Ryan Callahan Talks To @thenyrangers On Twiter!!

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!!

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!!

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?

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!!

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!!

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....

Martin Biron Is Ready For The Season!!

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......