My NYRangers Season Ticket Picture Gallery!!

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...

Reminder For NYRangers Season Ticket Holders!!

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.

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

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......

The NYRangers Are Shooting A Music Video?

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."

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

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!!

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.

Mixed Reaction Among Rangers Fans!!

Reaction about the Rangers direction as a franchise and the current offseason has been mixed amongst the fan base. A lot of fans seem to think negatively about everything the Rangers do but it seems as though for at least one offseason Glen has figured out what he needs to do to make the Rangers a better team. Granted it took him ten tries at it but that's for another discussion. While there is still plenty of time for Glen to mess up what he has done so far, it seems like the Rangers organization and team is heading in the right direction.

We got started early by signing Mats Zucarello Aasen to a two year contract, paying him $1.75M a year. This is a great signing as we scooped him up quick and this kid could be a dynamic player in the NHL someday. He has some speed and a goal scoring touch and played in the Swedish Elite League with some NHL veterans and they all held high praises for this kid. MZA put up some good numbers over there which should translate well to the NHL. MZA could make the opening night roster but playing a year or half a year in the AHL would not be bad for him as he will be able to get use to the NHL rink and how the game is played with out as much pressure.

Next was the re-signing of Erik Christensen who was a pleasant surprise last year after we claimed him off of waivers from the Ducks. He scored eight goals and added 18 assists in only 49 games. A big factor in the resigning was the fact that he had some pretty good chemistry with Gaborik which at times last year was hard to find. At only 925k for the next two seasons, this is a great deal for a player who has always had the potential to be a big time player in the NHL. One year in juniors he scored 54 goals and added 54 assists in only 69 games. He has also shown the ability to play at the NHL as when he was acquired by the Ducks in 08-09 he had nine points in only 17 games but they failed to find a spot for him the next season and he was placed on waivers. I can't really find any reason to be mad or upset about this trade as there really is not much the Rangers can lose in this signing.

Join me after this to read my take on the rest of our moves and my final analysis of Sather's offseason.

Rangers Training Camp Should Be Exciting!!

As we all know the Rangers have a lot of young kids who Blueshirt fans are looking forward to seeing on the ice at The Garden. They will all have for the most part have chance at winning a spot on the opening night roster. We also have a mix of veterans and young players who are already on the roster so it will not be easy for these rookies to make it. They will have to work hard, show all their skills and talents, and show Coach Tortorella and his staff that they really want a spot on the Rangers. All signs point to that creating a great training camp and pre-season as we will see all of our youngsters fighting it out to make the team and maybe even some veterans fighting it out to keep their spot. So I compiled a list of some Rangers rookies who will be fighting it out for a spot on the team and some players who will need to show they deserve to stay: