center whose play has decreased heavily in just the last two seasons. He rose to stardom in 2006/07 when he scored 52 goals and 108 points and followed that up the next year with 40 goals and 92 points. But other than those two seasons, he has never recorded more than 75 points, including last season's mediocre 67 points.

It could be one of those cases where all he needs is a change of scenery for him to start scoring again, and he would be centering Marian Gaborik, a winger whose caliber is better than that of any player he has ever played with. But what if he really is past his prime? His age says he is still young enough, but he has been in the NHL since the age of nineteen and already has 834 games of experience. Could it be that he is done? He is on pace for an 80 point season this year, not mind-blowing numbers when you look at them.

Combine the road he is headed down with his salary and this move has disaster written all over it. The only way this move can be made and not be a disaster, is if the Rangers give up the right pieces to get him. Garrioch notes that the Rangers would give up Redden, Gilroy, and either Dubinsky or Callahan. Fans will see Redden leaving and automatically think it would be a steal of a trade. But would you trade 4 more years at $6.5 million for 10 more years at $7.7 million? This is something I would not do. Giving up Gilroy and Dubinsky does not bother me at all, but perhaps the Rangers could include Ales Kotalik in the deal and shed additional salary. Much like the folks at Blueshirt Banter came up with an "official proposal" dealing with Ilya Kovalchuk, I am drawing up my own official one dealing with Vincent Lecavalier:

To Lightning
Wade Redden ($6.5)
Ales Kotalik ($3)
Matt Gilroy ($1.7)
Brandon Dubinsky ($1.8)
Total Salary: $13 million

To Rangers
Vinny Lecavalier ($7.7)
Matt Walker ($1.7)
Total Salary: $9.4 million

With $8 million in cap space, the Lightning can afford to make this trade, as can the Rangers. Redden, Gilroy, and Dubinsky will be moving as Garrioch mentioned, but the underachieving Kotalik will be out as well. He could be a very nice addition to the Tampa Bay powerplay, because they will in all likelihood use him the right way. The Rangers, in addition to Lecavalier, also get defenseman Matt Walker, who is a physical, goal-crease presence who loves to throw a check. This is something the Rangers need just as much as they need scoring. They can then call up Heikkinen, Sanguinetti, or Potter to fill the last defensive spot.

My final thoughts on this would be to not acquire Lecavalier, because of his slipping play and the monstrous contract. But if the Rangers could shed multiple bad contract, then perhaps it would be in their best interest after all.

I would like to invite the readers of Metro to post your own trade proposals involving Lecavalier in comments below this article.

Once Again the Devils Get Ousted by a Surprise Team

2010-01-17T12:13:00.005-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

The past two games have not been nice for the Devils in facing two of the most surprising teams in the NHL. On Thursday night, the Devils faced the Coyotes, a team on a mission to prove that they can persevere through their financial woes and put an exciting product on the ice. The Coyotes proved that quality beats quantity in a game where they only took 19 shots and scored 4 goals as opposed to the Devils 34 shots and 3 goals. The Devils really only had a period under their belt in this game, scoring two goals in the second, but were otherwise outplayed by the 5th place team in the West.

Fast forward to Saturday when the Devils faced off against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center in Denver. The Avs rolled into this game having won six out of their last 10, on top of their division and were well rested since Monday's shootout win over Calgary. They knew before the game that one of their best players, Milan Hejduk, was going to be out of the lineup with an knee injury. The Devils came into this game without the services of Paul Martin, David Clarkson and Dainius Zubrus.

The first period started out with a bang as tough guys Andrew Peters of the Devils and David Koci of the Avalanche sparred in what can only be called an unusual bout. Peters got the upper hand on Koci until Koci's "super strength" as an announcer called it ripped Peters' jersey under the arm. The Avalanche must have gotten the momentum from the "ripped jersey" fight as they scored two goals in the first courtesy youngsters Chris Stewart and T.J. Galiardi. The worst was yet to come.

During the opening seconds of the second period, Devils forward Patrik Elias was streaking up the right side of the ice when Avalanche defender Ryan Wilson delivered a crushing blow to Elias' head. The impact of the hit knocked Elias out cold on the ice and he would then be taken off on a stretcher. Wilson's initial hit looked to be a hip check but once Elias started steering towards the boards, Wilson used his shoulder and hit him cleanly with a forceful check. The good news is that Elias regained consciousness before being taken off and waved to the crowd. The result of this hit led to a fight between Wilson and Devils' d-man Mark Fraser a few minutes later.

The Devils looked defeated at that point although they did get a goal from Rob Niedermayer in the third to get the game close. The Devils then had a power play in the last 3 minutes of regulation and were unable to connect, leading to a Wojtek Wolski empty netter. Final score: Avalanche 3, Devils 2.

Although a spirited bout, the Devils couldn't play a lick in their own zone and their best players were off their game (ex. Zach Parise and his -3 rating). Give the Avalanche credit because they deserve to sit atop their division and are enjoying tremendous success. They have surprised many this year, including myself. When a team gives a strong effort game in and game out, they deserve the win.

New York Rangers Sleeping Pills Available Now

2010-01-16T22:18:00.003-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Do you have trouble sleeping at night? Do you sometimes spend hours on end lying in bed staring at the ceiling? Have you ever counted sheep for five straight hours only to realize that you had to get up for work as soon as you finished?

Well, Hi! Billy Mays here with the most awesome sleeping pill product to hit the market in the last decade! It's so good that I'm going to advertise it even though I'm dead, because that perfectly describes the Rangers offense. With New York Rangers Sleeping Pills, you will never have those nights of endless tossing and turning! No more waking up in morning after a rough night of sleep!

The New York Rangers Sleeping Pills are made with the highest form of brain wave technology: take one with a shot of scotch, close your eyes and visions of the Rangers attempting to score will appear under your eye lids. Watch closely as Callahan misses the net while standing in the crease only to end up hitting the cotton candy guy in the stands, Gaborik uses his powerful stride to go nowhere, and Boyle's size intimidates the smallest of opponents. Still awake after that? Have no fear! Watch as pucks soar over Lundqvist's glove hand and John Tortorella's forehead vein bursts!

I am so sold on these pills, that I am even going to include extra gifts for you, that you can keep even if you send the pills back. Call in the next fifteen minutes and receive a pair of Enver Lisin ear plugs, the officially licensed product that is the same one used by Ranger players to tune out the coaching staff. Call in the next ten minutes and receive Chris Drury's new hit album, Whispers! With his hit single Seven Million Reasons to Not Give a Sh*t. And call in the next five minutes to receive an autographed Donald Brashear huggie bear.

Here is what one happy customer had to say about New York Rangers Sleeping Pills: "I used to never be able to fall asleep at night. I thought I was an insomniac. Then the New York Rangers put me to sleep! Thanks Glen Sather!"

All this can be yours for just six easy payments of $19.95. And if you pay by credit card, we will throw in as an added bonus, Henrik's Lundqvist's autobiography Catch 22: What Happens If I Get a Hundred Pucks Shot at me High to the Glove Side. This all comes with a thirty day money-back guarantee! Fall asleep with ease, learn how to not play hockey, and go nuts all at the same time with New York Rangers Sleeping Pills.

Interview with "The Captain", Mark Messier

2010-01-16T11:00:00.003-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

In late December, I got into contact with The Messier Project, to find out a little more information on what new technology they are offering, by way of their groundbreaking helmet design, that was made to help lessen the astronomic amounts of concussions that are sweeping through the National Hockey League. They were more than accommodating, and sent me several press releases full of interesting facts that I relayed to the readers here at Metro in this article.

They also promised me the opportunity to interview Mark Messier, the driving force behind the Messier Project section of Cascade Sports, the company that is producing these helmets. I was excited for this chance, but also realized that due to Mark's busy schedule, that this interview may not ever come to fruition. But over the last several weeks of being in contact with their public relations department, this interview has finally been realized. The questions I asked have been answered. Mark and I discussed his new helmet technology, injuries in the NHL, his career in hockey, and more, in our interview below.

But before I get to the interview itself, I just want to thank Mark for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer my questions, and also to Audra Silverman, the public relations specialist for TMP, who helped set this up.

GC: This year, more than any other, we have seen so many injuries, including many concussion problems. Can you tell our readers how your helmet will help to decrease the number of head injuries in the sport?

MM: Concussions have crept into the game of hockey and I strongly believe we need to find a way to address the issue, which has become an epidemic. For me, the mission of The Messier Project is very much about changing priorities. The fact that we are still basically using the same technology in our helmets that we have used over the last three decades is horrifying. Every single piece of equipment has evolved except for the helmet.

I joined forces with Cascade Sports to create The Messier Project, a product development and public awareness campaign that aims to address the issue of concussions in the sport of hockey.

Cascade Sports have been leaders in head protection for more than twenty years. It was their history of innovation and the company's revolutionary Seven Technology that brought me to the table. I knew that I could work together with Cascade Sports to bring a player's perspective to the design and development of the new M11 hockey helmet, the first product offering of The Messier Project.

Seven Technology is a cutting-edge liner system utilizing a ground-breaking impact attenuation system to more effectively manage energy transfer from direct impact. On impact, Seven Technology compresses to laterally displace energy, and within seconds, it completely resets to be ready for the next impact. Hockey is a multiple impact sport and Seven Technology's "total material reset" makes it the first "true" multiple impact technology.

The M11's Seven Technology, new Mono90 Shell Design, and Pro-Fit System contribute to the protection and performance that drew NHL stars including Chris Phillips, Aaron Ward, Matt Bradley, Stephane Veilleux, Jesse Winchester, and Garnet Excelby along with the Harvard Men's Ice Hockey Team, and more than a hundred elite and recreational hockey teams from junior to youth across the Unites States and Canada, to join The Messier Project.

The M11 helmet, with its Seven Technology liner system that more effectively manages multiple impacts, is the first step in moving our sport in the right direction. But we need to go beyond product development alone.

GC: In youth hockey, we are seeing more and more children getting injured. Concussions that were never an issue are now a major problem. Why do you think that youth hockey is becoming increasingly violent? And is it a result of more intensity in the sport, or just a lack of regard for other players' safety?

MM: This is something that I am very passionate about, though I don't think the issue is that the game is becoming more violent. The fast-paced, physical nature of hockey is what makes it exciting, and it is an integral part of the game. But I think it is extremely important that we teach our kids at an early age how to hit, how to take a hit, and how to respect each other both on and off the ice. It is part of our responsibility as youth coaches, mentors, and stewards of the game to teach our kids this part of the game, so later on, as they move through the sport, they become responsible for taking their safety into their own hands.

We have changed the rules and many are working to eliminate checking and hitting to make the youth game safer. But eliminating this aspect of the game, even at the youth level, does more harm than good in my opinion. By trying to protect our kids with rule changes that define how we can hit, when we can hit, and where we can hit, I think we have given our youth players a false sense of protection, and in turn they have lost the protective instincts that are so important to the sport of hockey. It is these protective instincts that must be fostered and taught at such a young age.

I have perhaps a different perspective on this than most, likely because of the era I grew up and played youth and minor league hockey in. I grew up playing countless hours of shinny on the outdoor rinks in my hometown. I grew up playing hockey knowing full well that I had to protect myself at all times. You cannot expect everyone to play by the rules. With this cemented in my mind at an early age, I moved through my career playing twenty years as a minor league hockey player and twenty-six years as a professional.

Today, I think that by trying so hard to protect our kids, we have left them defenseless. Our game will never be one that is danger free, but players don't go into a game thinking they are going to get hurt. The speed at which the game is played, along with the power that is generated, has never been higher. We need to arm our kids with the knowledge of how to protect themselves at all times, and in different situations. The earlier we do this, the better. It is all about balance between teaching safe play, protection instincts, and making equipment decisions that best protect our players.

One of the missions of The Messier Project is to work with the players, coaches, parents, and the game's stakeholders, across all levels, to encourage safe play. While better equipment and new technology, such as the M11, do help better protect players, it is only part of the solution. Encouraging safe play is extremely important and I think that teaching kids how to give and take a check is critical.

GC: Looking back at the "Golden Age" of hockey, can you imagine yourself ever playing without a helmet? And how come it seems that there were less injuries back then, even though players wore a lot less equipment than they do today?

MM: My father has always been my mentor, and he was one of the first players to wear a helmet (before it was mandatory) when he played - so from a very early age I knew the importance of wearing a helmet.

I started with Jofa (because Wayne was wearing it) until I got in a fight and got cut for eight stitches in the forehead. From there, I tried to find the most protective helmet I could and opted for the old Winwell, which came down low on my eyebrow and sideburns. I actually tried other helmets over the course of my career, but none offered any additional protection, so I stayed with the Winwell my entire career.

I am excited to be working with a company that has a focus on protection. The M11 offers players today a reason for a change, not only because of the performance of the helmet, but because of the technology that helps to reduce the risk of concussion.

Our game has evolved so much since my father's playing days - and my playing days. It seems there are more injuries today but there are many contributing factors, including how fast our game has become.

You could make a good argument about the size of the ice being too small. However, I think many factors combine to create the current environment. It is a chain of events over time that has led to where we are today.

The evolution of equipment is a factor. Protective pads today are lighter and more rigid, especially shoulder and elbow pads. I believe the changes in the playing area have potentially contributed to the issue. The glass and boards have become too rigid, and what was once a normal body check is turning into a concussion. The athletes of WWE don't wrestle on a concrete floor. We need to soften the playing area and examine our equipment standards.

I also believe it is up to the players to protect themselves at all times. I see too many players leaving themselves vulnerable, expecting opposing players to turn away.

The NHL is a game that is played with high intensity - there is a great deal on the line for every player and organization. And that I feel is part of what makes our game great. However, our players need to take responsibility as well. To a certain extent, I believe our players have lost the necessary survival instincts because of the rules put in place to protect them, and these rules have given players a false sense of security.

From a broad perspective, I think we need to evaluate each of these changes and the impact they have had on the game, with a focus on moving forward and looking at ways to reduce the risk of player injury. The game has evolved and has continued to evolve - but there is a delicate balance between allowing the game to evolve and maintaining the heritage and tradition that makes hockey the greatest game of all.

GC: Finally, can you tell us a little bit about your job as special assistant to Glen Sather? And do you have any aspirations of becoming an NHL GM in the future?

MM: It is a huge honor to be working with the Rangers as special assistant to Glen Sather. I am really excited to be back in the game and this opportunity with the Rangers means a lot to me.

From an organization standpoint, I really enjoy the team development. I believe I have a good understanding of the challenges of playing in New York and what the players need to do to be effective, confident, contributing team players. As a young player, I remember the veteran players that helped me make the transition from the Junior League to the NHL, and I hope that I can serve that role for the young players on the team today.

In addition to my role with the Rangers, I am also very excited about my new role as General Manager of Hockey Canada's 2010 IIHF World Hockey Championship team. It is an incredible opportunity and also a challenge to do something special for Hockey Canada, and I am proud to represent my country.

Mark Messier, simply known as "The Captain", was a veteran of 1756 NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks. During that time he won six Stanley Cups, and became the first player (and still the only to date) to captain two different Championship teams. He also has 694 goals and 1193 assists for 1887 career points, where he sits second only to Wayne Gretzky.

Friday Evening Funny: Blues Sign Max Brodeur to Face Rangers Tomorrow

2010-01-15T18:14:00.006-05:00

This comes from our friend Jim Schmiedeberg over at Blue Shirt Banter. All Ranger fans must stick together through the tough times, and laugh to keep from crying.

Here is a snippet:

Can't say Blues GM John Davidson isn't a visionary when it comes to doing what it takes to give his team an edge for winning games.

After seeing the Blues next opponent, the New York Rangers, shut out twice this week, first by Devils goalkeeper Marti Brodeur, then again by Mike Brodeur of the Ottawa Senators, "JD" has announced the signing of Max Brodeur from Casper, Wyoming, and that Brodeur will start in goal against the Rangers Saturday night in St.Louis.

Brodeur was as stunned as anyone else at the press conference:

"It's not often a 67 year old guy like me gets a chance to play professional sports, but like I told my wife when the Blues called, sometimes even I get bored watching Matlock all day.", the retired shop teacher remarked.

Brodeur has never played hockey at any level, except for a "few knock down drag out games of "SuperChexx" bubble hockey at Slippery's Tavern down on Highway 26. I always lost the coin toss and got stuck being the Commies, and everyone knows the Russian right wing sticks on that thing."

Max isn't worried about his lack of hockey experience, saying "They showed me some films on one of them new Dee Vee Dee players of those New York boys, but I ain't worried, those Ranger fellas don't seem to hit the net much anyway."

To read the rest of this article, click here.

Rangers Embarassed by Injury Depleted Senators

2010-01-14T21:32:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

It was a recipe for disaster from the very beginning: the Ottawa Senators were on a five game losing streak and coming off a horrendous 5-2 loss to Philadelphia the other night. Add to that the fact that the entire first line of Michalek, Spezza, and Alfredsson were all missing along with the team's number one goalie Pascal Leclaire and the backup Brian Elliot. The Senators had to call up a goaltender from their AHL affiliate to start tonight's game, and here is the comic relief, his name is Mike Brodeur. For the first time in Rangers history, they get shutout in back to back games by two different goalies named Brodeur.

The effort for sixty minutes was a listless and disgusting display, worse than can have even been expected, in a game that was almost certainly going to be a letdown compared to the ultra-thrilling game played against the Devils on Tuesday night.

Although the shots don't dictate it (a mere 33-32 advantage to Ottawa), the Senators dominated play in the first two periods, and Lundqvist was at his best and kept his team in the game. Tortorella burned his timeout in the first half of the first period because of how bad the play was. Even though play picked up late in the first for the Rangers, they would never get any sustained pressure until the third period.

But the ultimate killer in this game is that the Senators would go on to score the game winning goal with just over a minute to go, before adding an empty netter almost forty seconds later, hanging the Rangers a 2-0 defeat. It has now been 144 minutes since the Rangers last scored a goal.

The Rangers may be in playoff contention at the moment, but with performances like tonight by this streaky team, they have no business making it to the post season. Tonight was one of those games where fans that paid to see the game should demand a refund.

Chad Johnson Interview Gets the Axe

2010-01-14T16:15:00.004-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Despite the willingness and helpfulness of Chad Johnson and his agent, we will not be able to conduct a new interview for the readers here at Metro, as originally promised. We are deeply taken aback by this entire situation because of how it has been handled, but mostly because of the great readership and support we get on this site, and that we promised you a conclusion to this interview. It is not in any way Chad's fault, as he and his agent have been in contact with me every step of the way and I would like to thank them for all their help.

Chad Johnson Interview Retraction

2010-01-14T12:22:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

To all our readers here at Metro, due to reasons out of my control, I had to remove the recently conducted Chad Johnson interview from our site. This happens to all journalists from time to time and I apologize for the inconvenience and loss of content. However, myself, Chad, and his agent will be working together in the near future to get another interview up here. So please stay tuned.

Devils Defeat Rangers in Most Exciting Game of the Season

2010-01-12T21:45:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

It took sixty minutes of regulation, five minutes of overtime, and five rounds of a shootout to decide this one. The Rangers out shot the Devils 51-45 in a game that saw very few stoppages and even fewer penalties. The Rangers carried the play throughout the first two periods, while the Devils had the advantage in the third. Both goalies were spectacular as Brodeur and Lundqvist will both end up with shutouts.

The Rangers came close to ending the game late in overtime when a tricky shot by Marian Gaborik fooled Brodeur. The rebound came right to Gaborik at the side of the net and he backhanded through the crease and off Brodeur's arm, but it trickled just two inches away from the goal line.

Earlier in the game, the Devils had their best chance, when they went on a 5 on 3 powerplay for nearly two minutes. They failed to capitalize and both teams went 0 for 2 with the extra man advantage.

The crowd was extremely loud throughout the game and even with a lack of goal scoring, the intensity was through the roof. It definitely did not have a regular season game feel to it.

And so the thriller went to a shootout, and in the fifth round, Patrik Elias beat Henrik Lundqvist high to the glove side to win the game for New Jersey. This came after Lundqvist stopped Parise, Langenbrunner, and Zajac. Meanwhile, Brodeur turned away Christensen, Kotalik, Gaborik, and Dubinsky. Although credited with a "save", Christensen did not even register a shot on goal.

All in all, the Rangers did get a much needed point, even if the other went to the rival Devils. But the Rangers do not need to worry about catching New Jersey as much as they need to worry about just making the playoffs all together. For that reason, it is alright that the Devils got the extra point.

This is the type of game where shootouts ruin the game of hockey. Both teams and goaltenders fought this epic battle, which saw almost a hundred shots on goal in this fast paced bout. In the old days, the game would have remained tied and both teams could leave with their heads held high, but the Rangers do not get that opportunity tonight in the loss. As good as the defense looked tonight, it exploited just how bad the Rangers are at scoring goals. Something needs to be done because there is no way that Henrik Lundqvist should have lost this game tonight.

History Spotlight: Pass the Puck, Joe Malone!

2010-01-10T21:29:00.003-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

For this piece, I had to go so far back in the annals of hockey history that the National Hockey League was in it's first year of operation. The year was 1917/1918 and hockey was so much different. The league had only four teams and seasons were a mere twenty-two games. You would think that hockey would have been more defensive oriented back then, especially due to flat stick blades and rudimentary ice skates and equipment. If you thought this, like I did before some research, you could not have been more wrong.

Games were ridiculously high scoring, with few games ever having a team that scored less than four goals. In the league's first season alone, eleven goals were scored three times, ten goals once, and nine goals five times. Not one forward played the entire season, yet there were five twenty-goal scorers in the short season. The leader of the pack was "Phantom" Joe Malone, a player who could be considered the first true power forward in the game of hockey.

In just twenty games, Malone managed to score a whopping 44 goals, a feat even more incredible than Maurice Richard's 50 goals in 50 games, and a total on par with Wayne Gretzky's 92 goal season. If you equate what he did in such a short time, it is possible that had Malone played over the course of the 82 game season we are used to today, he could have scored more than 170 goals.

But as amazing as his goal scoring ability was, that wasn't the statistic that caught my eye. With all the goals came a mind-boggling lack of assists, and when I say mind-boggling, I mean zero. That's right! In the 1917/1918 season, Joe Malone recorded 44 goals and 0 assists for the season. How is that even possible, I wonder. You can't say that he was a puck hog, because over the course of twenty games, you are bound to touch the puck once before someone scores. Granted, there were no secondary assists when he played, but I still find it incredible. You would almost have to go out of you way not to get an assist.

This got me to thinking, what if there were no secondary assists in today's NHL? How would numbers look for our superstar players if the league was to just come in and take them away? In 1985/86, Wayne Gretzky set the league record for assists with 165. How many of those were primary, I wonder? Well, with individual game logs from that time unavailable to me, it is impossible to figure out. But if we move to a more recent player, Sidney Crosby, we can do some math. I sifted through his game logs from the 2006/07 season in which he recorded 84 assists. After taking a look, I counted exactly 35 secondary assists, which would bring his total down to 49. I'm not picking on Crosby here, just using him as an example.

To sum this up, I am not advocating that the NHL should eliminate secondary assists. This is a time where the league needs players with out-of-this-world numbers, so it will never be done. It does, however, give an interesting look at how many players pad their stats with "gift" points. Most of the time, secondary assists are earned, but we see it every so often where a player is awarded a gift, by getting one where he really did not touch the puck, but was just in the vicinity. If you take Joe Malone and put him in today's league with updated equipment and fitness centers at his disposal, combined with rule and stat changes, can you imagine how much more incredible he could have done?

This is the first of what I hope to be a monthly column; taking a look at the history of hockey and presenting you with stories that you might have never known about. I, myself, just happened to stumble upon this stat the other night, and I'm glad I did.

Six Devils Headed to Vancouver for Olympics

2010-01-10T16:36:00.006-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

There has been plenty of fuss about this year's Olympics to be held into Vancouver, British Columbia, including who will come out on top and what the rosters will be comprised of. It's no secret that the Devils were going to have several members packing their bags and representing their countries, seeing as they sit atop the Eastern Conference and continue to pile up wins. In a way, there were some strong selections and a few snubs from the Olympic rosters. The Devils will be represented quite well with six players searching for the gold medal.

Let us start with the most obvious selection: Martin Brodeur for Canada. When people think of Canada and the goaltender position, it's always Brodeur's name that comes out first. The future Hall of Famer has been involved in the Olympics since the inclusion of professional athletes was implemented in 1998. Although he is known as the country's savior, he had a lackluster performance at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy. Canada's disappointing 6th place finish was laid on an offense that couldn't score enough and bad play by Brodeur. Look for Brodeur to get his revenge in this year's Olympics, as he will more than likely be the starter.

What would the Czech Republic do without Patrik Elias? It's a no brainer for sure that the Czechs chose him and will also give him the honor of being captain. The Czechs don't seem primed to win the whole thing and will have tough competition for a medal but this team certainly has some skilled players. Just imagine what it's gonna be like for an opposing defenseman who has to face the line of Elias, Jaromir Jagr and Tomas Plekanec. Scary you say? Absolutely. I believe that Elias can bring a strong scoring presence to a bubble team.

Team Sweden chose Johnny Oduya to add to an up and coming defense that boasts mostly newcomers. The native of Stockholm will be a nice complement to veterans Nicklas Lidstrom or Mattias Ohlund, whichever one he gets paired with. Although Oduya struggled mightily early on this season, he has picked up his game and continues to provide strong defense. The Devils need Oduya to be healthy for the rest of the season so it's going to be up to Sweden to utilize him so that the Devils will be satisfied.

The final three Devils who were chosen will all be members of Team USA in February. Zach Parise, Paul Martin and Jamie Langenbrunner have received the call to play for the stars and stripes and make Americans proud. Parise is one of the best American players in the game right now so it was clear to everyone that he would make it. Parise has enjoyed a good season thus far (19 goals and 26 assists) and will be getting big minutes for Team USA. Depending on how they want to use him, the Devils' leading scorer could end up on the top line with Avalanche center Paul Stastny and Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane. Langenbrunner was officially named captain of USA so he will steer the ship in the right direction and has enjoyed a good season thus far. He is an exceptional penalty killer and drives hard to the net so his job description is basically leadership and grit. Martin will be on a young defense corps and will be expected to be an offensive d-man.

So the six Devils who will participate are the best selections, right?

Well I have a serious problem with the process of choosing members for the Olympic teams in general (see my article entitled No Love for Bergfors?). Fellow Metro Hockey writer Eric Bancker recently wrote an article questioning Brian Burke's picks for the United States Olympic team. I agree completely with his comments and also believe that Brian Burke had blinders on when he selected the roster to represent the red, white and blue. Burke doesn't deserve to run the American team, but that is a subject for another time.

Several of these choices are in fact the right decision, with Brodeur, Elias, Parise and Oduya being key components to their teams success. However, the choices of Langenbrunner and Martin are confusing and interesting.

Yes, Langenbrunner is having what may be a career year but the fact that the U.S. team is mostly comprised of gritty players doesn't help their chances in terms of beating teams on the scoreboard. Too much of a good thing may prove to be costly and the Americans are going to be hard pressed to score goals against teams such as Russia, Canada and Sweden. Brian Burke's worst choice was that of Paul Martin. Has he watched any Devils games this year? Martin has nine regular season games under his belt, with two points and a +1 rating. What is this guy thinking? Martin had surgery and is still recovering so who knows when he may be back to 100%. It might take him until at least February to be healthy enough to play no less go to Vancouver to play in the Olympics.

I feel that there were two Devils who got snubbed and rightfully deserved a spot on their respected countries. As I have stated before in an article, Niclas Bergfors should be on Sweden but was overlooked and the U.S. will dearly miss Brian Rolston, who has proved internationally that he is a strong two-way player. Yes, the Americans are all about the young players but don't they need a few veterans to look up to? I feel that Rolston would have been a great addition because of the speed he possesses along with a blazing slap shot and you got yourself a hot commodity.

Here's to a strong performance by all in the 2010 Winter Olympics, but more importantly the Americans. GO USA!

Christensen Helping Rangers Prosper Without Prospal

2010-01-09T16:46:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Just two weeks ago it seemed that Erik Christensen would be the second coming of Brad Isbister for the Rangers. A once promising top-six forward that found himself bouncing around from team to team before ending up on the Rangers top line. Isbister's tenure was short lived for the Rangers and he ended up recording a goal and four assists in nineteen games in New York, while playing with Michael Nylander and Jaromir Jagr during a late season team slump back in 2007.

For Christensen, he appears to be doing just more than filling in, though. After not recording a single point in his first nine games as a Ranger, he was a healthy scratch; this came after getting time centering each of the bottom three lines. It seemed that the waiver wire pickup would be headed right back where he came from, until the injury to the team's top line center, Vinny Prospal, on December 26.

Prospal, not even a center by trade, found incredible chemistry early on with Marian Gaborik, recording eight goals and twenty four assists. Although he struggled of late, he was still the best possible option. But in his absence, Christensen has stepped up big time. He has three goals and four assists for seven points in the seven games he has played on the top line. He has shown decent speed and a very heavy wrist shot. He has also worked well down low and has been good on the back check. The line of Dubinsky-Christensen-Gaborik has looked solid over the last few games.

He was not what fans were expecting at the beginning of the season when it came to number one centers, but he is helping this team to succeed. With Prospal due back in a week or two, it will be an interesting dilemma to see who will go where. If the top line continues to play like this, it should remain the same. Prospal could be moved down to the second line to be a wing with Chris Drury as the center; he could use a playmaker.

All in all, he's no superstar, but his hard work is getting the job done. This was a great pickup by Glen Sather and Co. as he is only making just about $500 thousand.

Devils Look to Continue Success Versus Lightning

2010-01-08T17:34:00.003-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

Tonight's battle between the New Jersey Devils and Tampa Bay Lightning with be their fourth, and final, matchup of the season. In the previous three, the Devils have come away with the win, including two that were in the shootout. All three have been close games as shown by the one goal difference in each matchup.

Both teams are up to the challenge when it comes to a fast paced game, however each of the previous games have been close and defensive minded. With that in mind, it's important for the Devils to put the cherry on top of the beating Tampa sundae and figure out a way to provide more goal scoring to keep it away from a possible overtime or shootout.

Coming off a huge shutout against the Dallas Stars where they honored their 2000 Stanley Cup championship team, the Devils are keeping the same lineup intact and their game plan will consist of neutralizing the three scoring threats, agitate goaltender Mike Smith and buckle down and focus on defensive play.

Prevent Bolts dangerous players: Basically what I mean by this is that in order to win this game and sweep the Lightning for the season, the Devils need to shadow or play tight defense against Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone. Yeah that's right, I said Ryan Malone. St. Louis is the most obvious out of the bunch seeing as he comes into this game sporting 46 points, which leads the team and places him tied for 11th in the NHL. St. Louis' speed and ability to puck handle while being draped on are his best assets; a reason why the Devils need to neutralize St. Louis. Although Lecavalier gets all the credit and glory for being the team's franchise player, in reality Martin St. Louis is the best player and most lethal threat.

When St. Louis isn't scoring goals, he's setting up other players such as Stamkos. For a player who had a very hard time putting the biscuit in the basket last season, Stamkos certainly has provided enough to place in 8th in the league with 21. The former 1st overall pick has improved upon his shot and has been tremendous for an offense starved Lightning team.

The other threat is that of power forward Ryan Malone. The Bolts have been thrown under the bus repeatedly by hockey analysts for signing him to a seven year, $31.5 million deal but it seems to be paying off this season. Malone has 19 goals this year and proved his worth by being named to the U.S. Olympic team.

Oh what nothing about Vinny Lecavalier? Obviously he has been having a poor season and is certainly proving that he is one of the most overpaid and overrated players in the league.

Agitate Mike Smith: If you aren't familiar with Tampa Bay goaltender Mike Smith, he has a short fuse. Most goalies can't stand when an opposing forward is standing right in front of them or comes into contact with them in any way; but Smith takes it to a new level, as evidenced by his attack of New York Rangers forward Aaron Voros during a tilt last season. The Devils can assure a victory by posting someone in front of the net (more than likely Jamie Langenbrunner) to disturb the young netminder.

Emphasis on Defense: The Devils defense has been sub par this season and with new faces coming in and out of the lineup every couple games due to injury, it doesn't help with chemistry. So it's pertinent to the Devils success that the pairings that have worked this season continue to improve and see to it that the Bolts don't overpower them. The best combination thus far has been Andy Greene and Bryce Salvador with each providing something different to keep the pucks out. The defense needs to pick up the physical play as well because the Lightning aren't a very big team.

My prediction for tonight's game is a Devils victory by a count of 4-2 with a two goal game by Zach Parise, a 3 point night by Travis Zajac and a power play goal.

Win or Lose, Starting Johnson Tonight is Right Idea for Rangers

2010-01-07T14:22:00.003-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

When the Rangers take on Atlanta tonight, they will be playing their fourth out of seventeen games for the month of January. This may be the greatest amount of games played in a single month in the team's history, and for that, Henrik Lundqvist will need the rest. Coming off a defeat of the Dallas Stars last night, in what was his seventeenth straight start, it appears that rookie backup Chad Johnson will be getting the nod tonight against the Thrashers.

It is a scary though, sending in a rookie with only forty minutes of NHL experience in to face a crafty and dangerously offensive Atlanta team, but it is a must if the Rangers want to continue this recent stretch of success. If Lundqvist were to keep up the pace he is currently on, that would land him with about 78 games played by the end of the season; a number that you know he is not going to reach. The Rangers will be challenging for a playoff spot and they will most likely sneak in at the bottom, but if they want any outcome other than another first round exit, they will need their superstar goalie to be rested. We see it every year since the lockout, a slew of goalies who play more than seventy games that never go far into the playoffs; Brodeur, Luongo, Nabokov, and Kipprusoff to name a few.

Just look at every Stanley Cup winning number one goaltender since the lockout and their games played: Marc Andre Fleury (62), Chris Osgood (43), J.S Giguere (56), and Cam Ward (28). I am in no way saying that the Rangers are Cup caliber, but every team has a chance to make the finals if they make the playoffs, and this just shows you the recipe for goaltending success.

The Rangers threw Johnson from the frying pan into the fire in what was his NHL debut against the Philadelphia Flyers less than two weeks ago. He gave up three goals in two periods of play while making seventeen saves in relief of Lundqvist. The defense in front of him was atrocious, but he played well after settling down. It is obvious that he wasn't ready then and he may not ready now, but with Valiquette most likely done as a Ranger and Matt Zaba in the same boat as Johnson, the Rangers have no choice but to play him.

With the Thrashers being a very good offensive team, a loss may be imminent tonight, but it does not matter. Giving Johnson the start was the right idea. Losing one game with Johnson tonight as opposed to having a weak and fatigued Henrik Lundqvist down the stretch is a sacrifice I am willing to make.

Islanders Mid-season Report

2010-01-06T23:36:00.002-05:00

By Eric Bancker

On September 27, 2009, I gave my predictions for the upcoming NHL season. I predicted where teams would finish in their respective conferences as well as who would win awards at the end of the season. Looking back I picked the Islanders to finish 12th in the Eastern Conference, well looking at the standings tonight after 43 games, they are playing their 44th game tonight against the Colorado Avalanche, the Islanders sit in 12th with 42 points. So I figured this would be the best time to give a midseason report.

Now the Islanders place in the standings is misleading, they haven’t been as bad as their record shows. The Eastern Conference is really a mess but even the Islanders still have a shot. They currently sit 6 points out of 6th place, which means the Islanders are 3 wins from moving up 6 places in the standings. They are also in a 3 way tie for 10th place with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Atlanta Thrashers.

There are 2 factors that are holding the Islanders back from having a playoff spot midway through the season.
1. Offense
2. Martin Biron

The Islanders offense is only averaging 2.42 goals per game which is tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for worst in the NHL. Matt Moulson and John Tavares have been amazing for the Islanders, both having identical stats through 43 games 16 goals and 12 assists. They are the only double digit goal getters on the team, Josh Bailey currently has 9. Kyle Okposo has but up solid numbers, 6 goals 21 assists, but he hasn’t shown that goal scoring ability that everyone expected. Okposo leads the team with 130 shots; only 6 have found twine which gives him a shooting percentage of 4.6%. Okposo gets good shots; he drives hard to the net but for whatever reason he just can’t seem to find the back of the net. Its very reminiscent of his cross town rival Christopher Higgins of the New York Rangers, both have a shooting percentage of 4.6% and they are the only forwards in the NHL with over a 100 shots and shooting percentage under 5%.

Goaltender Martin Biron is just a disaster, this guy is just so painful to watch in net. Biron has served as Dwayne Roloson’s backup this season and when he has been called on Biron has been nothing short of horrible. In 15 starts Biron is 2-11-2 with a 3.22 goals against average. Islanders’ fans can rejoice though as Rick Dipietro is set to start this weekend which means Biron won’t drag this team down. I know Martin Biron isn’t a world class goaltender but I figured he would be a solid backup, but no one could have guessed that he would be this bad. If Biron had a .500 record then the Islanders would have 8-10 more points in the standings which would sit them in 5th or 6th place instead of 12th. Dipietro coming back is great news for the Islanders, when healthy he is one of the premier netminders in the league. If he stays healthy and again that’s IF, then look for the Islanders to go on a bit of a roll and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them move into a playoff spot next week.

Moving forward the Islanders need to fix their offense, it seems as though their goaltending problems will be put behind them with the return of Dipietro. The Islanders have 2 options on offense, either let someone from within the system fix the problem or go make a trade. If the Islanders can add a big gun to their offense (Lecavalier, Kovalchuk) then they would be a serious threat in the Eastern Conference. People may disagree because that would cause the Islanders to go off track with their plan for the franchise because they would have to give up young prospects and draft picks in return, but what people have to remember is that the Eastern Conference is weak. If the Islanders were to part with a few young players it wouldn’t be the end of the world. With the Eastern Conference as weak as it is they can still rebuild and be competitive at the same time.

So now the question needs to be asked, can the Islanders make the playoffs? I say yes, but only if they acquire an offensive weapon. With Dipietro coming back it gives them the best goaltending out of any team that’s on the bubble right now. If the Islanders stick with their current roster then there is no doubt that they will miss the playoffs. At some point their lack of offense will catch up to them and drag them down.

Final Prediction
With the addition of an offensive weapon: 7th place finish in the Eastern Conference

Without the addition of an offensive weapon: 12th place finish in the Eastern Conference

Avery Plays Best Game as a Ranger in Defeat of Stars

2010-01-06T21:32:00.002-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

If the Sean Avery that showed up tonight is here to stay for the rest of the season, the Rangers are in luck. The underachieving forward was back to his old self against his former team by agitating, drawing penalties, taking penalties, and adding in the score column with a goal and three assists. This was the Avery that the Rangers had been missing all season long; the edge appears to be back. But that wasn't all for this evening, for the second straight game the Rangers got much needed scoring from players other than Gaborik.

With the Rangers trailing 1-0 early, Avery opened up the scoring on the Rangers' side and was followed by Gaborik shortly after. Assists on the first goal went to Rozsival and Gilroy, while Avery got one on the second goal and Christensen continued to produce on the top line; he now has a three game point scoring streak. Dallas would go on to tie the game at two a piece in the second, but Kotalik put the Rangers on top where they would remain, with a bomb of a slap shot that went off the post and in to beat Turco. That goal would mark the first time since October 24 that Kotalik would score in back to back games, and it gave Redden his first point since November 23.

The third period would see goals from Callahan and Drury as the Rangers closed out a very exciting win over the Dallas Stars by the score of 5-2. Lundqvist made twenty five saves, including a few tough ones late in the second period. With a two game winning streak now formed, and eight goals scored in that time, the Rangers could perhaps be on the right track. The Avery that showed up tonight needs to be the same one that shows up for the rest of the season. Along with his four points, he also took twelve minutes in penalties, getting back to his old great-for-your-fantasy-team style of play. He agitated and goaded Dallas into taking several stupid penalties while providing some entertaining extracurricular activities during commercial breaks.

Time will only tell if the Rangers can keep this up. It certainly is progress, and the excitement level is getting there. They will fly to Atlanta to face Kovalchuk and the Thrashers tomorrow night, so the question that will loom until the afternoon will be, who starts in goal for the Rangers? Lundqvist did not get tested much tonight, but he still needs to get several games off between now and the Olympic break. There is no such thing as an "easy game" anymore, so starting Chad Johnson tomorrow makes sense. He is up here so he needs to play.

It's been said time and time again that the Rangers are finally hitting there stride. Although tonight's game wasn't a masterpiece, it felt different watching them. This could really be it; the beginning of what the Rangers have been missing since October.

Martin Brodeur: Greatest Goalie of All-Time...Now Stop Playing so Many Games

2010-01-06T16:06:00.002-05:00

By Brett Bodner

He has the most wins, most shutouts, most games played, and most minutes played by an NHL goaltender in the history of the league. The question is, why is he still continuing to play in every single game in the regular season? Martin Brodeur has started in twenty straight games and thirty-seven out of forty on the season. He is thirty five years old and no longer in the prime of his career.

So why is this occurring?

This question is being asked by many because he is coming off an injury plagued season last year in which he played mostly in the second half. He has looked tired and burnt-out in every playoff year since 2003, the last time the Devils won a Stanley Cup and made it past the second round. Brodeur has accomplished so much in the NHL that it is time for him to cut back on his playing time, he needs to know when to give it a rest.

If Canada wants to have any shot at winning gold in the 2010 Winter Olympics, coming up this February, Brodeur will be their number one starter. That means he could be playing an additional five to seven unnecessary games, which could add to his fatigue. There is also a further risk of injury, so how do you think he will hold up when he returns from Vancouver in March after playing virtually the entire first half of the NHL season combined with that?

It is time to give Yann Danis more playing time. On the league worst and terrible defensively New York Islanders last season, Danis was able to compile a 10-17-3 record with a very good goals against average of 2.86 and an even better save percentage of .910. He also happens to be 3-0-0 this season in the limited amount of starts he has been given.

At this stage in Brodeur's career, he should not be playing as many games as he has been playing. The body can only take so much over the years as he has started 72 or more games in nine out of the last ten seasons. He would have done it last year also, if not for a freak injury.

But not all blame should be on Brodeur; every coach he has ever had has always given in to his demands to be the starter every night. As a Stanley Cup winning coach he should recognize that he needs to stand up to Brodeur and sit him for a certain number of games whether he likes it or not.

The Devils are legit Cup contenders this season, for the first time since 2003. For a win in order to occur, the number one goalie must not be run-down once the playoffs come around. With the way this team has been playing, it does not matter who is in net. Just look at Scott Clemmensen from last season. In addition to that, the defense has gotten stronger and slightly resembles what the Devils had when they won the three Stanley Cups...the ability to shut down the opposing offense.

Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur have virtually the same number of games played and both for very successful teams, yet Roy has played in more than a hundred more playoff games than Brodeur. Why? Because he never started more than seventy games in a single season.

Note to our readers: Our Twitter account has not been updated for several days due to a problem we are experiencing and we cannot access it. We apologize for the inconvenience.

A Look Ahead to the Olympics

2010-01-05T17:45:00.005-05:00

By Eric Bancker

Its time for the Olympics again, this time the city of Vancouver will be their home. Whenever I think of them, I think of that 1980 men’s hockey team that defied all the odds and beat the high powered Soviet Union. The USA team was made up of amateur and collegiate hockey players and they beat the Soviets who were considered by many as the best team in the world. If you ask people what they were doing when the “Miracle on Ice” happened for the most part they can tell you. That victory for the United States is the biggest upset in sports history and is a moment that makes me proud to be an American.

Hockey has since fallen out of favor in the United States but as a passionate hockey fan, I find myself getting excited over the upcoming Olympics. Looking at this year’s roster I started to question why Brian Burke chose some of these guys, hell, I wonder why he was even allowed to choose anyone. In case you haven’t seen the roster for the USA men’s hockey team here it is:

Forwards (13)
David Backes
Dustin Brown
Ryan Callahan
Chris Drury
Patrick Kane
Ryan Kesler
Phil Kessel
Jamie Langenbrunner
Ryan Malone
Zach Parise
Joe Pavelski
Bobby Ryan
Paul Stastny

Defensemen (7)
Erik Johnson
Jack Johnson
Mike Komisarek
Paul Martin
Brooks Orpik
Brian Rafalski
Ryan Suter

Goaltenders (3)
Ryan Miller
Jonathan Quick
Tim Thomas

Brian Burke needs to be in a mental hospital, seriously. There are several head scratchers here.

Ryan Callahan (41gms 9g 10a)- Are you serious? Why is Ryan Callahan on this team? He is a hardworking gritty player but I don’t see why he deserves a roster spot. He is one of the most overrated and inconsistent players in the NHL, not to mention that he has bricks for hands. Player who should take his spot: Dustin Byfuglien

Chris Drury (36gms 5g 9a) I’m sorry but am I in the twilight zone? I must have missed all the games where Chris Drury showed that he wasn’t an inconsistent player who shouldn’t be the captain of the New York Rangers…oh I didn’t?? He may end up being the captain of the USA team. This guy is one of the worst captains the New York Rangers have ever had. I love Drury but come on this is ridiculous. Player who should take his spot: Tim Connolly

Mike Komisarek (34gms 0g 4a) This is the player that in no way deserves to be on the USA hockey team. Brian Burke picked his overpaid and overrated defenseman to anchor a physical defense, the only problem is that Komisarek is a moron. He takes way too many minor penalties. He can hit but I don’t think he plays well enough in his own end and he offers no offensive support whatsoever. Player who should take his place: Ryan Whitney

David Backes: (41gms 9g 12a) It seems as though I’m picking on the players that will mostly be providing grit and time on the penalty kill. I personally like David Backes but I don’t think he deserves a spot on the team. Player who should take his place: T.J Oshie

I don’t know if Brian Burke was doing a heavy amount of drinking when he chose this team or if he has just lost his mind entirely. I guess I shouldn't be surprised after the way he spent money for the Toronto Maple Leafs this off-season.

Im just wondering why guys like Zach Bogosian, Matt Carle, Ryan Whitney, Craig Anderson, Kyle Okposo, Dustin Byfuglien, and Tim Connolly were left off the roster for Mike Komisarek, Paul Martin, David Backes, Chris Drury, Ryan Callahan, and Jonathan Quick.

Here's what I think the USA men's hockey team should look like:

Forwards:
Zach Parise, Paul Stastny, Patrick Kane
Bobby Ryan, Tim Connolly, Phil Kessel
Dustin Byfuglien, T.J Oshie , Dustin Brown
Kyle Okposo, Joe Pavelski, Brian Rolston

Defenseman:
Brian Rafalski, Ryan Suter
Jack Johnson, Matt Carle
Ryan Whitney, Erik Johnson

Goalies:
Ryan Miller, Tim Thomas, Craig Anderson

Now am I saying that this team would win the gold medal? No, not at all. I just don't think Burke has given us a legitimate shot with the team that he chose.

I asked 2 other writers from Metro Hockey to give their input on where they think the USA team will place.

Greg Caggiano believes that this team is bronze medal material

Tim Brennan believes that the USA team will finish in 5th place.

I'm gonna go right in the middle and say that they finish 4th. They will get overpowered by Canada, Russia, and Sweden.

Either way I'm a really excited for the upcoming Olympics, its a chance for us to see the best players in the world showcase their skill as they all try to bring a gold medal home.

A side note: Tonight is the World Juniors gold medal game between Canada and USA, I cant tell you how personally excited I am for this game. The puck will drop at 8 P.M Eastern time and can be seen on TSN and NHL Network and if you don't get either of those then go find a feed on the Internet, I didn't tell you to do that though, ok?

Q & A with "100 Ranger Greats" co-Author Russ Cohen

2010-01-05T17:30:00.000-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

For this latest interview, I had the chance to sit down with Russ Cohen, the creator of Sportsology and one of the three co-authors of the ultimate book for the Blue Shirt Faithful, "100 Ranger Greats". I had the chance to do a pre-publication review on, back in August, and you can read my thoughts on it here. Russ also had a chance to attend the 2010 NHL Winter Classic, and go behind the scenes. I asked him about that and much more in our conversation below:

GC: You got to go behind the scenes at this year's Winter Classic. Can you describe for us your experiences there? What did you think about the actual game? And who do you think should participate in next season's Classic?

RC: It was so much fun because it’s an event. The BIG SHOW rolls into town and the interest in the game instantly goes up, which personally warms my heart, and then you run into fans from all over during your travels and I love that. The NHL, Flyers, Bruins and Red Sox really rolled out the red carpet for everybody and it was something I will always remember. I love the passion of the Boston fans and I think Fenway is the best ballpark in the world. I had a chance to take part in the media skate which was my personal highlight. The game was very exciting and I thought this was the best one yet! I think next year’s Winter Classic should be Rangers-Islanders.

GC: What is your opinion of the NHL halting play for almost a month to send players to the Olympics? Did you like it better when amateurs were used?

RC: It’s fun to watch but it does hurt some team’s playoff chances when their players come back fatigued. I think it should and will go back to amateurs.

GC: As co-author of "100 Ranger Greats", can you tell us what it was like assembling a list and then researching the hundred best players to ever wear blue?

RC: Adam Raider, John Halligan and I put a lot of time into that list and we had around 125 names. Adam created a mathematical formula to help rank many of the players at first but then we had to take into account the different eras, team awards, and a few other things you can’t factor into an equation. We then had a series of heated conference calls to hash it out. Since we are all from different eras ourselves we feel like it’s a very comprehensive list. It was very agonizing and we have since had conversations with a lot of former players about that same topic!

GC: Now to the current Rangers, why do you think they are struggling to score goals as much as they are? And where do you see the team finishing in the standings?

RC: I think the biggest problem is they have yet to assemble consistent second, third and fourth line combinations. Their secondary scoring has been paltry and their defense is very young, for the most part, so they have taken some lumps there as well. I think they need to resolve the backup goaltending spot very soon or Henrik Lundqvist could get burned out. He needs an occasional day off especially with the Olympics looming. I picked them to finish somewhere between the 8th and 12th spot in the conference before the season began and I’m sticking with that.

GC: What will the Rangers do about their backup goaltending situation? Will they stick with Johnson, keep revolving him and Zaba, or just acquire a veteran?

RC: They need to acquire a veteran. It’s not a good situation for Chad Johnson right now as he tries to gain pro experience.

GC: Finally, I would like to get your early predictions on who you see being in the Stanley Cup Finals this season.

RC: In the preseason I picked Washington-Vancouver and I will stick with that prediction.

I want to thank Russ for taking the time out of his busy schedule to do this interview! The above pic shows Russ (in white) right in front of the Green Monster at Fenway, for this year's Winter Classic.

No Love for Bergfors?

2010-01-05T16:44:00.003-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

As you may already know, all the countries participating in this year's Olympic Games in Vancouver have released their lineups for ice hockey. Certain countries, such as Russia and Canada, had some rather obvious choices in terms of their roster makeup. And other teams, such as the United States and Sweden, made a few out-of-the-ordinary selections. I don't have a problem with selecting players to fit a role but I mean what is up with Sweden overlooking Devils rookie Niclas Bergfors?

Sweden has a plethora of skilled hockey players and is considered a top contender this year, due in fact that they won the gold last time around at the '06 Olympics in Torino. This team tends to be stacked with highly skilled individuals, rivaling the Russians. Aside from the veterans sprinkled throughout the lineup, several young stars including Rangers savior Henrik Lundqvist, Red Wings center Henrik Zetterberg and playmaker Nicklas Backstrom from Washington earned their stripes to play for their country.

After scanning across Sweden's roster, I had one question: Where is Niclas Bergfors?

It's a tad bit strange that one of the most surprising rookies thus far was left off the roster for such a skilled and possibly gold medal team. I understand that Sweden wanted to retain some of the players who were responsible for their gold medal effort in the previous Olympics, but come on, give the kid some credit.

The 23rd overall pick in the 2005 NHL draft wasn't even supposed to make the team this year according to many but Bergfors was able to play himself onto the roster instead of ending up in Lowell. And he hasn't disappointed since jumping on board, currently sitting in 3rd in points by a rookie, as well as 2nd in goals and 5th in assists. His strong play has continued as the season progresses, even getting playing time on the top line with Zach Parise. That alone is a great achievement for a player who supposedely wasn't even going to crack the lineup this season. Bergfors also has a strong showing in international play, posting 8 points in 13 games in 2 years of World Junior Championship play.

So what's the deal with Team Sweden looking past this rookie's surprise season? According to the Swedes, they would rather have a veteran laden team that has only a few newer players and that's it. The question that needs to be asked is why do Fredrik Modin, Tomas Holmstrom and Sammy Pahlsson deserve a spot?

All three are returnees from the '06 gold medal team, but what have they done this season that they have rightly earned a spot?

The guy with the most points out of this crew is Holmstrom, who seems to have lost his touch in Detroit. The team has struggled, as has Holmstrom, as his 21 points through 41 games has suggested. Holmstrom's only skill is to stand in front of goaltenders and deflect pucks, but he can't even do that at a consistent basis.

Sammy Pahlsson, the former Selke Trophy winner for best defensive forward, hasn't contributed much to a struggling Columbus team. Brought in for his defensive and faceoff ability, Pahlsson has been dismal in his two areas of expertise. Pahlsson currently has 9 points in 40 games.

The worst of the bunch, Fredrik Modin, shouldn't have been considered a candidate for any Olympic team. Are you kidding me? The guy has only played 12 games this season and picked up 2 points, not to mention his tendency to get injured and miss long stretches of games. The last three seasons for Modin have been a total joke, whether it's the enormous list of injuries or the lackluster play he has shown while being asked to perform in a secondary scoring position. This selection is absolutely mind boggling and it's a shame that someone who really deserves to be there isn't because Modin was considered "better" or "more suitable".

All I have to say is that Niclas Bergfors deserved a spot on Sweden's team but they were ill advised during their selection process.

Rangers Defeat Bruins with Help of Secondary Scoring

2010-01-04T21:35:00.005-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

For only the second time this season, the New York Rangers won a game in which Marian Gaborik did not record a point. In fact, he was pretty much a non-factor as far as game play went for the entire sixty minutes, but the Rangers finally got some much needed secondary scoring to defeat the Boston Bruins 3-2 at Madison Square Garden.

In the first period, on their third powerplay in the first ten minutes of the game, Ales Kotalik ripped a one-time blast from the top of the left face off circle to open the scoring with his first goal in twenty-two games. Erik Christensen would then expand the Rangers' lead in the second period with a nifty one-handed breakaway goal to beat Tuuka Rask through the legs.

But with time winding down, and a Rangers win in sight, the Bruins would score two goals in a two minute span within the final four minutes of the game, to tie the score at two a piece. Then with a minute and a half to go, Chris Higgins who had not scored a goal on home ice all season, came down the left wing side and backhanded the puck on net. It must have been deflected or caught Rask on an awkward position, but it crossed the goal line to give the Rangers the 3-2 lead and a much needed win on home ice.

For the Rangers, they must use this as the benchmark to start heading in the right direction. They will play host to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday and before heading on the road to face the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday, two very tough opponents. Expect Henrik Lundqvist to sit in one of those games, as he needs to rest up for a very busy month of January; a month that will make or break the Rangers' season.

New York Rangers: Something's Gotta Give

2010-01-03T12:27:00.005-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Yesterday's defeat at the hands of the league worst Carolina Hurricanes was a microcosm of the entire season for the New York Rangers. For sixty minutes and change, the Rangers had prime scoring opportunities off the rush and down low but just could not bury the puck in the net. They also found a way to hit four posts, with two of them coming off the stick of their superstar Slovakian. With time winding down, it seemed that they would lose yet another embarrassing game on home ice, but Marian Gaborik saved the day with his league leading 27th goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1 and send it to overtime.

With just under three minutes to go in the extra frame, it seemed that the Rangers had another glorious opportunity to score, when Marc Staal came flying down from the point and into the slot. He did not shoot the puck, though, instead he elected to pass the puck to center Erik Christensen who could not control the pass. A minute later, the Hurricanes would rush down ice and score the game winning the goal, felling the now-8th place Rangers to a 19-17-5 record, with a disgusting 8-10-3 record on Madison Square Garden ice.

After watching the Rangers struggle to score goals for the last two months, one can not help feel frustration. It really is not anger or rage because the Rangers are generating scoring chances. Teams that are struggling to score goals as badly as the Rangers usually cannot say that, but the Rangers are getting those chances and just not putting the puck in the net. It has left John Tortorella dumbfounded along with the rest of the fan base. Below are so more observations:

- Marian Gaborik now has 27 of the Rangers 108 goals on the season. That is an eye-opening 25% of the team's total goals scored. Good for him, but disastrous for the team. At this rate, he should come close to or possibly even break Jaromir Jagr's single season goals record for the franchise at 54, but with the Olympics coming up, the injury prone Gaborik could be worn out by season's end, especially since he is playing more minutes as a Ranger than he ever did in Minnesota.

-Henrik Lundqvist is going to need a full game off very soon. Something is just not right with him even though he has drastically improved his play from a month ago. He just looks injured and like he is playing through it. After making a save in the third period yesterday, he got up very slowly and stood bent over during the next TV timeout. With the Rangers playing 17 games in the month of January, combined with the fact that Lundqvist will be team Sweden's starting goaltender at the Olympics, there is a cause for concern.

-John Tortorella was absolutely correct when he called the team's backup goaltending situation a mess, mainly due to the fact that the Rangers really don't have a backup at this current time. The musical chairs game between Chad Johnson and Matt Zaba is getting ridiculous. The Rangers know that neither of them are ready for a role in the NHL, although Johnson played fairly well in a relief appearance against Philadelphia three games ago. Steve Valiquette is in all likelihood done as a Ranger, so it is time for Glen Sather to get serious and bring in a real backup. Manny Fernandez is still unsigned and Martin Biron will be available from the Islanders upon Rick Dipietro's return. With all these games coming up, and Lundqvist's tendency to let his play slip late in the season, it is imperative that they do something to correct this situation.

-Anyone else get the feeling that Erik Christensen is this year's version of Brad Isbister? That is, a bottom six forward finding himself on the top line of a Rangers' team. He does work hard, I'll give him that, and he has decent speed and a good wrist shot, but he has no place being on the Rangers top line. With Prospal out another two weeks, it looks like the Dubinsky-Christensen-Gaborik like will stay together, but why not try Chris Drury on the top line? Everyone else has tried and failed and it may be what Drury needs to finally get going.

-It's time to stop getting angry at Chris Higgins and start feeling sorry. It truly is incredible how many scoring chances he gets every game and fails to bury them point-blank. He had at least two in the first period yesterday, including one that had him standing in the crease with the puck on his stick, only to deflect it wide of the net. He works hard, he hits, he back checks, he just cannot score for whatever reason. Can't say he doesn't care either, because he is facing free agency this summer. This would be the worst possible time in a player's career to go on a stretch like this.

-Get the bullet proof vests out, it's time for the Rangers to bring in an experienced seventh defenseman, someone like the 47 year old Chris Chelios. He is still playing in the AHL waiting for someone to give him a call, and even alluded to earlier that he would like to play for the Rangers if they need him. With Michael Del Zotto's playing slipping heavily, and his plus/minus rating going down to a laughable -17, it is time for action. It happens with all rookie defensemen who are not used to playing this much at such a high level. The same can be said for Matt Gilroy, who has been nothing short of a bust this season. Bringing in Chelios would allow for Del Zotto and Gilroy to sit for a few games down the stretch to catch their breathe and get their heads back in the game. Chelios is more than capable of playing 10-15 games for the remainder of the season, but it was argued that he would not be able to keep up in Tortorella's system. Well, if the system was working, we wouldn't be talking about Chelios now, would we?

AHL: A Decade of Wolf Pack Hockey

2010-01-01T12:38:00.003-05:00

By: Mike Kutniewski Jr.

Even though the new decade doesn’t technically start until a year from today, it’s time to look at the All-Decade team for the Hartford Wolf Pack.
This was a bit tougher than doing one for a NHL team, due to the fact that there are usually many more players coming through an AHL Team on an average season.
So here we go:

First Team
Derek Armstrong (2000-01 32 goals 69 assists)
Brad Smyth (2000-01 77gms 50 goals 29 assists 110PIMs)
PA Parenteau (2007-08 75gms 34 goals 47 assists)
Ken Gernander (2003-04 77gms 12 goals 19 assists)
Andrew Hutchinson (2007-08 67 games 18 goals 46 assists)
JF Labbe (1999-00 27-13-7 2.52)
Jason LaBarbera (2003-04 34-9-9 13 SO 1.59)

Second Team
Craig Wellar, Ryan Callahan, Artem Anisimov, Jed Ortmeyer, Terry Virtue, Al Montoya, Steve Valiquette.

First team
Brad Smyth- Smyth would help lead the Pack to the 99-00 Calder Cup title by scoring 13 goals in 23 playoff games. He followed up the championship season by reaching the 50-goal mark. He would prove to be a leader of the team and always backed it up with production. Smyth would return to the Pack in 05-06 through a late season loan deal and scored 7 goals in 16 regular season games. The 00-01 season resulted in a short call-up where he scored 1 goal in 4 games for the Rangers.

Derek Armstrong- Just like Smyth, Army followed up a championship season with a remarkable one. In 00-01 he would surpass the 100-pt mark and be a key linemate to Smyth. Just barely missing the 70 assist mark, Derek would get a 3-game call up to the big club and would be held scoreless. Armstrong would leave the organization after this season and t was reportedly over financial issues, but he made sure to leave an impression with the fans.

PA Parenteau- PA signed with the Pack after having a habit of getting big goals against them, mot notably the game winner in the 05-06 playoffs. His first season with the Pack, he was the most consistent scorer and helped gel the team. He was also one of the few guys to show up for the playoffs that season, scoring 3 goals and 2 assists in 5 games. He continues to be a consistent scorer for the team and has played 14 games this current year for the Rangers.

Ken Gernander- The only player to have his number retired to the rafters for the Wolf Pack. Kenny was the long-time captain for the Pack and now serves as the team’s head coach after a couple seasons as an assistant. The 03-04 season wasn’t his best, but he was still able to help lead the Pack to the Eastern Conference Finals and even earned a brief call-up to the Rangers. From 99-05 he would have 4 seasons of at least 75 games played and would always be the go-to guy for a big game and a leadership goal.

Andrew Hutchinson- Hutch only played one season with the Pack, but it was a big one. He would set a number of defenseman records for the Pack and earned the nod as captain. During the season he would suffer injuries and the team was clearly not the same without him on the ice.

JF Labbe- Jean Francois was a key to the Pack winning the 99-00 Calder Cup and that gave him a nod for 1st team. He had a great regular season and carried it over into the playoffs. The following season would see him leave the organization, but he left his mark with the team.

Jason LaBarbera- Labs showed up to play in 03-04. He set a mark of 13 shutouts and helped lead the team to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Penguins. If it wasn’t for a weak OT goal allowed, he might’ve led them to another Calder Cup.

The 2nd team was a bit easier to select and will be talked about briefly. Ryan Callahan, Artem Anisimov and Jed Ortmeyer were kids that made it through the system and made it to Broadway, but left lasting marks as fan favorites in Hartford. Ortmeyer has since left the organization but the other two are still playing for the Rangers and trying to reach the level they did in Hartford as go-to guys on offense. Craig Wellar played briefly as team captain and had big shoes to fill when he replaced Gernander. He would develop a keen ability to get a big goal and, unlike Kenny, was more than willing to drop the gloves. Virtue showed strong leadership skills and scored the game-winner in double OT in Game 7 against the Bruins for the 2000 Eastern Conference title on a rebound into an open net.

The Pack have seen countless numbers of goalies and even though he never panned out as a top prospect, Al Montoya left his mark with the Pack. In a game against Norfolk he had no problems dropping the gloves and getting into a fight, some people gained some respect for him that night. Valley makes the team because he came over in 03-04 before the deadline and helped the team get deep into the playoffs. He followed it up with a 19-11-1 season with a 1.77.

On a side note, the Pack’s coach of the decade probably has to go to John Paddock due to the way he coached the team along with bringing back the Cup. Paddock will be inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame later this month at the All-Star Classic in Portland, Maine.

The Best Devils of the Decade

2009-12-31T18:55:00.005-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

No one is a stranger to the New Jersey Devils success during this decade. One Stanley Cup, five Atlantic Division titles and nine victorious playoff rounds complete the Devils profile during the span of 2000-01 to 2008-09. Basically what someone might consider a well structured organization that has proven its worth. So without further a due, I present the best Devils players of the decade with the cumulative totals they collected and their best season italics:

Center: Scott Gomez ('00-'01/'06-'07)- 466GM, 97G-283A-380PTS

Best Season ('05-'06): 82GM, 33G-51A-84PTS

Left Wing: Patrik Elias ('00-'01/'08-'09)- 584GM, 223G-319A-542PTS

Best Season ('00-'01): 82GM, 40G-56A-96PTS

Right Wing: Jamie Langenbrunner ('01-'02/'08-'09)- 452GM, 119G-191A-310PTS

Best Season ('08-'09): 81GM, 29G-40A-69PTS

Defense: Scott Niedermayer ('00-'01/'03-'04)- 295GM, 42G-119A-161PTS

Best Season ('03-'04): 81GM, 14G-40A-54PTS

Defense: Scott Stevens ('00-'01/'03-'04)- 282GM, 17G-63A-80PTS

Best Season ('00-'o1): 81GM, 9G-22A-31PTS

Goaltender: Martin Brodeur ('00-'01/'08-'09)- 313W-147L-23OTL, 59 shutouts

Best Season ('06-'07): 48-23-7, 12 shutouts

Those who have followed the Devils knew that this all decade team was going to be a no brainer. Obviously future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur was going to be the choice for goaltender because he's played almost all of their games during this decade and has broken several records in turn. Brodeur's showdown versus Anaheim Ducks goalie J-S Giguere has been one of the best goaltender matchups in Stanley Cup Finals history. Along with claiming a third Stanley Cup during this time span, Brodeur established the record for most wins in a season as well as just recently recording the most shutouts by a goaltender.

On the forward corps, there were several candidates that could have gone in the center position. However, the one that started his career and blossomed into a dangerous setup man was that of Scott Gomez. Gomez, not known as a goal scorer, recorded large amounts of assists each year simply because he has the vision to feed a winger on his flank a pass that will lead to a goal. Gomez flourished during the Devils' Stanley Cup run in '03 and developed chemistry with fellow Devils Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta. Although Gomez has tailed off since his days in New Jersey (just ask Rangers fans), he was an important piece to the puzzle to their continued success in the regular season.

It wouldn't be an all decade team without Patrik Elias at left wing. A lot of teams had a hard problem containing the Czech native, leading to seven 20 or over goal seasons during this decade alone. Ever since he was drafted by the Devils in 1994 he has been a blessing to a team that doesn't have a whole lot of skilled players. The right wing slot belongs to Jamie Langenbrunner who was acquired by the Devils from the Dallas Stars in a big trade that included Joe Nieuwendyk, Jason Arnott and Randy McKay. Langenbrunner has provided grit, leadership and even chipped in offensively. His numbers have continued to spike, which means that the Devils are set for the future.

The scariest tandem possibly of all time has got to be the two Scotts: Stevens and Niedermayer. Stevens, as you may know, is known as one of the best open ice hitters in NHL history (just ask Eric Lindros and Paul Kariya). Stevens was the captain and stay at home defender that chased opponents away with his furiosity and bone breaking hits. Niedermayer, on the other hand, was the smooth skating, puck moving, goal scoring and playmaking defenseman. Two polar opposites brought together to wittle down opponents on both ends of the ice. Stevens already belongs to the Hall of Fame, and Niedermayer will follow suit...once he retires for good.

Some honorable mentions to include are solid offensive defenseman Brian Rafalski, up and coming scoring ace Zach Parise, rugged d-man Ken Daneyko (whose number was retired by the Devils in 2006 along with Scott Stevens), scoring center Jason Arnott and shutdown center John Madden.

Happy New Year to all of our readers and enjoy the Winter Classic!

New York Islanders All-Decade Team

2009-12-31T14:16:00.004-05:00

By Eric Bancker

This decade wasn't very friendly to the Islanders. They did make the playoffs four times, but each time they were eliminated in the first round. They also finished last in the league twice. So as we wind down this decade, let's take a look at the Islanders All-Decade team. All the players have at least played one full season with the Islanders in this decade. So players like Chara did not make this list. Their best season of the decade will be posted next to the players name.

First Team
Center: Alexei Yashin (2001/2002) 32 goals 43 assists, 75 points
Left Wing: Jason Blake (2006/2007) 40 goals 29 assists, 69 points
Right Wing: Miroslav Satan (2005/2006) 35 goals 31 assists, 66 points
Defenseman: Mark Streit (2008/2009) 16 goals 40 assists, 56 points
Defenseman: Roman Hamrlik (2000/2001) 16 goals 30 assists, 46 points
Goalie: Rick DiPietro (2006/2007) 32 wins 19 losses, 5 shutouts

First off, let me apologize to Islanders fans; I didn't want to put Yashin on this list but there wasn't much to choose from. Jason Blake and Miro Satan were easy choices for the wingers due to their high goal totals in their respective seasons. A side note, could Miro Satan just play for the Devils? Just so we could have one of the worst puns in NHL history come to life. Roman Hamrlik was another easy decision; he played the best hockey of his career in an Islanders uniform. As for a goalie, again not many choices, but when Rick DiPietro is healthy, which is never, by the way, he is one of the best goalies in the NHL.

Second Team
Center: Michael Peca (2001/2002) 25 goals 35 assists, 65 points
Left Wing: Mark Parrish (2001/2002) 30 goals 30 assists, 60 points
Right Wing: Mariusz Czerkawski (2000/2001) 30 goals 32 assists, 62 points
Defenseman: Adrian Aucoin (2003/2004) 13 goals 31 assists, points 44
Defenseman: Tom Poti (2006/2007) 6 goals 38 points, 44 points
Goalie: Chris Osgood (2001/2002) 32 wins 25 losses 4 shutouts

This team was a little more difficult to come up with. I found myself conflicting with Mark Parrish, not because his numbers weren't good enough to make the team but due to the fact that he is labeled as a right wing not a left. So on this team he would play left wing. The best left wing I could find was Mike York and I didn't feel as though he should be on this team above Parrish. The defenseman were tough but I think I made the right choice. Both defenseman put up 44 points in their respective seasons, can't argue with that. Chris Osgood was a no brainer from the goaltending standpoint. The only other options were those like Garth Snow...yea it hasn't been a strong decade of goaltending for the Islanders.

To everyone, have a happy and safe New Year's.

As 2010 Winter Classic Looms, What's in Store for Next Season?

2009-12-31T11:21:00.004-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

Tomorrow afternoon, the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins will face each other in the third annual NHL Winter Classic. This year's outdoor game will be played in the legendary Fenway Park, and it is sure to be one of the most memorable games if the weather holds out. The first Winter Classic was almost magical, and drew rave reviews from everyone in the sports world. Millions watch as the Penguins and Sabres played at Ralph Wilson Stadium in the middle of a blizzard. Last season, baseball fans made sure to tune in as the Blackhawks and Red Wings took each other on at Wrigley Field.

Come 2011, and another outdoor game, which two teams will be chosen? It was widely speculated that the Rangers were going to get it this season; a game to be played at the New Yankee Stadium between either the Bruins, Devils, or Islanders, but it did not happen. The Winter Classic has been perhaps the greatest idea ever thought up by the NHL, and for the success to be continued, the Rangers need to be included. They need the American team with the biggest market at the center of attention next season. The only question is, who do they face, and where will they play?

Yankee Stadium seems to be the most logical choice, but weather cold enough for ice rink conditions for an NHL game is not a guarantee in New York, which would be the southernmost city an event like this would ever be played in, not including a preseason game in Las Vegas in the early 1990's, which was a complete and utter failure.

With Target Field in Minnesota undergoing completion in time for the Twins' 2010 baseball season, that would seem to be a very good choice. The right temperature is almost a guarantee, and what better place to stage a hockey game than in the "State of Hockey" itself?

The Rangers and Wild could battle it out on New Year's Day 2011, in front of a packed stadium. Even when the Wild struggle, they sell out the Excel Energy Center for every game, so ticket sales won't be a problem in the hockey crazed state. The Rangers could wear their retro jerseys from the 1970's while the Wild could wear uniforms from the Minnesota North Star days. Although the North Stars eventually moved to Dallas and are not related to the Wild in any way, it would be a great way to honor the past of this state. If not, then their normal jerseys would do just fine, as they already have that retro look going.

Gary Bettman needs to recognize this and get the Rangers in next year's Winter Classic. Canadian teams will whine because they have not been included yet, but hockey does not need a popularity boost in Canada like it does in the United States. The Rangers, despite their struggles, will always be one of the top American markets while the Wild fan base is one of the most dedicated. This game needs to happen next year.

Strong Effort Against Atlanta Proves Beneficial to Devils

2009-12-31T00:36:00.005-05:00

By: Tim Brennan

Several events transpired during a 3-2 come from behind victory by the New Jersey Devils over the Atlanta Thrashers.

For one, chippy forward David Clarkson came off of the injury list and played for the first time in 13 games. Although he ended the game with a -2, he jump started the team in the second period after getting into a donnybrook with Chris Thorburn.

Secondly, the team's leading goal scorer, Zach Parise, had gone 12 straight without scoring a goal and looked to be snake bitten. Well, that streak ended during this game as he contributed 2 goals to the Devils cause, including the game winner.

And lastly, the Devils picked up their 4th home win in a row, which improves their home record to 15-6.

This game had its fair share of physical play and amazing plays as both teams vied for an edge over the other.

The game's first goal was scored on a one time blast by none other than Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta's franchise player. The goal was a result of a cross ice feed from Marty Reasoner that was slowed down by the stick of David Clarkson, but continued its path until it reached Kovalchuk as he wound up and shot a laser over Martin Brodeur's left shoulder.

The Devils countered less than a minute later when, after taking a tremendous hit from Christoph Schubert, rookie Niclas Bergfors took the puck into the zone and sent a pass to Parise, who redirected the puck towards the net and finally banged home the rebound past Thrashers goaltender Johan Hedberg. Colin White added to the score as he took a slapshot from the blueline to make it 2-1 Devils after 1 period.

For the most part, the second period was a hard fought one by both sides which leaned more towards the Thrashers due in part to their 8 quality scoring chances. Zach Parise added his second of the game during the third stanza after a tic-tac-toe passing play from Jamie Langenbrunner and Patrik Elias to set up Parise. Marty Reasoner pulled the game within a goal as he scored on a shot that Brodeur definently would want back. The Thrashers peppered the net with plenty of shots, including a great scoring chance by Nik Antropov with 30 seconds left. Antropov fired a shot from the point that bounced off Brodeur and went into a maze of players battling out front but no one was able to bury the rebound.

With efforts like this one, it's no wonder why the Devils are number 1 in the Eastern Conference and continuing to establish themselves as a Stanley Cup contender for this season.

OHA Linesman Fights for His Life; Time for Pro Hockey to Wake Up

2009-12-30T18:14:00.011-05:00

By Greg Caggiano

In 1989 we saw it with Clint Malarchuk. In 2008 we saw it with Richard Zednik. Two NHL hockey players getting their throats accidentally slit open my an errant skate blade. In both instances, we watched on television as these two players lost quarts of blood as it spilled onto the ice. Players and trainers ran around in a frenzy not knowing what to do. By the grace of God, these two players were spared, and their lives saved by an almost miraculous intervention by a medical trainer who happened to be in the right place at the right time. Today, it's a different story.

The OHA may be one of the lesser known minor leagues of hockey, but over the next few days, it can be sure that they will be at the center of attention as a linesman, Kevin Brown, fights for his life. In the third period of a game between Woodstock and New Hamburg, Brown rushed towards the boards to break up a fight. It was in this time when one of the players fell towards the ice, with his skate coming up, and cutting Brown right across his throat. As reported by Slam!Sports, "[Brown is] not doing so well now."

My question is, how many more players/officials have to be seriously injured (or killed if Brown does not pull through) before there is serious talk about professional hockey instituting a neck guard as part of it's standard equipment regulations? This is a sport where players skate around at almost 50 miles-per-hour with spears in their hands and razor blades on their feet. It is only by fate that more people have not been injured like this.

While The Messier Project looks to protect players from concussions, it is time for another major equipment supplier to step up and design a neck guard that can be comfortably fitted underneath a player's jersey to allow them full peripheral vision and movement, as well as safety.

Players and fans alike will most likely condemn this, using excuses that it will affect the way they play. The same could also be said for when helmets first became used in hockey back in the 1970's, and goalie masks a decade earlier. They were looked at as ridiculous and a way to wimp put of real pain. Only real players skated without helmets and only real goalies played without that silly mask. But then injuries came at a rate that was never seen before. Players being knocked out from hits along the boards; goalies having their jaws broken from slapshots they could not get a glove on.

There may be only three instances of a throat injury from a skate blade in the last twenty years. Not a particularly alarming number. But the sport of hockey is becoming faster and more intense. We've seen in the last few years a number of freak injuries and this season, at one point, an estimated 15% of players in the NHL were on the IR at the same time. Unless something is done in the future, this will continue to happen. Will someone finally step up and create this piece of equipment? Or will someone have to die before it is taken seriously?