Today's random thought pertains to the continued hypocrisy of the league. Even Brendan Shanahan has picked up right where Colin Campbell left off. By not even having a hearing with Alex Ovechkin for his spear to Chris Neil, who actually was called for diving after taking a cheap shot to the midsection, it's the same old story for the NHL. Sure. Neil isn't exactly a choir boy. But he delivered a good hit and Ovechkin intentionally used his stick while skating by the Sen tough guy. A clear attempt to injure. Given Ovi's track record, he deserved at least a fine. Though in our book, he should've been suspended for at least two games. Only when a star a la Ryan Miller gets plowed into twice does the league overreact. I'm all about protecting stars but when one bends the law, they should be punished.
Covering the Rangers, Devils, Islanders and Sabres five years running along with the rest of the puckers!
BONY
Battle Of New York
Showing posts with label Brendan Shanahan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brendan Shanahan. Show all posts
Friday, December 9, 2011
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Backman nets 1st as Ranger, Flyers make change too
Maybe Backman heard me as well as he just notched his first as a Ranger off a very nice setup by Brendan Shanahan converting a four-on-three rush by wristing one past Niittymaki.
Apparently, John Stevens had seen enough of his starter as well and followed Renney's idea by replacing Niitty with Martin Biron. So, it's now a battle of back-ups at the Garden in this big Atlantic match-up.
Colton Orr just battled Jesse Boulerice to a draw. This was a really good scrap as both traded rights and landed. What an entertaining game so far.
What else will happen?
Apparently, John Stevens had seen enough of his starter as well and followed Renney's idea by replacing Niitty with Martin Biron. So, it's now a battle of back-ups at the Garden in this big Atlantic match-up.
Colton Orr just battled Jesse Boulerice to a draw. This was a really good scrap as both traded rights and landed. What an entertaining game so far.
What else will happen?
Friday, February 29, 2008
Drury, Rangers continue to roll
Chris Drury is known as Mr. Clutch. Lately, the first-year Ranger has been exactly that notching his club-leading sixth game-winner to help lift the resurgent Original Six club to its third consecutive win by a count of 4-2 over the Hurricanes Thursday night at the RBC Center.
With his team out in front by two on the strength of first period tallies courtesy of red hot rookie Brandon Dubinsky and the sizzling Sean Avery, the 31 year-old Trumbull Connecticut native continued his torrid play by picking up the loose change of a Marc Staal shot and depositing it past a frustrated Cam Ward to make it 3-0 just 2:14 into the second.
At that juncture, the Blueshirts were dominating their shorthanded opponents, taking full advantage of a team without captain Rod Brind'Amour, Justin Williams along with top defender Tim Gleason. Shots at one point were 22-7 New York.
However, the Canes got back in it thanks to left wing Erik Cole's first of two on the night 5:25 later. Jaromir Jagr lost an edge in the defensive zone failing to clear the puck. Cole was the beneficiary taking a Bret Hedican pass and firing a tricky shot which looked to deflect past Henrik Lundqvist to get his team back in the contest.
Carolina carried that momentum forward as they started to dictate the play with their aggressive cycle forcing Lundqvist to make some tough saves with traffic in front. Early in the third, the Rangers ran into penalty trouble. A dubious high stick on Marc Staal (really Ranger newcomer Christian Backman) which drew blood led to Cole's second of the night.
It came via the odd variety again. After getting past Dan Girardi, Cole was backchecked by Blair Betts, who managed to get a piece of the puck but the kid from Oswego, New York stuck with it and got his stick on it to push it past Lundqvist for his 17th to cut it to one with 15:06 remaining.
Would the Rangers have another Montreal-esque meltdown? It wasn't a good start for Backman who went to the box for holding giving Carolina another man-advantage. However, thanks to some splendid penalty killing from Drury, Brendan Shanahan, the resurgent Marek Malik and a steadier Michal Rozsival, they managed to keep the Canes at bay.
Not long after the Carolina PP expired, a huge goal by Shanahan allowed his teammates to breathe easier. Off a pair of nice passes from Scott Gomez and improving freshman Nigel Dawes, the 39 year-old veteran finisher knew exactly what to do with a glorious chance on a three-on-two from 15 feet out. Top shelf. Or as legendary Sabres' play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret likes to say, "Where Mama hides the cookies!"
Shanny's 21st restored order at 7:28 allowing his team to survive a Carolina onslaught (13-2 SOG). He remained tied with Drury for the team lead in goals.
Notes: Dawes notched two helpers to make it three consecutive games with at least a point going 2-2-4. ... Lundqvist was strong finishing with 26 saves to win his 29th of the season. One more victory would make it three straight seasons of at least 30-or-more. ... Drury extended his point streak to seven (4-4-8). Since a Jan.31 4-0 shutout win over the Flyers, he's notched nine goals and six assists for 15 points with a plus-eight rating. ... With his 11th goal, Avery now has eight points (6-2-8) in his last seven contests with a plus-seven rating along with 19 penalty minutes. ... Phoenix pickup Fredrik Sjostrom debuted on the fourth line logging 11:27 of ice-time registering one shot. Petr Prucha was a healthy scratch.
Some quick thoughts:
-The lines all look really good right now. So, I wonder when Prucha will get his opportunity. He's coming back from an injury. I'd like to see Tom Renney fit him in on the fourth line with Sjostrom and Betts and see how it looks to have actual guys who can skate and finish around the net.
-Backman had a night to forget twice bringing his stick high at an attacking Cane. He also was turnover prone and looked very tight. Hopefully, he'll get adjusted to a new system.
-Lundqvist did give up two odd goals but he really played well in this one and was the difference. Especially when the Canes turned it up.
-Sergei Samsonov looked like a different player. It's no doubt that the Russian who once won the Calder has been revitalized since the Canes took him off the Hawks' hands. But now, he's back to being very dangerous. He had all sorts of chances and if not for Lundqvist, easily could've had a couple of goals.
-The officiating was very shaky as they missed a few blatant infractions on the Canes, who resorted to dirty late hits including one from new pickup Tuomo Ruutu and rookie D Tim Conboy. Responding to a cheap hit which should've been a penalty, Ryan Callahan took on Conboy losing a bout. I liked the character he showed. These rookies will do that.
-Dubinsky has four goals and four helpers totaling eight points and 24 PIM in the last six games since being moved to Jagr's line. Speaking of No.68, he notched an assist in the win.
-Since returning to the blueline, Malik's 1-2-3 with a plus-five rating in five games. He really looks like a different player. Instead of sitting back, he's being much more aggressive and making quicker reads. He's even playing physical which is nice to see.
-With the Bruins, Flyers and Islanders all winning, the Rangers remained seventh in the conference. Now comes a big stretch against the Flyers on Sunday before a pivotal home-and-home versus the Isles with Boston and Buffalo also on the horizon.
Just gotta keep the formula simple and keep winning.
With his team out in front by two on the strength of first period tallies courtesy of red hot rookie Brandon Dubinsky and the sizzling Sean Avery, the 31 year-old Trumbull Connecticut native continued his torrid play by picking up the loose change of a Marc Staal shot and depositing it past a frustrated Cam Ward to make it 3-0 just 2:14 into the second.
At that juncture, the Blueshirts were dominating their shorthanded opponents, taking full advantage of a team without captain Rod Brind'Amour, Justin Williams along with top defender Tim Gleason. Shots at one point were 22-7 New York.
However, the Canes got back in it thanks to left wing Erik Cole's first of two on the night 5:25 later. Jaromir Jagr lost an edge in the defensive zone failing to clear the puck. Cole was the beneficiary taking a Bret Hedican pass and firing a tricky shot which looked to deflect past Henrik Lundqvist to get his team back in the contest.
Carolina carried that momentum forward as they started to dictate the play with their aggressive cycle forcing Lundqvist to make some tough saves with traffic in front. Early in the third, the Rangers ran into penalty trouble. A dubious high stick on Marc Staal (really Ranger newcomer Christian Backman) which drew blood led to Cole's second of the night.
It came via the odd variety again. After getting past Dan Girardi, Cole was backchecked by Blair Betts, who managed to get a piece of the puck but the kid from Oswego, New York stuck with it and got his stick on it to push it past Lundqvist for his 17th to cut it to one with 15:06 remaining.
Would the Rangers have another Montreal-esque meltdown? It wasn't a good start for Backman who went to the box for holding giving Carolina another man-advantage. However, thanks to some splendid penalty killing from Drury, Brendan Shanahan, the resurgent Marek Malik and a steadier Michal Rozsival, they managed to keep the Canes at bay.
Not long after the Carolina PP expired, a huge goal by Shanahan allowed his teammates to breathe easier. Off a pair of nice passes from Scott Gomez and improving freshman Nigel Dawes, the 39 year-old veteran finisher knew exactly what to do with a glorious chance on a three-on-two from 15 feet out. Top shelf. Or as legendary Sabres' play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret likes to say, "Where Mama hides the cookies!"
Shanny's 21st restored order at 7:28 allowing his team to survive a Carolina onslaught (13-2 SOG). He remained tied with Drury for the team lead in goals.
Notes: Dawes notched two helpers to make it three consecutive games with at least a point going 2-2-4. ... Lundqvist was strong finishing with 26 saves to win his 29th of the season. One more victory would make it three straight seasons of at least 30-or-more. ... Drury extended his point streak to seven (4-4-8). Since a Jan.31 4-0 shutout win over the Flyers, he's notched nine goals and six assists for 15 points with a plus-eight rating. ... With his 11th goal, Avery now has eight points (6-2-8) in his last seven contests with a plus-seven rating along with 19 penalty minutes. ... Phoenix pickup Fredrik Sjostrom debuted on the fourth line logging 11:27 of ice-time registering one shot. Petr Prucha was a healthy scratch.
Some quick thoughts:
-The lines all look really good right now. So, I wonder when Prucha will get his opportunity. He's coming back from an injury. I'd like to see Tom Renney fit him in on the fourth line with Sjostrom and Betts and see how it looks to have actual guys who can skate and finish around the net.
-Backman had a night to forget twice bringing his stick high at an attacking Cane. He also was turnover prone and looked very tight. Hopefully, he'll get adjusted to a new system.
-Lundqvist did give up two odd goals but he really played well in this one and was the difference. Especially when the Canes turned it up.
-Sergei Samsonov looked like a different player. It's no doubt that the Russian who once won the Calder has been revitalized since the Canes took him off the Hawks' hands. But now, he's back to being very dangerous. He had all sorts of chances and if not for Lundqvist, easily could've had a couple of goals.
-The officiating was very shaky as they missed a few blatant infractions on the Canes, who resorted to dirty late hits including one from new pickup Tuomo Ruutu and rookie D Tim Conboy. Responding to a cheap hit which should've been a penalty, Ryan Callahan took on Conboy losing a bout. I liked the character he showed. These rookies will do that.
-Dubinsky has four goals and four helpers totaling eight points and 24 PIM in the last six games since being moved to Jagr's line. Speaking of No.68, he notched an assist in the win.
-Since returning to the blueline, Malik's 1-2-3 with a plus-five rating in five games. He really looks like a different player. Instead of sitting back, he's being much more aggressive and making quicker reads. He's even playing physical which is nice to see.
-With the Bruins, Flyers and Islanders all winning, the Rangers remained seventh in the conference. Now comes a big stretch against the Flyers on Sunday before a pivotal home-and-home versus the Isles with Boston and Buffalo also on the horizon.
Just gotta keep the formula simple and keep winning.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Rangers and Valiquette blank Flyers
I bet you didn't see that one coming now, huh? The Rangers played one of their most complete games last night in Philly shutting them out 4-0 to exact a little revenge for that dreadful 6-2 beating at MSG a couple of weeks prior.
Rather than go crazy recapping it, I actually did that already over at my official HB site. So I'm going to link it up and then give some input instead:
1.Nigel Dawes scored and looked pretty good playing with Chris Drury and Petr Prucha. The trio formed the club's best line combining for three goals and an assist in the win. I got to say Dawes is just getting more and more comfortable all the time. Looks like the kid from Manitoba is going to stick.
2.Marek Malik replaced Paul Mara on the blueline and looked okay but he injured himself when Mike Richards collided with him. That was such a bs call on the Flyer two-way pivot. It was a make up call for the mugging Brendan Shanahan and Sean Avery received from a cheap Scott Hartnell who elbowed Shanny and put his stick in Avery's face. Big Bird didn't return logging just over 11 minutes. Figure Mara to be back in tonight in Newark along with the serviceable Jason Strudwick.
3.Brandon Dubinsky continues to improve all the time. The 21 year-old rookie Alaskan who garnered MVP honors at the Young Stars Game notched a helper for his seventh point in the last nine contests. He really is coming on and gaining Tom Renney's trust. Last night, he played between Sean Avery and Brendan Shanahan logging nearly 17 minutes while helping setup Shanny's goal which dashed any Flyer hopes of a comeback. This kid is a smart two-way player who takes the body and seems to have some decent skill. We could have ourselves a home grown player or two to talk about a year from now.
4.Backup Stephen Valiquette made 20 saves to notch his first career NHL shutout. He really wasn't tested much but came through when his team needed him early on when the Flyers held a 5-1 SOG edge. Nice to see him get the shutout. I'm sure it was very sentimental for him because his uncle passed away. You know that puck meant a lot. God bless.
5.The Rangers won despite no points from Jaromir Jagr or sidekick Martin Straka. However, that doesn't necessarily mean they were ineffective. Conversely, they teamed up well with No.1 center Scott Gomez cycling the puck down low and creating chances. Straka in fact had the best ones. He was setup by Gomer for essentially an open net which would've been 5-0 but fanned on it. He also had bad luck when a shot rang off the bar and fell on the goalline.
6.The D was much better than in recent games giving a solid attacking Flyer team zilch. Even when they worked hard, it was tough to get shots through drawing mock cheers from a protypical Philly crowd. Gotta love it.
7.Most important question now is can they repat this strong performance against two more quality clubs in the Devils and Canadiens on the road this weekend? That answer will be provided by kickoff Sunday night.
8.Combined with the Islanders' 3-1 home defeat at the hands of the Kings, the Rangers moved back into eighth in the conference with 56 points.
Rather than go crazy recapping it, I actually did that already over at my official HB site. So I'm going to link it up and then give some input instead:
1.Nigel Dawes scored and looked pretty good playing with Chris Drury and Petr Prucha. The trio formed the club's best line combining for three goals and an assist in the win. I got to say Dawes is just getting more and more comfortable all the time. Looks like the kid from Manitoba is going to stick.
2.Marek Malik replaced Paul Mara on the blueline and looked okay but he injured himself when Mike Richards collided with him. That was such a bs call on the Flyer two-way pivot. It was a make up call for the mugging Brendan Shanahan and Sean Avery received from a cheap Scott Hartnell who elbowed Shanny and put his stick in Avery's face. Big Bird didn't return logging just over 11 minutes. Figure Mara to be back in tonight in Newark along with the serviceable Jason Strudwick.
3.Brandon Dubinsky continues to improve all the time. The 21 year-old rookie Alaskan who garnered MVP honors at the Young Stars Game notched a helper for his seventh point in the last nine contests. He really is coming on and gaining Tom Renney's trust. Last night, he played between Sean Avery and Brendan Shanahan logging nearly 17 minutes while helping setup Shanny's goal which dashed any Flyer hopes of a comeback. This kid is a smart two-way player who takes the body and seems to have some decent skill. We could have ourselves a home grown player or two to talk about a year from now.
4.Backup Stephen Valiquette made 20 saves to notch his first career NHL shutout. He really wasn't tested much but came through when his team needed him early on when the Flyers held a 5-1 SOG edge. Nice to see him get the shutout. I'm sure it was very sentimental for him because his uncle passed away. You know that puck meant a lot. God bless.
5.The Rangers won despite no points from Jaromir Jagr or sidekick Martin Straka. However, that doesn't necessarily mean they were ineffective. Conversely, they teamed up well with No.1 center Scott Gomez cycling the puck down low and creating chances. Straka in fact had the best ones. He was setup by Gomer for essentially an open net which would've been 5-0 but fanned on it. He also had bad luck when a shot rang off the bar and fell on the goalline.
6.The D was much better than in recent games giving a solid attacking Flyer team zilch. Even when they worked hard, it was tough to get shots through drawing mock cheers from a protypical Philly crowd. Gotta love it.
7.Most important question now is can they repat this strong performance against two more quality clubs in the Devils and Canadiens on the road this weekend? That answer will be provided by kickoff Sunday night.
8.Combined with the Islanders' 3-1 home defeat at the hands of the Kings, the Rangers moved back into eighth in the conference with 56 points.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Some extra Saturday stuff
With it being a very busy Saturday in the league, we figured we'd throw out some other extra stuff as well from other games:
-Toronto captain Mats Sundin's two goals in his team's 3-2 home loss to the Flyers gave him 20 for the season- making it the 17th consecutive season the 35 year-old Swedish pivot has scored at least 20 in his brilliant NHL career.
Sundin, who was taken first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in 1989 has tallied 408 of his 543 with the Maple Leafs since coming over in a trade for Wendel Clark. No.543 last night moved him past Stan Mikita into sole possession for 25th on the NHL's all-time goalscoring list.
Swedish Finisher A Magnificent Mats (Most Consecutive Seasons of at least 20 goals-or-more)
Gordie Howe 22 seasons
*Brendan Shanahan 18 seasons
Marcel Dionne 17 seasons
Brett Hull 17 seasons
Mats Sundin 17 seasons
+Jaromir Jagr 16 seasons
*still active needing five goals to reach 19 straight
+active and needs nine more for 17 in a row
-Emergency third string goalie Ty Conklin continued his amazing story stopping all 35 Panthers shots in backstopping the suddenly surging Pens to a 3-0 shutout- their sixth consecutive win.
The 30 year-old journeymen who's with his third organization in two years has been utterly brilliant since being recalled from AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. In six straight starts, he's allowed only eight goals. In fact, he's now seven-for-seven when he gets the nod in net for Pittsburgh, which trails first place New Jersey by just a point.
"Its nice, mostly because the team's been plying so well," Conklin told the Associated Press after yesterday's latest stellar performance. "Everything's a lot more fun when you win."
"When you have a goalie that can make the saves, he's giving you a chance to win, and this is what he's doing right now," Pens' coach Michel Therrien added.
It sure is a lot simpler when you've got a hot goalie. That it would come from such an unlikely source due to a high ankle sprain which has sidelined starter Marc-Andre Fleury makes it even more special for the Penguins.
Conk-ering All (Ty Conklin this season with Pens)
8 GP 7 GS Record: 7-0 2.00 GAA .939 Save Pct 2 SHO
-With another goal (No.32) plus two assists, Calgary captain Jarome Iginla remained red hot in leading his Flames to a 6-4 win over the NHL's worst team the LA Kings.
After a slow start under new coach Mike Keenan, the admirable 30 year-old power forward has turned it up carrying his team to wins in 11 of their last 14 to move up to 49 points- one fewer than division leader Vancouver.
In fact, when Iginla tallies, the Flames have a pretty good record this season improving to 16-4-3 after last night.
Iginla Lighting The Lamp With Regularity (A breakdown of Iginla's goalscoring this season)
October 12 GP 8 goals
November 14 GP 5 goals
Two month total 26 GP 13 goals
Since Dec. 1 17 GP 19 goals
Notes:
-Iginla has only failed to score a goal in five of the 17 games.
-The Calgary franchise has six multi-goal games during the stretch including a hat trick in a 9-6 win over Tampa Bay on Dec.13.
-Included was a five-game goalscoring streak from 12/11 - 12/18 in which he lit the lamp eight times.
-The goal last night made it three straight games with a goal (5 total). He's tallied eight times in the last six contests.
More Iginla (Goalscoring leaders for 2007-08 season)
Ilya Kovalchuk, Atl 33 goals
Jarome Iginla, Cgy 32 goals
Alexander Ovechkin, Wsh 32 goals
-With his OT winner in a 2-1 victory over the Islanders, Marek Svatos continued his bounce back season. After scoring only 15 times in 2006-07, the 25 year-old Avs' right wing already has one more goal than he did in 66 games last year.
Svatos has three goals in his last two games and six in his past seven.
-Toronto captain Mats Sundin's two goals in his team's 3-2 home loss to the Flyers gave him 20 for the season- making it the 17th consecutive season the 35 year-old Swedish pivot has scored at least 20 in his brilliant NHL career.
Sundin, who was taken first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in 1989 has tallied 408 of his 543 with the Maple Leafs since coming over in a trade for Wendel Clark. No.543 last night moved him past Stan Mikita into sole possession for 25th on the NHL's all-time goalscoring list.
Swedish Finisher A Magnificent Mats (Most Consecutive Seasons of at least 20 goals-or-more)
Gordie Howe 22 seasons
*Brendan Shanahan 18 seasons
Marcel Dionne 17 seasons
Brett Hull 17 seasons
Mats Sundin 17 seasons
+Jaromir Jagr 16 seasons
*still active needing five goals to reach 19 straight
+active and needs nine more for 17 in a row
-Emergency third string goalie Ty Conklin continued his amazing story stopping all 35 Panthers shots in backstopping the suddenly surging Pens to a 3-0 shutout- their sixth consecutive win.
The 30 year-old journeymen who's with his third organization in two years has been utterly brilliant since being recalled from AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. In six straight starts, he's allowed only eight goals. In fact, he's now seven-for-seven when he gets the nod in net for Pittsburgh, which trails first place New Jersey by just a point.
"Its nice, mostly because the team's been plying so well," Conklin told the Associated Press after yesterday's latest stellar performance. "Everything's a lot more fun when you win."
"When you have a goalie that can make the saves, he's giving you a chance to win, and this is what he's doing right now," Pens' coach Michel Therrien added.
It sure is a lot simpler when you've got a hot goalie. That it would come from such an unlikely source due to a high ankle sprain which has sidelined starter Marc-Andre Fleury makes it even more special for the Penguins.
Conk-ering All (Ty Conklin this season with Pens)
8 GP 7 GS Record: 7-0 2.00 GAA .939 Save Pct 2 SHO
-With another goal (No.32) plus two assists, Calgary captain Jarome Iginla remained red hot in leading his Flames to a 6-4 win over the NHL's worst team the LA Kings.
After a slow start under new coach Mike Keenan, the admirable 30 year-old power forward has turned it up carrying his team to wins in 11 of their last 14 to move up to 49 points- one fewer than division leader Vancouver.
In fact, when Iginla tallies, the Flames have a pretty good record this season improving to 16-4-3 after last night.
Iginla Lighting The Lamp With Regularity (A breakdown of Iginla's goalscoring this season)
October 12 GP 8 goals
November 14 GP 5 goals
Two month total 26 GP 13 goals
Since Dec. 1 17 GP 19 goals
Notes:
-Iginla has only failed to score a goal in five of the 17 games.
-The Calgary franchise has six multi-goal games during the stretch including a hat trick in a 9-6 win over Tampa Bay on Dec.13.
-Included was a five-game goalscoring streak from 12/11 - 12/18 in which he lit the lamp eight times.
-The goal last night made it three straight games with a goal (5 total). He's tallied eight times in the last six contests.
More Iginla (Goalscoring leaders for 2007-08 season)
Ilya Kovalchuk, Atl 33 goals
Jarome Iginla, Cgy 32 goals
Alexander Ovechkin, Wsh 32 goals
-With his OT winner in a 2-1 victory over the Islanders, Marek Svatos continued his bounce back season. After scoring only 15 times in 2006-07, the 25 year-old Avs' right wing already has one more goal than he did in 66 games last year.
Svatos has three goals in his last two games and six in his past seven.
Marek's Turnaround In 2007-08
2006-07 66 GP 15 goals
2007-08 38 GP 16 goals
Monday, December 31, 2007
Drury and Shanahan spark Blueshirts to third straight win
There was a very entertaining game which took place at 33rd and 7th Avenue last night. Because unlike the Knicks who still are everywhere you look at The Garden with NBA All-Star ballots for that pathetic bunch, the Blueshirts actually are becoming watchable again.
Yes. They're now finding the offense which was missing for most of the first half. For the third consecutive game, they scored at least four and posted a well earned come from behind 4-3 overtime victory over the Canadiens in what was an electric atmosphere last night.
That's cause you had your share of Montreal supporters who made the trip from up north to support their team. Tell ya one thing. They sure make it interesting. In fact, I had a French Canadian come up to me before warmups and he was speaking gibberish which couldn't be understood. Then even made a joke about basketball. Classic stuff.
It seemed to be the same kind of supporters who went home bitterly disappointed last April when their team collapsed to miss the postseason at the Islanders' expense.
They chanted "Go Habs Go, Go Habs Go," which got the attention of Ranger fans who returned the favor with "Let's Go Rangers, Let's Go Rangers."
Maybe this is what I like about Canadian games. It creates a chaotic atmosphere full of energy. And because the Habs entered leading our Rangers by two points for fourth in the conference, the fans were into it from start to finish.
The best aspect was that the game itself wasn't a snoozer. It was back and forth probably played more at Montreal's frenetic pace. Despite each team getting the same amount of shots (21 apiece) on goalies Cristobal Huet and Henrik Lundqvist, many were of the quality variety testing them and keeping fans on the edge of their seats.
The Rangers struck first when Scott Gomez setup defenseman Dan Girardi's seventh at 10:14. But the Canadiens got a late Andrei Kostistyn power play tally to tie it taking advantage of an undisciplined Marek Malik hook after a giveaway.
As Habs fans were singing their patented, "Ole, Ole, Ole" song the Rangers came right back 17 seconds later to re-take the lead when Gomez made a brilliant rush and fed Jaromir Jagr for his 11th making it three straight for a rejuvenated No.68 with a goal.
They took the lead to the locker room. Apparently, they forgot to come out for the second because it was all Habs. A lazy Martin Straka hook in the offensive zone led directly to another Montreal PPG. Off a Marc Staal backhand clear attempt which was gloved down by former Ranger Alexei Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec setup an open Kostistyn for his second of the night at 14:31.
Montreal went ahead 2:36 later on essentially another man-advantage when during a delayed call on Blair Betts, the Habs got the extra attacker out and worked the puck around down low before the Kostistyn brothers combined to find an open Plekanec for an easy goal within 12 feet.
After being outscored 2-0 and outshot 7-1, the Rangers came out much better in the third and would get the tying goal. But not before having an apparent Fedor Tyutin goal wiped out when Toronto ruled against what looked like the equalizer. Instead, the puck hit both the crossbar and right elbow of the post. To the naked eye live, it looked in and didn't make the usual sound. But it appears the league ruled properly in reversing the call.
The Rangers could've let down after that bad break but on this night, they weren't taking no for an answer. Off a key faceoff win, Chris Drury went to the net and found a loose rebound off a deflected Paul Mara shot and scored his 10th to tie the game with 5:51 remaining.
It was the king of play you come to expect from Mr. Clutch. He has struggled in his first season on Broadway but he was huge late.
In OT, Drury again factored in on the deciding marker. Off a Roman Hamrlik turnover, he pushed a puck ahead to a streaking Brendan Shanahan who did the rest beating Huet top shelf on a breakaway 66 seconds in for his team-leading 14th to send the Blueshirt faithful home happy.
It was a very good character win. And an important one at that as the team prepares for a crucial three-game Western Canada road trip with stops in Calgary, Vancouver and Edmonton. They have yet to beat a Western team this season. That must change as the calendar year changes to 2008.
The win wouldn't have been possible without a key save by Lundqvist on Plekanec minutes before Drury's tying goal. He only made 18 stops but several of them were high calibre. That's what you expect from King Henrik- one of the league's elite netminders.
Three Stars:
3rd Star: Brendan Shanahan, NYR (GWG 66 seconds into OT)
2nd Star: Tomas Plekanec, Mtl (goal, two assists)
1st Star: Chris Drury, NYR (tying goal and assisted on winner)
Game Highlights
Yes. They're now finding the offense which was missing for most of the first half. For the third consecutive game, they scored at least four and posted a well earned come from behind 4-3 overtime victory over the Canadiens in what was an electric atmosphere last night.
That's cause you had your share of Montreal supporters who made the trip from up north to support their team. Tell ya one thing. They sure make it interesting. In fact, I had a French Canadian come up to me before warmups and he was speaking gibberish which couldn't be understood. Then even made a joke about basketball. Classic stuff.
It seemed to be the same kind of supporters who went home bitterly disappointed last April when their team collapsed to miss the postseason at the Islanders' expense.
They chanted "Go Habs Go, Go Habs Go," which got the attention of Ranger fans who returned the favor with "Let's Go Rangers, Let's Go Rangers."
Maybe this is what I like about Canadian games. It creates a chaotic atmosphere full of energy. And because the Habs entered leading our Rangers by two points for fourth in the conference, the fans were into it from start to finish.
The best aspect was that the game itself wasn't a snoozer. It was back and forth probably played more at Montreal's frenetic pace. Despite each team getting the same amount of shots (21 apiece) on goalies Cristobal Huet and Henrik Lundqvist, many were of the quality variety testing them and keeping fans on the edge of their seats.
The Rangers struck first when Scott Gomez setup defenseman Dan Girardi's seventh at 10:14. But the Canadiens got a late Andrei Kostistyn power play tally to tie it taking advantage of an undisciplined Marek Malik hook after a giveaway.
As Habs fans were singing their patented, "Ole, Ole, Ole" song the Rangers came right back 17 seconds later to re-take the lead when Gomez made a brilliant rush and fed Jaromir Jagr for his 11th making it three straight for a rejuvenated No.68 with a goal.
They took the lead to the locker room. Apparently, they forgot to come out for the second because it was all Habs. A lazy Martin Straka hook in the offensive zone led directly to another Montreal PPG. Off a Marc Staal backhand clear attempt which was gloved down by former Ranger Alexei Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec setup an open Kostistyn for his second of the night at 14:31.
Montreal went ahead 2:36 later on essentially another man-advantage when during a delayed call on Blair Betts, the Habs got the extra attacker out and worked the puck around down low before the Kostistyn brothers combined to find an open Plekanec for an easy goal within 12 feet.
After being outscored 2-0 and outshot 7-1, the Rangers came out much better in the third and would get the tying goal. But not before having an apparent Fedor Tyutin goal wiped out when Toronto ruled against what looked like the equalizer. Instead, the puck hit both the crossbar and right elbow of the post. To the naked eye live, it looked in and didn't make the usual sound. But it appears the league ruled properly in reversing the call.
The Rangers could've let down after that bad break but on this night, they weren't taking no for an answer. Off a key faceoff win, Chris Drury went to the net and found a loose rebound off a deflected Paul Mara shot and scored his 10th to tie the game with 5:51 remaining.
It was the king of play you come to expect from Mr. Clutch. He has struggled in his first season on Broadway but he was huge late.
In OT, Drury again factored in on the deciding marker. Off a Roman Hamrlik turnover, he pushed a puck ahead to a streaking Brendan Shanahan who did the rest beating Huet top shelf on a breakaway 66 seconds in for his team-leading 14th to send the Blueshirt faithful home happy.
It was a very good character win. And an important one at that as the team prepares for a crucial three-game Western Canada road trip with stops in Calgary, Vancouver and Edmonton. They have yet to beat a Western team this season. That must change as the calendar year changes to 2008.
The win wouldn't have been possible without a key save by Lundqvist on Plekanec minutes before Drury's tying goal. He only made 18 stops but several of them were high calibre. That's what you expect from King Henrik- one of the league's elite netminders.
Three Stars:
3rd Star: Brendan Shanahan, NYR (GWG 66 seconds into OT)
2nd Star: Tomas Plekanec, Mtl (goal, two assists)
1st Star: Chris Drury, NYR (tying goal and assisted on winner)
Game Highlights
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Rangers and Islanders have big nights
A couple of statements were made by the two New York teams on this big Saturday night. Both posted impressive wins to keep pace with the Flyers and Penguins (both winners as well) and gain valuable ground on first place New Jersey.
For the Rangers, the road treated them extremely well at Air Canada Center where they got five power play goals (five in 10 chances folks) including a season high four points (PPG, three assists) from team captain Jaromir Jagr in a 6-1 dismantling of the Maple Leafs.
This was about as good a performance as they've had all season. From Sean Avery's mouth saying how he hated Toronto due to how "hockey obsessed they are" even though he's from there to backup Stephen Valiquette (27 saves) performing great yet again in his home town to the unreal night the power play had, it all clicked for the Blueshirts on this night.
There's really not much to say. That's how convincing this win was. For whatever reason, the road team owned the season series with the teams splitting four games with the Rangers prevailing twice up north while the Leafs got the better of it on Broadway. Toronto technically took the series by virtue of their one point in a shootout loss to Valiquette.
But any way you slice it, this was a nice measure of revenge for that embarrassing 6-2 home defeat over three weeks ago on Dec.6.
They got the first six on the Leafs outskating and outchancing them by plenty. And the best aspect was all the penalties called on Toronto were earned and they buried their chances.
This was really a breakout game for Tom Renney's club who returns to MSG later this early evening to host the Canadiens who come in having won two in a row and are tied for fourth in the conference with New York and two other teams.
When Betts scores from Orr and there's a Petr Prucha sighting- yes twice the Czech tallied to double his goal output to four- you know it's your night.
Rookie center Brandon Dubinsky netted three assists and Scott Gomez continued to play well adding a secondary helper to hike his point streak to a career best 11.
Brendan Shanahan scored his club-leading 13th on an absolute rocket on a five-on-three. Avery not only infuriated the Leafs drawing a power play but basically danced on their faces with an unreal no-look backhand pass to help Prucha snap a 17-game long drought.
"It's a miracle," the very happy Czech expressed to the Associated Press later. "I was waiting for it a long time, and I just want to keep scoring ... and get some confidence."
"My confidence was shaken just in front of the net and I couldn't score a goal," he added. "The one thing that was missing from my game was points. I'm just glad I did it tonight."
A great thing for the Rangers which hopefully Prucha can build on. Now if only they could get Ryan Callahan untracked.
Even Marek Malik is looking better these days since being reinserted. He's actually worked well with Paul Mara and is making quicker reads and decisions instead of complexing things in his end.
Two wins in a row is nice. But three straight before a new calendar year would constitute a winning streak and cause for optimism.
One other quick point. Nik Antropov has had a great season for the Leafs but how many times did we have to see the lanky Russian chop down Rangers with his stick coming high and slashing Prucha or Chris Drury without an arm going up?!?!?!?!?!
That's what's wrong with the officiating these days. They're so obsessed with calling every hook legal or imagined but are missing much more serious blatant infractions which can cause injuries.
Wake the hell up already NHL!
Now to the Islanders who had a great win of their own at an energized barn on the Hempstead Turnpike- posting a 5-2 victory on home ice to make it four straight over the first place Devils this season.
To be perfectly honest, this was quite an entertaining game which included a couple of great scraps. Every time we flipped it on, there was lot of stuff going on. A lot of edge out there with plenty of battles contested. You could see how badly each team wanted it.
I really enjoyed the Mike Rupp-Andy Sutton fight. That was awesome stuff. I only wish I had caught the one between David Clarkson and rejuvenated Islander captain Bill Guerin. Even Mike Comrie and Mike Mottau got into it in the first!
You didn't hear any moans or groans from the crowd. I wonder why. ;)
The Isles really played well the first 40 minutes and led on a shorthanded tally by defenseman Chris Campoli and a second period power play goal from Marc-Andre Bergeron.
They seemed in complete control for most of the second until Devils' leading scorer Zach Parise took a Brian Gionta touch pass and converted a mini-breakaway beating Wade Dubielewicz to the backhand for only his second goal in the last 10. It was very timely because it came with just 25 ticks left giving his team a much needed lift after being outshot 14-6 in the stanza.
When John Madden scored his 12th to knot it just 3:59 into the final period, the Devils clearly had the momentum and began taking it to the Isles generating some really good chances. But Dubielewicz was up to the task stopping 12 of 13 New Jersey shots on his way to 27 saves and the game's 3rd Star.
The goalie allowed his team to find their composure and finally a great individual effort by Trent Hunter resulted in Sutton's deciding marker with 8:17 remaining.
With his team changing, Hunter held onto the puck and gained the Devil zone. Then he maintained control until the change was complete and dropped a pass to Mike Sillinger, who in turn fed a cutting Sutton for a quick one-timer past Martin Brodeur for his first as an Islander.
"I think it's my first (game-winner) ever," Sutton acknowledged later on.
It really was just a smart play by Hunter and one which had Brent Sutter seething.
"When you play a team you haven't beaten yet in your division this year, you'd think there would be more of a sense of desperation to want to play one of your better games," the first-year Devil coach pointed out.
Of course, he was right. His team had plenty of incentive to come away with a 'W.' But the Fishsticks wouldn't allow it to happen Saturday as Sutton also assisted on Sean Bergenheim's insurance tally with 4:58 left which put it away.
Comrie added an empty netter to pull the Isles within five points of first despite being tied with the Flyers for last in the division. It just tells you how close things are in the Atlantic.
All in all, a good night for the two bitter New York rivals as we approach 2008.
For the Rangers, the road treated them extremely well at Air Canada Center where they got five power play goals (five in 10 chances folks) including a season high four points (PPG, three assists) from team captain Jaromir Jagr in a 6-1 dismantling of the Maple Leafs.
This was about as good a performance as they've had all season. From Sean Avery's mouth saying how he hated Toronto due to how "hockey obsessed they are" even though he's from there to backup Stephen Valiquette (27 saves) performing great yet again in his home town to the unreal night the power play had, it all clicked for the Blueshirts on this night.
There's really not much to say. That's how convincing this win was. For whatever reason, the road team owned the season series with the teams splitting four games with the Rangers prevailing twice up north while the Leafs got the better of it on Broadway. Toronto technically took the series by virtue of their one point in a shootout loss to Valiquette.
But any way you slice it, this was a nice measure of revenge for that embarrassing 6-2 home defeat over three weeks ago on Dec.6.
They got the first six on the Leafs outskating and outchancing them by plenty. And the best aspect was all the penalties called on Toronto were earned and they buried their chances.
This was really a breakout game for Tom Renney's club who returns to MSG later this early evening to host the Canadiens who come in having won two in a row and are tied for fourth in the conference with New York and two other teams.
When Betts scores from Orr and there's a Petr Prucha sighting- yes twice the Czech tallied to double his goal output to four- you know it's your night.
Rookie center Brandon Dubinsky netted three assists and Scott Gomez continued to play well adding a secondary helper to hike his point streak to a career best 11.
Brendan Shanahan scored his club-leading 13th on an absolute rocket on a five-on-three. Avery not only infuriated the Leafs drawing a power play but basically danced on their faces with an unreal no-look backhand pass to help Prucha snap a 17-game long drought.
"It's a miracle," the very happy Czech expressed to the Associated Press later. "I was waiting for it a long time, and I just want to keep scoring ... and get some confidence."
"My confidence was shaken just in front of the net and I couldn't score a goal," he added. "The one thing that was missing from my game was points. I'm just glad I did it tonight."
A great thing for the Rangers which hopefully Prucha can build on. Now if only they could get Ryan Callahan untracked.
Even Marek Malik is looking better these days since being reinserted. He's actually worked well with Paul Mara and is making quicker reads and decisions instead of complexing things in his end.
Two wins in a row is nice. But three straight before a new calendar year would constitute a winning streak and cause for optimism.
One other quick point. Nik Antropov has had a great season for the Leafs but how many times did we have to see the lanky Russian chop down Rangers with his stick coming high and slashing Prucha or Chris Drury without an arm going up?!?!?!?!?!
That's what's wrong with the officiating these days. They're so obsessed with calling every hook legal or imagined but are missing much more serious blatant infractions which can cause injuries.
Wake the hell up already NHL!
Now to the Islanders who had a great win of their own at an energized barn on the Hempstead Turnpike- posting a 5-2 victory on home ice to make it four straight over the first place Devils this season.
To be perfectly honest, this was quite an entertaining game which included a couple of great scraps. Every time we flipped it on, there was lot of stuff going on. A lot of edge out there with plenty of battles contested. You could see how badly each team wanted it.
I really enjoyed the Mike Rupp-Andy Sutton fight. That was awesome stuff. I only wish I had caught the one between David Clarkson and rejuvenated Islander captain Bill Guerin. Even Mike Comrie and Mike Mottau got into it in the first!
You didn't hear any moans or groans from the crowd. I wonder why. ;)
The Isles really played well the first 40 minutes and led on a shorthanded tally by defenseman Chris Campoli and a second period power play goal from Marc-Andre Bergeron.
They seemed in complete control for most of the second until Devils' leading scorer Zach Parise took a Brian Gionta touch pass and converted a mini-breakaway beating Wade Dubielewicz to the backhand for only his second goal in the last 10. It was very timely because it came with just 25 ticks left giving his team a much needed lift after being outshot 14-6 in the stanza.
When John Madden scored his 12th to knot it just 3:59 into the final period, the Devils clearly had the momentum and began taking it to the Isles generating some really good chances. But Dubielewicz was up to the task stopping 12 of 13 New Jersey shots on his way to 27 saves and the game's 3rd Star.
The goalie allowed his team to find their composure and finally a great individual effort by Trent Hunter resulted in Sutton's deciding marker with 8:17 remaining.
With his team changing, Hunter held onto the puck and gained the Devil zone. Then he maintained control until the change was complete and dropped a pass to Mike Sillinger, who in turn fed a cutting Sutton for a quick one-timer past Martin Brodeur for his first as an Islander.
"I think it's my first (game-winner) ever," Sutton acknowledged later on.
"Guys like Trent Hunter and Mike Sillinger deserve a lot of credit for the way they handled the puck. Hunter had it, and got it back to Silly. I
just tried to be there, and Silly found me and I just shot it as hard as I
could."
It really was just a smart play by Hunter and one which had Brent Sutter seething.
"When you play a team you haven't beaten yet in your division this year, you'd think there would be more of a sense of desperation to want to play one of your better games," the first-year Devil coach pointed out.
"For 30 minutes, we were a very average hockey team.
Then we woke up and played well the next 20 minutes. Then it looked like we
never learned how to play defensive zone coverage
before."
Of course, he was right. His team had plenty of incentive to come away with a 'W.' But the Fishsticks wouldn't allow it to happen Saturday as Sutton also assisted on Sean Bergenheim's insurance tally with 4:58 left which put it away.
Comrie added an empty netter to pull the Isles within five points of first despite being tied with the Flyers for last in the division. It just tells you how close things are in the Atlantic.
All in all, a good night for the two bitter New York rivals as we approach 2008.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Done Deal: Shanny Remains a Ranger
Heart and soul winger, Brendan Shanahan, signed a one year deal with the Rangers for a base of $2.5 million and bonuses that could amount to an additional $1.5 million. The Blueshirts, who are obviously making a Stanley Cup push this year, might have to "pay the piper" next year for parts of today's Shanahan signing. Depending on how much of the bonus money is earned by Shanahan and how close the Rangers keep themselves from the upper cap limit this year, their 2008-2009 upper cap limit could be reduced as a result of this deal.
Shanny on the Verge of Re-Signing. Souray to Follow?
Larry Brooks of the Post reports:
This is leaving less cap room to resign Lundquist, Avery, Hossa, and possibly the still unsigned UFA Sheldon Souray. The Devils signing of Vitaly Vishenevski would seem to indicate that the Rangers may have won the Sheldon Souray Sweepstakes, which could only come about by clearing a significant amount of cap space. The only way the Rangers can do so at this time of the year is via trades, which is what I'm seeing as a stronger possibility each day.
As for the Sidney Crosby contract extension, I guess that prayers and pin dolls weren't enough to keep him out of the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. Looking at the bright side, at least we get to watch the superstar display his breathtaking skills all season for at least 6 more years - even if some of it is at the expense of the Rangers point totals.
The Rangers and Brendan Shanahan are on the verge of completing a one-year
deal, with the club seeking league approval on the structure of the bonuses that
will be included in the 38-year-old winger's contract, The Post has learned.
It is believed that Shanahan, who told The Post on June 20 he would
work with the Blueshirts in order to grant the team as much cap maneuverability
as possible, will sign for a base of approximately $2.5M with an additional
$1.5-2.5M in readily attainable bonuses.
"Glen [Sather] has been really good in communicating with me while he
was dealing with the [Henrik Lundqvist and Sean Avery] arbitration issues,"
Shanahan told The Post on Saturday. "I said all along I had no desire to test
the market or accept other offers."
This is leaving less cap room to resign Lundquist, Avery, Hossa, and possibly the still unsigned UFA Sheldon Souray. The Devils signing of Vitaly Vishenevski would seem to indicate that the Rangers may have won the Sheldon Souray Sweepstakes, which could only come about by clearing a significant amount of cap space. The only way the Rangers can do so at this time of the year is via trades, which is what I'm seeing as a stronger possibility each day.
As for the Sidney Crosby contract extension, I guess that prayers and pin dolls weren't enough to keep him out of the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. Looking at the bright side, at least we get to watch the superstar display his breathtaking skills all season for at least 6 more years - even if some of it is at the expense of the Rangers point totals.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Sather's Game: Musical Chairs or the Old Rabbit Out of the Hat Trick?
As this is my first post, I will start with a brief introduction. I’ve been a “die hard” Ranger fan long before Bruce Willis borrowed the term for his movie titles. I’m old enough to have seen Rod Gilbert on TV playing in a Rangers’ uniform, but too young to remember any of the details. The pinnacle, of course, was in 1994, but unfortunately that great triumph is fading more and more into history, so let’s move on the present.
Although today has been a slow one around the NHL and for the Rangers, the month of July so far has been a roller coaster ride for the Rangers with no end in sight. Obviously, the most exciting part of the ride has been the free-agent acquisitions of Scott Gomez and Chris Drury. Despite the hefty price tags, partially due to the precedent set earlier in the day by Philadelphia with the Briere signing, these were great acquisitions by the Rangers. They added speed, offense and defensive skills, good face-off men, leadership, character, Stanley Cup championship experience, and much more. It was tough to see Michael Nylander leave, but Scott Gomez is a great playmaker himself and a better two-way player - not to mention being seven years younger.
These two great acquisitions, however, did not come without an enormous cost, which in a sense, the Rangers will be paying off all year long. I'm talking, of course, about the deadly tight-rope walk that Glen Sather will be doing all season with the salary cap.
Before getting into the details of whom the Rangers still need to sign and for how much, it is important to take a quick look at a salary cap itself. Having looked at the salary cap rules from every angle, the simplest way to summarize it is that it is very complicated. For openers, there are different rules for the off-season than for the regular season. In the off-season, right up until opening night, a team can exceed the upper cap limit by 10%. However, many signed players, whose contracts you might never expect to count against the cap, actually do – either partially or completely. Once the season starts, teams must be below the upper cap limit, which is recalculated on a daily basis. If a team stays below the upper cap limit during the season, they can actually accrue additional cap space that can be used later in the season.
One of the more common misconceptions is that the cap value for a year is equal to the salary paid for that year. This is incorrect - the cap value for each year in a contract is the total value of the contract divided by the number of years of the contract. Therefore, neither front loading nor back loading a contract does anything to affect the cap value for each year. Another common misconception is that the bonus part of a bonus-laden contract given to a player over 35 years old does not have any cap implications. This also is not true - any bonus money that is earned by the player in the current year counts against the team's upper cap limit for the current year, but allows the team to exceed the cap by up to 7.5% for the year. However, the amount that the upper cap limit is exceeded in the current year due to this bonus, will be subtracted from team's upper cap limit for the following year - regardless of whether the player has retired. This just scratches the surface of the cap rules. For more detailed information go to: http://www.nhlscap.com/ .
Now back to the Rangers’ situation. If you ask 10 different experts on exactly where the Rangers currently stand in terms of their cap space, you will get 10 different answers. So we might as well go with Larry Brooks’ number from today, which is that the Rangers have $9 million left to sign Henrik Lundquist, Sean Avery, Marcel Hossa, and Brendan Shanahan. It’s not clear whether this number accounts for the extra two or three players needed to round out a 23 man roster, or even the $1 million or so “wiggle room” needed during the season to deal with unforeseen events. Regardless, it is clear that Rangers have left themselves with little to no chance of keeping all their players by opening night. Unless Sather can “pull a rabbit out of his hat”, at least one player (in addition to Kasparaitis), whose cap value this year is over $2 million, will have to go via trade or demotion to Hartford - or in the case of Brendan Shanahan may not be signed at all.
In order to get resolution and/or regroup for further negotiations, Avery’s, Hossa’s and Lundquist’s cases have been filed for arbitration. In Lundquist’s case it was the team that filed, partially in order to ward off any potential RFA poachers. Lundquist’s salary for this year would seem to hold the key. If he makes the $5 million or so that he is requesting, and probably deserves, it will be impossible to keep everyone. If, as Larry Brooks suggests, the Rangers actually do take Lundquist to arbitration, they will be looking for a salary in line with Cam Ward’s and Ryan Miller’s $2 million to $2.5 million. Should this happen, they might just squeeze under the cap with Avery getting about $2 million, Hossa getting about $1 million, and Shanahan getting about $2 million in base plus bonuses.
However, arbitration is a very risky business, and pissing off Avery and Lundquist could end up backfiring in the nastiest of ways. There are many possibilities, including settling all three contracts before arbitration. In the event that the Rangers can't ultimately fit under the cap, speculation is that the most likely candidates to go would be Marek Malik, Paul Mara, or Matt Cullen. This would probably be settled in training camp, depending on the readiness of their young defensemen and centers.
Needless to say, with this mess so unsettled, you can almost certainly forget about Sheldon Souray. The Rangers would practically have to move mountains in order to sign him. With the pros and cons, as well as the plus/minus involved with Souray, it's probably just as well. By the same token you can probably forget about any other free-agent signings. There's just nothing left with which to sign them.
In other Ranger news this week, to show that not every thing is in stagnation, the Rangers did manage to sign Peter Prucha to a 2 year $3.2 million deal. There is also speculation, although I haven't seen confirmation, that the Rangers signed highly touted Russian prospect Artem Anisimov to a 3 year $2.55 million deal. Despite rumors that the Rangers are going to buy out Alexei Cherepanov’s Omsk contract, so that he can play for the Rangers this year, I highly doubt that this is going to happen. By his own admission, Cherepanov is not physically ready for the daily rigors of the NHL - he needs a year to strengthen up. It would be great if he could get acclimated to playing in North America by playing this year in Hartford, which is where I think he would end up if the Rangers do miraculously get him out of Omsk this year.
The Rangers Prospects Camp recently concluded with a number of youngsters who were impressive enough to get a good look from the coaches at the Rangers upcoming training camp this year. The Prospects Camp was a difficult environment to judge exactly where each prospect stands, especially Cherepanov, who wasn't even able to play with his own equipment. There were even two Japanese cultural exchange-type players at the camp, but don't worry, they do not count against the salary cap this year. It is rumored that the only thing they were counting was how many hot dogs 6 time defending champion, Takeru Kobayashi, would eat on Nathan’s July 4th Contest (for the record - 63 in a second-place effort).
The one thing that was clear to those who observed the Prospects Camp – Marc Staal is looking more and more like the stud we all thought he would be, and it seems very likely that he will make the team this year.
I will continue to keep you posted as all these stories unfold. And fear not, future posts will not be this verbose. It's been a busy couple of weeks, and we had a lot of catching up to do.
Although today has been a slow one around the NHL and for the Rangers, the month of July so far has been a roller coaster ride for the Rangers with no end in sight. Obviously, the most exciting part of the ride has been the free-agent acquisitions of Scott Gomez and Chris Drury. Despite the hefty price tags, partially due to the precedent set earlier in the day by Philadelphia with the Briere signing, these were great acquisitions by the Rangers. They added speed, offense and defensive skills, good face-off men, leadership, character, Stanley Cup championship experience, and much more. It was tough to see Michael Nylander leave, but Scott Gomez is a great playmaker himself and a better two-way player - not to mention being seven years younger.
These two great acquisitions, however, did not come without an enormous cost, which in a sense, the Rangers will be paying off all year long. I'm talking, of course, about the deadly tight-rope walk that Glen Sather will be doing all season with the salary cap.
Before getting into the details of whom the Rangers still need to sign and for how much, it is important to take a quick look at a salary cap itself. Having looked at the salary cap rules from every angle, the simplest way to summarize it is that it is very complicated. For openers, there are different rules for the off-season than for the regular season. In the off-season, right up until opening night, a team can exceed the upper cap limit by 10%. However, many signed players, whose contracts you might never expect to count against the cap, actually do – either partially or completely. Once the season starts, teams must be below the upper cap limit, which is recalculated on a daily basis. If a team stays below the upper cap limit during the season, they can actually accrue additional cap space that can be used later in the season.
One of the more common misconceptions is that the cap value for a year is equal to the salary paid for that year. This is incorrect - the cap value for each year in a contract is the total value of the contract divided by the number of years of the contract. Therefore, neither front loading nor back loading a contract does anything to affect the cap value for each year. Another common misconception is that the bonus part of a bonus-laden contract given to a player over 35 years old does not have any cap implications. This also is not true - any bonus money that is earned by the player in the current year counts against the team's upper cap limit for the current year, but allows the team to exceed the cap by up to 7.5% for the year. However, the amount that the upper cap limit is exceeded in the current year due to this bonus, will be subtracted from team's upper cap limit for the following year - regardless of whether the player has retired. This just scratches the surface of the cap rules. For more detailed information go to: http://www.nhlscap.com/ .
Now back to the Rangers’ situation. If you ask 10 different experts on exactly where the Rangers currently stand in terms of their cap space, you will get 10 different answers. So we might as well go with Larry Brooks’ number from today, which is that the Rangers have $9 million left to sign Henrik Lundquist, Sean Avery, Marcel Hossa, and Brendan Shanahan. It’s not clear whether this number accounts for the extra two or three players needed to round out a 23 man roster, or even the $1 million or so “wiggle room” needed during the season to deal with unforeseen events. Regardless, it is clear that Rangers have left themselves with little to no chance of keeping all their players by opening night. Unless Sather can “pull a rabbit out of his hat”, at least one player (in addition to Kasparaitis), whose cap value this year is over $2 million, will have to go via trade or demotion to Hartford - or in the case of Brendan Shanahan may not be signed at all.
In order to get resolution and/or regroup for further negotiations, Avery’s, Hossa’s and Lundquist’s cases have been filed for arbitration. In Lundquist’s case it was the team that filed, partially in order to ward off any potential RFA poachers. Lundquist’s salary for this year would seem to hold the key. If he makes the $5 million or so that he is requesting, and probably deserves, it will be impossible to keep everyone. If, as Larry Brooks suggests, the Rangers actually do take Lundquist to arbitration, they will be looking for a salary in line with Cam Ward’s and Ryan Miller’s $2 million to $2.5 million. Should this happen, they might just squeeze under the cap with Avery getting about $2 million, Hossa getting about $1 million, and Shanahan getting about $2 million in base plus bonuses.
However, arbitration is a very risky business, and pissing off Avery and Lundquist could end up backfiring in the nastiest of ways. There are many possibilities, including settling all three contracts before arbitration. In the event that the Rangers can't ultimately fit under the cap, speculation is that the most likely candidates to go would be Marek Malik, Paul Mara, or Matt Cullen. This would probably be settled in training camp, depending on the readiness of their young defensemen and centers.
Needless to say, with this mess so unsettled, you can almost certainly forget about Sheldon Souray. The Rangers would practically have to move mountains in order to sign him. With the pros and cons, as well as the plus/minus involved with Souray, it's probably just as well. By the same token you can probably forget about any other free-agent signings. There's just nothing left with which to sign them.
In other Ranger news this week, to show that not every thing is in stagnation, the Rangers did manage to sign Peter Prucha to a 2 year $3.2 million deal. There is also speculation, although I haven't seen confirmation, that the Rangers signed highly touted Russian prospect Artem Anisimov to a 3 year $2.55 million deal. Despite rumors that the Rangers are going to buy out Alexei Cherepanov’s Omsk contract, so that he can play for the Rangers this year, I highly doubt that this is going to happen. By his own admission, Cherepanov is not physically ready for the daily rigors of the NHL - he needs a year to strengthen up. It would be great if he could get acclimated to playing in North America by playing this year in Hartford, which is where I think he would end up if the Rangers do miraculously get him out of Omsk this year.
The Rangers Prospects Camp recently concluded with a number of youngsters who were impressive enough to get a good look from the coaches at the Rangers upcoming training camp this year. The Prospects Camp was a difficult environment to judge exactly where each prospect stands, especially Cherepanov, who wasn't even able to play with his own equipment. There were even two Japanese cultural exchange-type players at the camp, but don't worry, they do not count against the salary cap this year. It is rumored that the only thing they were counting was how many hot dogs 6 time defending champion, Takeru Kobayashi, would eat on Nathan’s July 4th Contest (for the record - 63 in a second-place effort).
The one thing that was clear to those who observed the Prospects Camp – Marc Staal is looking more and more like the stud we all thought he would be, and it seems very likely that he will make the team this year.
I will continue to keep you posted as all these stories unfold. And fear not, future posts will not be this verbose. It's been a busy couple of weeks, and we had a lot of catching up to do.
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