Rangers Report Blog

A story made the rounds yesterday that Chris Higgins had signed to play in Italy next season.

But I figured out it wasn’t THE Chris Higgins, because THE CH goes by Christopher … and because the story was accompanied by a photo of him celebrating a goal … and we know that couldn’t be THE Christopher Higgins, could it?

Forty days (and forty nights, I guess) before Opening Night.

No. 40: Begins and ends with Gale Sayers, one of the two or three greatest running backs I’ve ever seen—I’d go Jim Brown and O.J. Simpson if I had to choose. He was also a kick return waiting to happen.
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Well, according to the NHLPA, the Rangers have two of the top rookie prospects in the league. Sounds like a guess, though:

2010 NHLPA ROOKIE SHOWCASE

TORONTO, ON (August 30, 2010) – Twenty-three of the top NHL rookie prospects will gather outside of Toronto at the MasterCard Centre on Wednesday, September 1, for the 2010 NHLPA Rookie Showcase. This unique event will provide Upper Deck and Panini America – the official trading card partners of the NHLPA and the NHL – with an exclusive opportunity to photograph many of the game’s top young prospects for the first time in their official NHL team uniforms, in shots that will be used for upcoming trading card and memorabilia launches.

The 23 NHL rookie prospects in attendance for the 2010 NHLPA Rookie Showcase will be available for media scrums prior to the event at approximately 9:15 a.m.

NHL prospects scheduled to be in attendance include:

Taylor Hall (EDM), Tyler Seguin (BOS), Nazem Kadri (TOR), Jordan Eberle (EDM), Kyle Beach (CHI), Jonathon Blum (NSH), Joe Colborne (BOS),  Scott Glennie (DAL), Erik Gudbranson (FLA), Calvin de Haan (NYI ), Zach Hamill (BOS), Ryan Johansen (CBJ), Jacob Markstrom (FLA), Ryan McDonagh (NYR), Chet Pickard (NSH), Brayden Schenn (LAK), Jordan Schroeder (VAN), Kevin Shattenkirk (COL), Jeff Skinner (CAR), Magnus Svensson Paajarvi (EDM), Tomas Tatar (DET), Mattias Tedenby (NJ), and Mats Zuccarello-Aasen (NYR).

You’re on your own today …

Forty-one days until Opening Night.

I see a lot of you jumped the gun with Tom Seaver, the obvious one, plus the Jed Ortmeyers and Eddie Mios.

41: Jake Gibbs.

41: Steve “The General” Richmond … one of my favorite Rangers from the bad old days.
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MORNING UPDATE, 10:40 A.M.: Hank on the bus.

Just got this from the NYR:

NEW YORK RANGERS GOALTENDER HENRIK LUNDQVIST HONORED IN GRAY LINE NEW YORK’S “RIDE OF FAME” CAMPAIGN

On Tuesday August 31^st, Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist will join the ranks of Whoopi Goldberg, Donald Trump and Rachael Ray as the latest celebrity inducted into Gray Line New York’s “Ride of Fame” campaign which honors exemplary New Yorkers by bestowing a bus in their fleet. A ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil Lundqvist’s personalized Gray Line New York bus will take place on 7th Avenue in front of Madison Square Garden at 12:00 p.m. Immediately following the ceremony, Henrik will board his very own bus to take the inaugural ride with 50 lucky fans.

“I’d like to thank Gray Line New York for their support of the Rangers and particularly their continued support of the Garden of Dreams Foundation,” says Lundqvist. “The kids always look forward to the tours of the city, sitting on the upper deck.  Being able to now do them on a bus featuring myself and the Rangers is a great honor.”

After the event, the official Henrik Lundqvist bus will enter into Gray Line New York’s regular rotation, becoming a mobile monument, granting millions of sightseers the opportunity to “ride” along with him each day.

In keeping with Carp’s countdown theme, we have 42 days to opening night.  With apologies to Mariano Rivera and the five Rangers who wore it (Artem Anisimov, Paul Fenton, Dave Marcinyshyn, Greg Moore and John Tripp), the most famous #42 belongs to Jackie Robinson.

Hockey fans know that Willie O’Ree became the first black player in the NHL, but what fans don’t know is how the Rangers had, not one, but two chances to break the color barrier a decade earlier.  The Blueshirts invited Herb Carnegie to training camp prior to the start of the 1948-49 season.  Herb, along with brother Ossie and linemate Manny McIntyre, formed the Black Aces – a line that dominated the semi-pro Quebec Senior Hockey League.

In his book “Breaking the Ice: The Black Experience in Professional Hockey”, Cecil Harris offers up Hall of Fame referee Red Storey’s opinion on Carnegie.

“Herbie was the leader [of the Black Aces].  They couldn’t have gone anywhere without Herb,” Storey related to Harris.  “He was good enough to play in the NHL.  It was strictly color, not talent, that kept him out.”

Another example of Carnegie’s talent is detailed in a quote allegedly offered by Toronto boss (and original Rangers’ GM) Conn Smythe who supposedly said, “I will gladly give $10,000 to anyone who can turn Herb Carnegie white.”

It is unknown if Smythe really did utter that quote or a similar one where Smythe allegedly stated, “He said he’d take you tomorrow if he could turn you white.”

The Rangers appeared ready to follow a plan similar to the Dodgers by starting Carnegie off in the minors before bringing him up to the NHL.  Unfortunately, Carnegie balked at this plan and Harris quotes a 1973 Toronto Sun article where Herb explains his reasoning.

“I missed the NHL by the stroke of a pen. Frankie Boucher was coaching the New York Rangers in 1948, and he told me he thought I was a good player, but he wanted to be sure whether I could play in the NHL. So he suggested I sign and start playing in New Haven. I was 29 (actually 28) at the time and I didn’t feel like playing there. For in those days there were not too many 30-year-old players in the NHL, and I knew that if I didn’t make it immediately, I wouldn’t get another chance.”

The Rangers actually made three minor league offers with their final option being a $4,700 contract to play in New Haven.  That offer was only $400 less than what Carnegie earned playing semi-pro hockey in Quebec.  Harris noted that the NHL minimum was $5,000 so Herb could have been on par with his Quebec League salary had he made the NHL.

While one can understand why Carnegie would be slow to trust any NHL team given Smythe’s alleged statements, it is possible that he might have made the Rangers opening night roster anyway.

The Blueshirts top two centers were among four players injured in a car accident six days prior to the start of the season.  With Buddy O’Connor and Edgar Laprade injured, Carnegie could have gotten his chance at the NHL sooner rather than later – a point Carnegie lamented some 50 years later.

“I have to take to my grave that lost opportunity,” Carnegie explained to Sherry Ross in a February 1998 Daily News article.

While the Rangers were unable to integrate the NHL in 1948, they were the first NHL team to sign a black player – Art Dorrington in 1950.

“A friend of mine in Nova Scotia got me a tryout with a team in New Milford, Conn., so I gave it a try,” Dorrington related to John McGourty of NHL.com in August 2008. “The Rangers asked me if I would like to play for the New York Rovers, their affiliate in the Eastern Hockey League. The team was on the road so I walked around New York City for a couple of days. I was getting homesick and bored and wanted to go back to Connecticut, so the Rangers told me to go play a week for the Atlantic City Sea Gulls and they’d take a look at me there. I did well in my tryout and the coach asked if I could finish the season there and I did.”

Unfortunately for Dorrington, his career was shattered in 1957 when he suffered a broken leg 11 games into his return to the EHL after missing a year due to military service.  He made one final EHL comeback during in 1960, but retired for good after five games.

Please visit my Ranger Ramblings Blog (http://www.rangerramblings.com/) which is hosted by NY Sports Day (http://www.nysportsday.com/).

—- Anthony Mastantuoni

The moment

Before I get to the meat of my post, first I want to thank Carp for taking a chance on someone who has never posted (my employer’s internet policy is strict) but has been an avid follower since the moment I first found this place awhile back. Over 3 years ago on 7/1/2007 when I was dying to find out who the Rangers would buy on their annual summer spending spree. The moment I found this page I knew I had found someplace special. For that moment and the opportunity to share another, Carp thanks.

Life is full of moments some of them stand out more than others (May and June of ’94 is full of them), some of them of more meaningful than others (Gretzky’s last game, Messier, Leetch, Richter, or Graves’ jersey retirements), most just fade from memory as soon their contracts expire… I mean just as soon as the moment passes.

Even more important than the moments that stand out are the moments that shape our lives. They define who we are. The moment you realized “hey this is what I want to for the rest of my life.” The moment you look across a room, a table, a bar, what have you, and saw your one-day spouse and said, “That is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.” For those of us who are truly fanatics, those that know the fourth liners as well as first, the moment we knew who our team was can be equally defining.

Many of us will say we were born Rangers fans, and for many of us it goes even deeper to the city Yankees/Mets, Knicks/Nets, Giants/Jets (my apologies I do not follow many other American sports but I know we have a WNBA team an MLS team and I’m sure so much more). But, back to the Rangers for now, everything has a beginning whether watching TV (or listening to the radio for you vintage fans) with your older brother, your dad, your mom, your grandparents, or whomever it was. There is a moment when you stop following to be with them & started following for yourself.

Perhaps like me you are in fact even a convert. Yes folks it’s true I was once, sigh a Flyers fan. Now, while you all grab your rocks and pitch forks allow me to quickly explain. My dad & all my uncles (my sports fan idols at my innocent 1 ½ years) were all born in NYC and loved the Rangers & every other NYC team. I was born in Philly while my parents lived there for a few years. I thought you rooted for the team(s) from your birth city (I was too young to know anything about class, honor, and I’d like to add talent but you have beaten Sather, errr, that horse to death).

So until I was about 4 I was a Flyers fan, and then I had my moment. It is one of my first solid memories (vivid, clear, emotional, and defining). I don’t remember the layout of the house, the color of the carpet, just this on ice incident. The date 10/26/87, the place (for me at least) on the floor with my dad, the game was Rangers Flyers. I was so excited we could watch hockey together. It didn’t matter that our teams were against each other (again I was young). They were on the ice together my dad & could share this game together.

Then this happened… (click here).

Dave Brown more or less tried to completely kill Tomas Sandstrom. I couldn’t believe it. I was crushed. Why would one of the players on my team do something like that? The Rangers guys didn’t do that (although it is quite possible they did 10 seconds before. Again I was 4—short attention span and limited memory).

From here the moment gets a little fuzzier. Perhaps it is the shock of the moment. Perhaps it is the struggle of a wonderful and saving rebirth from a land of Carcillo to a land of lights (on Broadway). Can I get an AMEN for the rebirth of my sports soul!?

A few minutes later on that night in ’87, my dad asked if I was okay, and I asked him if it was okay for me to change teams, to not root for people like that anymore. (Even then I understood what it meant to abandon your team.) Since that day, since that moment I have bled Rangers blue. That’s the moment that hockey, the Rangers, and more importantly being a fan became important to me for me, and not for what I thought it was supposed to be.

So while we toil through the second half of the dog days of summer and the critiques of Sather have played out in everything from a short play to short ASCII (#$#%) curse words and the buzz of rookie progress in training camp still weeks away, take a second and remember the moment you became a fan, remember why in the middle of summer we talk about a game played in the coldest months of the year. Be thankful you are a fan and feel free to share your moment if you’d like.

Thanks again Dad for letting me switch to a Rangers fan!
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Hi, it’s Carp. Thanks, Tim. Great post.

Fourty-three days until Opening Night.

43: Ryan Callahan’s first number with the Rangers.

43: Dennis Eckersley.

I still don’t know quite what to comment on other than odd bits of hockey lore that most of those recalled have already been passed on, I actually got to SEE very few Rangers games in those days ‘cause I couldn’t always afford the train fare from New Haven. But I  LISTENED to nearly all of them on radio with Ward Wilson, and Bert something or other, prior to the TV.
Most of my recollections are life experiences culled over the many years, and I’ve led a rather adventuresome life. My 82d birthday arrives in early November, and I don’t feel 82, my friends tell me I don’t look 82 ( HA), and I tell them I don’t feel 82…. I feel… 81.

I never played hockey as a youngster. Too poor; only rich kids could afford skates. Child of the depression, but when I’d finished my tour of duty with the USMC, ( I was a radio operator  (Morse Code) in a cargo hauling squadron VMR 252 Marine Air Wing)  and when not flying was stationed at the Naval Radio station NKT in the radio shack in the control tower at Cherry Point. But when I got out in 1949 (just prior to the Korean War outbreak), I’d just been transferred TAD (Temporary Attached Duty) to the 2ndMarine Division (gravel crunchers…and I was an “Airedale” … aviation units only supposedly, but with the Corps you never knew.)

By then I was a Corporal (whoeee big deal), but it was NCO and in the Corps  which was notably stingy passing out rank; a Corporal pulled a fair amount of authority. My job was to train a bunch of raw Boots just out of Parris Island and teach them to be radio operators. What a joke. Twenty kids still so shook from the “yes sirring” all over the place that they’d been indoctrinated with that I had to “unscare” them first of all. We were issued our 782 Gear (M1 Rifle, Bayonet, cartridge belt Canteen and first aid packet. I was really down, I thought that I’d be beyond all that grunt stuff.) brought to the water and boarded a WWII LST, the old 664 boat … and I almost bought it one night in a storm at
sea when the stupid ship broke a clutch and could only turn in circles, and left by the entire convoy… these were the last war games prior to the outbreak of the Korean War. And it was the entire 5th Naval district.  (Even included the old Battleship Missouri—Mighty Mo—awesome vessel).

I couldn’t sleep in the below decks—stink of diesel fumes, paint, B.O and whatever—so I fashioned a small folding cot  bulkhead,  to the 40 mm gun tub just behind the bridge, and slept in the open air, til we ran into the storm, and I woke up with waves higher than the ship. She rolled and I was afraid of going over so I clambered down the ladder soaking wet, and held by my elbows, cause I didn’t trust my hands, and had to wait the roll of the ship between each rung descent, so that when the ship rolled my way I was over the water, and then laying on the bulk head for a down step. I made it below and never came back up for the next two days.

So we conducted our assault on the island of Vieques, off of Puerto Rico, came back to my home squadron and got discharged. G.I/ Bill, went two years to University Southern CT, and instead of staying there and getting my degree I went off adventuring… to Chicago, and a fun year there.  I’ve held a zillion jobs, of all kinds, taxi driver in Chi, Mosquito killer in the swamps of Southern Jersey, factory job at Winchester Repeating arms ( my Dad was a foreman there), factory work—ugh.  I got bored and thought about re upping in the Corps, but fortunately dropped that idea fast, because one thing that the public might not know about the Marines… they are ALWAYS at war. Just don’t always know who the enemy is. But my buddies were all joining the reserves, and I figured why not? Again fortune saved me. All who went into the reserves were shipped over to Korea … and several of them stayed there – forever.

And so it went. Drove an 18 wheeler as a gypsy driver from Florida to New England and NY State and some hairy events in that activity.  etc. etc. But  then I was home with my family, single, and involved in hockey. Never a good player, but had fun, and became a rink rat. And that is the outset of  my “hockey career” such as it was.”

I became a super fan. Couldn’t get enough of the Rangers and their farm club in New Haven the Ramblers.
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Hi kids, it’s Carp. I really have enjoyed fran’s stories, as many of you have. So it was pretty special to give this a read last night and post it.

Forty-four days until Opening Night.

So many 44s. First and foremost, I guess: Hammerin’ Henry Aaron, the legit home run king still. Of course, Reggie. One fave from way back in football, Hall of Famer LeroyKelly of the Browns. John Riggins.

Chris Pronger. Ugh.

I have no idea why, but ESPN sent me this photo of Barry Melrose and the Most Interesting Man in the World.

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Forty-five days until Opening Night.

45: Bob Gibson, who was the freakin’ man. The man.

45: Jody Shelley.

45: Mark Freer, who I believe was wearing that number in the late 1980s when Brian Leetch went through the whole Philadelphia team to score one of the most electric goals of his career. Freer was the last guy he toasted, prompting John Vanbiesbrouck to say, “That kid must have thought he was in a Michael Jackson video.”
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I know you guys must think I’m nuts, but I had to turn down another chance to play Centennial Golf Club with Colton Orr today. Seriously.

The League That Ate Itself

As a huge hockey fan, July 1 is an oasis. Hockey hype in the middle of baseball season. Cool thoughts on a hot day. In the past, especially for NYR fans, it has been a very important day. Since the days of Neil Smith, the Rangers have basically put the future of the team in the hands of some lucky mercenaries. Even last year when the salary cap virtually precluded the Rangers from signing top UFA’s, the NYR managed to make a splash with Marion Gaborik. This year, they managed to squeeze in Alex Frolov as a UFA. But this July 1st was much different than previous ones, and I believe we may soon see the end of the midsummer big UFA sweepstakes, and hopefully, the end of the NHL as we know it.

The Ilya Kovalchuk saga has yet to be resolved, and may have opened up a can of worms that will only further damage the credibility of a floundering NHL.

“I can’t believe that the preeminent professional hockey league in the world has a Ryan Hollweg in it and no Jaromir Jagr.”

That was a quote by me to anyone who would listen around the time #68 signed to play in Siberia. JJ was past his prime for sure. But how could the NHL say they are trying to grow their sport, entice new fans, and maintain any sense of quality when a surefire hall of famer is allowed to slip away to Eurasia? The answer is the NHL itself.

The NHL is a collection of owners, who for the most part, have no business owning a professional sports franchise. Take away Detroit, New Jersey, and a few others, you have incompetence. The NHL is more concerned with maintaining a mediocre status quo than improving on any level. What has the NHL done (besides removing the two-line pass) to improve the league? An outdoor game? Bettman has put more effort into keeping franchises in cities like Phoenix, Atlanta, and Nashville than keeping the best players in the world in his league!!! Now, Kovalchuk is back in limbo. Conceivably, one of the 5 best players on the planet could be playing for 20 trillion rubles in the KHL, because the NHL has resigned itself to become a league of parody.

Last winter, the NHL made a splash with the Olympics. That Gold Medal game was a game for the ages. Casual fans were glued to their sets. There was talk that Jagr may come back to the NHL. Canada got up off of the canvas to win gold. Hockey had momentum leading up to the NHL playoff chase. When the best players in the world play this game, there is no other sport that comes close.

The only problem is that the NHL doesn’t understand this.

League expansion has watered down the talent in this league to the point where even I am not interested in watching games other than the Rangers. If there is one pro sports league that needs contraction, it is the NHL.

If I were commissioner, my first order of business would be to cut the league to 20 teams. My second order of business would be to eliminate the salary cap. I would hope that the 20 remaining owners would be able to actually afford to own sports franchises, and run them efficiently. I would also prefer to see some of these teams go back to Quebec City and Winnipeg. Cities that will actually embrace the teams instead of the Atlantas of the world.

In today’s economy, contraction may just happen anyway.

Sadly, the NHL is facing another potential lockout/strike. Obviously these owners and (poorly represented) players have learned nothing from a lost season. In fact, that lockout and resulting CBA have made things worse for the game of hockey.

Maybe the next lockout will bring a real change.

cw.
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Hey, it’s Carp. Great job by cw.

Forty-six days until the opener.

46: Andy Pettitte.

I’m not going to go on and on about a topic that was discussed yesterday: That the Rangers will trot out another “third jersey” which would make this one their sixth or seventh or eighth jersey, actually. I’ve lost count.

If it’s going to be a throwback, that’s fine and great. The Rangers wore throwbacks in ‘91-92. So if the blue jersey is going to have an old-style diagonal “RANGERS” or “NEW YORK” on the front, fine. But if they’re going to come up with another Lady Liberty or whatever, well, I’m totally against that.

And I’ll tell you why. Lady Liberty was a pure money grab. Your money. Their grab. It was another way to turn your pockets inside out. Now, I know a lot of you liked those jerseys and nobody forced you to buy them. But, let’s face it, if nobody would buy it they wouldn’t do it.

Again, the only reason for third jerseys is to have stores full of new stuff for you to buy. If you’re OK with that, well, it’s your wallet.

I find it distasteful that one of the best jerseys in all of sports will be replaced for some games by a merchandise sale.
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Forty-seven days until Opening Night.

47: Rich Pilon. Who once said, as a Ranger, “screw ‘em all, I can still play.”

Goin’ golfin’ but I’ll be around for most of the next two weeks, and with more time to hang out here at RR since I won’t have to do any other work …

Hah!

I have scheduled a few guest bloggers to fill in some holes. Youse who are guesting, please send me your post the night before it is scheduled, to rcarpini@LoHud.com.

And those few who don’t like guest blogs, check out the schedule and stay away those days.

Here’s the sked. We may add more guests, or change some dates.:

Wednesday, Aug. 25: cwgatti.
Friday, Aug. 27: Fran.
Saturday, Aug. 28: Tim G.
Sunday, Aug. 29: Anthony M.

Wednesday, Sept. 1: DanLD.
Thursday, Sept. 2: JVogs.
Friday, Sept. 3: Noah.
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Forty-eight days left until Opening Night. I don’t know of any Ranger who ever wore No. 48. The only Yankee I can think of was Tim Stoddard, and he might not have worn it.

The most noteworthy hockey player I could think of was Scott Young, who wore 48 for a lot of teams.

Hang in there. We’re getting to the good numbers soon.

Forty nine days until Opening Night.

49: Ron Guidry.

His 25-3 season (all three losses to pitchers named Mike; can  you name them?) was one of the best pitching seasons I’ve ever seen, along with Bob Gibson’s and Dwight Gooden’s.

Any others, besides all the San Francisco 49ers?
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We spoke on this on a slooooowwwwwwwwww Saturday—maybe the lightest traffic we’ve ever had here—but there is talk that the NHL will change the tiebreaker rule, to where wins in regulation and overtime count more than wins in those silly, stupid, non-hockey, skills competitions.

Here’s a blurb on that.

I’ll have a guest blog schedule tomorrow … it won’t be every day for the next two weeks, just a few sprinkled in.