Sorry Nigel

Not sure what is going on in Glen's head with this move but it's his decision not mine. Greg Moore is now back with the team as Nigel heads for Hartford, and Hossa apparently still has a spot on the roster. I am happy for Moore who at season's start was pretty much being written off as a bust. Not sure what the plan is or if Nigel just wasn't contributing enough to stay in the lineup in the long run and is being sent down. One thing is for sure something is up. I haven't heard much trade rumors involving the Rangers (as I type this I am checking spectorshockey to see if there are any new ones, nothing) other than the Jovo rumor from earlier in the year which is just stupid and pointless to talk about at this point. So here is my thinking, Sather is getting Moore into the NHL to see what he can do. He has played great this year in Hartford with the injuries he deserves a chance, but with the abundance of good young forwards and the inability for this team to score it makes you wonder if he is trade bait. At the very least I know Hossa is on the market, the only thing he brings is defense and he can't even do that right anymore. I had some thoughts earlier in the year about why Hossa was still around... most of them involved his brother and the off chance that sather would try and convince Marian to come to ny to play with his brother but I can't deal with Marcel anymore.

Now chances are something is brewing but where is someone available? And who is going to fit under the Rangers' cap? Looking up and down the roster Hossa and Mara would be a part of the deal, even though Mara has been playing good so far this year. The only way this team can make a move is dump some salary and 3mil is something that will need to move if an impact player comes in. Chances are a young forward will be involved as well, most likely Moore at this point I wouldn't count out something stupid though like Callahan or Dawes. I say those guys would be stupid because I think they are both good hockey players and I like the way they play, in 1-2 years they will be over 20-25 goals each. So we know who is going or may be going, most likely some combination of that, which brings us back to who to trade for. The Rangers put themselves in a bind by sending Pock to the minors mostly because if they need him back he has to go through re-entry and so does hutchinson, so trading Mara and not getting a d-man in return puts Strudwick as the 6th defenseman. Side note on the defense moving, Malik only makes 2.5 mil less than Mara and could also be dealt and according to nhlnumbers.com a trade involving Mara, Moore and Hossa would free up 4,520,000 in cap space to find a player. This leaves a lot of room to go out looking for players. If Moore puts some pucks in the net then his value could increase and they could get a little more. Side note here Marian Hossa makes 7mil this season so count him out of coming to the Rangers to help out.

Of course this is just speculation, first and foremost Hossa needs to find a spot in the press box, even with Jagr on his side he can't put the puck in the net. Anyway that was a fun rant, but chances are nothing is going to happen trade wise this week or next. Sather will wait to see if this pulls together before he plays with shit, it just seemed fishy to me that the player tied for third on the team in goals (tied second for forwards) is being sent back to the minors. And while sather is sending him back to the minors the team continues to struggle to score goals.

Nigel is was great to see you back with the team, I hope you are back soon. Now on to the more pressing matter at hand from last night. The lack of the ability to pass the goddamn puck. The Rangers were back to their old habits last night of shitty passing and turning the puck over on a regular basis. I love to read about how they can't sustain pressure and they are out of their system from the players. When in reality they are passing to the other team, or to no one. Whether thats because the player who the pass was intended was in the wrong place or the passer just has bad aim I do not know but this has got to change. You can not control the play in the offensive, defensive or neutral zone if you do not pass the puck with accuracy. No player on that team can do it themselves and since that is a truth passing is critical. I wish I would be able to watch tomorrow night's game but I think we are getting the Knicks game here instead. So there is a good possiblities NHL radio will have to help me out tomorrow.

Well good luck to Moore in his first NHL game he deserves it and thats it for tonight.

Watch out rookies!

Not our rookies so much as the rest of the league's rookies. With the way that Dubinsky has been playing as of late its time to start thinking (I know this early in the season) for him to be rookie of the year. Yea, he needs to start putting a few more points on the board but I see that happening real soon. Playing with Jagr and soon Straka on his other flank this will add to his point totals. Personally I think he is playing great and could pull some votes away as long as he starts putting up the points. There is very little chance that he will outscore Kane of Chicago but with everthing else he does on the ice he very well could pull it off.

Now that I got talking about rookies I'm sure people will be saying but what about Dawes and Staal? Hell Dubinsky may not even be the best rookie on his own team how could he be rookie of the year? Yes Staal has been impressive and as far as I can tell he should be included in the listing for rookie of the year as well there is no question about that. I took my information on the top 5 rookies from thefourthperiod.com. Here is what is up right now:Kane, Toews, Cogliano, Erik Johnson, and Carey Price. I can eliminate 2 of them right now Price and Johnson, Price isn't the starter on his own team right now and unless that happens he will not get any consideration for the rookie of the year. He has currently played only 6 games, this could change but if it doesn't then he will be out of the race. Johnson has only played 5 games. Not sure what is the deal with him, he is listed on the roster but is not playing or has just started playing, no injuries are listed for him.

Dubinsky and Staal have played every game for the Rangers and have made great contributions to the team and are some of the best players on the team. Staal is easily one of the best defensemen on the team, I would rank him in the top 3 on the team currently. Being ranked that high on the league second stingiest defense is pretty impressive for a rookie, even if he doesn't have that many points (even though he will probably have around 20 at the end of the season). Dubinsky started the year on the third line with Prucha and Callahan, which without some injuries he might still be there, and now is playing with one of the best players in NHL history and is starting to seriously contribute. 2 goals in 3 games last week, and he could have had a few more. The team still can't score as much as they should be once that starts he will start piling up the assists. I have watched this kid make some real good passes to open players where they just have not finished, if that starts there will be a lot more assists to his credit.

Now to this point I have only mentioned Dawes once, I think. I have pretty much left him off this list for 1 reason. I don't know what his future brings. There is a very good chance he will be back in Hartford by this time next month. Even though I think he should stay he most likely will be wearing a wolf pack jersey soon. I think he will be in the lineup over Hossa who has kind of played his way back into the ? category of whether he should play or not. When he first got into the lineup he was hustling and acting like he wanted to play, I just don't see it anymore. Once Straka and Callahan come back though I think Dawes will be back in Hartford, unless Avery jumps to the 4th line and Orr and Hollweg start switching off games. Dawes would go back to playing with Gomez and Shanny, Straka-Dubinsky-Jagr would be the top line and, Prucha-Drury-Callahan would be the 3rd. I don't see that happening however. Maybe 1 or 2 games or a once a week think. That 4th line is Renney's shut down line, they have an awful +/- (which is misleading, because they can't score) but they most likely will not be broken up and will remain playing together.

Unless a trade is in the future which I don't think is going to happen the team will most likely return to it's opening day roster with different line combinations.

Sorry for not being around for a while...

but this Avery thing has just been growing in my anger about what the NHL is doing as a whole. I said something the other day about what would happen if the NHL didn't take charge of it's players more and I guess they are reading my blog because they decided to do something finally. Of course I think it's all for the wrong reasons and the wrong words. This is just stupid as soon as the NHL's precious Leaf's are harmed or involved it becomes a big deal. They jumped in which is great but of course they picked the wrong side of the issue to choose. Now yes, I am a Rangers fan and I know I am biased toward the Rangers but no one is paying me to do this and in essence this is an opinion based thing and alway has been, that is of course the point of a blog in the first place. So I'll just say it, the NHL committed a crime the other day in fining Avery more money than Tucker, and by fining the Rangers more than the Leafs. I could have done with equal.... I could have even though it shouldn't be but I could have handled it. However there is no Fucking way that the Rangers are more responsible for this than the Leafs and no way Avery is more responsible than Tucker. Now that is a different story if the radio announcer is correct that Avery said something about Blake's cancer but to this point it is hearsay at best and would not hold up in court anywhere including Canada and most likely that man will be paying Avery back that $2,500 that he lost anyway.

Let's start from the beginning Avery says a few choice words Tucker and Blake get mad and start something, nothing new Avery talks a lot. It is after all a part of the game and always will be until everyone has their jaws wired shut, which I don't see happening very soon. Players are taught something in minor league hockey which is true in the NHL that you will always get caught for retaliation it doesn't matter what the other guy did. Avery said something, ok great... skate away it's pre-game get him during the game. A) they could have skated away B) they had plenty of time to get him back during the game. Tucker and Avery both have many fights in their past they could have handled it in an hour when the game started. It was Tucker's choice to start that then, and given his past he should have gotten way more of a fine than what he received if there was going to be discipline given out to begin with. Avery did nothing illegal and should not have been fined. Moving on to the next portion of this Tucker going after Avery. Tucker attacked him out of the penalty box and it should have been an instigator because he started it while Avery tried to play the puck. Fine let him slide everyone knew it was going to happen, another mistake. Tucker's night should have been over there, no more Darcy being a jackass on the ice he should have been in the pressbox.

Now Belak, the guy who can't even crack the lineup is going after Avery for doing nothing, but talking which he does every game. He threatens to kill Avery the next time they get on the ice. Ok, first off make it to the ice surface before you run your mouth and you should have been suspended for your words or at least fined, because hell Avery was, the only difference was that he said them to someone's face unlike you who talked to reporters 7 hours after you took your equipment off because you didn't play. The Leafs handled this situation like a bunch of bitches pissing and moaning and digging their own grave, which of course the NHL dug them out of. Now the next time the Rangers play the Leafs Renney has to plan for them to be goons all game long, which isn't something that needs to be done, and shouldn't have to be done. Because yes they will go after Avery but more likely it will be Jagr, Straka, Drury or Gomez that sees the hit the cheap shot coming not Avery. Most likely out of that list is Straka because of his size, lets face it Jagr is a big man, while the message would be sent best with Jagr knowing the Leafs and the type of shit bags they throw into the lineup Prucha, Callahan and Straka better be watching their backs because they will not go after anyone who can actually play.

I would call up a few boys from Hartford for that game and show the Leafs who is boss but that is unprofessional, or so I think, but let's wait and see what the Leafs do. I wouldn't put Henrik in net because they might take a run at him or if it gets ugly and the goalies get involved why not let the tallest goalie in the world beat the shit out of Raycroft. Will it be a blood bath the next time they meet, probably not because the league will warn both teams and it won't happen and if it does the coaches will be suspended which has happened before and most likely will happen again.

Sorry for the run-on sentences I was a little worked up about this. Circle the following days 12/5 and 12/29 the next 2 times the Rangers play the Leafs. The first one is at MSG I wouldn't expect much while the second is back in Toronto and that could be when the Leafs try and get their revenge.

The most evenly matched division in hockey

The Rangers lost last night and have lost 7 game this year overall and 1 in overtime. They sit at their .500 record and haven't started off great like many fans wanted after their huge offseason acquistions, which in all honesty had me saying man I can't wait to see that Stanley Cup in the garden. The good news however that the Rangers are tied for third place in the division and still only 1 point behind the Islanders/Flyers for the division lead in the Atlantic which is slowly turning into the Southeast of the pre-lockout era. By that I mean 1 team escapes while all the others didn't even deserve to get a shot at the 8th seed, and to be honest niether did the winner. The division leader in this division has the second lowest point total in the league (second only to the southwest) whose leader San Jose has 15 points. The team in the atlantic are separated by only 4 points top to bottom if Jersey puts a streak together tomorrow the Devils can be in first and the Rangers be in last. Not to say that will happen or not but the fact of the matter is right now the division lead holds the key to a 3 seed. With another game tomorrow night against the Pens if the Rangers can find a way to score some goals and keep the Penguins off the board or real close too it, we can get this thing back on track and take first place. Of course thats assuming the Islanders and the Flyers don't play until friday (which I do not know and seems like a lot of research for this early in the morning).

All in all it wasn't that great of a game last night to be honest. Staal looked good again. For the most part though the Rangers are still making dumb passes that are telegraphed. Watching the game over 5 hours away I know where most if not all of their passes are going, which is stopping them in their tracks. The Avery turn over when Jagr was about to skate behind him was awful and lead to a chance. The thing the bothers me the most is the predictability in the offensive zone, the Rangers are constantly passing to the guy that is about to be covered or have looked him down long enough for a defenseman to step in the way of the pass at transition the puck. Passes are on the ice to the first person that they see, they don't look around and it seems like only 2 people are attacking at any time, which limits the options even more. I don't know I just don't know. They are trying to keep it simple in the zone shoot and crash the net only they are keeping it too simple with the passes sometimes which makes it easy to stop the rush.

On a side note Paul Mara looked great last night. He really did earn his paycheck last night with that sneaky goal and some of the net crashing he did mid to late in the game which was Brian Leetch like. Leetch was a sneaky player too (6'0" 190), and much smaller which is why I was surprised that Mara could do that with his 6'4" 220 frame.

Anyway thats all for today. Get it back together team tomorrow for a trip back home to the Garden.

I don't like to brag but....

God did you see how good Dubinsky has been with Jagr? and who said to put the 2 together... me. That's right everyone in the world is Gomez and Jagr this. Oh no I thought but Dubinsky up there and let the youngster thrive in that environment. (citation for this is "The Jagr problem" from last month, my first official post) He has what the line needed a combination of speed and size to bring the line together. When Straka comes back I hope he takes Hossa's spot on the line to make it even better. Not to say Hossa hasn't played exceptionally well, which he has... I mean really he is out there everynight playing like he wants to stay in the lineup. The question is where does everyone fit soon though, barring more injuries which with the depth of this team looks like it won't be much of a problem.

It looks like the offense still hasn't taken off yet this year but the defense is still holding the team down. I was thinking last night that the Rangers this year were drawing a lot of comparisions to the Rangers of the post 98 - pre-lockout rangers where the veteran high priced free agents came in every year to bring nothing in return. However there is one difference so far this year its King Henrik and the defense. Not to say that in those years after Messier left the goaltending of Richter wasn't good, it was just riddled with injuries. Followed by brief stints of goaltenders which played the best they could but the defense wasn't there to help. Oh well this isn't those times though because the team defense is there. As soon as this offense takes off, which at this point who really cares if it does as long as the defense is still there to keep them in the game, the Rangers will be successful and win. Also if they keep this up they could take first place tonight and if they keep playing this style may never look back this season.

On a side note what do you think Gomez is thinking? I mean he leaves the defensive minded Devils to come to a more offense oriented team like the Rangers only to see the devils change their defensive philosphy and see the Rangers become the stingiest team in hockey without the ability to score. Even though the Rangers allow players to be more creative in the offensive zone than the Devils he must feel right at home with this defensive style since he has played his whole career in it.

One last note. Keep the lines the way they are!!! Renney don't fuck this up by moving shit around again. I know people are coming back but these lines are clicking if you couldn't notice from the domination and the shots in the offensive zone. Dubinsky and Jagr look more than comfortable with each other on that line, Drury is looking good and starting to get involved more with Shanny and Dawes and Gomez has looked good in 2 games with Prucha and Avery. I don't need to say anything about the 4th line since they have been playing together for a year already and they continue to play strong defense and get those random chances you expect from a 4th line. So keep up the good work boys.

MSG

MSG frustrates me to no end in central New York. I was not able to watch the game last night and it angers me. Always with the buffalo games here. Why? I understand that buffalo is closer and it makes sense but you own 2 other stations as well why can't they put them their. MSG stands for Madison Square Garden it should show what is happening in Madison Square Garden it only makes sense. Put the Sabres on FSN NY which you also own and bump the Islanders not the Rangers from playing. It sucks they are really forcing me into a situation that I miss a game I could be watching just because more than 2 of the 4 teams are playing on the same night and completely disregarding the fact that the Rangers are the home team and they are broadcasting on MSG. I can understand if they are away because MSG only has rights to a few of those games which is strange to begin with but I will let that slide but when they are home they should be on the television on any MSG broadcasting anywhere. In comparison it would be like showing a Knicks game when they are in LA instead of showing the Rangers when they are at home, it’s ridiculous. Adding onto sportscenter was worthless today not even showing anything about the Rangers game other than the score at the bottom, but they manage to spend 10 minutes talking about the pats/colts game (for the 10th straight day) and throw in Bonds' comments about an asterik which apparently doesn't exist in baseball.... has he never seen 61? What the fuck for a person with a head as big as his you think there would be a brain in there somewhere but I guess that shriveled up like his testicles from all those steroids.

Anyway good win, good to see that Staal got his first NHL point he deserves it; Drury back on the board with a G and an A good work. Looks like Dawes and Shanny are now tied for the lead on the team in goals with 3 can't wait for those numbers to shoot up should be a good time. The Rangers are now only 3 points behind the scum covered Flyers, with the Flyers having a game in hand and losing to the Canadians last night. I can't wait to see who they deliberately try to injury this week. Alright well that's it for today check back possibly tomorrow or the next for something else about the rangers haven't decided yet.