NYRangers 365

NYRangers New Third Jersey Photo Leaks!!

2010-09-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

Found this over at Puck Daddy. The photo was leaked by Sean Avery by himself on his website SeanAvery.com....

Looks exactly like what everyone had reported it would look like but for some reason the image in my head looked much better then this. I personally hate it and will definitely not be buying one. To simple and flat out ugly in my opinion. If this was there plan then they shouldn't have done one to begin with. Not much else to say about it!!

Some Pics From Around The NHL Training Camps!!

2010-09-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

Kari Lehtonen's Chuck Norris Themed Mask!!

Some NHL teams have been releasing pics through Twitter from there Training Camps. Some of the pics are of players getting headshots and pictures taken. Others are of them talking to the media and some are of players already on the ice. I found some of them to be interesting especially this one of Kari Lehtonen's new goalie mask with a Chuck Norris theme.

So join me after this for a look inside NHL Training Camps...

Cheechoo with Stars!!

Kaberle Talking To Media!!

MZA Talking To Media!!

Crosby Talking To Media!!

Ryan Miller With Media!!

Kovalchuk With Media!!

Harrison Of Canes!!

Volchenkov On Ice!!

Grabovski!!

Tallinder On Ice!!

Spacek!!

Colton Orr close up!!

The Monster Filming TV Promo!!

Steve Zipay Tweets That MZA Is Struggling!!

2010-09-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

Steve Zipay is with the Rangers at training camp reporting live and has stated that Zuccarello struggled through the first drill. Now we all know that Torts runs a tough camp but this is definitely not what most Rangers fans wanted to hear. A lot of us were hoping MZA would impress and have a great camp and maybe secure a spot on the team. But it is still early so I guess we shouldn't jump the gun to quick.

"Zuccarello among players struggling in first drills"

The NYRangers also tweeted through there official Twitter account that Matt Gilroy was one of the most impressive early on. Great news as he has obviously come into camp ready to make a splash and make an impact on this team.

"Group One finishes session of 3 sprint laps 6 times; Matt Gilroy was flying through all six, impressive"

NYRangers Training Camp Starts Today!!!!!!!

2010-09-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Today marks the start of Training Camp for NHL teams. This is a great time of year as NHL fans get to know who came to make the team and what prospects still have a little further to go. It also means the start of the NHL season is right around the corner. We all know that Torts has one of the toughest camps out there and all players need to come ready or they will have issues making the team.

The Rangers have a lot of questions that need to be answered and all will be answered in the coming weeks.

Is Redden done? Will prospects MZA, Grachev, Stepan and McDonagh make the opening night roster? Will Exelby, Semenov and/or Fedotenko play well enough to earn a contract? Will new guys Kennedy and White make the team? Who will Frolov click with? There are many questions that need to be answered and hopefully the coaching staff can answer them in the coming weeks.

Look here for updates during the day and also follow @thenyrangers and @stevezipay on Twitter.

NYRangers Media Day Photo Shoot Pics!!

2010-09-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

The NYRangers released some photos of some of the Rangers biggest stars. The pictures were released via the Rangers official Twitter account.

NYRangers Lose To The Hurricanes In Traverse City Tourney!!

2010-09-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

The Rangers played their second game of the Traverse City Tournament yesterday against the Carolina Hurricanes. But unlike in the first game, the Rangers could not find any offense and were shutout 1-0.

The Rangers played well, tallying 33 shots but Hurricanes goaltender Mike Murphy was able to stop all 33 of those shots. Rangers goalie Cam Talbot also had a great game but allowed one more goal then Murphy and that's all the Canes would need to win.

Here is what NYRangers 1st round pick Dylan McIlrath had to say after the game: "Both goalies were great, but their goalie stole the game for them," said Rangers defenseman Dylan McIlrath, the Blueshirts' 2010 first-round draft pick. "We deserved to win, I think, because we outplayed them."

For a full recap of the game head over to The Rangers Website!!!

NYRangers Start Traverse City Tourney Off With A Bang

2010-09-12T07:15:00.000-07:00

The Rangers started the Annual Traverse City Tournament off with a win over Columbus. This Tourney is a great way for the Rangers to see there prospects in action while also giving them some much needed experience and continuity amongst each other.
Well they didn't disappoint as the Rangers prospects came through with a 5-4 win. The game went back and forth until Evgeny Grachev netted the game winning goal with only 6.1 seconds left. He is what he had to say about the play after the game:

"We had a set play there," said Grachev. "The coaches told Stepan to get the puck to me at the top of the circle. If I had time, I could shoot it, and if I didn't, I could just keep it going to the d-man behind me, and he would take the shot. Bourque was there in the hashmarks to screen the goalie and disrupt the d-men for Columbus. I got the puck right away and felt I had time to shoot it, so I shot it."

For a complete recap of the game head over to The Rangers Website. They have complete coverage of the tourney and will keep you updated on all news and notes. It is to bad the games are not on the NHL Network as they have been in previous years. This is a great way for fans of the participating teams to get to know more about there teams top prospects while enjoying some much needed Hockey right before the season starts.

NYRangers Invite Some Veterans To Camp!!

2010-09-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

The New York Rangers have decided to invite some veterans and familiar faces to Training Camp on a tryout basis. Some of these choices were surprising and others seemed useless.

First news broke that the Rangers invited 2-time Stanley Cup winner Ruslan Fedotenko to camp. I saw no problem with this at all and in my opinion the more players at camp the better. But it seems as though a lot of Rangers fans disagree with this move. Most consider him just another 40 point guy who fits the 3rd-4th line role. While I am somewhat agree, he can also be much more. He was a major part of two Cup winning teams and came through in the clutch for Tampa in the 2004 Cup Finals scoring both goals for the Lightning in game 7. If they had signed him I would be a little upset by the move but it's only a tryout and they can always catch lightning in a bottle.

Join me after this for more....

Then news broke that Garnett Exelby had joined the Rangers at Pre-Training Camp workouts. Now we know that he has accepted a tryout with the Rangers at training camp. I and along with most other Rangers fans love this move and hope he plays well and sticks. I was looking around some Rangers blogs and sites during the offseason and this was a name that brought up a lot. This is a great situation for the Rangers because if he plays well, they can most likely sign him cheap and if he doesn't then they can easily say bye.

Exelby was one of the Atlanta Thrashers original selections in their first NHL Entry Draft as an NHL franchise in 1999. He was selected in the 8th round and is the only player selected in that Draft by the Thrashers who is still playing in the NHL today. He played six seasons in Atlanta starting in the 2002-03 season before getting traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs after the 2009 season. He had a tough first season in Toronto and had trouble cracking the lineup at times. He only played in 51 games and had a career low four points.

But with all that said, Exelby is that exact player the Rangers need. He plays a tough physical game and is known for his hard hits and fearless play. He is not going to put many points up but will definitely strike some fear in opposing players if they mess with the Hank or the front of the crease. This is a type of player the Rangers are missing and have had a hard time finding. With Exelby still at a young age at 29 this overall seems like a great move with no guarantees involved.

Next was the news that for a second straight season Alexei Semenov will be joining the Rangers at camp. This news kind of came as a shock to me as after playing well for the Rangers at camp last year, Semenov was offered a contract to play with the Rangers but decided to reject the contract and sign a two year deal in the KHL. Rangers General Manager Glen Sather stated that Semenov's wife talked him out of signing the deal. I figured that was the end of the relationship between the two sides but I was obviously wrong.

Semenov is known for his hard shot that is easily over 100 mph. But even with that hard shot, he has had a difficult time scoring in the NHL only notching 7 goals in 211 games. He also is well known for his size standing at 6'6 and 235 pounds. Even though this is an odd move, I like it as Semenov played great last pre-season and training camp and was 100% worthy of the contract he was offered. Maybe he is second guessing his decision to play in the KHL and wants another shot at the NHL.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Rangers brought some more players into camp and this is probably just the beginning.

Which Maple Leafs Hockey Inception Video Do You Like Better??

2010-09-12T06:45:00.000-07:00

I pose this question as some crazy Toronto Maple Leafs fan has decided to challenge the first creator of the Maple Leafs Inception Highlight Video. I happen to love these videos and think there a great way to get pumped for the new hockey season. The soundtrack is perfect in my opinion and its just a great way to showcase your team. So we have a new Toronto Maple Leafs video and I would like to know which one you like better!!

The Original:

The New One:

So which one is better???

Blog Update: I'm Back!!!

2010-09-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

I have been spending this weekend(Friday-Sunday) up in Boston with four of my closest friends. We are having a great time but sadly have to leave today.

But not before we go to the Bengals-Patriots game which I'm excited to see. I love going to new stadiums and meeting new fans(even if they're from Boston) and just enjoying the experience and the game. Hopefully it's a good one as both teams made the playoffs last year but feel like they have something to prove after getting ousted in the first round.

I usually do not get great seats when I go to a football game but my friends got some great seats on the 40-yard line very close to the field. I will definitely be sporting my OchoCinco jersey and waiting for Chad and T.O to blow up in each others face.

So I just thought I'd let you know what was going on but I will 100% be returning to the blog tomorrow with daily updates and my own write-ups of daily NHL and NYRangers news. Technically I am returning today since I wrote up this blog and have 2-3 more that I am finishing up but we will just say I am returning tomorrow. I feel like I got off to a great start with this blog but have had a lot on my plate of late and haven't had as much time to dedicate to it. But since school is starting up and the summer is over and I have fully moved, I will have a lot more time to dedicate to my site. So I hope all of my followers and obviously some new ones join me along for the ride of another crazy up and down NHL season.

Reminder: NHL 11 In Stores Today!!

2010-09-07T22:50:00.000-07:00

I am not a huge fan of video games but when I do sit down and play, the only game I play is the EA Sports NHL Series. The game gets better and better every year and is so life like and authentic to hockey.

The newest version of the annual series hit stores today and is available for $59.99 USD. The game is available for the PS3 and Xbox 360. A new game titled NHL Slapshot will be released by EA Sports for the Wii.

I played some of the demo and I definitely recommend this to all Hockey and NHL fans. Of course that is if you have a video game system around to play the game on. Whenever I want to sit back and relax this game is always there and presents a real life like hockey feel. Not only that but there are tons of game modes to play for whatever mood your in. They have also yet again made over 200+ in game enhancements. The online game play is great and also has multiple game modes to chose from such as EASHL, EAUHL, Shootout Mode, Online Versus and many more.

Here is a preview of the game:

A Little Video To Get Us Ready For The 2010-11 Season!!

2010-09-07T22:36:00.000-07:00

Since there hasn't been much Rangers news of late, I thought id post a nice video to get us Rangers fans pumped and ready for the 2010-11 season. The video was made by Loffen1987 on YouTube who has some great NYRangers highlight videos. Definitely go check out his page and watch some of his videos. So the video is a highlight reel of Marion Gaborik's goals from last season. I thought it was nice so check it out:

An Apology To My Readers!!!

2010-09-07T22:27:00.000-07:00

I would just like to do a quick post apologizing to my readers. I know over the first month or so here I have developed a small following of readers. I really didn't expect to get this many people reading what I have to say this early on but I am thankful that you guys even care.

So I just wanted to apologize for my lack of updates to the blog lately but I have been really busy the last two weeks moving and helping others move and countless other business that I had to attend to.

I promise that once Training Camp and the Season starts that I will be updating like I was in the beginning and I will be 100% dedicated to this site. This blog is important to me as I someday hope to be a sports writer and this is a good starting block.

My NYRangers Season Ticket Picture Gallery!!

2010-09-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

All NYRangers Season Ticket Holders were able to go to Madison Square Garden and pick up there Tickets today. You can also have them mailed but I have had problems with that in the past and choose to go and pick them up.

I usually go with my Dad and pick the Tickets up the first day that they are available. They have been in my family for 18 years now(including this season) and I plan on keeping them. My Dad and Uncle first subscribed in the 92-93 season(I was born during March of this season) and when I turn 18 in March, me and my cousin plan on taking over control of the tickets so that we can go to more games together.

We will probably wait until the start of next season and our parents have agreed to let us have them as long as we have a job and can pay for them on our own. I took some pictures of our tickets and thought I would share them on here. So join me after this to see my gallery...

NHL Center Ice Package News!!

2010-09-02T01:10:00.000-07:00

I read an interesting article on Yahoo Sports' hockey blog Puck Daddy about the NHL Center Ice package. A lot of good points in the article so definitely go check it out.

Here are some of the major points from the article.
The price has gone up $8.00 from $163.80 to $171.80. Which in the end is really not that big of a deal.

You can watch a free full-preview of Center Ice from October 7th-24th. This is great because there is still no word on the whole HDtv issue running around the package over the last few years. I for one will not buy the package without HD because the picture just doesn't add up to the price for me. It is apparently on the cable providers to provide the HD feed so I guess we can all find out if ours does during the free preview.

Go check the article for the rest of the news.

Reminder For NYRangers Season Ticket Holders!!

2010-09-02T00:50:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder to all of us New York Rangers season ticket holders out there, you can pick up your tickets starting tomorrow at 9 am. You can pick them up at the regular ticket windows inside the Garden.

This is always a great day for me as I get to see my tickets for the first time and it also means that the season is about a month away. When I open the box up and smell my fresh new overpriced Season Tickets, I feel like the crap we when through last season is over and we can focus in on this team that we always believe will lead us to the Cup again.

2 NEW!!! Hockey Inception Themed Highlight Videos!!

2010-09-01T04:45:00.000-07:00

Well it has been awhile since I updated my blog. I have been moving into a new home but I have found some time on this Wednesday morning to search the Internet. When I reached YouTube I was pleased to see that 2 NEW!! Inception themed Hockey Highlight/Preview videos had been created. Both have been made within the last week. One is for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the other is for the Anaheim Ducks. So I am going to stop rambling and you guys can check them out right here:

Click here for the post with the first 5 Inception themed videos in it!!

Alex Ovechkin Capital One Bank Commercial!!

2010-09-01T04:30:00.000-07:00

Alex Ovechkin, one of the best goal scorers in the NHL and star of the Washington Capitals has appeared in a Capital One Bank commercial that apparently is running only in the D.C area. I say that because in the commercial that state that they have the most banks in the D.C area. OK yes I am a genius. I discovered the video from Puck Daddy himself on Twitter. I found the commercial to be pretty good so I thought I would post on it here. The quality isn't great but you can still tell what is going on (It was definitely videotaped by someone watching the TV). So here it is:

NYRangers Sign Tim Kennedy!!

2010-09-01T04:25:00.000-07:00

This is somewhat old news(only a couple of days) but since I haven't updated the blog in a week, I thought I'd post it anyway.

The New York Rangers have signed Ex-Sabre Tim Kennedy. The deal is for one year at $550k.

The Sabres went to arbitration with Kennedy and he was given a one year $1M deal. After the team signed it they decided to waive Kennedy and then subsequently buy out the one year deal. The Sabres will take on a $166k cap hit each of the next two seasons. The Sabres reportedly only wanted to pay Kennedy around $800k.

There are two ways to look at this deal. One being that it is a win-win situation or that the Rangers are just adding another 3rd-4th line player. I look at it as a win-win and here is why. He had a solid(not great but solid) rookie season scoring 10 goals and tallying 26 points in 78 games. If he doesn't work out then he plays a year in the minors for us and that's that. But with Tortorella's offensive system anything can happen and the Rangers can catch lightning in a bottle and find a player for there future. It's not like he is 35(Todd White) as he is only 24 and just came off of a decent rookie season. We also got him for about half of what the arbitrator awarded him which is a great deal. Also not that Artem Anisimov only had 28 points last year and you do not see anyone giving up on him granted he is two years younger.

Maybe you could look down on this deal if the Rangers paid $1M plus for this guy but they got him at the league minimum which seems to be a great deal.

NYRangers National TV Schedule!!

2010-08-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

Today the NHL announced its National TV schedule. Versus will carry 78 games which is 13 more then last season. While NBC will continue its flex scheduling option so most dates do not have a specific game chosen yet. Here are the 11 games the Rangers will play on Versus and 5 "options" for NBC:

Versus:
Monday October 18th vs. Colorado
Tuesday November 9th vs. Washington
Wednesday November 17th vs. Boston
Wednesday December 15th at Pittsburgh
Monday January 24th at Washington
Tuesday February 1st vs. Pittsburgh
Monday February 7th at Detroit
Tuesday March 1st vs. Buffalo
Wednesday March 30th at Buffalo
Monday April 4th vs. Boston
Thursday April 7th vs. Atlanta

NBC:(All games on Sunday)(Flex Schedule)
February 13th vs. Pittsburgh
February 20th vs. Philadelphia
March 6th vs. Philadelphia
March 20th at Pittsburgh
April 3rd at Philadelphia

Vinny Prospal Discusses His Road To The Rangers!!

2010-08-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

Head over to the New York Rangers official website to see a pretty unique interview with Vinny Prospal. He discusses everything that led him on his road to the Rangers. They have a pop-up that in his words he talks about many moments and experiences that led him to where he is now. Each of the 13 voice clips are from 30 seconds to a minute long. This is episode 6 in the "series" but the last one was from Dubinsky in February. I would really like to see them do some more of these. I definitely suggest that all Rangers fans head over to the site and check it out.

Michael Del Zotto Photo Shoot With Coke Zero!! (UPDATED)

2010-08-24T15:26:00.000-07:00

The New York Rangers posted a couple of photos on there official Twitter account of Michael Del Zotto doing a Coke Zero Photo Shoot. This is good to as the Rangers and NHL are marketing there young stars well and the second picture looks amazing. I am actually really glad to see them doing something like this.

Here are the links to the pics: Pic 1 and Pic 2! I will update if they post anymore. UPDATE: Pic 3!!

Tuesday In Pictures And Videos? Sure Why Not!

2010-08-24T14:56:00.000-07:00

Sorry for no posts today but I have been very busy yet again. There has been no news on the Rangers front today so I thought I'd do something a little different. Some links to some pictures since a lot of people don't have Twitter and most of these pictures are released through Twitter. So here you go:

Coach Laviolette at the World Hockey Summit: Pic!

Here are some more pics from The World Hockey Summit: Steve Yzerman, Daniel Alfredsson, Panel at WHS, Yzerman on the stage, Glen Healy among those on stage, Pic 1, Pic 2 Inside WHS, and finally Brendan Shanahan!!

Brian Burke video on the comments made by Kaberle's father.

Rob Schremp sits down with some Islanders fans and has dinner? Video

Devils goalie Mike McKenna dressed up in Care Bear costume? Yes and hear is the pic he posted to prove it!

Penguins tough guy Mike Rupp is down doing some charity work in Haiti with Max Talbot and he posted this pic, and it really makes you think. Read his caption for it also. Here is a picture of Max Talbot in Haiti.

Some teams get the ice ready for the season: Blue Jackets, Lightning and Canadiens!!

Remember the picture of Thornton and Florian yesterday, well here is a video of him giving Florian a tour. And here's a second pic with them on the floor of the TD Garden.

Is this LaKings Parking Lot Shuttle Bus a joke? Pic Really?? I would never go on that thing!!

Some pics from a the Carolina Hurricanes players practicing: Cam Ward, Pic 1, and former Ranger Bobby Sangs.

Monday News All In 1 Post!! (UPDATED Already)

2010-08-23T17:06:00.000-07:00

I have had a very busy Monday but have found some time to update the blog. So here is all of today's "news" in 1 post. If anything else breaks on the Rangers front or any NHL news happens then I will most likely just update this post. Unless of course it is really big news then I will find some time to create a new post for you guys.

Steve Zipay confirmed through Twitter earlier today that the Rangers will be unveiling there third jerseys in November. Hopefully they put some time into these as it is obviously just a grab at more money but if they look good then I won't really care. But if they look like shit then there is no point in putting them out as no fans will buy them.

Over at Beyond The Blueshirts Laurie Carr translated an Alex Frolov interview in Russian. Check it out as Frolov discusses KHL vs. NHL and much more. Definitely a good read for Rangers fans.

Head over to the The NYR Blog for all the latest news on the Rangers. Some small news broke today and you can read it all over there. Stall negotiations are going no where and some other news.

Check out a video Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding doing some charity work and helping to build houses.

Here is a picture of UFC Star Kenny Florian in the Bruins locker room with Bruins tough guy Shawn Thornton.

Yesterday a bunch of us Rangers/Prucha fans were able to get #Prucha to the #9 trending topic in NYC. For people who use twitter, they know this was not an easy task. Especially since he plays in Phoenix now and it is in the middle of the offseason. But here is the proof!

The Hartford Wolf Pack have just announced that they have resigned defensemen Jared Nightingale. He is veteran and could provide some leadership with the team.

NYRangers Pound 4 Pound: Best Of 2009-10!

2010-08-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

The New York Rangers had an up and down 2009-10 season. It ended with a loss in a shootout during the last game of the year. Missing the playoffs by 1 point on the last day is terrible enough, but the team they lost to actually went on to play in the Stanley Cup Finals. But that is not the point of this post and we have no idea if the Rangers would have went that far anyway.

After losing Colton Orr in free agency to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Rangers quickly went out and signed Donald Brashear to be there new "enforcer." As we all know this did not work out at all and the Rangers spent the whole season trying to find a new fighter/enforcer.

The Rangers ranked 11th in the league in fighting majors with 52 according to HockeyFights.com! But the team leader definitely surprised me when I looked it up. Recently traded AARON VOROS lead the Rangers with 13 fights overall. Second was EPIC fail of an enforcer Donald Brashear who had 1 assist and 9 fights in 36 games. Sean Avery was up to his usual antics and was in 7 fights and caused trouble although it seemed like he lacked some of the spark he has had in recent seasons. After Brash was sent to the minors the Rangers went out and acquired two of the best fighters in the league, Brandon Prust and Jody Shelley.

Prust and Shelley came in guns blazing but after they developed an offensive chemistry on a line with Artem Anisimov, Prust didn't fight again and Shelley only had 1 more fight. Prust was involved in 7 fights in 26 games and Shelley was involved in 3 fights in 21 games. Needless to say both Shelley and Prust filled the enforcer role much better then Brashear did. But an aging Jody Shelley was not resigned and the Rangers opted to sign big bad Derek Boogaard for four years. Prust was resigned during the offseason for 2 years at 800k per year.

HockeyFights.com Awards:
Best MidSeason Tough Guy Pick-Up for Jody Shelley.

Click here for a list of all the Rangers fighters last season and how many fights they were in.

The Rangers should not have the same problem looking for an enforcer next year as they now have Derek Boogaard and Brandon Prust and Up and Comers Dane Byers and Devin DiDiomete if something goes wrong. But join me after this anyway to see my top 15 NYRangers fights and rough stuff moments from 2009-10 in no particular order....

Here is the line changing Mini-Brawl between the Canucks and Rangers:

"Now that's Rangers-Islanders" Avery smacks Roloson:

Avery mocks Talbot:

Lundqvist gets in Crosby's face:

Dubinsky takes shot at Crosby in an interview:

Dubinsky beats up Mike Richards:

Aaron Voros scrap with Mike Underwood:

Aaron Voros cuts Matt Bradley bad. Cut at :40 of video:

Voros with the KO:

Brashear Welcomes Orr back to New York:

Avery puts Gervais down:

I had to:

WAR:

Girardi schools Hartnell: Watch replay around :50 to see the shots Girardi landed:

Crazy And Great Shootout Stats!!

2010-08-21T16:17:00.000-07:00

An NHL.com article on the history of the first five years of the shootout inspired this article. After I read it, I decided to do some research and found out some crazy information.

Adding a shootout to the end of tied games was one of the major rule changes put in place after the 2004-05 Lockout. Prior to the lockout if a game went through 65 minutes, the game would be a tie and both teams would get only one point. Now all games have a winner with the shootout in place and one team always gets two points.

The shootout is no secret to Rangers fans as they are tied for the most shootouts played in the last five years. The Rangers, Oilers and Bruins have all participated in 65 shootouts. Approximately one out of every six regular season Rangers games have been decided by a shootout since the lockout.

Some fans hate the shootout and some love it. I am on the side that it is better then ties and until we have a better system in place, I am all for it.

We all have our favorite shootout moments whether it be Marek Malik ending the longest shootout in history or Crosby winning the first Winter Classic in a shootout.

So the NHL.com article inspired me to look up some shootout stats so join me after this for some great/crazy shootout stats and some videos... I definitely encourage you to check out the article...

All stats are from NHLShootouts.com:

The New York Rangers have participated in the two longest shootouts in history and won both. The longest was a November 26th, 2005 battle with the Washington Capitals in which Marek Malik scored one of the most memorable goals in shootout history in the 15th round to win it. Here is Part of 1 of that shootout and here is part 2. The next one is tied for the second longest in history, a 13 round battle on October 7th, 2006 in which Marcel Hossa scored the only goal against the Philly Flyers.

The Novemeber 26th battle with the Washington Capitals is also tied for the most goals in a single shootout with 7.

Only 19 shootouts have decided a scoreless tie and the Rangers have been apart of 4 of those which is the most of any team. The Rangers are 2-2 in these 4 games, and most recently lost a 1-0 game to the New Jersey Devils on January 12th, 2010 in which both goalies made more then 45 saves. Patrik Elias scored the only shootout goal in the 4th round. Watch the video here!

The Rangers have faced the Devils the most in the shootout, that being 9 times and this is tied for the most games against one team. The Rangers have won five while the Devils only 4. So we have an edge somewhere. The Rangers have faced the Panthers seven times, winning four of those.

Henrik Lundqvist hold 6 of the top 13 spots on the "Most shootout attempts versus one goalie list." He has faced Zach Parise seven times which is the most one goalie has faced one player. Zach has only scored on three of those attempts. Lundqvist has also faced Miroslav Stan(2), Patrik Elias(3), Jamie Langenbrunner(1), Phil Kessel(2) and Brian Gionta(1) five times each. The number next to there name is how many times they have scored on Hank.

Former Ranger Ales Kotalik is 4th in most goals with 21 in 42 attempts. Current Ranger Erik Christensen is 10th with 18 in 35 attempts.

Marion Gaborik has the 6th worst shooting percentage with at least 10 attempts. He is 2 for 18 with a 11.11%. Others in the top 12: Dany Heatlet, Eric Staal, Kyle Okposo and Bobby Ryan.

14 players who have had a shootout attempt have a 100% shooting percentage. 12 of those shooters have only taken one attempt. P.A Parenteau is 3 for 3 on shootout attempts, all of which came last year.

P.A Parenteau also had the longest scoring streak in Rangers shootout history going 3 for 3 last year. His streak technically still continues this season with the Isles.

Most shootout attempts in one season for the Rangers was Brendan Shanahan who had 15 attempts in 2007-08. He scored on 5 of them.

Most goals in one season for a Ranger goes to Nigel Dawes(2007-08), Brendan Shanahan(2007-08), Markus Naslund(2008-09), Michael Nylander(2005-06),(2006-07) and Nik Zherdev(2008-09) all scoring 5 goals in one year. Of course Michael Nylander did it twice.

Only 3 Rangers who have taken a minimum of 5 shots in 1 season have missed on them all, Chris Drury went 0 for 5 in 2007-08, Jaromir Jagr went 0 for 5 in 2007-08 and Petr Prucha went 0 for 6 in 2006-07.

Henrik Lundqvist has competed in the second most amount of shootouts with 51 and won the second most amount of games with 30. He is only behind Martin Brodeur in both stats.

Henrik Lundqvist longest shootout winning streak is 6 games from November-December of the 2008 season.

Hank has the 10th highest save percentage stopping 143 of 191 shot for a .749%.. In contrast New Rangers back-up Marty Biron has one of the worst shootout saving percentages with a .533% only saving about half the shots he faces.

No team has gone undefeated in one single season in the shootout.

My favorite shootout goal of all time:

Reminder: NHL.com 30 in 30 Look At NYRangers Up Today!

2010-08-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

Today on NHL.com they continue there look at 30 teams in 30 days with the New York Rangers. The series has been a great look at all 30 teams in the NHL so I definitely suggest you take a look at it.

They have an article by Dave Lozo on how all the small changes might help in getting us into the playoffs this season.

They also have a look at Chris Kreider!

A brief history of the Rangers by Michael Stainkamp!

Dave Lozo had this to say about Michael Del Zotto: "Michael Del Zotto, of the 879 players eligible, only seven had worse plus-minus ratings than Del Zotto's minus-20. Struggles are to be expected from rookie defensemen, and Del Zotto was no exception. There were many times he was caught out of position by more experienced forwards, and the Rangers paid as Del Zotto learned on the job. But the talent is there, as evidenced by his 9 goals and 28 assists; only Buffalo's Tyler Myers had more points than Del Zotto among rookie defensemen. If Del Zotto can tighten up his defensive game, he could find himself in the Norris Trophy discussion in a few years."

They also have some of the best highlights from the Rangers season including Drury's backhand goal while kneeled on the ice and some more. I would suggest all Rangers fans take some time and go check it out.

NYRangers Pound 4 Pound Prospect Edition: Dane Byers!

2010-08-21T11:52:00.000-07:00

Second on my look at NYRangers Pound 4 Pound Prospect Edition today is Dane Byers. Dane has a bright future and will be given a strong chance to make the NHL roster this season.

While Dane has a bright future and a chance to make an impact at the NHL level, he is already 24 and will be turning 25 during the season. Byers has already been called up to the NHL level twice. Once in 2007-2008 for only 1 game and he played 5 games last season for the Rangers, scoring 1 goal.

In those 5 games Byers found himself in the middle of the Rangers-Canucks line changing brawl. He received a one game suspension from the NHL for instigating a fight later on in that same game. He was sent back down to Hartford 2 games later.

Dane definitely has an edge to his game but also has some offensive ability tallying 151 points in 234 games over the last 4 seasons in the AHL. He has been very consistent with his play in Hartford which is a good sign that the coaches will look definitely be looking at while Byers tries to make the team.

Here is Byers Talent Analysis from HockeysFuture:

"Byers is an aggressive power forward, who handles the puck extremely well and scores most of his goals from no more than 3-4 feet outside the crease. Strong on the puck, Byers has shown none of the effort issues that seemed to plague him at times in junior. Expected to only be a depth guy, Byers has surprised everyone with his offensive upside. After showing that his 2006-07 production was not a fluke, Byers continued to mature, and was one of the AHL team leaders in points last season. His skill with the puck, ability to finish, and grittiness make Byers an excellent NHL prospect for the Rangers."

Tale Of The Tape:
Height: 6'3
Weight: 200 Pounds
Age: 24
# of NHL Fights: 3 (6 Games/2 P/S Fight)
# of AHL Fights: 40 (4 Seasons)
# of WHL Fights: 42 (4 Seasons)
Total # of Fights: 85 (8 Seasons)

Join me after this for some of Byers best fights...

As you can see about 10 seconds into the video, Byers is literally in the middle of the mini-brawl.. Byers is the one who starts dragging that bitch Bieska..

They were throwing them until Byers went for the DDT lol...

Byers defending teammate Anisimov who was skating with his head down.. AGAIN!!:

Byers beats down on Darrol Powe:

This is the fight Byers got the instigator/suspension for:

Good even fight:

NYRangers Pound 4 Pound Prospect Edition: Devin DiDiomete!

2010-08-21T10:55:00.000-07:00

Today I will be looking at 2 Rangers prospects separately in my NYRangers Pound 4 Pound series and first is fireball Devin DiDiomete.

This kid can definitely throw the punches. Devin was signed by the Rangers in 2008. This upcoming season will be the last year of his 3 year contract. It is not likely that this kid will play in the NHL this season and he might never but he definitely could fill the role of the enforcer that the Rangers have spent the last 2 seasons trying to find since Colton Orr signed with Toronto.

He played a combined 49 games between the ECHL and AHL last year. In those 49 games Devin was involved in 25 fights.

Devin is not rated among the Rangers top 20 prospects by HockeysFuture but he is only 22 and has some time to grow. In his last season in Juniors he put together 56 points in 56 games. I could see Devin becoming the same style of player as Brandon Prust. And Prust didn't break into the NHL until he was 23 and BP will be assuming his first full time role this season(most likely).

Here is Devin's Talent Analysis from HockeysFuture:

The left winger is gritty and tenacious, and plays with an edge to intimidate his opponents. He does have some offensive skill, and his play along the boards is excellent. Occasionally, he does take bad penalties, which will hurt his future progress. However, if he can harness his emotions and play a gritty, smart game, Didomete could be an effective two-way professional player.

Future: A potential third to fourth-line player, DiDiomete has the toughness and agitating ability that could earn him a spot on the Rangers roster in two to three years.

Tale Of The Tape:
Height: 5'11
Weight: 200
Age: 22
# of AHL/ECHL Fights: 50 (2 Seasons)
# of OHL Fights: 86 (4 Seasons)
Total # of Fights: 136 (6 Seasons)

Join me after this for some of DiDiomete's best fights....

1 Punch KO during 2008 Traverse City Tourney:

Refs should have done a better job.. This was pretty funny though.. Love the GNP from Devin:

Assault?? HaHa

Bombs away...

Friday News/Links All In 1 Post!! (AGAIN)

2010-08-20T17:51:00.000-07:00

Just a bunch of News and Links surrounding the NHL and Rangers today. Sorry for no posts today, I have been sick all day but will be back on it tomorrow.

NHL Player Agent Allan Walsh posted a picture of Tomas Kundratek from a game today.

Today is NYRangers Captain Chris Drury's birthday. He is now 34 years old.....

The NYR Blog has an article up about Henrik Lundqvist and his knee problems and an article about and one about Stepan and MZA maybe starting in Hartford.

Check out The Rangers Tribune for a rant on why the Rangers will be better then the 13th seed this season.

Check out Puck Daddy for a post about following Adam Burish during his day with the Cup!

The NHL.com NYRangers 30 in 30 will be up tomorrow so go check it out. It's been a pretty good look at the teams and should be know different for the Rangers!

Again sorry to my readers for no posts today but I will be back on it tomorrow for you guys!

NYRangers Pound 4 Pound: Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan!!

2010-08-19T00:48:00.000-07:00

Today's installment of my NYRangers Pound 4 Pound Series will look at both Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky. Both young Rangers are fan favorites and among the group of players fans want to see wearing the Blueshirt for along time. While the debate always rages on between Rangers fans about which one is better or who holds more value, in my opinion they are both important pieces in our future.

In an optimal situation, Callahan would be a perfect 3rd line winger. He always hits hard, forechecks and keeps the puck in the zone. Cally is great defensively and always wears his heart on his sleeve. While he does have a scoring touch(19 and 22 last 2 seasons respectively), he doesn't necessarily have the skill of a top line player and would fit perfect on the Rangers future 3rd line with his hard working mentality and hard and relentless hitting. If Ryan happens to develop some more skill then maybe he could fit into a first or second line role.

Dubinsky has already seen some first line time with Jagr and then last year with Gaborik. He has the skill and ability to be a top line player but lacks the consistency of a true All-Star caliber player. Dubinsky had played Center for most of his career but last year saw some time at wing and played very well and Torts has said that Dubinsky will start at wing this year.

Both have shown that they will stick up for there teammates and throw down with anybody if they need to. Dubinsky has also had a rivalry with the Captain of the Flyers Mike Richards since the day he entered the league. Dubinsky plays with a sort of mean streak and is willing to rough it up when necessary. Brandon has a snarl to his game and doesn't take much from anybody. Callahan plays with heart and is always ready to run through the defense even if it's Tyler Myers or Zdeno Chara. This is why I decided to do a Pound 4 Pound with these two combined.

Tale Of The Tape:                          Tale Of The Tape:
Brandon Dubinsky:                           Ryan Callahan:
Height: 6'1                                         Height: 5'11
Weight: 210 Pounds                         Weight: 185
Age: 24                                              Age: 25
Nickname: Dubi                                Nickname: Cally
# of NHL Fights: 17 (3 Seasons)      # of NHL Fights: 7 (4 Seasons)
# of AHL Fights: 8 (1 Season)        # of AHL Fights: 3 (2 Seasons)
# of WHL Fights: 22 (4 seasons)     # of OHL Fights: 4 (3 Seasons)
Total # of Fights:  47 (8 seasons)    Total # of Fights: 14 (9 Seasons)

Join me after this for some of there best fights/moments......

First Brandon Dubinsky vs. Mike Richards Fight Series Round 1.. This was a GREAT Fight:

Round 2: Dubi sticking for Drury after Richards try to throw a cheap shot. Dubi didn't do very well...

Round 3. Dubinsky owns him in this one(I was at this game to)..

Now onto Ryan Callahan: He takes on Cooke:

He takes on Bogosian after IMO a dirty hit:

Cally puts Fraser down:

Ryan sends Tyler Myers flying:

Cally Hit/Goal/Blocked Shots Montage: (made after this season)

Last is a Dubinsky Goals and Hits Montage: (made after this season)

MZA Does A Cameo In A Swedish Commercial!

2010-08-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

New Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello Aasen did a cameo in a Swedish commercial for his favorite restaurant. He is not the only NHL star in the video as Naslund, Forsberg and the Sedin Twins are also in the video. I am sure that MZA is the player at the end doing dishes so check it out:

NYRangers Pound 4 Pound: Sean Avery!!

2010-08-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

Most Rangers Fans can agree that when playing his style and while playing at the top of his game, Sean Avery can be one of the most important assets in the league. He's the kind of guy that you love when he's on your team and you hate when he's not. The fact that the Rangers have gone out and acquired Sean twice just shows his value. Not one player in the game today fits the agitator role as good as Avery and on top of that, the guy actually has some skill. The problem with Avery is that those skills only come out when he plays "his way" and Tortorella is not a fan of his style.

Sean claimed in an interview with MSG that he would be back next year. Tortorella also claimed in an interview with Stan Fischler that he has not slapped Avery with any restrictions: "After I benched him against the Thrashers, he played his best hockey but I don't know why it came down to that. Despite what some have said, I put no handcuffs on him. I want Sean to show his personality. Last year I gave him a lot of opportunities and now that I think about it, I may have left him in too long. The bottom line is that if he's not involved, he won't play." We will have to wait and see how this plays out but this seems like it could be Sean's last shot. Because after what transpired in Dallas, it seems like the only team that will take him is the Rangers.

Sean has had some great moments in the NHL such as his battles with Brodeur(videos below), jumping Fedotenko, sloppy seconds anyone? and many more. Most of these videos will be found below.

Tale Of The Tape:
Height: 5'10
Weight: 195 Pounds
Age: 30
Position: C/LW
# of NHL Fights: 67 (8 Seasons)
# of AHL Fights: 2 (1 Season)
# of OHL Fights: 35 (3 seasons)
Total # of Fights: 104 (12 seasons)

So join me after this to see not only some of Sean's best fights but some of his greatest moments.....

Why don't we start off with The "Avery" Rule. Not only does Avery face Brodeur and screen him but he tops it all off by scoring. To me this video never gets old:

Short Video of him calling Brodeur "fatso" after he declined to shake his hand. This is Classic:

Compilation of The Best Of Avery vs. Brodeur:

TSN does an Avery top 10:

Avery smacks Tim Thomas in the back of the head with his stick during a TV timeout:

Avery takes out Gervais(I was at this game):

Avery mocks Talbot for fighting like a bitch(I was at this game also on my birthday):

Avery beats up on Malone:

Avery defends Gaborik......

Hockey Becoming More Popular Among Younger Stars!!

2010-08-18T09:45:00.000-07:00

Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato at a Kings Game!!

Listen we all know that guys like Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Mike Meyers, Kevin Smith and Snoop Dogg are Hockey fans and supporters of NHL teams but to be honest, those guys are old and some aren't that famous anymore.

But now a new crop of young stars in Hollywood have become Hockey fans. This allows for there younger fans to be come interested in Hockey when the are young. This gives them the opportunity to play the sport and become die hard Hockey fans(which most hokey fans are) and grow the support of the league. At times the league is looked down upon or as the 4th best sport so younger people decided not to pat attention because its not "cool". But with there favorite star or idol being a hockey fan then maybe that will change there mind.

A Tweet by the NHL which showed a comment by Taylor Swift in People Magazine got me thinking so I did some research on it. The Tweet read "I love The Nashville Predators & I love going to hockey games. But I get stressed out when they start fighting...." Now of course I hope the NHL doesn't take her advice but I doubt they will. So I looked up some other young stars who are Hockey fans and the group definitely surprised me, especially since some of todays biggest stars are in fact Hockey fans/supporters.

Join me after this to see some off today's young stars who are hockey fans....

Justin Bieber who is one of the biggest stars in the music world right now is a huge hockey fan(well he is Canadian but he still counts). He is only 16 and has a huge following of young fans. Not only is he a huge supporter of the Toronto Maple Leafs but he plays Hockey in the Atlanta area. Here is a video from HockeyHub.Net of him practicing! Not only that but he was with Kevin Weekes today, check this tweet.

Yo chillin with @kevinweekes NHL goalie.. Hes tight! follow him.

less than a minute ago via webJustin Bieber
justinbieber

Drake, one of the biggest new rappers to hit the airwaves last year is a huge hockey fan. Of course he is also Canadian but is a huge U.S star. He has one of the best selling albums of 2010 so far. He is also very young at 23. He made a reference to Emilio Estevez from The Mighty Ducks in his first ever video for the song "Best I Ever Had". He too is a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.

The aforementioned Taylor Swift who has been spotted at Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators games multiple times. She is one of the biggest music stars in the world and had the best selling album if 2009. She has also introduced fellow young stars such as Demi Lovato, Taylor Lautner and Selena Gomez to hockey by taking them to games.

Kevin Connolly, one of the stars of HBO's Entourage has been an Islanders fan his whole life. He even wears Islanders shirts throughout the show and had an Islanders Screen Saver on his computer during the show for a couple of seasons. Kevin was sitting at the Islanders Draft Table during the 2010 Draft for the whole event and even announce there second pick in the first round. He shows huge support of the crappy Isles and even talks about them when he goes on Talk Shows(I've been told).

There are plenty more stars like Elisha Cuthbert, Evangeline Lilly, Jimmy Fallon, Kurt Russell, Denis Leary, Matthew Perry, Chris Jericho, Jim Carey, Russell Crowe, Adam Sandler, Mark Wahlberg, Georges St. Pierre, Kristen Bell and Jim Belushi who have all showed there support of Hockey. Not to mention Willa Ford and young stars Carrie Underwood and Hilary Duff who are married to NHL players. And the 5 guys I named in the opening of this piece. I could document them all but the point of this piece was to document some of the young stars today who are showing some great support for Hockey and the NHL.

Listen I'm not saying that this is some monumental breakthrough or something but it is a sign that the NHL is growing and growing in support. There was a day when not many stars(or people for that matter) wanted to say they were hockey fans and now it seems that a lot of them are showing there true colors and supporting the game. The point is that they care enough to show there support which proves how true of a fan they actually are. Enough Celebrities who showed support before are showing even more now by wearing jerseys, going to games and getting involved with the league. Not to mention that the game has become more exciting since the lockout and is drawing in a lot of new fans.

Here are some pictures of Celebrity Hockey Fans:

News On The NYRangers Music Video!!

2010-08-17T15:41:00.000-07:00

@TheNYRangers Pic from Music Video Shoot!!

Last Week most Rangers fans were confused when the Rangers tweeted to send in pictures if you wanted to be a part of a NYRangers Fan Music Video. Well they posted a picture yesterday of the shoot and it seems like a regular rock band music video. When @DeeGiordano and @Thenyrangers had a little conversation about it, I figured she was one of the fans at the video shoot so I decided to ask her what the video was about and she was nice enough to respond.

@NYRangers365 it was a canadian band that made a special song for the team!

less than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhoneDana Giordano
DeeGiordano

So it seems like a Canadian Band(presumably rock band) made a NYRangers song. We can't really tell anything else at the moment so I guess we will just have to wait until the song/video premieres.

NHL Twitter Update!!

2010-08-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

I will run an NHL Twitter Update about twice a month for now on. Once at the beginning of the month and once sometime in the middle. I recommend you join Twitter if you haven't already as it is a great source for information and news and a place to talk to some of your favorite NHL players. You do not have to Tweet yourself if you do not want to but follow others for news and information. I will give you a list of all the new NHL players (only ones that have been confirmed/verified and no fakes) who have joined Twitter and some of what they have to offer. Also I will give some of the best Tweets from Players/Writers/Reporters from the past half month during each write-up. Since August 4th we have had 8 NHL players/prospects join Twitter.

Bobby Ryan(Anaheim Ducks) (U.S Olympian) twitter.com/b_ryan9

You know it's jersey when a door opens and a wave of humidity almost knocks you over.less than a minute ago via EchofonBobby Ryan
b_ryan9

Join me after this for rest of the NHL Players/Prospects who have joined twitter...

CBJ Porspect Brandon Archibald: twitter.com/archibald9210 Confirmed by twitter.com/usahockey

My favorite part: sign at the toll says wait is forty five minutes due to high volume...what about the hour and fifteen just to get here?
less than a minute ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®Brandon Archibald
Archibald9210

Nashvile Predators 1st Round Pick Austin Watson: twitter.com/watty61 (only tweeted twice)- Confirmed by twitter.com/usahockey

2011 NHL Draft Prospect Justin Sefton: twitter.com/justinsefton (only tweeted once)- Confirmed by Brandon Archibald

Retired NHL Player Steve Webb: twitter.com/stevewebb20 Confirmed by twitter.com/nhlpa

7 years later & Leafs Nation still hates me. luv the passion that lies in the NY sports fans and canadian leaf fans. thx 4 warm welcomes
less than a minute ago via webSteve Webb
SteveWebb20

Rob Schremp- NY Islanders- twitter.com/RobSchremp Confirmed by Chris Botta, Jeff Marek and Katie Strang!

watching the bacherlor pad with the boys of London
less than a minute ago via webRob Schremp
RobSchremp

Dustin Brown- U.S Olympian, LaKings All-Star/Captain- twitter.com/dustinbrown23 Confirmed by his Reps at NortonSports!

Building a playground for the kids of Carson help us decide which one to build options are here: http://bit.ly/d2W90q thanks!
less than a minute ago via webdustin brown
DustinBrown23

Evander Kane- Atlanta Thrashers- twitter.com/EKaneATL9 Confirmed by Atlanta Thrashers Official Twitter twitter.com/atlthrashers.

boxing in an hour hope this goes by fast
less than a minute ago via webEvander Kane
EKaneATL9

So this wasn't bad enough.....

Players who deleted there account:
Sean Avery
Jack Campbell
Paul Bissonette
Patrick Berglund

NYRangers Pound 4 Pound: Brandon Prust!

2010-08-17T09:51:00.000-07:00

In the second installment of my NYRangers Pound 4 Pound series, I will be looking at Brandon Prust. Prust was acquired from the Flames right before the Olympic break last year along with Olli Jokinen for Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik. Needless to say most Rangers fans were glad to get rid of Higgins and Kotalik but to get a young energetic player in Prust who can also fight pretty well was definitely a bonus.

Prust was an RFA this summer and resigned with the Rangers for two years at 800k per. Prust is still young at 26 and late in the season when paired with Anisimov and Shelley he put together some good offensive games. He tallied 3 goals and 3 assists in 9 games with this line. 2 of those goals were game winners. He was not involved in any fights over this 9 game stretch.

Prust becomes a fan favorite where ever he plays because of his willingness to fight anyone of any size even though he is only 5'11. He showed this in only his 3rd game with the Rangers when he took on New Jersey Devils 6'4 240 pound monster Andrew Peters not once but twice in the same game. There is no doubt in Rangers fans minds that Prust will come out the same way this season playing with his heart on his sleeve and leaving it all on the ice.

Tale Of The Tape:
Age: 26
Height: 5'11
Weight: 195 Pounds
Position: LW/RW
# of NHL Fights: 50 (3 seasons)
# of AHL Fights: 74 (3 seasons)
# of OHL Fights: 73 (3 seasons)
Total # of Fights: 197 (9 Seasons)

HockeyFights.com Awards: (5 Nominations, 0 Wins)

Click here for the 1st installment with Derek Boogaard!!

Join me after this for some of my favorite Brandon Prust fights....

Round 1 against Peters:

Prust faired a little better in Round 2:

You see the whole fight better during the replay at :50 (he pounded him)

Winchester is 6'5 and Prust landed way more shots:

He cut Stewart bad with some of those early shots:

He starts to pound Boll late in the fight but an overall great fight:

Blog Update: My NYRangers P4P Schedule!

2010-08-16T14:55:00.000-07:00

Since a lot of people commented, emailed and @ me on Twitter about my Derek Boogaard piece the other day, I have decided to do some more. A lot of people asked for Brandon Prust and Sean Avery among other suggestions. If you have any suggestions of your favorite players past or present but only Rangers email me or leave a comment or find a way to let me know. I didn't really go to deep into the first one and will definitely do a little more research and build a deeper piece about each one since people seemed to like it a lot.

Here is the Schedule I built for this week:

Tuesday: Brandon Prust
Wednesday: Sean Avery
Thursday: Callahan and Dubinsky
Saturday: Prospect Devin Didiomete
Saturday: Prospect Dane Byers
Sunday: NYR Best of 2009-2010
Sunday: Matthew Barnaby

So this Schedule is the plan for this week. I will do some more next week so send in your suggestions and on Sunday I will build a Schedule for next week!

Reminder: NHL 11 Demo Available Tomorrow!!

2010-08-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

The NHL 11 Demo will be available tomorrow Tuesday August 17th in North America for both PS3 and Xbox360. The team at EA Sports has yet again made vast improvements to the game like the new physics engine and a new game mode called Hockey Ultimate Team. But unlike in Madden and Fifa, the game mode will come free with the game.

The demo will feature short demo version of Ultimate Team that if you happen to complete, you will receive a bonus Starter Pack for the game mode when the full version hits stores. You will also get to play the final 5 minutes of the 3rd period of a Battle For The Cup Mode Game 7 between the Flyers and Blakchawks. The demo is free so go ahead and download it to get a taste of the game. The full version of the game comes out on September 7th for $59.99.

Here is a preview of Hockey Ultimate Team:

WE HAVE A NEW YORK RANGERS INCEPTION HIGHLIGHT VIDEO!!

2010-08-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

We have a New York Rangers Inception Highlight Video. I asked @Major_Hutch on Twitter who is definitely a good follow, to make one and he came through and helped represent Rangers Fans. So I'm going to stop talking and you can check out the video for yourself. Go and follow him and check out some of his other videos on YouTube!

NYRangers Pound 4 Pound: Derek Boogaard!

2010-08-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

I went through the hockeyfights.com archives and found some of Derek Boogaard's best fights. Since it seems that is all the 6'8 monster can do anyway. With him scoring no goals the last four seasons. But I guess that's why he only received a 4 year deal worth over $1.6M a season. He is only 28 so maybe he will learn how to skate while with the Rangers but that discussion is for another time. As long as he fights like he does in some of the videos I will post then I think most Rangers fans won't be thinking about his contract...

Tale Of The Tape:
Age: 28
Height: 6'8
Weight: 257 pounds
Position: LW
Nickname: The Boogey Man!
# of NHL Fights: 59 (5 seasons)
# of AHL fights: 48 (2 seasons)
# of WHL Fights: 66 (3 seasons)
Total # of Fights: 173 (10 seasons)

Hockeyfights.com Awards: (21 nominations, 8 wins)
2006-07 Fight Of The Year
2005-06 KO Of The Year (KO of Gillies)
2006-07 Fighter Of The Year
2006-07 People's Choice Award
2006-07 Kimble Award-Most Exciting Fighter
2005-06 and 2006-07 Best Punching Power/Most Destructive Fighter
2006-07 Best Player Feud

Join me after this for my favorite Boogey Man throw downs...

This is him schooling Boll:

This isn't fair:

Do you think Prust remebers this hit? Probably not! Looked like Mac slipped!

Video Of The Day: Inception Inspired Hockey Videos!!! (UPDATED)

2010-08-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

A couple of Hockey Fans who are good with computers and such have made some Inception inspired videos with clips and highlights mainly from last season. This could end up becoming a new trend just like the fan made History Will Be Made Videos and I would love to see a Rangers video and since I am not particularly good with that kind of stuff, I would like to challenge Rangers fans who are good at video making to create one. Now you have to put your heart into it to show fans of other teams that we are the best. I will embed the videos into the post to check them out and you can see what your competition is! I have seen a Canucks and Bruins video and one group of different teams/highlights but if there are more out there then let me know and I will post them also....

UPDATE 8/11/10: @AGallantcapsfan on Twitter created an Ovechkin Inception video.. I posted it to go with the other 3.. Now a total of 4 so far and all 4 are great!!

UPDATE 8/13/10: New Montreal Canadiens Video from Youtube.. added it 2 the group after jump...

Join me after this to see all 5 Inception videos so far....

Friday News All In 1 Post!!

2010-08-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry to all my news and loyal fans/followers for no posts today but I have been spending the whole day down at the Jersey Shore with my friends. But I have found some time to basically do a roundup/grouping of all the days news and events.

Dan David did an article on newyorkrangers.com today on Rangers Blueliner Dan Girardi. Here is some of what Dan had to say:

"No matter what you do during the summer and how hard you train, nothing is like Torts' camp, really," he said. "I was prepared for it last year, but no matter what you do it's just so different when you get out there with the guys. It's probably one of the hardest things I've ever done, for sure. You try to do some hard skates on the ice during the summer, but it's not the same as when he's out there and the coaches are out there and everyone else is out there. The summer skates around here are not the caliber of what I will experience in camp, so I try to push myself as much as I can, and I've found that I try to do a little extra when my workout's done. Just to kind of get ready for that skating and the running."

He also continues to be on the side of almost all players and coaches in saying he likes the fact they have brought a core back and how it will signifacantly impact the team. "There are a couple of new faces, but I'm also glad the main group is still together," said Girardi. "We can try to jell and improve every season going forward."

Stan Fischler did Part 2 of his sit down with John Tortorella today on msg.com! They spoke about Del Zotto, Gilroy, Redden, Drury, White, McDonagh and Stepan. It's a very good read so definitely go ahead and check it out. Here is some of what Torts said about Drury:

In a frank admission that only a Tortorella can divulge, the coach noted, "Chris and I have grown and I can say that I now understand him a lot better. He's not a rah-rah guy, but he is a great guy; a thinker and he cares so much. He's still growing as a captain and I know that he wants to score more in the new season. He got bounced around last year, but he'll get his chance to redeem himself offensively."

Click here for Part 2 of the interview!

HockeyBuzz.com's Juile Robenhymer(I hate HockeyBuzz but Julie is actually one of them that I respect and she does some interesting pieces) did a piece on Chris Krieder today! I found it interesting so I think you guys should check it out also.

Patrick Kane continued his bad luck in his hometown of Buffalo. Last offseason he beat up a assaulted a cab driver over 20 cents and today he got stuck on a fire truck ladder while on his one day with the Stanley Cup. The truck apparently got stuck while going up but after about 20 minutes they were able to get him down.

Newyorkrangers.com Interview With Ryan Callahan!!

2010-08-12T14:38:00.000-07:00

Another post about Ryan Callahan today. Dan David had an article on newyorkrangers.com where he had an interview with Callahan. Callahan is one of the Rangers key young core players and could play a huge role on this team when we become contenders, hopefully in the next few years with all the young talent we have coming up. Callahan will be an RFA after this season and look for the Rangers to lock him up as he will be a very useful player in the future. He has shown a scoring touch with 22 goals and 19 goals the last two season respectively. Here is some of what Callahan had to say:

“I'm gearing up for a hard training camp,” said Callahan, who has spent the off-season in his native Rochester, N.Y. “But from previous summers, not too much has changed for me workout-wise or in terms of conditioning. I think in previous summers I pushed myself hard and got myself ready for camp. It's just status quo with the way I lift and the conditioning that I do."

"I think one of the biggest things about last year is that even though we didn't make the playoffs, we have all of these core guys coming back and we'll use that as motivation," said Callahan. "Everybody knows what we went through last year and what a disappointment it was at the end of the year. So it's pretty important that we're all still together and we all can look back on previous years and what we've been through together. I think we're all definitely a lot more hungry. It was tough and I know, personally, it has been a long summer. I think the biggest thing is coming back and not looking at not making the playoffs as a negative, but to turn it around and take it as a positive and as a learning experience."

It seems like everyone is behind the fact that the Rangers are going to be bringing back a core group of players which they have not done in recent season.

"I think a big part of why we started off the year so well last year was that everybody came in early and was prepared and ready to go right from day one of camp," said Callahan. "Hopefully, we'll have the same result going into this year."

For the full article you can click here!!

Rangers Make Signing With New ECHL Team Official!!

2010-08-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

According to The NYR Blog the New York Rangers and Greenville Road Warriors have made it official and joined together. They will most likely host between 7-10 players as the Rangers ECHL affiliate. I did a post earlier about this possibility if you would like to check it out. Here is some of what they had to say:

"We are pleased and excited to begin this affiliation with an organization as dedicated to winning and developing young talent as the Greenville Road Warriors," said Jim Schoenfeld, Assistant General Manager, Player Personnel, Assistant Coach, New York Rangers and General Manager Hartford Wolf Pack. "Having this relationship with the Road Warriors will enable the Rangers to have our prospects play in an environment that will allow them to develop and progress as professionals within an experienced and dedicated organization."

The full press release can be found here!

Ryan Callahan Talks To @thenyrangers On Twiter!!

2010-08-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

New York Rangers fan favorite Ryan Callahan caught up with the mystery guy behind the New York Rangers Twitter account. He answered a few questions that every Rangers fan would want to know the answer to.

"Caught up with #NYR RW Ryan Callahan. Said his fav sport to play in the off-season is golf, fav sport to watch is baseball (@Yankees) "

"Cally said he was on the ice at age 2, playing hockey at age 3. How old were you when you started playing sports?"

"Callahan said @NHLShanny(Brendan Shanahan) & Pat LaFontaine were favorite players growing up."

Glad to see he idolized Shanahan and LaFontaine growing up. Two great players who have the heart and passion for the game. It's also two players you do not hear coming out of players mouths a lot which continues to show why Cally plays with his heart on his sleeve and plays for the love of the game and his teammates.

Tortorella Talks Avery, Biron And More!!

2010-08-12T09:47:00.000-07:00

John Tortorella did an interview with Stan Fischler over at msg.com! This is part 1 of the 2 part interview. He definitely had a lot to say and seemed very optimistic about how the offseason has gone and how the Rangers will fair next season. Here is some of what he had said to say:

"I feel good about what we did so far this Summer," he shot back. "We didn't deal any of our kids and the foundation for the team is in place. We have to build a club without relying totally on free agency. We want to keep our youthful core and keep adding to it."

^ I am glad to here he is behind the offseason moves and behind the direction the team is going. Keeping a core and youth movement going will be very important to our future success and it is good to see the Torts is behind it.

"I'm anxious to see Frolov in offensive positions," Torts went on. "He'll start with Gabby and we'll see how they work together. Frolov can score; he's a talented guy."

"He's(Dubinsky) best on the wing," said the coach. "I liked the way he came on in the last months of the season and I hope he keeps improving. Another core guy is Ryan Callahan. He brings a lot of intangibles -- killing penalties, blocking shots -- and I hope he can score more this year."

"After I benched him(Avery) against the Thrashers, he played his best hockey but I don't know why it came down to that. Despite what some have said, I put no handcuffs on him. I want Sean to show his personality. Last year I gave him a lot of opportunities and now that I think about it, I may have left him in too long. The bottom line is that if he's not involved, he won't play."

^ Bullshit in my eyes but Avery has stated that he will return next season so I guess we will have to wait and see as by this comment it seems that Torts has no restrictions on Avery!

Click here for the full article with more on Biron, Anisimov and Christensen!!

Boogaard And His Teammates Comment On Him And His Style Of Play!!

2010-08-11T16:18:00.000-07:00

Dan David did an article today on the Rangers Website! He goes in depth on Boogaard. Boogaard comments on himself along with comments from Girardi and Gaborik. Here is some of what they had to say:

"People, especially defensemen, won't want to play against him," said Rangers leading scorer Marian Gaborik, a longtime teammate and friend of Boogaard's during their years with the Minnesota Wild. "When he gets going and he hits somebody, it's scary."

"Boogaard speaks for himself," said Girardi, who faced Boogaard for the first time last season at Minnesota. "He will be a great force."

"There is a physical presence that I bring to the game and to the guys," said Boogaard. "It helps them play to the best of their abilities, and that's what showcases a team at its best -- when every player doesn't have to be worried about using their skill set because of another team." he continues "The thing is is that when I go out for a game, I'm not thinking I want to intimidate any one person," Boogaard said. "It's just me going to do my job night in and night out -- just by skating as hard as I can and by doing the right things on the ice. When that happens, good things will follow that as well. Maybe the intimidating thing is that I can skate and keep up with the play and hit guys, whereas a lot of other guys my size can't do that. Obviously, it was important that Gaby was there and I had played with him years before," said Boogaard. "Seeing what kind of teammate he is and how hard he works at what he does definitely entices a player to want to play again with a that kind of teammate and good friend as well."

Click here for the entire article!

The NYRangers Are Shooting A Music Video?

2010-08-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

This is not me lol Just some happy Rangers fans!!

Apparently they are and they need YOUR help. If you are a Rangers fan over 21 and feel like shooting a New York Rangers music video at 1am on a Friday night then I guess this would be your thing.

No word on what the music will be or what kind of video this will be but if they do it right this could definitely be a good marketing tool. But knowing the Rangers I could easily see them doing a shitty job with it.

To enter you have to send in a pic to the Rangers(I guess through email or twitter) and let them know why they should pick you. The deadline is 10am on Friday. Here are the tweets from @thenyrangers: "Casting call for #NYR fans, 21+. Submit best fan pic & tell us why we should pick u for NYR music video. Shoot is 1am Sat morning(Fri night)" and then "Deadline to submit pics is this Friday (8/13) at 10am."

Are The NYRangers Planning On Giving Redden A Legit Shot At Training Camp!!

2010-08-10T20:24:00.001-07:00

All signs point to the Rangers sending Wade Redden down to Hartford during Training Camp. They will most likely need the $6.5M cap hit to sign Staal and stay under the salary cap. But Larry Brooks(who I hate) had an interesting line in his column the other day.

"What if Redden plays well in camp?" Well what if he does? Not only that but he said, "What if Gilroy/Eminger don't impress? And what if Staal isn't signed yet?" All of those scenarios are likely and very possible. The Rangers will be giving Redden a shot at training camp but is it a legit shot? Even if he plays well the Rangers will still need some cap space to sign Staal. You would have to think Staal will be signed by opening night.

So in the end it isn't really a legit shot to stay as even if he plays at the top of his game, I do not see the Rangers dumping players just to fit him and Staal under the cap. Unless they plan on dumping Rozsival in the minors or trading him. I really cannot find a situation where he stays on the roster even if he plays well and better then others. And once Redden is sent down, if we call him back up, some team has the opportunity to get him at half price through recall waivers. Hopefully he continues to play like shit and we see him in a beautiful Hartford Wolf Pack jersey or whatever there new name might be!

My Suggestion To Solve The Kovalchuk And Similar Situations In The Future!!

2010-08-10T19:56:00.001-07:00

Obviously there is a lot of talk surrounding the Kovalchuk situation and what will come out of it. Well the talk of a lockout and maybe even the NHL going after other contracts already signed is being passed around. The new Collective Bargaining Agreement will be worked on by the NHL and NHLPA and all other parties in the coming years and this situation will most likely be at the top of both sides talking boards.

Well I believe I have come up with an easy solution that based on both sides argument should easily please both sides. If the NHLPA/Devils do not agree with it then obviously they were planning on circumventing the cap and having Kovalchuk not play his final 5-7 years of his contract.

So join me after this for my suggestion and why it "should" work....

My plan would be that should a player retire with more then three years left on his contract that the team should still have to pay his cap hit. It's simple and should work without a problem. Now of course if a player is forced to retire due to injury then the cap hit could go away. But the player would be subject to going through extra tests from doctors on both sides to make sure he cannot play anymore. This should give players room to retire at a respectable age and not count against the cap hit.

The Devils claim they are not circumventing the cap and plan on having Kovalchuk around for the whole contract or at least most of it. They claim the lower salary at the end of the contract is what a player at that age would make. Well that's fine and I agree with both points and if the Devils really feel that way then they would not have a problem with implementing this rule. And if they deny it then they are obviously under the impression that Kovalchuk will not play those years. They would be on the hook for his $6.5M well into his 40's and if what they have said is true then that's the way it should be. Now this rule would not go into affect until after this charade is done but I am just using the Kovalchuk dispute as an example on how it would work.

The main issue the NHL has with this contract is that the Devils are circumventing the cap and this would take away that issue as the Devils would be on the hook for the cap hit so it would be stupid for the Devils to drag it out as they would be have him under a $6.5M cap hit possibly 5-7 years after he retires. I cannot see anyway the NHL would be against this proposal. Yeah players could be locked up for a crazy amount of years but the team would have that cap hit for that same amount of years no matter what. Unless the player has a career ending injury or retires with less then 3 years left on the deal.

Like previously stated if both sides believe in what they are doing and stand by what they have said then I cannot see how this deal would not work.

Leave a comment and let me know your opinion or @ me on twitter @NYRangers365 and let me know what you think of this proposal.

Martin Biron Is Ready For The Season!!

2010-08-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

One of the newest New York Rangers, Martin Biron recently did an interview with Dan David of newyorkrangers.com. He had alot to say in this interview and sheds some good insight. Biron could be a huge asset to this team if he plays his role right as the Rangers had a difficult time finding a suitablr replacement when Hank needed a rest. With a stable backup goalie the Rangers won't have to worry about resting Lundqvist a little more and giving him much needed time off. Here is some of what Biron had to say:

"I think the Rangers organization and their track record of being competitive is something that you look for as a player," Biron said. "I didn't want to be in the position that I was in last summer of expecting something to happen on July 1 and then not signing until the end of July. This year, I was looking to find some stability and wanted to move my whole family somewhere for longer than one year, and the Rangers definitely were open to that idea."

Join me after this to hear more from Biron......
"I have a chance to go and work with a guy like Lundqvist that I have battled many, many times over the past few years." Biron said. "It's going to be fun to work with him."

Biron and his family, which includes four young children, spent much of this summer hunting for a home in the New York area. One of the people who helped him in this quest was Rangers captain Chris Drury, who was Biron's teammate in Buffalo for nearly four full years between 2003 and 2007.

"I've texted Chris and talked to him a couple of times. My wife has been on the phone with his wife practically every other day for the past month," Biron said. "They know each other really well."

The Drury family's assistance in the house-hunting process has been no surprise to Biron, who lived a short drive from Drury when the two were with the Sabres. Helping a teammate get settled in a new city is just the sort of thing a good captain might do.

"He (Drury) was a great influence when he came into Buffalo. His leadership and the fact that he won the Stanley Cup and the way that he conducts himself as a professional and as a captain just speaks very well of his character," Biron said. "It is really good to have the support system people like him have been able to give me to come in to a new city and a new organization."

"We'll be there full-time, including the summer," Biron said of his new house. "I've got four kids, and the oldest is 6, so he'll be in school for first grade next year. We're expecting to make the move and really enjoy our time over there."

Biron said he and his wife knew they would not be moving the family all the way into Manhattan, even though many of his new Rangers teammates currently live in the city.

"We're more country kind of people," he said with a chuckle when asked about choosing to live in Westchester. "We'll go down and visit the city, and have a lot of fun doing that, but we'll go back to the wide open spaces and the quiet life of the suburbs, I guess."

"Last year, the Rangers got off to a great start, and that (conditioning) had a lot to do with it," he said. "I'll be ready for it. Right now it's still a work in progress, but I've tried to commit to following a program and getting a personal trainer here with me. In this month of August, and moving into the first couple of weeks in September, I'll be moving into the area and be able to be at the practice facility every day to work with the training and conditioning staff over there. I'll have to make little adjustments moving forward, but I think it's going to be really good."

This is just a portion of Dan's article but for the full article click here!!!

Video: Dylan McIlrath New York City Bus Tour!!

2010-08-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

From rangers.nhl.tv... Dylan was given a tour around NYC on the top of one those double decker buses. I believe it was his 1st time in NYC so obviously it was an amazing experience. Enjoy!!

Full 20 Page Kovalchuk Decision Document Obtained!! (LINK)

2010-08-09T20:14:00.000-07:00

The full 20 page document has been obtained and released by Offsides Sports Blog. Supposedly the Hossa, Pronger and similar deals have been targeted and will be acted upon. Since it is 11pm I really do not feel like reading any of it. Just felt like posting this so you guys can look at it and read it if you like. So here is the link to the full 20 page document! Enjoy!!

Arbitrator Richard Bloch Has Made His Decision In The Kovalchuk Case!! UPDATED!!!

2010-08-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

Richard Bloch the arbitrator in the Ilya Kovalchuk arbitration hearing has finally announced his decision in the case. He has sided with the NHL and decided to reject the 17 year Ilya Kovalchuk contract.

The NHL Official statement from NHL.com: "We want to thank Arbitrator Bloch for his prompt resolution of a complex issue. His ruling is consistent with the League's view of the manner in which the Collective Bargaining Agreement should deal with contracts that circumvent the Salary Cap."

Arbitrator Bloch: "this is a retirement contract" "well beyond the typical retirement age for NHL players" per @RealKyper...

The NHLPA: “The NHLPA is disappointed with the Arbitrator’s ruling to uphold the NHL’s rejection of the contract between the New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk. The NHLPA is currently reviewing the decision and will have no further comment at this time.”
Lou Lamoriello “We have reviewed and respect Arbitrator Bloch's ruling in the Kovalchuk matter. We also note and appreciate his finding that nothing in his opinion should be read as suggesting that either the club or Ilya Kovalchuk operated in bad faith or on the basis of any assumption other than that the Standard Player Contract was fully compliant with the CBA. That has been our consistent position throughout. While we do not currently have a contract with Ilya Kovalchuk, discussions have resumed and we are hopeful that a contract will be reached that meets with the principles in Arbitrator Bloch's award and the NHL's approval."

Excerpts from arbitrator Richard Bloch's ruling, obtained by SportingNews.com: "In this case, the record strongly supports the claim this contract is "intended to, or has the effect" of defeating or circumventing the Salary Cap provisions of the CBA. The overall structure of this SPC reflects not so much the hope that Mr. Kovalchuk will be playing in those advanced years, but rather the expectation that he will not. This is a long contract --17 years -- the longest in NHL history. That, in itself, poses no contractual problem, for the reasons discussed above. But Kovalchuk is 27 years old, and the agreement contemplates his playing until just short of his 44th birthday. That is not impossible, but it is, at the least, markedly rare. Currently, only one player in the League has played past 43and, over the past 20 years only 6 of some 3400 players have played to 42...."

More from the report regarding finances: "...The dynamics of this SPC, with particular reference to its final six years, are such that there is scarce reason for either Player or Club to continue the relationship. The incentives are strongly to the contrary. By year 11, the Player will have received $98,000,000 of his $102,000,000 contract, constituting some 97% of the bargain. One may reasonably ask, as the League does, whether a player who had been averaging some $9,000,000 a year will be satisfied to continue the rigors of an NHL season for a salary that (1) will average slightly more than $550,000 a year, (2) will represent a 95% reduction against previous average earnings and (3) will undoubtedly constitute compensation well below the then-applicable major league minimum. The economic incentives are not limited to issues of the Player's preferences, alone. During the final six years, the comprehensive "No Move" restriction will have been reduced to a "No Trade" clause. This additional flexibility will allow the Club to, for example, place the Player on waivers or send him to the minors. Here again, one may reasonably ask whether this Player would, at that point, accept such repositioning as an alternative to seeking continued employment outside the League or simply retiring."

The conclusion: "...the System Arbitrator here concludes the SPC terms themselves demonstrate this agreement 'has the effect of defeating' the provisions of the CBA, with particular reference to the Team Payroll Range language. For these reasons, the finding is that the League has sustained its burden of demonstrating its actions in rejecting the agreement were in accordance with the bargained authority under Section 11.6(a)(i). Accordingly, the grievance protesting that action will be denied."

Join me after this for more on the Kovalchuk news and my thoughts....

Kovalchuk originally agreed to a 17 year/ $102M contract with the Devils back on July 19th. Then the Devils went ahead and held a press conference the next day to announce the signing. Things turned quickly as Gary Bettman and the NHL decided to reject the 17 year deal. The main issue with the contract was cap circumvention. In the contract Kovalchuk would be making the league minimum over the last seven years after making $90M over the first ten years. Kovalchuk could retire after the first ten years and still have made over $90M. But his cap hit will not be the $9M he was making but the average of the contract which would be $6M. So the NHL considered it cap circumvention believing he would not play the final seven years and the length was just to lessen the cap hit. But on July 26th the NHLPA officially filed a grievance.
The Arbitration Hearing started last Wednesday August 4th and ended the next day. Bloch waited until today to announce his final decision. The main issues the NHL had in winning this case were, they did not have any proof the Devils were circumventing the cap and players value does drop as they get older and Mark Recchi a former all-star is 42 and currently making $1M this upcoming season. Also the NHL has let similar deals go through in the past like the Hossa and Franzen deals, which will definitely be brought up. Most are saying the NHL really had no case unless there is some underlying information they have that fans and reporters do not no about yet. Well maybe there was because Mr. Bloch denied the deal to go through.

Most expected the deal to be upheld but there was still a mystery hanging over the situation so most were still wondering what the answer would be. And I guess with good reason as the rejection was upheld and what many were surprised as many believed the NHL had no case. With the announcement that the rejection has been upheld, the question arises, When will this end? This Kovalchuk non-sense has gone on for to long but it will continue.

To be honest I am not really sure if this is good or bad. Kovalchuk started off slow but then picked up the pace and finished with 10 goals and 27 points in 27 games and 2 goals and 6 points in 5 playoff games. He did not play well in the playoffs and the Devils would have been stuck with his contract for 17 years unless he retired and a lot can happen in 17 years so this could have been good for the Rangers!

In the end I see him working out a deal with Devils but it could have been all over with today. We will just have to wait and see where he goes to play to see the outcome of today's ruling. The Kings, Rangers and probably even the Islanders are all possible locations but after this whole ordeal, he will most likely stay a Devil just with a different contract.

I just hope Glen Sather does not do something stupid in a last ditch effort to clear cap space to go and sign Kovalchuk as I believe he is not what we need. We need to build around Lundqvist, and our young core of players and do not need to go out and spend big money on Kovalchuk.

No matter what this will lead to a huge battle during the new CBA meetings but the NHL has a leg up now that they won this case. Hopefully all this does not lead to another lockout....

Brandon Prust Discusses His Role With Rangers! VIDEO!!

2010-08-09T07:56:00.000-07:00

Brandon Prust did an interview with Jim Cerny about his role with the Rangers and what he plans on doing different this season. The video is a couple of weeks old but the embed code wasn't working and now it is and I thought I would post it in case some of you have not seen it! Prust was resigned during the offseason and could be a pivotal role player for the Rangers.

Join me after this for the video.....

The Best Of The NHL History Will Be Made Commercial Parodies!!

2010-08-08T14:31:00.000-07:00

I was on YouTube searching NHL videos and came over a bunch of NHL fan made History Will Be Made parody videos. Some of them I had not seen before so I thought I would post my favorites here. This was a campaign the NHL ran during the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year and it was definitely one of the best ideas the NHL has come across in the marketing area of the game.

Join me after this for some of my favorite of the parodies and NHL originals.....

The NYRangers Have A NEW ECHL Affiliate, The Greenville Road Warriors!!

2010-08-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

According to Jess Rubenstein over at The Prospect Park, the Rangers will announce a new agreement with the Greenville Road Warriors to be there new ECHL affiliate. Greenville is located in South Carolina!!

Here is the link to the full post over at The Prospect Park!

The Rangers previous ECHL team was located in Charlotte but the Checkers left the ECHL to become the Carolina Hurricanes AHL affiliate which is a step up from the ECHL. The team will be shared with the Philadelphia Flyers which is a bit odd! The Rangers are expected to make the official announcement sometime this week!

Offer Sheets Are Very Very Rare!!

2010-08-08T08:59:00.000-07:00

A lot of NYRangers fans have become increasingly worried about Marc Staal and his contract negotiations. The talk that maybe some team will drop an offer sheet on him has been pushed around as a reason why we should get this deal over with. While I agree that we should hurry this process up and get Staal locked up for at least the next two seasons, an offer sheet is not one of those reasons.

If Staal does get an offer sheet, I can't see Sather not matching it unless it is upwards of $7M and if it is then the Rangers will get a boatload of picks in compensation. For any offer sheet above $7.7M, the team will receive four first round draft picks. This is the main reason we do not see offer sheets as often because teams could get screwed into giving up a lot of compensation. But they know that going in and are aware of the risk.

Join me after this for more on offer sheets and the Rangers history.......

Since the lockout in 2004-05 there have only been six offer sheets made. Five out of those six were matched. Only one was accepted and in 2007 Dustin Penner went from the Anaheim Ducks to the Edmonton Oilers for a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round pick in the 2008 Draft. The deal was at 5 years and $21.5M. The Oilers had made an offer on Sabres RFA Thomas Vanek three weeks earlier for 7 years and $50M. Only one offer sheet has been offered since the 2008 offseason, the Sharks offered Niklas Hjalmarsson 4 years and $14M in 2010 but the Chicago Blackhawks matched. Here is a list of Offer Sheets since the lockout:

2006: Ryan Kesler-VAN- 1yr/$1.9M by Flyers-Matched by VAN
2007: Thomas Vanek-BUF- 7yrs/$50M by Oilers- Matched by Sabres
2007: Dustin Penner-ANA- 5yrs/$21.5M by Oilers- Accepted for 1st,2nd and 3rd round picks in 2008
2008: David Backes-STL- 3yrs/$7.5M by Canucks- Matched by Blues
2008: Steve Bernier-VAN- 1yr/$2.5M by Blues- Matched by Canucks
2010: Niklas Hjalmarsson-CHI- 4yrs/$14M by Sharks- Matched by Blackhawks

The last offer sheet before the lockout was in 1998 when the Carolina Hurricanes tried to bring a big star into there new city by placing an offer sheet on Red Wings star Sergei Fedorov but the Wings matched it. There were 27 offer sheets made between 1985 and 1998 and 15 of those were matched by the players current team. Back in those days teams would place smaller offer sheets on teams younger players hoping to steal them away from teams who were not in great financial situations. Some teams use offer sheets as a way to drive up the price on current RFA's but that could easily backfire if the team does not match and it also hurts the relationship between GM's.

The Rangers themselves have been involved in some of the biggest offer sheets in history. In 1991 they signed Adam Graves to a 5 year offer sheet. Graves would be a pivotal player in the Rangers 1994 Stanley Cup winning season and would go on to be a fan favorite for years to come. They also made a 3 year $21M offer to Joe Sakic back in 1997. It seemed like he was a Ranger but then the Colorado Avalanche in a very surprising move decided to match the offer. Sakic would go on to finish his great career with Colorado. This move drove the free agent price up in the NHL.

Now with the Salary Cap in place offer sheets are very unlikely and rare. With the Cap in place most teams do not have the money to place an offer down that will drive the current team away. If they make the price to high not only will they most likely have cap issues because of it but they will have to give up crazy amounts of compensation because of it. Here is the current RFA offer sheet compensation straight from NHL.com:

OFFER COMPENSATION:

1) $1,020,348 or below... None
2) Over $1,020,348 to $1,545,981... Third-round choice
3) Over $1,545,981 to $3,091,963... Second-round choice
4) Over $3,091,963 to $4,637,944... First-round and third-round choice
5) Over $4,637,944 to $6,183,925... First-round, second-round and third-round choice
6) Over $6,183,925 to $7,729,907... Two first-round choices, one second- and one third-round choice
7) Over $7,729,907... Four first-round choices

So in the end either the Rangers will get great compensation for a Staal offer sheet or the contract will be to low and they will easily be able to match.

Which NYRangers Name is Cooler?

2010-08-08T08:01:00.000-07:00

Just a simple question I ask of you Ranger fans out there. Which young New York Rangers star do you think has the cooler name? Is it second year player MDZ, Michael Del Zotto or Swedish rookie star MZA, Mats Zuccarello Aasen?

Michael Del Zotto is already a star on Broadway and a fan favorite after his up and down rookie season. MDZ will definitely be on the Rangers opening night but we will have to wait and see for Aasen.

If you had a choice to be one of these young Rangers players not based on skill but just based on there name, who would you choose? You can answer in the comment section or @ me on twitter @NYRangers365.

Was Dan Girardi Overpayed?

2010-08-07T15:33:00.000-07:00

Dan Girardi was signed earlier this summer to a four year deal with a cap hit of $3.325M a year. The contract has an overall value of $13.3M. He will be payed $3.1M the first year and $3.4M a year over the next three.

Most Rangers fans hated Girardi after he did not go in and defend Marion Gaborik while he was fighting Daniel Carcillo. They never wanted to see him wear the Rangers sweater again. It seems those feelings have gone away and most Rangers fans were happy to see Girardi re-up with the Rangers. Not many were really sure about this deal right away as a market value was not really set on Girardi and thus no one was sure if this was a fair deal or not. Well a signing this week may dictate whether or not Glen Sather over payed for the Rangers blueliner.

Join me after this for more on this story........
Dan has been a very strong and consistent defender for the Rangers over the past three seasons. He made his debut late in the 2006-07 season in which he would go on to only play 34 games. But since then he has played in all 82 games over the last three seasons. There is something to be said about that. He has also added some decent offensive numbers tallying exactly 18 assists in each season. He went from 10 goals to 4 and back up to 6 this season. Girardi is still young at 26 and he plays pretty good with Marc Staal but on a very good team, I think Girardi is a 2nd pair defensemen.

The player that a lot of people are comparing Girardi to is Erik Johnson of the St.Louis Blues. Well actually most people are comparing the contracts and saying that Johnson is the better player. Johnson was the 1st overall pick by the Blues in the 2006 Draft. He made his NHL debut 2007-08 playing in 69 games, tallying 5 goals and 33 points but was a -9. He tore his ACL and MCL during a team golf outing the next offseason and missed all of the 2008-09 season. In 2009-10 he had 10 goals and 39 points in 79 games and had a +1 rating. He also made the U.S Olympic team that went on to win the silver medal. Johnson signed a 2 year deal worth $2.6M a year.

I agree that the Rangers over payed a little for Girardi but basing on the Erik Johnson move is wrong. This is Johnson's 1st deal coming off of his ELC. This is Girardi's second. Girardi signed a 2 year deal worth $1.55M after his ELC deal which is what you would compare the EJ deal to. In EJ's next deal, barring any setbacks, he will be receiving a deal better then the 4 year $13.3M deal that Girardi signed. So Yes I do believe Girardi was a little over payed but do not base it off of this EJ deal as they are in 2 totally different situations in there career.

2012 NHL Lockout Would Be Pure Insanity!!

2010-08-07T14:58:00.000-07:00

With the Ilya Kovalchuk hearing and situation nearing an end, talk about what this whole mess could lead to is heating up. A word that most NHL fans are used to and would not like to hear ever again is Lockout. With that said, the likelyhood of another lockout is still there. Would the NHL be that stupid? Could they possibly lock us out of another NHL season after all the success they are seeing? To be honest I would not be surprised if the NHL did but I can't see Gary Bettman shutting down another season after all of the Ratings, Attemdance and Merchandise gains the NHL has expirienced over the last five seasons.

We as hockey and NHL fans were all devestated to a certain degree when the NHL was locked out in 2004-2005 but looking back on it now, most of us can agree that it has worked out great for the overall quality of the game. All the new rule changes and the salary cap have been great for the NHL. I really can' think of one rule change that has hurt the game (I can think of some unnecessary ones). The salary cap has helped inject some youthfulness into the game as most teams need to have a certain amount of Entry Level Contract's to fit under the cap.

Join me after this for some of my reasons as to why the NHL will not lockout in 2012......
The NHl and NHLPA will have to discuss a new CBA after the 2011-2012 season and there are already some warning signs that this could be a long fight between both sides. The recent battle between Bettman anf the NHLPA over the Kovalchuk is the first step towards a long fight. This is not the first contract of it's kind which is one of the major reasons why many find it hard for the NHL to win. If the NHL had acted earlier with the Hossa, Savard, Franzen or many of the other long deals that take players well into there late thirties or forties making only league minimum then they would have a case. But chosing this one right now will definitely put a whole in there case.

Many believe the NHL knows that they will lose the battle but are setting up for a war when the new CBA will be drawn up. Whether or not the NHL wins this case, there will be a long discussion over these types of contracts come the summer of 2012 but here are a few reasons I see the NHL not taking the 2012-2013 season off:

1. The NHL has grown by leaps and bounds over the last five seasons and especially this past season. Just check one of my previous posts to see what I am talking about.

2. The NHL barely survived the first lockout but has come back with a better game and more commitment to fans thus bringing in some of the best ratings and attendance in league history. But I am not sure this will happen again if there is another lockout. I could see alot of the new fans of the game giving up early.

3. The first lockout had strong reasoning behind it and alot of fans decided to give the NHL another chance but this would not sit well with most fans and the same result might not appear when all the dust settles.

4. There is a strong chance that both the NFL and NBA will be locked out during the 2011-2012 season. This would be the year before the proposed NHL CBA issues. With the NHL being the only major sport during the fall, winter and early spring time, they will definitely see a huge ratings boost and a huge gain in support from new fans. There is absolutely no way the NHL will lockout after seeing the great success from the year before and having all the momentum on their side. This scenario depends on the NFL/NBA both locking out but all indications have pointed to the fact that this is highly likely.

No matter what comes out of the arbitrators final ruling on Monday, this case will lead to a huge battle and no one is really sure which outcome would be better for the NHL and its fans in the long run. But lets hope the NHL actually thinks ahead and realizes that a another lockout will severely hurt the future of the game!

NHL News: Chris Chelios Retires!!

2010-08-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

Chris Chelios has announced that he will finally retire at the age of 48! He would have turned 49 in January if he played this season. The U.S born defensemen did not have a very memorable last NHL season. But he went out on his own terms when he felt like he was done and could not play at the top level. He feels like he can be more of an asset to a team in the front office then on the ice.

Chelios will definitely be looked at as one of the best U.S born defensemen in NHL history with many many trophies, awards and memorable moments that will fill highlight reels for years to come and inspire young U.S defensemen.

Join me after this for more on the retirement of Chelios......
Chris was never considered a big defensemen at 6'0 and just under 200 lbs. most of his career but the Montreal Canadiens drafted him 40th overall in the 1981 Draft anyway. Chelios would win his 1st of three career Stanley Cup's with the Canadiens in 1985-86 although it would be the only one he would win with the Canadiens. Chelios was traded to the Blackhawks in June of 1990 for Denis Savard. He had success in Chi-Town but never won a Cup and was traded to the Red Wings in 1999. Chris would go on to win two Cups with the Detriot Red Wings in 2001-02 and 2007-08. Chelios was also a main factor on a 2001-2002 Silver medal winning U.S Olympic team. Among Chelios' other accomplishments were his 3 Norris trophies and leading the league in +/- in 2001-02 at the age of 40 with a +40.

Chris did not end his career on a high note, playing in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves, the Atlanta Thrashers AHL affiliate in 2009-10. He would get called up by the Thrashers late in the season and went on to play in 7 games tallying 0 points and a -2 rating. At the age of 47 it looked like his career was on a downward path and after 26 NHL seasons Chris Chelios announced his retirement on August 6th,2010.

I personally wish everyone had the passion for the game of hockey that Chris did. He played most of his final season in the AHL, not for money but for the love of the game. He has decided that he will be more help to the NHL in the front office and it has been reported that he will take a front office job with the Red Wings but it has not yet been confirmed.

NHL Has Best Buisness Year in History in Terms of Ratings, Attendence, Merchandise Sales and Much More !!!

2010-08-07T13:13:00.000-07:00

Well this is kind of old news but for people who have not seen it, well now you will. The NHL had a press release in mid-June that stated some of it's best accomplishments this season and also some of the brighter moments.

The NHL saw an increase in TV Ratings throughout the season and playoffs, greater attendance, merchandise sales, and saw its most watched games in a LONG time. NHL Network also had a large increase in subscriptions this season.

Join me after this for the full press release from the NHL....

via NHL press release:

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS ATTRACT LARGEST AUDIENCE EVER; CAPS BEST BIZ YEAR IN NHL HISTORY:

NBC Sports Scores Most-Watched U.S. NHL Game in 36 Years; CBC Earns Highest Audience for All-U.S. Final

Blackhawks Victory Fuels Sales Record for Shop.NHL.com; In-Arena Sales Up 129% For Final

Stanley Cup Snares Five Top 20 Searches on Google

“Right now the NHL can seemingly do no wrong…there’s reason for the league to be optimistic…The league is on a rise. More people are watching, more people care.” – Philadelphia Daily News

NEW YORK (June 14, 2010) – After a regular season that saw record-breaking business success, propelled in large part by the NHL’s strategy of engaging fans through big events and robust digital offerings, the League built on that momentum with unprecedented success during a Stanley Cup Playoffs that attracted the largest audience across all platforms in the history of the sport.

The landmark playoff run was highlighted by the most-watched NHL game in the U.S. in 36 years; the highest audience for an all-U.S. Final in Canadian television history; the most-watched first two rounds on U.S. cable in history; the most-watched NHL game in TSN’s history; record TV ratings in local markets such as Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Boston; television and digital growth in non-traditional markets like Memphis, Kansas City, New Orleans and San Diego; another record year for NHL.com unique visitors; the hottest of all hot markets in Chicago fueling a Shop.NHL.com one-day sales record; in-arena sales for the Final growing by 129 percent; and measurable buzz on platforms like Google and Twitter.
“By whatever method of measurement you want to use — be it ratings, revenues, page views, video starts, sponsor activations or simply the quality of play – the game, the players, the fans, our clubs and our
partners teamed up to make 2009-10 a season to remember,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

NHL COO John Collins said, “Our fans once again demonstrated their insatiable appetite for NHL hockey, which they consumed in unprecedented numbers across all of our platforms. These milestones spotlight the power of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and its importance to hockey fans around the world. It’s a fitting cap to a season that saw record-breaking business success for the League.”

Below are business highlights from the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs:

MEASURABLE BUZZ:

· On Wednesday, June 9, (Game 6) and the day preceding, five of the top 20 searches on Google were Stanley Cup related.
· For week one of the Stanley Cup Final search interest for the Stanley Cup Final was up 23 percent over last year.
· The Stanley Cup ranked as the number one trending topic worldwide on Twitter through the end of Game 6 (June 9).
· According to the Chicago Sun-Times, The City of Chicago estimated that two million people attended the Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup parade on Friday more than the estimated half-million that watched the White Sox World Series parade in 2005 as well as any victory parade for the Bulls in the 1980′s and 90′s.
· According to Forbes.com, tickets for the Stanley Cup Final were driving a higher price on the secondary market than for the NBA Finals.

MERCHANDISE SALES UP SIGNIFICANTLY:

· Total in-venue sales for Stanley Cup Final were up 92 percent over last year’s Final and gained 129 percent over the first six games of the 2009 Final.
· Total sales for the entire 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs were up 22 percent.
· Shop.NHL.com recorded its best single day sales total on June 10, surpassing the previous single day record (Holiday 2009 Cyber Monday) by 25 percent and also eclipsed Penguins (Stanley Cup 2009) by over 50 percent.

“Sales in Chicago have been off the charts,” said Bryan Nosal of JC Penney. “We sold out in many locations within hours. The fan support has been tremendous.”

Jim Pasani of VF Licensed Sports Group, Majestic Athletic said, “Chicago’s commitment to the Cup is like nothing we’ve ever seen and demand for Blackhawks apparel has exceeded our own high expectations. The Blackhawks victory caps off what has been a winning NHL campaign with fans and retailers appetites for NHL merchandise clearly on a strong upswing heading into 2011.”

NBC SPORTS EARNS HIGHEST GAME 6 AUDIENCE IN 36 YEARS:

· Game 6 of the Final on NBC was the most-watched (8.28 million) and highest-rated NHL game (4.7) on U.S. television in 36 years.
· NBC Sports broadcast four of the series’ six games (1-2, 5-6). Those four games averaged 6.1 million viewers, the best on networkTV in 13 years.
· NBC Sports’ coverage of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final earned the best overnight rating (4.1 rating and 7 share) for a Game 2 on record (NHL overnight data prior to 1975 is unavailable).

CBC SETS MARK FOR ALL U.S. FINAL:

· Game 6 between Chicago and Philadelphia averaged 4.077 million viewers, the highest audience ever for an all-U.S. Stanley Cup Final on CBC.
· Overall, the Stanley Cup Final on CBC averaged 3.107 million viewers, the best in six years and a 44 percent increase over last year.
· For the entire playoffs, CBC averaged 2.102 million viewers, up 62 percent from 2009.

VERSUS SCORES MOST-WATCHED PLAYOFFS ON CABLE IN EIGHT YEARS:

· The 2010 Playoffs on VERSUS were the most-watched in network history and the best on cable since 2002.
· The Conference Quarterfinal and Semifinal rounds were the most-watched first two rounds on cable since NHL Playoff viewership became available by Nielsen in the 1993/94 season (54 games, 775,000 viewers).
· Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 2 was VERSUS’ highest-rated and most-watched telecast ever in network history (3.1 HH rating and 3.6 million viewers) and made VERSUS the most-watched cable network in the country that night.
· Games 3 & 4 of the Stanley Cup Final averaged 3.369 million viewers, up five percent over the 2009 average (3.212 million viewers), making it the most-watched Final round on cable since 2002.

TSN SHOWS 70 PERCENT INCREASE:

· TSN averaged more than 1.11 million viewers for its playoff coverage – 70 percent higher than its average playoff audience last season.
· TSN’s audience of 2.8 million for the Washington-Montreal Game 7 was the highest audience ever recorded for an NHL game on TSN.
· Overall, the Montreal-Washington series ranks as the most-watched playoff series ever on TSN (any round) with an average audience of 1.8 million viewers over seven games.

RDS UP 84 PERCENT:

· The NHL Playoffs on RDS averaged 759,000 viewers for 65 telecasts, up 84 percent from last season.

· The Canadiens-Penguins Game 7 was the most-viewed NHL telecast in the network’s history with 2.69 million viewers.

DIGITAL PLATFORMS SHOW IMPRESSIVE GROWTH:

· Video starts on NHL.com finished up 161 percent over last year for the entire playoffs.
· The day after Game 6 of the Final recorded the highest number of video starts in NHL.com history
· Unique visitors to NHL.com were up 17 percent over last year’s record number.
· Page views were up 56 percent.
· Mobile page views were up 181 percent.
· For the Stanley Cup Final page views were up 88 percent and video starts 225 percent.
· April was the most trafficked month in the history of NHL.com in terms of unique visitors surpassing 17 million.
· NHL.com ranked as the number two site in terms of percentage change in unique visitors from March to April according to comScore.
· The League’s “History Will Be Made” campaign generated 3.2 million video starts on NHL.com and Club sites, 1.4 million views on YouTube and 5 million views on YouTube for fan-created versions.

REGIONAL SPORTS NETWORK HIGHLIGHTS:

· Game 1 of the Blackhawks-Sharks series on NBC earned an 11.2 rating in Chicago, beating the Cubs, White Sox and Boston-Orlando broadcasts combined.

· On Thursday April 22, the Blackhawks, with 278,000 viewers in Chicago, prevailed over some tough local competition: Bulls (255,000 viewers, playoff game against Cleveland and LeBron James), NFL Draft (138,000) and the Chicago Cubs vs. NY Mets (137,000 viewers)

· The Flyers Game 7 victory over the Bruins was the most watched Flyers game in Comcast SportsNet history with an 11.7 rating and 345,000 households, topping the previous record set two days earlier.

· The Canadiens-Penguins Game 7 on FSN Pittsburgh averaged a 26.4 HH rating, the highest-rated game ever on the network. At one point 43 percent of all households in the Pittsburgh DMA were tuned into FSN.

· There were three major Boston-area sports events televised on May 7 and Game 4 of the Bruins-Flyers series scored the best numbers, earning an 8.3 local Nielsen rating (328,000 viewers) on Versus in the Boston metered market besting the Yankees-Red Sox matchup on NESN, which earned a 6.3 local rating (223,000 viewers) to finish in second, while Game Three of the Cavaliers-Celtics NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals earned a 4.1 local rating (142,000 viewers) on ESPN.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

“NHL: National Hot League” — MediaWeek, 4/25/10

“Olympic hockey, playoffs making the NHL cool again…This year the NHL hit the popularity jackpot… The NHL is the hottest it’s been since the pre-lockout days.” — Associated Press, 6/2/10

“It seems hockey is having its day.” — Los Angeles Times, 6/8/10

“It’s been a magical season for the NHL, from the Olympics to the Cup-clinching goal.” –Toronto Star, 6/10/10

“The game has never been better. It has personality and star appeal. And, for the first time in almost two decades, it has momentum.” – Vancouver Province, 6/11/10

Source: Nielsen Media Research US and Nielsen Media Research Canada / BBM

Heritage Classic News!! Alot of PICS from Press Conference!!

2010-08-04T14:56:00.000-07:00

The NHL today held a press conference for the Heritage Classic which is the Canadian version of the Winter Classic. The game will be played on February 20th and will be played between the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames. The Canadiens played in the first Heritage Classic in 2003 against the Edmonton Oilers. That year the Canadiens would go on to win the game. Obviously both teams have a lot of history so it seems like a great game will be played in Calgary

The game will be played at McMahon Stadium which hold 40,000 plus seats which with no doubt will be filled up with crazy Canadian hockey fans of all teams. The NHL has said they will most likely continue this as an every year tradition like the Winter Classic but will wait until after this years plays out to see how everything goes.

Join me after this for Pictures from today's press conference including logos and jerseys that will be worn during the game......

Is Brian Boyle The Odd Man Out??

2010-08-04T08:18:00.000-07:00

With all the moves the New York Rangers have made so far this offseason, someone will end up being the odd man out. And is Sather is not done there could end up being more then one returning Ranger sitting in the press box or playing in Hartford. Not only do we have a lot of forwards but most are at center which does not make the tunnel any brighter for Mr. Boyle.

Boyle had a tough first year in New York only scoring two goals and six points. He played in 71 games missing eleven due to a foot/ankle injury. He will most likely be given a second chance during training camp but he will have to work extra hard and put in as much effort as he can to show he belongs on this team and to show he should play on a nightly basis. With a clog at center it could be hard for the Rangers to find a spot for him.

The Rangers have seven centers under contract, Boyle, Christensen, Anisimov, Dubinsky, Drury, White and Prospal. Now it seems as though Dubinsky will be playing the wing and it is very possible that Prospal will be also. Anisimov and Christensen are ahead of Boyle on the depth chart so that leaves us with White, Drury and Boyle for the final 2 spots.

Join me after this for a final conclusion on Brian Boyle's future as a Ranger.....

Drury will most likely end up as the 3rd or 4th line center. The main question will be, Is Todd White on the opening night roster or will he be sent down to Hartford? If White is on the roster then Boyle will most likely be a healthy scratch almost every game. Boyle could also be sent down to Hartford to save 525k in cap space if needed.

Pros to keeping Boyle: Big Body at 6'7, Good penalty killer, cheap cap hit(525k), Still young(25)
Cons to keeping Boyle: Poor on faceoffs(Sub 40%), Could take spot away from kid, has not shown much scoring ability, does not know how to use his 6'7 frame..

In The End: I see Boyle making the team and not being sent to Hartford but will be used as a healthy scratch on most nights. The Rangers gave up a 3rd round pick for him and I do not see them giving up on him this quickly. But the Rangers have an overflow at center and one of the main problems with Boyle is his terrible faceoff percentage. He might get in on some nights but like with most seasons there will be injuries and if the Rangers do not want to bring up a youngster at that point then Boyle could easily step in.

Was The Stanley Cup Worth It??

2010-08-04T07:48:00.000-07:00

I think as a Ranger Fan that if we ever got to the Stanley Cup Finals again I would be pretty excited. But what if right after they won the Cup they had to trade away or not re-sign almost half of the team that just brought the Cup back to The Garden. This most likely bothers most Blackhawks fans to a certain level but knowing that the team has kept the top six players on the team and the fact that they just won the Cup probably eases that disapproval. But with that said they have still lost some key players.

The players lost that will have the biggest impact will definitely be Kris Versteeg and Dustin Byfuglien. But with all the players traded away, they have received some good young players and draft picks in return that will help keep this good young team alive for years to come while still having good young pieces to play with if things get down. They managed to keep the main core group of stars and top end talent and now have some rebuilding pieces for the future. Of course not all of the pieces they received in return will work out but it is a good way to keep the team running for years with filtering young stars to play along side the already proven stars of the Hawks.

Join me after this to see a recap of trades and all the players who have left and my thoughts on each move:

1. Colin Fraser traded to the Oilers for 6th round pick..... Pretty much just a minor trade to free up a roster spot according to many.

2. Versteeg and Sweatt traded to Toronto for Stalberg, DiDomenico, and Paradis... Well the Hawks acquired three young prospects and two top prospects in Stalberg and DiDomenico. Stalberg could make the team this year and was considered one of Toronto's top prospects. Versteeg could be the biggest loss for the Hawks but he did take a step back during his second full NHL season, going from 53 points down to 44 but he is still a 20 goal scorer and hard worker that could be missed.

3. Andrew Ladd traded to Atlanta for Ivan Vishnevsky and a 2011 2nd round pick.. IMO they got a lot for Ladd in a young D-Man and a 2nd round pick and it seemed that this was one of the more excepted deals among Hawks fans.

4. Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Sopel and Ben Eager and prospect Akim Aliu traded to Atlanta for Marty Reasoner(Traded for Jeff Taffe), Jeremy Morin, Joey Crabb and a 1st round pick and 2nd round pick(both picks acquired in the Kovalchuk deal).... Well this was the first trade and came as a shocker to many as Byfuglien was a fan favorite and one of the main cogs in the Hawks playoff victory. He has not been much of a factor during the regular season but has come up big for the Hawks in the playoffs. Morin was one of the top prospects for Atlanta and the Hawks also received two top picks. We will just have to wait and see how this plays out on the ice and see how Morin and the two draft picks play out but this might be the trade that really hurts the Hawks or it could look like genius down the road.

5. The Hawks have lost Adam Burish, John Madden and Antti Niemi through Free Agency.

Overall the Blackhawks still have there top 5 scorers from last year and 7 out of there top 8. They still have top end superstars in Kane, Toews, Keith, Hossa, Seabrook, Campbell and Sharp. They still have great role players in Kopecky and Bolland who can do all the little things necessary from 3rd line players. Hjalmarsson, Hendry and Bickell will be looked upon to provide a little more this year and all have the potential to do so. Guys like Skille and Stalberg should be on there way up. The biggest issue could be the loss of Niemi and the replacement by Turco. Turco is aging and has slowed down over the last couple of years but he has had some pretty poor teams in front of him and Chicago is easily still one of the best defensive teams in the league. If Turco plays his best then this is a team that could make another run towards the Cup but if he stumbles then it could be difficult for this team to get far in the playoffs.

So in the end the obvious answer to the title of this post is Yes. It had been 48 years sine the Hawks had won a Cup and now no matter what happens this season or the next, no one can take that away from the fans and players who played on the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks.

Sather Trying To Bring In Familiar Faces!!

2010-08-03T05:49:00.000-07:00

This offseason it seems as if Glen Sather has decided to go back to something that worked coming out of the lockout for the Rangers. In 2005-2006 most of the Rangers squad was new except for the younger kids coming up. The Rangers already had Jaromir Jagr under contract from a trade they made with the Washington Capitals before the lockout. At the time Sather decided to put pieces around Jagr that he was familiar with from previous teams. They added Michael Nylander and Michael Straka. Nylander and Jagr played together in Washington and Straka and Jagr played together in Pittsburgh.

These three would start out together and have some of the best years of there respective careers until Sather decided that an over payed Gomez would be a better center for Jagr and so he let Nylander leave. Thus Jagr proceeded to have his worse year as a Ranger and he left to go play in Russia.

To a lesser degree during the 2005-2006 season Sather traded for Petr Sykora to play along side former teammate Steve Rucchin. They also traded for Sandis Ozolinsh who played on those same Ducks teams. Ozolinsh actually added some offensive punch to the Rangers game but struggled defensively and flopped in the Rangers short playoff experience.

Join me after this to continue to read more about what Sather has done to bring in some familiar faces while keeping the main core intact......

The next year they continued this trend by bringing in Stanley Cup Champion teammates Matt Cullen and Aaron Ward. Cullen played pretty well for the Rangers but Ward struggled in the Garden and was traded for Paul Mara.

The next year the Rangers went away from this trend and dumped Nylander for Gomez and Drury. Then they went after Wade Redden, Markus Naslund, Nik Zherdev and countless other free agents. All of these moves led to no success at all as players struggled to find a connection on the ice and every year it seemed like we put a new team out there.

Well now it looks like countless times before Glen Sather is making up for his past mistakes and is trying to bring in some familiar faces so that the team has some form of connection on the ice. This year he has brought in Marian Gaborik's former Minnesota Wild teammates Derek Boogaard and Todd White. He has also brought in Alexander Frolov who was not only teammates with Sean Avery but roommates and as it seems so far, pretty good friends. Frolov also played in LA with Brian Boyle although no one is really sure what his future with the team is. Also to a lesser degree they have signed Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh who were teammates on a Wisconsin NCAA team that almost won the National Championship.

I did a post yesterday about what Gaborik had to day about his new/old teammates and he seemed to endorse both deals. Boogaard will be the tough guy who makes sure nothing happens to Gabby and will probably open up the ice for him especially if at some point they play on the same line and knowing Torts that will most likely happen.

Alex Frolov and Sean Avery spent a lot of time playing together in LA. They seem to get along very well and were also roommates while playing for the Kings. With Avery saying he is going to return to the "Old" Sean Avery and Frolov looking to bounce back after what under his expectations was a bad year, this could be a great match and I would not be surprised if we saw these two on the same line to start the year.

I guess the main point of this post is that while Sather has kept the main core of players together from last year, the players he has gone out to get are familiar faces that have played with current Rangers and will fit in right away. Instead of going out to just add big name stars, he went out and got key players who should play an important role on next year's squad.

Gaborik Endorsing His New Teammates!!

2010-08-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

Today Gaborik finally came out of the woodwork to let everyone know that he is endorsing the signing of Derek Boogaard and the trade for Todd White.

On The New York Rangers official Twitter account Gaborik had some kind words for each of his former teammates.

Gaborik on White "He can both very well defensively and offensively" he continued "I think he's going to be a good fit for us because he's a good skater and he's strong."

Then Todd White had some words about joining the Rangers that I am not quite sure are true but he said them anyway "They always have a hard-working team. Tortorella holds them accountable and they are a tough team to play against" he continued "I'm looking forward to being a part of it and helping out wherever I'm needed."

Then Gaborik had some kind words about former Minnesota teammate and Tough Guy Derek Boogaard "He opened up the ice for Wild scorers by putting fear into opponents. He's the best at what he does" he continued on "People won't want to play against him. When he gets going and hits somebody, it's scary."

While it is nice to hear Gaborik talk about his former teammates, what else did we expect him to say? It's not like he was going to bash his former and now current teammates. But it is nice to see he endorses the deals and is on board with what the Rangers are doing.

It was also good to see that Todd White realizes that he might have a smaller role with the Rangers and that he will need to help out wherever needed.

Hopefully they can find some chemistry here on the Rangers as well...

Where Might Niemi Land???

2010-08-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well the news today out of Chicago is that the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks have decided to let Niemi walk after declining the award he was given in his arbitration case! The award was $2.75M and the Hawks would have found it very hard to fit that under the Cap so they opted out. Not that long after the news was announced, the Hawks came out with word that they have signed veteran goalie Marty Turco to a one year deal worth only $1.3M.

Turco waited and maybe got less money then he wanted but now will most likely be the starting goalie for the defending Stanley Cup champions. At this point not many players will still be on the Cup team on opening night when the banner is raised. But the core group of superstars in Keith, Kane, Toews, Seabrook and Sharp are still there so they will still be contenders regardless.

Now the question of where Niemi will go next arises! While I could see him going back to Europe or the KHL for most likely more money, I see him staying in the NHL and trying to lead a different team to the Cup.

Join me after this for some potential destinations for Niemi:

The teams most likely to land Niemi go as follows, Flyers, Sharks, Islanders, Stars, and maybe even the Thrashers. The Islanders and Thrashers could both use a little bit of help at goalie and have the cap space to fit in Niemi. Though I doubt he goes to either teams. Niemi beat the Flyers in the Cup Finals and are easily one of the top teams to land him especially if he wants to go to a team where he has a chance to return to the finals. The Sharks would be in the same situation as the Flyers as they lost to the Hawks in the conference finals and Niemi would easily be able to get more revenge on the Hawks. The Stars seem to be in a little bit of a rebuilding mode and acquired Lehtonen from the Thrashers so they do not necessarily need a goalie but it just seemed like a good fit to me and they might go after him. The Ducks, Oilers, Lightning, CBJ and even the Caps are all likely possibilities.

In the end I seem him going to the Sharks as they could give him the money he wants, a winning team, and a chance to get revenge on the Blackhawks. I would not be surprised if Yzerman in Tampa tried to sweep in and steal him though.

Rangers Acquire Todd White From Atlanta!! (UPDATED!!)

2010-08-02T04:59:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: The Rangers have acquired Todd White from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Donald Brashear and Patrick Rissmiller!!)

UPDATE: Well I really do not see why the Thrashers would do this trade. They are getting two players who will most likelynot make there team in exchange for a player who has scored 20 goals twice and had 73 point season a year ago. The salary is basically a wash. As Brashear+Rissmiller is $2.4M and White is $2.375M. All three contracts expire at the end of the season. Personally I like the move as now we will get something from that $2.4M cap hit instead of two players sitting in the AHL doing nothing for us. White also played with Gaborik in Minnesota which is something to consider.

As most Rangers fans know by now (well at least those of us that have awoken from our sleep) the Rangers have acquired 35 year old veteran center Todd White from the Atlanta Thrashers. What has not come out yet is exactly what the Rangers have sent back to Atlanta in the trade.

Is this a good trade or bad trade?

Well it really depends on what the Rangers gave up to get White. Rumors are floating around about Roszival and maybe even Redden or Drury. I think Redden or Drury would be a crazy thought but it is very likely that Rozsival is involved in the trade. With that being said if Rozi is in fact in the trade then it should be classified as a very good trade.

White is a free agent at the end of this year and his $2.3M cap hit will only affect us this year. We will save a little less then $3M this year and then $5M the next.

White has had some good years as only a year ago while centering Kovalchuk he had 22 goals and 73 points. But he had some injuries this year which led to him only playing 65 games and only tallying 26 points. He had some good years with Ottawa tallying 50 and 60 points in 01-02 and 02-03 respectively.

Of course not all the details have come in yet and if one of Roszival/Redden/Drury is not involved then I can not get behind this trade and the $2.3M cap hit but if they are they it looks like a good deal. I will update this blog when more news about the trade comes in and we will come to a conclusion at that time.

Free Agent Watch: Paul Mara!!

2010-08-02T04:01:00.001-07:00

Paul Mara was a very reliable defensemen with the Rangers over the years. He signed a one year deal with the Canadians which did not really work out very well as about halfway through the season he injured his shoulder and opted to have season ending surgery. He would come at a relatively cheap price and would be a worth a shot to get the sixth D-Man spot.

Reasons I would go after Mara:

1. He will have a cheap price tag probably around $1M-$1.5M and at that price I would have no problem bringing him back.

2. The only problem I ever had with Mara's play is that he at times could take some dumb penalties but he always had great hustle to his game and always played with heart.

3. While with the Rangers Mara always stuck up for his teammates which is something this current team may lack a bit of.

4. He is still young at 30 years old and has shown some offensive ability in his 11 NHL seasons.

5. He could be a leader on our team and definitely could wear the "A" with honor and help lead the new young core we have coming up.

Listen I am not asking this guy to come in and be a shut down D type guy but he is a reliable 5th or 6th D-Man who could be a leader on this team. At around $1M I could not say no to this guy and if he does not play well then he could be benched for some of the kids we have coming up while still mentoring them to a degree.