Slow week for Ranger fans

Between now and Saturday, not much will be happening for Ranger fans. The team is off entirely today and will have a light practice tomorrow. I'll use this week to catch some games from the Devils and Islanders, as well as games from teams around the Rangers in the standings. I urge everyone else to do the same. There is some good hockey being played around the league.

Scary moment in last night's Buffalo vs Florida game as Richard Zednik caught an Ollie Jokenin skate to the throat. A scary amount of blood was on the ice as he was rushed to the back, where trainers were able to stop the bleeding long enough for Zednik to get to a hospital where he underwent immediate surgery and is now listed as being in stable condition and resting comfortably. Best wishes to him and a big congratulations out to both teams and their fans, treating the situation with a lot of class. It was nice to see in a scary moment.

There's a lot of talk the last couple of days about the Rangers moving Jaromir Jagr at the trade deadline. Personally, I don't see that happening. Jagr hasn't been the force that he was last year or the years prior, but he has in no way lost that talent. He is still an important asset for the Rangers, and if he regains some confidence he could be an important scoring threat for the remainder of the season. It's true that the Rangers rely on him too much, though. The offense no longer goes through him like it used to. Other teams are still defending him tough, which could open up opportunities for other players to show off their scoring abilities. Plus, if we traded him, we would have to get back someone to play top line wing, mess with any chemistry Scott Gomez and Jagr have developed up until now and create a little chaos in an already unstable team. The Rangers have a lot of talent, but no one on the Rangers is ready to step in and score goals at the rate Jagr scored them. If we could bring in Marian Hossa or someone of that caliber, then this would be a different story. Right now, it might be best to bite the bullet, let him try and regain form and if he can't start using him less. Rely more on Gomez and Chris Drury to lead the offense, which is what Ranger fans will be seeing for the next seven years.

If the Rangers were going to make a move, now would be a good time. Let the new acquisition come in for four practices, get acclimated with his new team and see where he fits in. Paul Mara, Marcel Hossa and Marek Malik remain the most likely to be moved, but you may see Ryan Callahan or Al Montoya moved for the right price as well. A package of Malik and Montoya could net a decent player in return, but anything better than decent would cost some kids, which many people are against, myself included.

I'll update whenever something happens this week, but it may be a little limited. Enjoy the week off.