Archive for August, 2009

For all you Ranger fans who can’t wait to see their new boys in blue in action, you can reserve your seat tomorrow, Tuesday, September 1, when pre-season tickets go on sale through Ticketmaster via phone or online. The Rangers have three home contests against the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, and a playoff rematch against the Washington Capitals on September 15, 21, and 24th respectively. Normally, I would say that going to a pre-season game was about as eventful as listening to the air traffic controller feed on channel 9 of your airline armrest radio dial, but with so [...]

Recently, I have been reading a bunch of stories talking about the “Brett Favre of the NHL.”  But who exactly fits the bill most? The Manic Ranger had a great blog discussing the recurring question of retirement surrounding Mats Sundin, with a nice little spin on it from a Rangers perspective. RealGM just reported that Joe Sakic is determined not to be the league’s Brett Favre representative.  Quoting the Denver Post, “Joe Sakic is content with his decision to retire and insists that he won’t be returning to the NHL. Sakic, who retired in July, said that he understands what [...]

Native New Yorker and one-time Ranger Mathieu Schneider will continue his career in Vancouver this season, giving the Canucks a playoff tested veteran who still has a little bit left in the tank. Schneider was never a fan favorite in New York, often seen as a big time offensive defenseman that was brought to Broadway in a trade for Alexander Karpovtsev.  But Schneider wasn’t worth all the hype that his game brought to the table. Sure half of his scoring was done on the power play unit, but he totaled 64 points in two seasons, and a combined -25 plus/minus.  [...]

With all three Staal brothers looking for a spot on the Canadian 2010 Winter Olympic hockey team, there is one glaring area where our beloved Ranger, Marc, finds himself lacking – a Stanley Cup championship. Older brother Eric, 24, won a cup in 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes and is an emerging star in the league.  Younger brother Jordan, 20, just reached the top of the summit with the surprising Pittsburgh Penguins this past June.  That leaves Marc, 22, as the only Staal brother currently in the league with his ring finger bare. Youngest brother Jared, 19, is yet to [...]

In a rare event, I am saluting a job well done by the New Jersey Devils.  After the New Jersey Nets decided it was a good idea to remove ‘New Jersey’ from their road jerseys, the Devils marketing team thought they would take it to another level of comedy. As the teary-eyed nj.com Star Ledger Editorial Blog reports: The Devils purchased a full-color advertisement on a digital billboard towering over Interstate 78: “We proudly wear our state on our jerseys,”, with the bold words running beneath a photo of the hockey team’s NJ logo. Seriously, that’s high comedy.  Just a [...]

All of us Ranger fans are getting a bit antsy as we pick up the paper every day and still don’t see a massive headline celebrating the re-signing of our beloved Brandon Dubinsky.  Well, 5-hole.com has taken it to a whole new level. 5-hole.com has created a small B-Dubs face that goes on the top right corner of your twitter profile pic to show your support for his “Sign Brandon Dubinsky” movement.  I love this and immediately added 5-hole to the illustriuous (and growing) BlueLineStation blogroll. So please, Ranger fans, click this link to check out 5-hole’s pitch, and jump [...]

Heading into the 2009-10 season, the Rangers are set to do battle with their captain and a bit of youth manning the top three center positions. Chris Drury is joined by the emerging (yet still unsigned) Brandon Dubinsky and promising prospect Artem Anisimov.  The Rangers are convinced that they have found the personnel to anchor the squad from the middle. Anisimov is a promising 21-year old former second round pick of the Rangers who would make Ranger management giddy if he would add a few pounds to his towering frame.  At 6-foot-4 and 194-pounds, Anisimov is a dynamic Russian center [...]

Apparently, Vinny Prospal has something to prove… At least, according to a recent interview of John Tortorella by the NY Times’ Jeff Klein. “He still has talent,” Tortorella said Tuesday of the 34-year-old Prospal. “I think he has something to prove. And Vinny Prospal is a pretty damn good player when he has something to prove. He’s a pain sometimes, which doesn’t matter. It’s a good intensity that he has. I think he can help us. He has some offensive skill. It’s a good signing. It’s a one-year deal, not a bunch of money, and this guy has something to [...]