Rangers Report Blog

I’m trying my best to feed the beast here when there is NOTHING HAPPENING! And believe me, I’ve been searching. (Did I mention I have a fully-loaded job that does not involve this team and that I usually just get to read and enjoy this blog)?
But what do you care, right? So, I ripped this off of nhl.com. If you’ve read it, so be it. If not, enjoy and begin the conversation. But first! Laurel’s rules….if you want a long ugly post without reading more after the dreaded jump, you get a picture here. I was tempted to put Mess up without a shirt, but I’m afraid I’d give some of you heart attacks.
We’re going old school here….Young’uns, you know this man from his gig as a broadcaster now, but check out the olden days, without the hair (post rookie shave as I was aptly reminded! And everybody, looky what I found on YouTube!

OK, thanks for your patience….here’s the (minor) draft news, courtesy of league Web writer Adam Kimelman. But I also have to add, lots of talk on the blog about Kassian and some on Duschene. But really, given our berth in the draft (story is coming up), what are the odds? Thoughts? Take it away Adam (not Adam Z).

When Commissioner Gary Bettman handed the Stanley Cup to Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, the final chapter to a sensational 2008-09 season was written.

It also set the final order for the 2009 Entry Draft.

By winning the Stanley Cup, the Penguins earned the No. 30 selection in the first round of the June 26-27 selection process. The Red Wings will pick No. 29.

While it’s likely there will be some movement between now and draft night, the order currently remains the same for the first 14 picks as it did the night of the draft lottery—the New York Islanders will pick first, followed by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, Atlanta Thrashers and Los Angeles Kings.

Phoenix, Toronto, Dallas, Ottawa and Edmonton round out the top 10, followed by Nashville, Minnesota, Buffalo and Florida among teams that missed the postseason.

The order for the rest of the selections was set on playoff performance. The next seven spots went to teams that lost in the first two rounds based on regular-season points, which means the Anaheim Ducks will pick 15th, followed by Columbus, St. Louis, Montreal and the New York Rangers.

Calgary will pick No. 20; they had the option of sending this year’s first-round pick or next year’s to Phoenix as part of the Olli Jokinen deal. Philadelphia will pick No. 21.

The next five spots went to division winners that lost in the first two rounds, based on regular-season points, which means Vancouver will pick at No. 22, followed by New Jersey, Washington and Boston.

The Islanders, the only team with two first-round picks, will select No. 26, which would have been San Jose’s spot. The Sharks sent the much-traveled pick to Tampa Bay as part of the Dan Boyle trade last July. The Lightning sent the pick to Ottawa as part of the Andrej Meszaros deal in August, and Ottawa dealt the pick to the Islanders in exchange for Mike Comrie and Chris Campoli in February.

The Carolina Hurricanes, who lost to Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference Finals, will pick at No. 27, and the Chicago Blackhawks, who lost in the Western Conference Finals, will pick No. 28.

The first round of the draft will be held Friday, June 26 (7 p.m. ET, VERSUS, TSN, RDS). Rounds 2-7 will be Saturday, June 27 (10 a.m. ET, NHLN, RDS).

But he offers his thoughts this week on rangers.com about the future of some players. Heaven forbid I make anyone jump or link elsewhere, so here it is, in full. Talk amongst yourselves.
But first, to make up for the horror of this ugly looking post, I give you a picture. Name that Ranger, who is among those named below.

I now give you Fisch…

• SCOTT GOMEZ: Unlike others in the media, I remain one of the foremost fans of The Gomer. His forays up the ice are uniquely artistic. We know his limitations, but I contend that his assets overweigh his debits. Plus, I disagree with those who say he is not a first-line player. Just get him a winger who can convert his passes and you’ll see what a first-liner he can be. My advice to Scott: Listen up hard to John Tortorella and all will be well between center and coach.
• WADE REDDEN: No, he’s not Nick Lidstrom nor Zdeno Chara. But Redden’s play improved under Tortorella, and there’s potential for him to re-up another notch next season. I expect him back and I anticipate Wade being among the top four defensemen.
• CHRIS DRURY: It will be interesting to see whether the coach keeps him as captain (Remember how Brent Sutter removed the “C” from Patrik Elias). It appears that Chris is in the coach’s good graces, and he might be even better in 2009-2010. Don’t expect him to be traded.
• NIK ZHERDEV: The gifted-but-not-always-productive-Russian faded badly in the homestretch under Tortorella. Even though Zherdev wants to return as a Ranger, I suspect that Torts leans heavily towards keeping Nik Antropov.
• PAUL MARA: I liked his gritty play in 2008-2009, and I love his attitude toward New York. If it comes down to a choice between Mara and Derek Morris, I’d keep Mara. However, knowing Tortorella’s past tepid attitude toward Paul, I can see Mara going bye-bye.
• COLTON ORR: This is a tough one — in more ways than one. Every club needs an enforcer, and CO is the master of the KO. But, he lost significant ice time under Tortorella and, as one writer recently noted, Brodie Dupont could be a better replacement. Me? I’d keep the slugger.
• BLAIR BETTS AND FRED SJOSTROM: How do you lose two of the best penalty-killers in the NHL? And where does Lauri Korpikoski slide back on to the roster? This is a vexing question for Sather.
• MICHAL ROSZIVAL: He’s trade bait, and does more things well than a lot of fans would like to believe. There could be a general manager out there who covets the veteran defenseman.
• NO BRAINERS: There should be little to no discussion about retaining the following, all in the young and not-so-old category: Marc Staal, Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, and Dan Girardi
• HARTFORD: A lot will depend on training camp, but my two favorites at the moment are Artem Anisimov and Corey Potter. We shall see!

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Perhaps you’d prefer this instead (though maybe not because you have to pay, but we here at Rangers Report are all about bring you the news!). Got this from the folks at ESPN.
“ESPN Insider just kicked off a new offseason NHL series today in which writers identify each team’s statistical shortcomings and suggest how to fix them.”
They’re starting with Atlantic division. You have sign up for Insider to play….Visit here or here

I’m sure you all have thoughts, as I know we’ve all discussed NBC hockey coverage. I would like to think this has less to do with NBC and more with the Cup finals. You all be the judge, as I know you can. Read the news after the jump: (more…)

Great fun yesterday! This will be an interesting week. Carp said I didn’t have to post every day, but to heck with that. No major team news here, but perhaps you’d like to know this anyway since it involves this guy

“I am a Ranger” Youth Clinic
Hosted by Adam Graves

Date: Monday, June 29
Location:
World Ice Arena
Flushing, N.Y.
Cost: $59 per player

Groups/On-Ice Sessions:
Mites Only—5:30 to 6:20 p.m.
Squirts Only—6:30 to 7:20 p.m.
PeeWees, Bantams—7:30 to 8:20 p.m.

Hit the nhl site for info/registration form.

I’m not a fan of Fallon, but I may even DVR this. Mr. Pink Tie is going to be on Jimmy Fallon tonight. Watch it, Hulu it, whatever, I’m sure there will be some thoughts.

P.S. I’m used to including pics in my pets blog, so I feel the need to do the same here. Sorry, I can’t wait to hear the response to this, but as I said, I’m a guest blogger and (Mike in LA) I’m a girl. And whatever you may think of him (and Sam and I have discussed this)…hello!

All the guys on here hate me now, right?

Oh Carp, my trusting buddy, I sure hope you don’t live to regret this. Jane, my apologies in advance to you, too.

Hey all, it’s Laurel here…some of you may recognize my name from posts here on Rangers Report, some of you do know me from my full-time blog, Paws&Claws (hi CCCP, Sally, Linda et al!) when I posted your kitties during the playoffs (such as they were), and I don’t think any of you know that I also work behind the scenes on Carp and Jane’s live shows here at LoHud.com.

I’m also a Rangers fan, and since I don’t cover the team and am just guest blogging here, I can admit that with pride (I think. Yes, I am proud).

Anyway, since Carp and Jane can’t blog this week, Carp suggested that maybe I could pop in every now and then to keep you guys company and give you a place to chat amongst yourselves. So here you go…

Please keep in mind that I have a Zamboni-sized workload myself this week so I’ll do the best I can, but I make no guarantees of coming close to matching Carp and Jane’s most impressive work here.

All that said, what did y’all think of the final on Friday? I went out to watch with a friend and left before the end. There was no way I was going to risk watching Cindy skate around with the Cup. I was hoping for the best, but ultimately made the right call, I think. OK kids, take it away….

Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to be on vacation the next two weeks and not available to blog at all for at least the next week.

Unfortunately, Jane is also off this week, so I don’t know if we’ll have any posts at all. We’re still working on getting somebody to fill-in a couple of times. I hope to chip in the following week, at least a couple of times around the draft.

Sorry. 

In the meantime, as we approach the draft and the July 1 free-agency period, the Rangers are sure to be attempting to move some contracts and find a way to squeeze more skill onto the roster. I don’t know how that will happen, though.

Some things I think will or won’t happen:

Chris Drury: Not going anywhere. Full no-move clause and loves it here, and I think the coach really likes him.

Scott Gomez: There will be interest around the league for him to a degree. The Rangers would have to take back a big contract, in all probability, to move him, and you have to wonder if the Rangers will be worse off if they lose one of the few skilled players they have. Gomez isn’t a first-liner, at least not unless he has big-time wingers. But he is one of the Rangers’ best offensive players. Can they lose one of those?

Wade Redden: Not going anywhere … at least not for a while. The option of putting him in Hartford and eating his contract so he comes off the cap has been considered, but I don’t think the Rangers will do that right off the hop. Rather, they’ll see if John Tortorella can get more out of him. If not, then the Hartford option becomes a possibility. He played better under Tortorella down the stretch and in the playoffs, but he’s never going to live up to that contract.

Michal Rozsival: A team that thinks it is close, has cap space, and would like a veteran defenseman with some skill to play on a second pair could want a guy like Rozsival. Whether Glen Sather can make that happen is arguable.

Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan: Will be re-signed. I guarantee it.

Nik Antropov and Nik Zherdev: They might be only able to sign one, and Zherdev is sure to be more affordable. I don’t know if they think he’s a project worth pursuing, though. If I had to guess, Antropov’s out, Zherdev could be back.

Paul Mara and Derek Morris: No way they can afford to keep those two.

Steve Valiquette: There’s been a lot of misinformation, that he re-signed. Actually, the contract he signed last summer was for two years. So he’s under contract.

Blair Betts, Colton Orr, Fred Sjostrom, Lauri Korpikoski: No idea how they can fit any or all of them back into the roster. I’m sure they’d like to sign as many of them as possible.

Moving up in the draft: Don’t see it happening.

Getting a Heatley, Gaborik, Cammalleri, Havlat or Hossa: Will require some interesting maneuvers. Of course, you already knew that. Long before I did.

Moving up from Hartford: Artem Anisimov definitely. Grachev and Del Zotto will have a great chance to do so. The Rangers really like Corey Potter (who must be re-signed) and think he’ll be a solid, if unspectacular NHLer. Whether  Gilroy can make the jump right away remains to be seen. Sanguinetti will need a huge camp.

Behave yourselves while I’m gone.

See youse.

Just wanted to give you a heads-up that MSG Network will celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Rangers’ 1994 Stanley Cup tomorrow.

Here’s part of the release I received from the network:

MSG to Telecast Games 2, 3, 4, and 7 of 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. 

New York, NY, June 12, 2009 – To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the 1994 Stanley Cup champion New York Rangers, MSG Network will devote10 hours of programming on the exact day, 15 years later, that the Rangers hoisted the Stanley Cup.  Beginning at 1pm on Sunday, June 14th, MSG will telecast Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals from 1994 between the Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks.  The evening will end with Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, and will include the post-game celebration.

The schedule is:
1pm – Game 2, 1994 Stanley Cup Finals
3pm – Game 3, 1994 Stanley Cup Finals
5pm – Game 4, 1994 Stanley Cup Finals
7pm – Special hour-long edition of “Hockey Night Live”
8pm – Game 7, 1994 Stanley Cup Finals
In the hour-long, and final edition of “Hockey Night Live” for the season, host Al Trautwig, and hockey analysts Ron Duguay, Ken Daneyko and Butch Goring, will dissect the Stanley Cup Finals, discuss the upcoming NHL draft, and reminisce about the 15 year anniversary of the Rangers last Stanley Cup victory.
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Today, June 13, is the 15th anniversary of Mike Keenan’s near meltdown. Remember, he was negotiating with the Red Wings at the time, and he wanted to take the team to Lake Placid for a mini-training camp between Games 6 and 7, and had to be talked out of it, and then Colin Campbell and Dick Todd put in the forechecking strategy for Game 7.

And the anniversary of Glenn Healy’s great line: “Ninety percent of New York has already dialed the 9 and the 1 and is just waiting to hit the other 1.”

Everybody’s favorite agitator is again featured in a Vanity Fair interview this week.

Check out Sean Avery’s give and take, and his pink tie, here.

(Photo, right, from Vanity Fair).

Love the title, too: Sean Avery is not a monster: he’s a Jedi Ninja.
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Enjoy Game 7 tonight. I will be en route to my new second home, Binghamton.

Hope to get there in time to catch the coolest moment in sports, the awarding of the Stanley Cup. But I’m not optimistic I will arrive before then, unless the game goes OT.

I find it funny that MSG Network is promoting this show, and I find it funny that, even though we know most of it is unnecessary and silly, we all love hockey fights. Most of us do, anyway.

So tonight at 10, MSG Network debuts “Raucous Rangers” … a show about the tough guys and their best fights and brawls.

One that’s not listed, and I hope they didn’t forget, was George McPhee vs. Rick Tocchet in the ‘86 playoffs. Tocchet had already had his face cut by a stick, so he was a bloody mess after the fight. But I remember how much that fight meant in that playoff series, and how the Garden rocked during and after it because of all the years—including that year—when the Flyers beat the you-know-what out of the Rangers.

The Domi-Probert fights (and the Domi-Baumgartner fights) were pure cartoon. But the Kocur-Probert fight in ‘93-94 was a scary one, and afterwards both battlers bore heavy emotional scars because they were such close friends.