Rangers Report Blog

As expected. Here’s the release:

RANGERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH FORWARD RYAN CALLAHAN
            New York, July 13, 2009 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with forward Ryan Callahan.
           Callahan, 24, established career-highs in games played (81), goals (22), assists (18), points (40), and penalty minutes (45) last season.  He also won the Steven McDonald Award, voted by the fans as the player who performs “above and beyond the call of duty.”  Callahan ranked second on the team with a career-high, 237 shots, first with a plus-seven rating and tied for fourth on the club in goals.  In addition, he led the team and ranked fourth in the NHL with 265 hits.  Callahan posted a team-high, six-game scoring streak from March 12 at Nashville to March 22 against Ottawa, recording eight points (four goals and four assists) over the span, and tied for the team-high with a three-game goal streak (March 17 at Montreal to March 22 vs. Ottawa).  He reached the 20-goal plateau for the first time in his career on March 28 at Pittsburgh, and skated in his 100thNHL contest on December 16 at Anaheim.  Callahan also skated in all seven playoff games with the Rangers, and tied for the team lead with two goals.
           On June 30th, the Rochester, New York native was one of 34 players who were invited to the U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Camp to be held August 17 to 19.
           Callahan has skated in 147 career regular season games in three seasons with the Rangers, registering 34 goals and 25 assists for 59 points, along with 85 penalty minutes.  He ranked fourth in the NHL among rookies with 139 hits and tied for third on the team with a plus-seven rating during the 2007-08 season.  He finished that season recording a plus or even rating in 36 of his last 40 contests.  In 2006-07, Callahan tallied two goals, including his first career NHL point, on March 17 against Boston.  He made his NHL debut on December 1, 2006 at Buffalo.  In addition, Callahan has skated in 27 playoff contests with the Rangers, recording six goals and three assists for nine points, along with 20 penalty minutes.
           Callahan was originally the Rangers’ fourth round selection, 127th overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

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EVENING UPDATE: Hey, everybody, it’s Carp and I want to say something here.

The tone of this blog has gotten a bit, shall we say, off course lately. You guys know it’s about hockey, and that we stray to include other interests, mostly in good fun. We’ve had some hysterical laughs here, for sure.

But there are some things that aren’t going right. One of them is the personal stuff. It has happened among a bunch of you lately. It’s not acceptable. It’s not good. Nobody wants to see it or hear it. And I certainly don’t want to ban anybody if I don’t have to … but I will.

Also, the name calling. Let’s try to be a little more sensitive, OK? It takes a lot more creativity to come up with a point that to simply bash somebody’s race or sexual preference or to simply call him/her a $%&@!. Again, not acceptable.

And finally, the fraud factor. Don’t post as somebody else. Your screen name should belong to you. I’d hate to go through technical hoops to force everybody to use a working, legit email address and to make it so that it will be impossible for anybody other than the original person to use a screen name. Again, if I have to do it, I will.

This stuff really makes me lose a lot of my enthusiasm for this blog, and I’m sure it has the same effect on others, our good readers, our Boneheads, the Festivus bunch, Capt. Clutch and everybody else. If I lose my enthusiasm, this thing will suffer. Ditto if our real, loyal blog-folks lose theirs. Let’s clean it up, OK?

If you have something that needs to be ironed out, you can always email me at rcarpini@lohud.com and we’ll try to fix it. Thanks to all.

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Here’s a link to the Coyotes’ announcement of the Korpikoski trade. 

And I’m not talking “political correctness” although some of the last thread sure showed that a few people could use a quick lesson in that.

I’m talking about my PC at blog headquarters, which is acting up. So I’m putting up this on my laptop as I hit the road for a few interviews and such today. I will try to check back late in the day if and when I get a wireless signal.

I trust you guys will troll the web and post anything you find newsworthy, as you always do, in the comments section.

Oh, Happy Monday.

UPDATE

Heys guys, Laurel here. Thanks for the tip. Here’s the release:

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with goaltender Chad Johnson.

Chad Johnson Johnson, 23, was acquired by the Rangers from the Pittsburgh Penguins, in exchange for a fifth round pick (151st overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, on June 27. He appeared in 35 games with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) last season, registering a 14-16-5 mark with a 1.66 goals against average.

Johnson, a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player, earned CCHA Player of the Year honors, and was named to the CCHA First All-Star Team. He was also selected to the NCAA West All-American Second Team. He led the CCHA in goals against average and save percentage, and achieved career-highs in games played, wins, goals against average, save percentage (.940), and shutouts (six).

The 6-3, 200-pounder has appeared in 79 career CCHA games with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, posting a 25-35-11 mark, along with a 2.33 goals against average, .918 save percentage and seven shutouts. Johnson recorded his first collegiate shutout during the 2006-07 season.

As a freshman in 2005-06, he collected six wins and posted a 2.56 goals against average with a .917 save percentage. He finished the season ranked third in the conference among first-year players in goals against average and save percentage.

The Calgary, Alberta native was originally Pittsburgh’s fifth round choice, 125th overall, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

There’s not much to talk about, except that the Great One is getting upset. You probably saw the stories yesterday about Gretzky trying to block his personal financial information from being bared in this whole Ugly Coyote mess.

I’m sniffing around trying to figure if there’s anything else coming imminently, and whether there’s any fire at all to this Zubov or Richards smoke.

‘Til then, here’s a new canvas for you weekenders.

Here’s the announcement:

RANGERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH DANE BYERS
            New York, July 10, 2009 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with restricted free agent forward Dane Byers.
            Byers, 23, has skated in 165 career regular season games with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), registering 44 goals and 58 assists for 102 points, along with 421 penalty minutes.  He established a career-high in goals (23) and plus/minus rating (plus-23) during the 2007-08 season.  Byers tied for third on Hartford in goals and finished fourth on the team in plus/minus rating.  He also posted a career-high, six-game scoring streak from February 8 at Providence to February 20 at Lowell, recording nine points (six goals and three assists) during the stretch.  In addition, Byers made his NHL debut with the Rangers on February 5 against Los Angeles.
          In 2006-07, he set career marks in games played (78), assists (30), points (47), and penalty minutes (213).  He ranked second on the Wolf Pack in assists, third on the team in points and penalty minutes, and fifth in goals.  Byers notched his first career AHL hat trick on March 31 against Manchester.  As an AHL rookie in 2005-06, he collected an assist in his professional debut on April 7 vs. Portland.
         The 6-3, 195 pounder appeared in nine games with Hartford (AHL) last season, recording four goals and three assists for seven points, along with 18 penalty minutes.  He registered six points (three goals and three assists) in a five game span from October 22 at Worcester to October 31 against Worcester, before missing the last 71 games of the regular season to injury.  Byers returned to the lineup for the playoffs, and finished tied for the team lead in goals (three) and second in points (four) in six games.  His three goals and four points both established playoff career-highs.
            The Nipawin, Saskatchewan native was originally the Rangers’ second round selection, 48^th overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

The Habs have signed Paul Mara for one year.

See the story, and one last great picture of that beard, here.
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If you want to see our video chat about the Rangers’ offseason—or if you want to see it again—click here.

RANGERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH FREE AGENT FORWARD ALES KOTALIK
            New York, July 9, 2009 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with unrestricted free agent forward Ales Kotalik.
            “Ales is a strong, hardworking player with good skating ability and a heavy shot,” stated Sather.  “We think he will fit well into our system and will provide additional offense and scoring from the wing position.”
            Kotalik has eclipsed the 20-goal mark four times in six seasons, including 21 goals in his first full season in 2002-03.  He also holds the NHL record with 11 career game-deciding goals in the shootout (tied with Vyacheslav Kozlov), and has converted 20 of his 38 career shootout attempts (52.6%).
          The 6-1, 225 pounder has skated in 445 regular season contests with the Buffalo Sabres and Edmonton Oilers, recording 121 goals and 130 assists for 251 points, along with 273 penalty minutes.  In 2005-06, he established career-highs in games played (82), goals (25), assists (37), points (62), penalty minutes (62), power play points (28), game-winning goals (five), and shots (261).  He led Buffalo in shots, tied for the team lead in game-winning goals, second in goals, and ranked third in points.  He was also one of only two Sabres to skate in all 82 games during the season. 
            Kotalik appeared in 75 games with Buffalo and Edmonton last season, registering 20 goals and 23 assists for 43 points, along with 34 penalty minutes.  He ranked third on Edmonton in goals and tied for fifth in points.  He also finished second on the team with nine power play goals and third with 208 shots.  Kotalik led the NHL with five game-deciding goals in the shootout, and ranked second in the league with eigth shootout goals.  He posted a career-high, five-game scoring streak from March 24 vs. Detroit to March 31 against Anaheim, collecting five points (four goals and one assist) over the span.  In addition, Kotalik registered his 250^th career NHL points with a goal against Vancouver on April 4.  He was traded to Edmonton on March 4 in exchange for a second round selection in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
            As a rookie in 2002-03, he finished the season ranked second among all NHL rookies in goals (21) and fourth in points (35), and was named NHL Rookie of the Month for January.  In postseason play, Kotalik has registered six goals and nine assists for 15 points, along with 16 penalty minutes in 34 career contests.
         Kotalik also captured a bronze medal with the Czech Republic at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.
            The Jindrichuv Hradec, Czech Republic native was originally Buffalo’s sixth round choice, 164^th overall, in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.——————————

For those who missed the live chat this afternoon, you can watch it by clicking here. 

Hey guys, I believe Carp may be on the road (he does step away from the computer every now and again)….here’s the quick update from nhl.com. I’ll search for more..
The New York Rangers continued to bolster their offense by signing free-agent forward Ales Kotalik on Thursday.
Terms of the deal were not released. (but TSN has it at $9 mil for 3 years)
The 6-foot-1, 227-pound right wing had 20 goals and 43 points in 75 games with the Buffalo Sabres and the Edmonton Oilers last season.
A sixth-round pick of the Sabres in the 1998 Entry Draft, the native of Jindr Hradec, Czech Republic has 121 goals and 251 points in 445 NHL games.————————
Thanks for jumping in, Laurel.

Hey, it’s Carp, back at my desk. Believe it or not—and you probably won’t—but when I was looking over the remaining free agents this morning Kotalik jumped out at me, and I said to myself, “This is exactly the type of free agents other teams sign cheaply, and the type who usually turn out to be better signings than the marquee free agents … and exactly the type the Rangers don’t try to sign.”

I love this signing. Just want to go on record with that.

Good morning. Does anybody want to play General Manager today? Or do you have an opinion on the whole Scott Gomez-Marian Gaborik-Donald Brashear roster remake? Or questions about the Rangers going forward?

Join us today at 1 p.m. during a live video chat, which you can access by clicking here, or by going to the link: http://lohud.com/protalklive.

RANGERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH BRIAN BOYLE
            New York, July 8, 2009 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with restricted free agent forward Brian Boyle.
         Boyle, 24, was acquired by the Rangers on June 27 from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a third round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.  Boyle appeared in 28 games with the Kings last season, registering four goals and one assist for five points, along with 42 penalty minutes.  He established career-highs in games played (28) and penalty minutes (42).  Boyle notched three goals in a four-game span from March 28 at Nashville to April 4 vs. Phoenix.  He also skated in 42 games with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League (AHL), recording 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points, along with 73 penalty minutes.  He collected two points (one goal and one assist) in his season debut with the Monarchs on December 5 vs. Worcester.  In addition, Boyle posted two, four-game scoring streaks – December 13 vs. Providence to December 17 at Manitoba (one goal and four assists) and March 4 vs. Springfield to March 8 at Worcester (two goals and two assists).
          The 6-7, 252-pounder has skated in 36 career NHL games with Los Angeles, recording eight goals and two assists for 10 points, along with 46 penalty minutes.  He registered two points (one goal and one assist) and a plus-two rating in his NHL debut on February 2, 2008 at New Jersey.  Boyle has also appeared in 114 career AHL contests with Manchester, collecting 41 goals and 42 assists for 83 points, along with 162 penalty minutes.  In 2007-08, he established AHL career-highs in games played (70), goals (31), assists (31), points (62), and penalty minutes (87).  That year, he led the Monarchs in goals, ranked second on the team in points and fourth in assists.  His 31 goals also led all AHL rookies and ranked 10th in the league overall, while he finished second in the league among rookies with 62 points.  Boyle also tallied three goals and five assists for eight points in 16 postseason contests with Manchester during the 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs.
        The Hingham, MA native was originally Los Angeles’ first round choice, 26th overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

Joe Sakic always played the game with class, and with sure-fire, first-ballot Hall of Fame skill. Yet just about every time I hear his name I think about the 1997 summer, when the Rangers kicked Mark Messier out the door and thought they would steal Little Joe from the Avalanche with a massive offer sheet.

With a week to decide whether to match, Colorado’s owners hemmed and hawed and wrung their hands … and then matched the offer. The Rangers’ Plan B was Pat LaFontaine, who was terrific as long as he remained upright, but who, predictably, ultimately had to retire due to repeated concussions.

And I always wonder if the course of Rangers history might have changed had they been able to get Sakic, to play with Gretzky and replace Messier, that year … which as you all know was the beginning of that long streak of non-playoff seasons, and this current streak in which they have won exactly two playoff series since that summer. 
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ANOTHER REMINDER: Laurel and I will do a live video chat tomorrow at 1 p.m. We encourage you to bring comments and questions. Access the chat by clicking here, or by going to this site: lohud.com/protalklive