Hey, it’s me. Do you guys remember me? I’m still on vacation but thought I’d drop in on D-day.

I was looking at some of the NHL sites and saw all these headlines about Babcock and got nervous for a moment. Then I realized they were about Mike, not Laurel. I want to thank Laurel for jumping in here with such enthusiasm while I was gone, and I know she will be back guest-posting/hosting in the future.

Why not? Who loves the NYR more than she?

On to the draft.

Sorry for jumping in here so soon after Jane’s post (we got our signals crossed). But to read her story with Gordie Clark on the Rangers’ draft, scroll down to the previous post.

I guess today and tonight will be big days in the Rangers’ hopes of acquiring Dany Heatley. The first round of the draft is usually the second biggest day of trading in the calendar year (we expect Toronto GM Brian Burke to be the most active guy on the floor tonight). Whether the Rangers can actually pull it off, whether they will do so by overpaying, and whether they they can possibly create the cap space to accomodate Heatley are enormous questions.

It would probably take the first-round pick as part of the package to make Heatley a Ranger.

As far as moving up, I don’t know how far the Rangers could actually move without sacrificing their young talent, or if it would be worth doing so. I doubt it.

And as far as targeting a specific position of need at No. 19, I think that’s ludicrous. Whomever they are able to get there will not play in the NHL next year, or likely even in 2010-11. You pick the best available at that point, and he becomes an asset.

The early part of the draft should be interesting. With the Islanders not saying they will take John Tavares—some think they will grab huge defenseman Victor Hedman, and others speculate they will take third-rated Matt Duchene. Over at TSN’s site, there is a story comparing the draft in which Alexandre Daigle went first and Chris Pronger second to the Tavares-Hedman discussion.

For the Islanders’ sake, they’d better not out-think themselves as they did so many times in this dreadful era.

We won’t be in Montreal tonight, and we’ll be watching as you guys will.

You all know the good sites for info, TSN.ca probably being the best. TSN’s Bob McKenzie is probably the best draft guru on the planet, and he will be involved in the telecast, so I don’t know how much blogging he’ll have time to do, but here’s his blog link.

ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBrun does a pretty good job of updating.

Of course you can check out NHL.com and the Rangers site, and our friend Steve Zipay of Newsday is in Montreal—taking in the culture and fine foods of Old Montreal pre-draft. We know that Zipay updates his blog pretty regularly, so that’s a good spot to go.

But please return here for discussion of the selections, the trades, the Rangers’ picks, Seinfeld, X-box, Megan Fox or whatever else you boneheads (newcomers must understand that’s a term of endearment) love to talk about.

The day of the NHL Draft is finally upon us, and I’ll post what I wrote for the paper today. There will be a ton of speculation, and Clark gives a few clues as to what the Rangers can expect tonight.

….

Gordie Clark’s work has been pretty much done for weeks.

The Rangers’ director of player personnel has been listening to nine scouts – three in Canada, three in the U.S. and one each in Sweden, Slovakia and Russia – debate the relative merits of hockey talent at every amateur level all over the world.

He has watched hours of film, talked to agents and held spirited meetings with his staff. Yet, when the NHL draft begins tonight at 7 and is shown live from Montreal on Versus, Clark (left) does not know who the Rangers will take with the No. 19 pick in the first round.

“This draft is more like waiting to see if someone we really like slips,” Clark said.

First off, the wish list. The Rangers have been looking for a playmaker since last year’s free agency. The team scored 200 goals last season, with only the Islanders (198) and Avalanche (190) getting fewer. The Rangers were seventh in the league with 2,658 shots on goal, but had the worst percentage (7.5), which means a lot of pucks missed their targets.

“There’s no question that we would love to have someone who could be a potential goal-scorer,” Clark said. “That would be our No. 1 priority.”

However, at No. 19, the Rangers don’t have a lot of control over the situation. If they chose to use the pick rather than trade it away, Clark’s options are completely dependent on what the first 18 teams decide.

So as Clark watches the draft board evolve tonight, Rangers general manager Glen Sather will be talking to other team executives about possible trades.

“Glen will come in and work the other GMs while he’s here,” Clark said. “He’ll say there’s a possibility of moving up, or even say there’s an existing player we’d like, and maybe we’ll make a trade.”

What makes that a little more realistic is the relative quality of the draft this year. Clark said the 2003 draft was a pretty rare event with its quality players, but this draft won’t have that kind of depth.

“There is no real Crosby in this draft,” he said.

Teams with the top 10 picks are pretty unlikely to trade, so what happens in the second hour of the draft could get interesting. It’s happened before. In 2005, the Rangers traded up to get Marc Staal, then a teenager.

“There’s so much more to go on in their lives, and our job is to project what they’ll be like when they are a man,” Clark said.

The draft is expected to last about three hours, and if all goes well, Clark estimates the Rangers need to be ready about 9 p.m.

But that is all beyond the research that Clark puts into approaching the draft.

“By Friday, it’s pretty much over,” Clark said.

UPDATE: This release just put out by the NHL.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / JUNE 26, 2009

TORONTO/NEW YORK (June 26, 2009)—The National Hockey League Players’ Association and the National Hockey League announced today that the Team Payroll Range established for the 2009-10 League Year, pursuant to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, provides for a Lower Limit of $40.8 million, an Adjusted Midpoint of $48.8 million and an Upper Limit of $56.8 million.

Carp’s still on vacation, but will post links here tomorrow for you to follow so you can comment on the draft. And Jane will be here!
As for me, I’m completing my tenure here as guest blogger. Perhaps I’ll be back one day, perhaps not. It’s been one heck of a wild ride these past two weeks, and was certainly an education for me on sports blogging.
The goal was to give you all something to read/chat about during these dreaded dead weeks, and I think I succeeded there! Some posts may have been hits or misses with some folks, but I just wanted to say I’ve had a great time and I hope you did, too, for the most part :)
Thanks to all who showed me great support and appreciated the effort. It’s been fun getting to know you here and being part of the conversation, and I adore your dedication to this blog and team. The rest….eh.

I’m sure you’ll set this place on fire in the next few days. Me, I’m off work, so I think I’ll just go old school and read about it in the paper. With my cats…Cheers all. See you in the comments section….And LGR!

Well, yesterday was interesting. Tomorrow should be joyful with the draft finally upon us (or not, depending on how things go.) But at least there’ll be news.
I have no news today and doubt there will be any anyway, but just thought I’d start the day fresh. Carry on.

It’s generally not the rule here at RR to let nay-sayers take over, but perhaps I went to far? You be the judge…I know everyone is nuts for the draft, and while my fans have been great, I also don’t want to alienate everyone else. So, not an apology, but a slight mea culpa…

Here was the joke. But really, did anyone buy that? I guess so. Anyway. Seriously, back to draft…:
Breaking news
Heatley says he wants to go to Rangers, but not under Slats…WOW. What do you think will result from that? My guess, absolutely nothing cause it’s my turn to have fun and fake you out! Bwaaaaaaa!
Seriously, I got nothing right now, sorry, but there is nothing. Changed my mind. Other thread getting long and I figure where the chat was going was a good time to change up. Fox. Eeesh. Carry on….

UPDATE
Well, this joke got an interesting response. Go back to draft talk. I’m signing off til the morning. Bye!

…and hope to provide some soon as I have spare moment. In the meanwhile, let’s start fresh and lose Leo from the previous post. I was tempted to start by saying “Slats fired, really!” but was afraid of what that might unleash. Carry on….

UPDATE: Speaking of the draft, this ought to spur some discussion. A rundown of the top 30 picks in the history of the entry draft.. Leetchy posts at 9. Discuss.

UPDATE: (two parter)
• MSG and MSG Plus will cover the draft with a one-hour “Hockey Night Live: NHL Draft Special” on both networks Saturday at 9 p.m.
• Past draft picks: King Hank – 205th overall in 2000.

OK all, we had a great day with Leetchy. But don’t think I don’t pay attention to your posts! You’re done with Brian, fine. First, for fun, check this out.

Ha ha ha. We’ve debated Heatley and Kassian here. Pick someone new. This is your end of day fun post. Move on and I’ll follow tomorrow.

Brian Leetch knows his place in the Hockey Hall of Fame has a lot to do with 1994. Yesterday, on a fuzzy conference call with fellow inductees Steve Yzerman, Brian Leetch, Luc Robitaille and builder Lou Lamoriello, (minus inductee Brett Hull), Leetch put his team in the context of all that history.

“Unlike the Wings when Steve was there or the Devils when Lou was there, this was our one shot at it,” Leetch said. “We never got back to the finals, we never won another Cup with that group. And the Rangers are still trying to get back to that point. So it’s a single season that sticks out in a lot of people’s minds in the New York area.”

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Leetch also described the impact the 1980 Olympics had on his decision to play, and how much more imprtant a goal that was than the NHL.

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And remember, please don’t text and drive unless you have a hands-free device or are about to be named to a Hall of Fame in your chosen field. Here, Leetch describes where and how he found out he had been chosen for this year’s class.

0623leetchreax

ALSO ON THE TICKET: Former Rangers goaltender and commentator John Davidson was selected as the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award recipient for his broadcasting.

Oh happy day! Congrats Brian. An honour (as they say up north) well earned and deserved!

Here’s the first quick story from the Rangers. Jane will also have audio (we hope) from Rangers press conference taking place. Hey, something to celebrate this year, right?

It’s official. Rangers great Brian Leetch is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

In a conference call on Tuesday afternoon, the Hall of Fame Selection Committee announced that Leetch would be part of the 2009 Hall induction class.

Leetch, who grew up in Cheshire, Conn., becomes the only Rangers draft pick other than Brad Park to earn hockey’s highest honor. He is also the first U.S.-born defenseman in the Hall and only the second with American citizenship, following Rod Langway.

Leetch, whose No. 2 was retired by the Rangers organization on Jan. 24, 2008, is now a member of both the Hockey Hall of Fame and the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, which he entered last year. He is the 45th former Ranger to be selected to the Hall.

The 2009 Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on Nov. 9 at the Hall’s home in Toronto.

(Oh yeah, and the other 3: Hull, Robitaille and Yzerman )
—————————————-

Here is the Rangers’ release:

BRIAN LEETCH SELECTED TO HOCKEY HALL OF FAME
Becomes the 45^th Player in Rangers History To Be Selected to Hall of Fame 

            New York, June 23, 2009 – The Hockey Hall of Fame today announced that Brian Leetch has been selected as one of its four player inductees for 2009.  Leetch will be officially inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 9 in Toronto.

Leetch, who retired from professional hockey after a memorable 18-year career, established himself as the most prolific defenseman to don the Rangers sweater and one of the most successful American born players in NHL history.  Originally selected ninth overall by the Rangers in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft, he holds the franchise record with 741 career assists and ranks second in career points (981) and games played (1,129).  Leetch also holds the Rangers record for goals by a defenseman with 240.  On January 24, 2008, the Corpus Christi, Texas native became the fifth player and first defenseman in Rangers history to have his number retired.

Leetch appeared in 1,205 career games with the Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins, registering 247 goals and 781 assists for 1,028 points, along with 571 penalty minutes.  He was selected to participate in eleven NHL All-Star games (1990-1998 and 2001-2002) and was honored with the Norris Trophy twice  (1992 and 1997), the Conn Smythe Trophy (1994) and the Calder Trophy (1989).  In 1991-92, Leetch became the fifth defenseman in NHL history to break the 100-point mark in a season, registering 22 goals and 80 assists for 102 points.  He also holds the NHL record for most goals by a rookie defenseman with 23 in 1989.  Leetch was a catalyst during the Rangers’ run to the 1994 Stanley Cup Championship, in which  he led the NHL with 11 goals and 23 assists for 34 points (second highest total by a defenseman in playoff history) in 23 matches and became the first American born player to capture the Conn Smythe Trophy.  The three-time Olympian helped lead Team USA to a silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics while being named to the All-Tournament Team.  Leetch became the 11^th Ranger inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008.

Leetch’s selection marks the third consecutive year that a member of the Rangers’ 1994 Stanley Cup Championship winning team will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, joining Mark Messier (2007) and Glenn Anderson (2008).

Joining Leetch as the Hockey Hall of Fame’s player inductees for 2009 are former Rangers teammate, Luc Robitaille, Steve Yzerman and Brett Hull.  Robitaille was a member of the Rangers for two seasons, registering 47 goals and 70 assists for 117 points in 146 games from 1995-96 to 1996-97.  He also recorded five goals and 12 assists for 17 points in 26 postseason contests as a Blueshirt.  In addition, former Rangers goaltender and broadcaster, John Davidson, has been selected as the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award recipient for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster.  Davidson served as the team’s color analyst for more than 20 years following his playing career.  Davidson and New Jersey Devils President and General Manager, Lou Lamoriello, who has been selected as a builder, will be officially inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 9 in Toronto.

Here’s some tidbits I picked up for you this morning. Enjoy, and keep your fingers crossed for Leetchy later.

Two of three nhl.com experts say it’ll be Tavares, Hedman and Duchene as the top three.
Here’s who they predict the Blueshirts will pick at 19.
• Nazem Kadri, C, London (OHL)
• Tim Erixon, D, Skelleftea (Sweden)
• Kyle Palmieri, C, USNTDP

Wouldn’t it be sweet to have Jan’s son! Boy, I so adored him. I’ve already posted Dad’s pic, so here’s junior…

Also, funny that I should have just mentioned Ulfie the other day. Found this piece on his son Philip, who’s 60 in Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters for the draft. It’s long, so yes, we link.

UPDATE
Jane is back! You lucky people now get both of us..(Carp, feeling a tad nervous yet? The hens are rocking the house :)
Seriously, she’ll be joining me, um, I mean, I’ll be joining her on the Hall/Leetchy results this afternoon. Go Brian!

UPDATE 2
Still waiting on Leechy…..will let you know as soon as I hear..

Jane here—- Leetch is in the Hall of Fame, more later…