New York Rangers: Odds and ends from the season in limbo

It’s been four weeks since the New York Rangers played their last game and their is no end in sight when it comes to the suspension of the season due to COVID-19.   There are some odds and ends to report when it comes to the Blueshirts.

On the day that the Stanley Cup playoffs would have started, the New York Rangers are home, observing the social distancing requirements need to stay safe.  There have been numerous posts on social media and the MSG Network has done a fabulous job of replaying games from past seasons.

One bit of news that is concerning is that three members of the Colorado Avalanche have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

The last game played by the Rangers on March 11 was in Colorado versus the Avalanche and that has to be cause for some concern.   There was speculation that the transmission could have occurred since the Avalanche played in San Jose the night after the Ottawa Senators.   The Senators have five players and one organization member who has tested positive.

That brings the total of NHL-related cases to nine.  A broadcaster for the St. Louis Blues also tested positive.  The good news is that all nine individuals are recovering or are over the virus.

With so little known about the transmission of the virus, there has be some question of whether it was passed by shared locker rooms or human contact.  At any rate, the fact that the Blueshirts played their last game against one of the two teams with positive test results is a concern.

There has been no word if there will be any kind of widespread testing of NHL players or the Rangers in particular.   The last statement out of Madison Square Garden was in mid-March and that was that no players had been tested.

Player Q & A’s

There has been no update regarding team’s investigation into the K’Andre Miller live chat on Zoom that was hijacked by an individual who posted reprehensible racial slurs.  In hindsight, opening up a live chat with no means of delay by the moderator was ill-advised. The odds of anyone finding out who was responsible are slim since the Zoom chat was wide open to the the first 500 folks who logged in and there was no authentication requirement.

Meanwhile, the organization is continuing to conduct question and answer sessions with players through their Twitter feed (@NYRangers).  It’s a much “safer” process with fans submitting questions and the responses posted in videos on Twitter.

The latest was with Mika Zibanejad.   Here’s a sample:

On an editorial note, it’s not scintillating content.  Zibanejad got at least 200 questions and answered two.   If you wanted to know that Chris Kreider can play the piano, this could be your cup of tea.  Ryan Strome is next.  It’s an admirable effort, but they could do better.

The season

Gary Bettman has been sending mixed signals about the resumption of the season.  While he cast some doubt about whether the season would even resume, he he did point out that the cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics has made it possible for the NHL season to be concluded late into the summer.

Bettman made these remarks in a lengthy interview on NBCSN.   One fascinating concept is a resumption of the season in a neutral location with the remainin regular season games and playoffs in an empty arena. On Sunday, Sportsnets’ Elliotte Friedman reported that Grand Forks, North Dakota is a possible location. The arena used by the University of North Dakota is NHL-quality and the city is relatively remote. North Dakota has the third fewest confirmed cases in the United States.

Another location that has been floated is Buffalo, New York, but that doesn’t seem to fit the criteria.

Steven Fogarty honored

The AHL has not officially cancelled the rest of the season, but they are beginning to announce some awards.  The first was the  IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year awards with each team selecting a player recognized for his outstanding contributions to the local community and charitable organizations during the 2019-20 season.

The Wolf Pack selection is Steven Fogarty who played seven games with the Rangers this season.  Fogarty, 26, is in his fourth full season in Hartford after being a third round selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Fogarty will be one of those considered for the AHL’s Yanick Dupre Memorial Award.  That award is named for the Philadelphia Flyers’ prospect who died at the age of 24 in 1997 after battline leukemia for 16 months.   The Dupre Award honoree will be announced when the season is finally over.   Fogarty is in the last year of a one year deal he signed with the Rangers and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.