Rangers Report Blog

According to Steve Zipay, it’s believed to be in the $600,000 range. Here’s the release:

RANGERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH FREE AGENT DEFENSEMAN ALEXEI SEMENOV

New York, September 30, 2009 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with unrestricted free agent defenseman Alexei Semenov.

Semenov, 28, skated in 47 games with San Jose last season, registering one goal and eight points, along with 57 penalty minutes. He established career-highs in games played, assists (seven) and points. In addition, Semenov skated in his 200th career NHL game on March 7 at Vancouver.

The 6-6, 245-pounder has skated in 211 career regular season contests with the Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers and San Jose Sharks, recording seven goals and 26 assists for 33 points, along with 249 penalty minutes. In 2003-04, Semenov represented Edmonton at the NHL All-Star Weekend as a participant in the NHL YoungStars Game, registering one assist in the contest. As a rookie in 2002-03, Semenov notched his first NHL assist on January 20 at Calgary and tallied his first NHL goal on February 7 against Calgary.

Prior to joining the professional ranks, Semenov skated in 158 career OHL contests over three seasons with the Sudbury Wolves, registering 30 goals and 80 assists for 110 points, along with 269 penalty minutes. He captured the Max Kaminsky Trophy, as the most outstanding defenseman as voted by the OHL general managers, following the 2000-01 season.

The Murmansk, Russia native was originally Edmonton’s second round choice, 36th overall, in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.

First, the news. Sean Avery practiced today, albeit in an orange “no-contact” jersey, and said his knee felt good, although he said he didn’t push it.

Avery will push a little harder tomorrow, but isn’t venturing a guess on his availability for Friday’s opener or Saturday’s home opener.

He said the new-wave PRP procedure he underwent last week—where his own blood was drawn, somehow shaken, and re-injected—seems to have helped recover from the MCL sprain he suffered in practice.

“I’m certainly ahead of schedule, so either it’s the PRP or I’m actually Superman like I claim to be,” Avery said.
He added: “They know with me that we just kind of go as I feel, and it’s tough to set guidelines because I don’t generally follow them too well. I like to just push it as quickly as I can, and be responsible, and our training staff are certainly some of the best, so they’re not going to let me do anything that’s going to put me in jeopardy.”
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Last year, John Tortorella talked about how his aggressive system of play has to become instinctive, because there’s no time for thinking or decision-making.
So I asked him today if it has become instinctive now that he’s had part of last season, a playoff series and a training camp.
“No, no, it’s going to take some time,” Tortorella said. “We’re working on it every day, our neutral-zone forechecking, our deep forechecking, and all the different things as far as rush coverage. It takes time, and there’ll be some mistakes as we go through, as we start the season, but that’s when you keep on teaching. That’s when I think it becomes instinctive, when you’re constantly teaching after each game.

“I think as you get into late November, early December, I think your team concept is something that should be instinctive because we’re heavily laden in tape, the season is kind of spread out at the beginning of the year more than it is in the middle and the latter stages. So we’re going to keep working at it, and then we’ll back off the tape. When we feel it becomes more instinctive we get away from the tape a little bit and allow them to play and let it happen from there. We don’t want to map it out. You don’t want to over-coach it because it’s such an instinctive game.”

In particular, Tortorella said, the emphasis has been on the pressure in the neutral zone.

“Our neutral-zone forechecking … is some of the more important stuff because that middle zone determines where you’re going to play,” he said. “If we don’t get things taken care of, and jam that zone, we’re going to be playing in our own end zone. If we can jam that zone it gives us a better opportunity to go score a goal. Each day, and we’ve done it a lot here the past two or three days with tape and in practice, it’s getting better. So we’re happy. We’re happy with the camp. It’s gone really well. We stunk the two periods in Washington there … but other than that little bump I think the camp has gone very well.”

I also had a chance to ask (alternate captain?) Ryan Callahan about the adjustment:
“It was hard last year, him coming in, and we had two practices and we had to jump into a game,” Callahan sai. “It’s hard to teach a new system that quickly. It’s nice to have this whole training camp with him. I feel the guys are starting to get it. You can see it in practice and some of the preseason games, that it’s starting to become second nature and you don’t have to think about that.”
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Still no contract for tryout defenseman Alex Semenov. … Some speculation that, since Yankee Stadium has announced an annual bowl game to be played around the holidays, the chances of a Rangers-hosted WInter Classic may be slimmer. … Always good to see the Captain around. Got to chat with Mark Messier for a while. He really seems to be enjoying his new role, plus—in case you didn’t notice—he kind of likes New York. … NHL 23-man rosters are due in by 3 p.m. today, but since a lot of cap math has to be done, they won’t likely be released to the public until tomorrow. Anyway, the Rangers are at 13 forwards and seven defensemen and two goalies, so they won’t need to make a move, although they might cut down once Avery comes back (and depending on Semenov’s status).
And because you guys seem to like this, here were the lines in practice: Voros, Brashear and Boyle; Prospal, Dubinsky and Gaborik; Callahan, Drury and Higgins; Lisin, Anisimov and Kotalik.

We had much discussion Tuesday on the book “100 Ranger Greats” rankings. So I felt the need to give you the whole list (hopefully you’ll still get the book, because there’s a pretty well-written, well-researched story on each of the 100 guys). The list is too long (and I’m too slow a typist) for it to all be posted in one shot, so below are the bottom 50. The top 50 will follow in another post.

Before the list, I just wanted to let you know that 10 Rangers will do the Top 10 list on Letterman tonight (Wednesday). I’m going to practice the next couple of days, so I hope to get some advance info on the list today … along with some actual, you know, news.

Without further ado:

100: Nicky Fotiu.
99: Don Murdoch.
98: Mike McEwen.
97: Andy Aitkenhead.
96: Lou Fontinato.
95: Lorne Chabot.
94: Pierre Larouche.
93: Arnie Brown.
92: Wally Hergesheimer.
91: Larry Popein.
90: Henrik Lundqvist.
89: Brian Mullen.
88: Mike Rogers.
87: Tom Laidlaw.
86: Darren Turcotte.
85: Esa Tikkanen.
84: Jaromir Jagr.
83: Mark Pavelich.
82: Reijo Ruotsalainen.
81: Jan Erixon.
80: Kelly Kisio.
79: Earl Ingarfield.
78: Pat Hickey.
77: Nick Mickoski.
76: Phil Watson.
75: Don Marshall.
74: Ted Irvine.
73: Dutch Hiller.
72: Sergei Zubov.
71: Petr Nedved.
70: Tomas Sandstrom.
69: Alf Pike.
68: Wayne Gretzky.
67: Mike Gartner.
66: George (Red) Sullivan.
65: Eddie Johnstone.
64: John Ross Roach.
63: Bill Gadsby.
62: Barry Beck.
61: Earl Seibert.
60: Allan Stanley.
59: Phil Goyette.
58: Tony Leswick.
57: Alex Shibicky.
56: John Davidson.
55: Mac Colville.
54: Pete Stemkowski.
53: Andy Hebenton.
52: Carol Vadnais.
51: Bob Nevin.

Somebody brought up the point last week that Jaromir Jagr may have been the most skilled or most talented player, still in his prime, to ever play for the Rangers.

Interesting thought. Not sure if I completely agree or not, but here’s another set of arguments along the same lines. I received a review copy of the new book “100 Ranger Greats” and it ranks the top 100. Some things were taken into serious consideration, such as playing all or most of one’s career with the Rangers, as the top three all did (can you guess which three they were?).

It’s tricky trying to rank them, because No. 4 (Mark Messier) may have been the greatest Ranger ever, and Nos. 1, 2 and 3 will probably tell you he was (No. 2 actually once did tell me Messier was the greatest). And Messier was still in his prime when he won a Hart Trophy, when he scored 100 points, when he nearly scored 50 goals, and of course when he won the franchise’s only Cup in the last 69 years.

But how, then, do you rank Jagr? Or how about Wayne Gretzky? The greatest player who ever lived played three seasons for the Rangers, but surely wasn’t the greatest Ranger ever. The book ranks him No. 68. Jagr, who holds the franchise record for goals in a season, ranks No. 84. There are some other interesting rankings, such as Jeff Beukeboom ahead of Barry Beck. Way ahead.

And I don’t think any of you, without benefit of the list, could guess who’s No. 5. Go ahead. Give it a shot.

I’ll print the whole list at a later date. For now, I thought we could have some good discussion on the topic. Maybe some of you want to give me your top 10?

The book, written by my friend John Halligan, and Russ Cohen and Adam Raider (foreword by Sam Rosen), will go on sale Monday, Oct. 5.
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Afternoon update: Hey, Laurel here. While I’m still struggling to figure out #5, thought you locals might be interested in this:

Rangers alumni Dave Maloney and Pete Stemkowski will join 100 RANGER GREATS co-authors Russ Cohen, John Halligan and Adam Raider for a book signing at American Legends in Scarsdale, NY on October 15, 2009 at 6:00 PM. For more information, please call 914-725-2225.

And just a few quick thoughts:

1) Michael Rozsival was always a solid, unspectacular defenseman with decent puck skills. Last year he seemed to decline. This preseason he’s been far worse. And Dan Girardi is struggling, too. That’s two of the only four defensemen with NHL experience who came to camp. Semenov doesn’t look half bad. But that doesn’t mean he’s ready to be a top 5 or 6. Yet, by necessity, that’s where he will be. Cause for concern, or panic?
2) This Enver Lisin guy reminds me, so far, of Rico Fata. Great wheels, but does he do anything else? Maybe I need to see a lot more of him before I figure that out.
3) Tortorella blames the media for Donald Brashear’s booing. (OK, I’m late to the party with this, but I was on vacation). We disrespected him. Well, from what I remember, the fan outrage began the moment he signed July 1. And as far as disrespecting him, well, I never respected him in the first place, and last year’s cheap shot on Blair Betts dropped him further in my eyes. Plus he can’t play.
4) More than a few Rangers should bounce back this year and benefit from the new coach and his system, and it looks as if Wade Redden and Aaron Voros are right on top of that list.
5) That “A” on Ryan Callahan’s shirt Sunday looked like it was permanent, and it should be. Still wondering who gets the other “A” or if it will be rotated. I’m thinking it goes to Gaborik.

This surprises me, but the Rangers assigned Evgeny Grachev to Hartford this evening. I guess they figure he’ll be better off playing first-line minutes in the AHL than third or fourth-line minutes in New York, but … think of the slugs who will be playing for the Rangers instead of him.

Here’s the announcement:
RANGERS ASSIGN EVGENY GRACHEV TO HARTFORD
22 Active Players Remain With The Club
New York, September 27, 2009 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has assigned forward Evgeny Grachev to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey  League (AHL).  The Rangers now have 22 players remaining in training camp, including two goaltenders, seven defensemen and 13 forwards.  The Blueshirts’ next practice is scheduled for Tuesday, September 29, at 11:00 a.m. at the MSG
Training Center.

Yes, there were some good things shown by the Rangers in the third period, although I think the recap on the Rangers’ site might have been a tad over-the-top positive.

The first two periods were abysmal, and the comeback was nice, but that’s because the Rangers threw caution to the wind, and you can’t just do that. There’s a difference between pressing the issue, and pressuring the puck, and going hell-bent for offense. I guess, though, it’s nice to know you can produce some offense when you need it.

Here are the official game summary and event summary.

I’m just back from vacation, and I wanted to get something up here before the noon game.

First I want to thank everybody who guest posted this week, and in the previous cycle in August. The posts were well-thought out, well-written and written with passion. Some were daring. Some were soul-baring. But they all made you read and think and react. Congrats to all of you, and my sincere appreciation.

I was so pleasantly surprised, too, at how seriously you guys took the task … I set a schedule and deadlines and everybody stepped up, on time, some even way early. Not a single misstep. Must make my boss jealous.

As I’m sure you’ll be reminded about a thousand times during the game today, MSG Network will do its season preview show tonight at 7 p.m.

More importantly, Rangers Report—some may know it as the Boneheads Blog, or the Festivus Blog—will be doing its season preview(s) later this week. We will let you know as soon as we figure out what is going up on which days. I do know I’ll be spending at least a couple of days at Rangers practice this week, and I found out that I will indeed be going to the home opener, so those are steps in the right direction. I’m just glad we’re not completely abandoning the idea of doing some actual coverage and reporting this season.

I ramble. So, simply, enjoy the game. I’ll check back later.

My thanks to Carp for allowing me the privilege of posting. In a mere six days, the puck will drop in Pittsburgh, and the games will mean something again. Until then, a few random thoughts, memories, predictions, and musings from one fan’s perspective:
• The odds are very long that we will win the Cup this year. That won’t stop me from believing it will happen.
• Markus Naslund scored the first goal of the regular season last year. Scott Gomez had the first assist. Then they both retired from play – Naslund once the season ended, Gomez immediately following that game. Predictions for first goal and first assist this year? I’ll go with Kotalik on a feed from Lisin. On the power play.
• The debate over the first game’s line combinations reminds me of the spring training hype over who will be the Opening Day starter. It seems really important at the time, but doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.
• A week from today is the home opener. The first time I ever got to go to one of those was October 7, 2001 – otherwise known as the first professional sporting event in Manhattan post-9/11. The Captain wore the fireman’s hat, both teams’ jerseys had New York stitched on them, and we won 5-4 in overtime on a goal by Brian Leetch. What a night.
• My first ever Rangers jersey was Tomas Sandstrom, #28. When we traded him and Tony Granato for Bernie Nicholls, I cried my eyes out and wrote an angry letter to Roger Neilson. There are few things harder for a 7-year old than watching your favorite player get traded, and not understanding how they could possibly do that. Of course, that deal was the precursor to the Messier trade. Looking back, it was worth it. And I still have that jersey…only it has my name on it now.
• Speaking of jerseys, I got married last month. For a wedding gift, my Dad gave me his prized Eddie Giacomin jersey. During the reception.
• There are a million reasons why my wife makes me the luckiest man in the world. One of them is that she watches every Rangers game with me, and lives and dies with the team like I do. And fellas, is there anything sweeter than a hot girl in a Rangers jersey? Heaven on earth, if you ask me.
• My Dad got two tickets to Game Five against the Caps in ’94. He took my Mom. At the time, I didn’t understand how he could do that. Now that I’m married, I get it.
• By the way, 12 years later, he gave me his ticket to Mark Messier night. Dad, both choices were the right ones.
• If Mess decided during the season to lace ‘em one more time, I’d be totally fired up. At the very least, Drury wouldn’t be wearing the C anymore.
• If I were a player, with Torts behind the bench and Keenan in the studio, I’d make sure to play my butt off.
• Too soon to hope that Ryan Callahan is the next Adam Graves? I don’t think so. Put an A on that man’s sweater.
• There’s a lot to like about our current roster. It’d be even better if we weren’t paying a third-pair defenseman $6.5 million, and a third-line center $7 million.
• I really, really hope some team gives Theo Fleury a shot.
• Growing up, I’d get annoyed every time Rick Carpiniello would write “Who cares?” for the Lady Byng trophy when predicting the annual NHL award winners. But he let me do a guest blog, so I forgive him now.
• If Matt Gilroy turns out to be one-tenth as good as Brian Leetch, we’ll finally have that power play quarterback.
• As hard as it is sometimes, as frustrating and gut-wrenching and heart-breaking as it can be, I wouldn’t trade being a New York Rangers fan for any team in the world.
• At some point during the season, if you’re able, even if you live hundreds of miles away, watch at least one game with your Dad. I know I will.
• Enjoy the season, guys and gals. May we once again walk together forever.

Doobie, Doobie, Dooooo … and some chemistry

I figured that was an appropriate title after tonight’s second to last pre-season game against the Caps.

I liked what I saw from Dubinsky, period. Hard on the puck, looking for opportunites, finishing all of his checks, and playing and looking a little bigger than last season.

I’m glad now that the dust has settled and with him resigned, players and coaches have cleared the air (as I’m sure they have), Doobie can be a force for the Rangers this season. (And i think he secured another try on a line with Gaborik and Higgins).

Speaking of which, Gabby looked great. And what an amazingly quick release he has. I for one had always knew he was an elite player with quick hands, but he really made Jose Threeormore look like a a pee wee goalie there. And as Dave Maloney said during the game, he couldn’t even get set before Gabby had put the puck through the five hole. Thing of beauty.

Higgins on this line looked pretty solid as well. I loved his net presence and desire to get banged and pushed around to pick up those garbage goals like on the game winner.

And of course Brashear. Well two fights in one night, what can you say? I was against signing him from the beginning, hated it when it happend, but he will serve his purpose and will definitely put in a few more goals than Orr ever would have. Brash you either gonna beat people to a pulp and we’ll love ya for it, or take too many penalties and get booed. WELCOME TO NEW YORK CITY!!

Other honorable mentions are Gilroy (impressing me more every game) Redden (I know, i know don’t yell at me!) but he did play somewhat tougher tonight than I saw of him all last year, Del Zotto and Kotalik (I think those two were made to work together on the power play), Cally, hitting people all night long and of course, King Henrik being, well, King Henrik!

So after a satisfying (albeit pre-season) win over the Crapitals (did I spell that wrong?) I’m starting to see who I think will mesh with whom. But of course I’m sure there will be one or two more players either cut or sent down before the start of the season in Pittsburgh.

So here are my picks of who I think is on the bubble, and their chances of sticking with the big club. Let me know what you all think and we’ll see who is right come opening night next week.

Grachev: 50/50 could go either way but I’m leaning toward him going to Hartford to get some consistent minutes then be the first call up.

Voros: 90/10 I’m hoping we saw the last of him tonight but it’s a toss up (do they waste Grachev with 4th line minutes, or give it to Voros for one year and let him get beat up with his stone hands every night?). Didn’t he take balance training over the summer? Still looks wobbly on his skates, and still can’t shoot the puck.

Del Zotto: 80/20 I think they give him the 9 games to see how he does on the PP then decide if he stays or goes down.

Anisimov: 99/1: 4th line, 3rd line, 2nd line, anywhere. Gives you all sorts of options and a scoring threat wherever you put him on top of always backchecking and trying to break up plays.

Semenov: 70/30 veteran presence, solid and tuff, Pleasantly suprised by him.

Thanks again Carp for letting me post. Your blog is THE best in town, and don’t ever let anyone tell you different.

LET”S GO RANGERS!