Archive for January, 2010

Wade Redden was benched for the final 37:55 of last night’s loss to Carolina, with his father in the stands no less.  (He’s also twice been a healthy scratch.)   That has got to be hard for the 13 year veteran and former all-star to take.  But maybe that’s exactly the point.  Call it a conspiracy theory, but maybe, just maybe, Sather and Tortorella are conspiring to get Redden to quit, or somehow try to leave the Rangers voluntarily.  How else, short of demoting him to the AHL for the next 3 1/2 years, are they going to remove the $6.5M/year albatross of a contract from [...]

Ho-hum.  Another poor effort.  Another loss.  At least we scored.  Nice to see getting called out in the local papers inspired Anisimov (two goals).  Hopefully he can score again this month without needing someone to light a fire under him.  Happy to see Brashear get some minutes.  (Can you feel the sarcasm?  It’s thick.)  His failure to get the puck in led directly to a goal against.  Back to the luxury box for him, hopefully.  The power play continues to be abysmal.  Is there a Kotalik signing in the future?  Can’t hurt.  Orhow about Gilroy and Del Zotto on the points simultaneously.  You [...]

This is the opening paragraph of Larry Brooks’ NY Post column on the 6-0 demolishing by Montreal:  “The Rangers have 30 games to go in the season and there is a total disconnect within the team itself and between the players and the coaching staff.”  Was this pulled from a column he wrote last season?  Sure seems like it.  The lack of effort on the little things that define a hockey team (and make a hockey team good, forget about great) is beyond problematic.  It is endemic.  Clearly, the cause is not the coaching staff.  Tom Renney and John Tortorella [...]

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first:  The Rangers would have gotten beaten by the Flyers even if the extracurriculars did not occur.  They were flat and listless.  Their carry-the-puck into the zone clearly does not work against attacking teams (which they were supposed to be…but I digress…) and they are too small (unwilling?) to dump-and-chase.  Not a good combo.  But now on to the main event (well, main events) from last night… Carcillo’s act to intentionally fight Gaborik (he basically said it was when he said he wanted a piece of Gaborik) is bush league.  There used to [...]

The Rangers need to keep it going and I need to get some.  (I have no excuse for failing to write following what was the best Ranger win of the season.)  After coming off of a ridiculously good last two periods against Montreal, the Rangers are taking on the third worst team in the Eastern Conference.  Don’t be fooled by the record though.  There’s loads of offensive talent on Tampa Bay.  You’ve got vets like Lecavalier, St. Louis, and Malone and youngsters like Stamkos.  Then toss in the emerging defensive presence of Victor Hedman.  This is a trap game.  And the [...]

Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club – Administration 11230 – 110 Street Edmonton, Alberta T5G 3H7 This is the address Glen Sather should use to send Tom Renney a letter of apology.  Clearly, last year’s results were not his fault.  ONE GOAL IN THE LAST THREE GAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Five goals in the last five games.  Are you kidding me!?!?!?  What’s worse is the Rangers have lost four of the last five (including three straight, and were shut out for just shy of three games).  At least under Renney, we won the close games.  This year’s Rangers have a .531 winning percentage.  Last year [...]

This article by Larry Brooks is too good not to pass along.  His take is that it’s inexcusable for Tortorella to “play” Brashear and sit Lisin and Voros.  While I disagree with Larry’s insinuation that Voros is a good player, I certainly agree that he is better than Brashear at this point in his career.  Screw the salary.  Play the better players, especially the young and talented Lisin.

The answer to this is a resounding NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And it has nothing to do with Kovalchuk’s talent, age, injury history, or game.  It is based solely on his contract.  More accurately, what his new contract will be.   The Rangers, as much as it pains me to admit, are 2-3 years away from being Cup contenders.  They would need to mortgage the farm (system) to get and keep Kovalchuk.  That means saying goodbye to a #1 draft pick and two of Callahan, Dubinsky, Gilroy, Sanguinetti, and Anisimov.  (If you think Del Zotto is not untouchable, toss him into the mix too.)  [...]