There were plenty of bird-brained moves last season by the New York Rangers and the other two hockey locals. Here’s a look back at some.
While many others are dutifully expressing thanks for everything from Tony DeAngelo’s presidential favorite losing the election to the New York Rangers bringing back their Lady Liberty jersey, I thought it’d be fun to note the “fowl” moves made by the Blueshirts, the New York Islanders, and the New Jersey Devils over the past year.
Thus presenting the Tri-State’s first ice turkey awards!
Turkey: Lias Andersson
The Rangers finally cut ties with the Swedish-born forward on October 7, trading him for a second-round pick to the Los Angeles Kings, for whom his father, Niklas, is a scout. Andersson played just 66 games across three seasons for the Blueshirts, who took him at seventh overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
During his brief Broadway stint, he notched just three goals and six assists for nine points, won 44 percent of his 181 draws, had a lousy Corsi-For rating of 41.7%, and a Point Shares rating of negative-7. Oh, and he also tripped on a wire while waving to the crowd before the team’s home opener at Madison Square Garden in October 2019.
I usually have patience for young players who struggle early on regardless of how high they were drafted, so my venom toward Andersson isn’t due to his lack of production.
My problem with him is how he acted after the Rangers realized he needed more seasoning and shipped him to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. In December 2019, after 13 games with Hartford, he requested a trade from New York and abandoned the Wolf Pack to return to Sweden.
The Rangers initially suspended him, but then graciously allowed him to play in the Swedish Elite League.
Andersson played well enough to warrant an invitation from the Rangers to join their mini-camp last summer to prepare for their Qualifying Round series against the Carolina Hurricanes. However, Andersson rejected the offer, citing concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, and that was enough for the team’s brass to cut ties.
Following his trade to the Kings, Andersson opened up about his reasons for wanting to escape from New York. He even said he was “relieved” after being traded.
Swell.
Say what you want about the Blueshirts bringing him over from Sweden too soon (at age 19). Bottom line, the team’s brass admitted as much by sending him to Hartford. Andersson chose not to work on his game. As for expectations, wasn’t it Andersson who tossed his silver medal into the stands following Sweden’s loss to Canada in the 2018 World Junior Championships, saying only gold would suffice?
Good riddance.
Turkey: Henrik Lundqvist
Nothing wrong with the veteran goalie wanting one last shot at winning the Stanley Cup after falling just short a few times during his 15-year run on Broadway. And there’s no harm in the Washington Capitals giving the 2012 Vezina Trophy winner his final chance via a one-year, free-agent deal worth $1.5 million.
Then Lundqvist opened his mouth. Problem.
“I’ll be a part of the Rangers for the rest of my life, in one way or another,” he said, according to a Swedish translation of an interview with Johan Rylander of the Goteborgs-Posten. “Both I and the Rangers have been clear about that. That’s how it will be.”
Lundqvist confirmed that has a job with the Rangers in the future, although his specific role has yet to be defined.
“It will be the role they want it to be,” he said. “I don’t know if the role will be small or if there will be something more. It is further ahead. It’s all about timing. It’s just not now. I feel that I will somehow be connected to the Rangers forever after so many years and all the people I got to know in the club, from the owner on down.”
The timing of these comments seems peculiar.
Lundqvist recently posted photos of him and his kids sightseeing in Washington and posing inside the Caps’ locker room. Some in Rangerstown took this as a slight — as if he hadn’t just spent 15 years on Broadway. Me? I couldn’t care less.
However, when “The King” then talked about his future being with the Rangers, it struck me as a hollow peace offering to New York’s fans, as well as disrespectful to the Capitals, who invested cap space in him to back up 23-year-old Ilya Samsonov. To their credit, Caps’ brass downplayed Lundqvist’s comments, but they had to have left a bad taste.
Turkey: Tony DeAngelo’s detractors
As we’ve noted previously on Blue Line Station, Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo has been the team’s most visible presence on Twitter and is an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump. During election week earlier this month, two of DeAngelo’s tweets drew the ire of several hockey pundits and downright disgusting responses from Twitter trolls.
In one tweet, ADA said COVID-19 wasn’t the top priority of the news media on Election Day or the day after (it wasn’t). In another, the blueliner suggested the election results in his state were rigged. Given that he plays for a club that calls one of the United States’ most-liberal cities home, the tweets didn’t go over well.
One pundit used several tweets to denounce DeAngelo’s viewpoints while at the same time applying humor in a single tweet downplaying Baseball Hall-of-Famer Tony La Russa’s second known arrest for Driving Under the Influence. A local radio reporter called DeAngelo a “bigot”, accused him of spreading “misinformation for four years” (despite no evidence to support either claim), and openly cheered a brief deactivation of the player’s account.
When I wrote about the “selective outrage” by these pundits (and others), I was called names I can’t repeat here, presumably by the same individuals who regularly pontificate about tolerance and disliking President Trump for his brashness. Not surprisingly, the vilest responses came from those too afraid to attach their name, instead using burner accounts to show their true colors without their family members or employers discovering what they’re truly all about.
Turkey: New Jersey Devils Twitter
There’s gamesmanship and then there’s taking lame shots at the Rangers and New York City in an attempt to stay relevant. Presenting Exhibit A of the latter:
As pathetic as the Devils come off here, their motive is understandable.
The Rangers have a good, young team and a loaded prospects pipeline, not to mention the impending NHL debut of Alexis Lafrenière, the first overall pick in this year’s Entry Draft. The Islanders also have a solid, though slightly older club, whose brand new arena in Belmont is still on schedule to be ready for the 2021-22 season.
Thing is, it’s not all bleak in Newark.
The Devils should be more competitive next season. Goalie Corey Crawford and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov are solid veteran additions. The offense should receive a boost from 26-year-old Andreas Johnsson, who notched 20 goals and 43 points in 73 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018-19.
Save the lame tweets for the minor leagues.
Turkey: New York Islanders brass
One of the Islanders’ strengths over the past few seasons has been defense. So why the team’s brass didn’t plan better to retain defenseman Devon Toews is anybody’s guess.
General manager Lou Lamoriello is a Hall of Fame builder with a record matched by a precious few. He’s forgotten more hockey than many know (myself included). But he screwed up by losing the 26-year-old blueliner in free agency, allowing the Colorado Avalanche to lure him to the Rocky Mountains with a reasonable four-year deal worth $16.4 million.
The 6-foot-1, 191-pound Alberta native was a solid defender and puck mover over the past two seasons on Long Island.
In 116 regular-season games, he notched 11 goals and 35 assists for 46 points, a Corsi-For percentage of 51.6, and an 8.9 Point-Shares rating. He also averaged 19:26 of ice time, including 20:31 last season (up from 17:54 in 2019), good for fourth among Isles’ defensemen. (His 28 points last season was second among the team’s blueliners.)
In 30 postseason matches, he potted three goals and had 12 apples for 15 points, and had an ATOI of 20:08.
Lamoriello has overcome losses of key players to free agency before, most notably Scott Niedermeyer, but the Devils had plenty of depth to cushion the blow of No. 27’s August 2005 signing with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
The Isles don’t enjoy the same depth.
Johnny Boychuk,36, has opted to retire after sustaining an eye injury last season. Thomas Hickey is 31, Nick Leddy turns 30 in March, and Scott Mayfield is 28. Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech, both 26, are solid, but to expect 20-year-old Noah Dobson to step in and play regular minutes is unreasonable.
Turkey: Yours truly
I don’t have enough fingers or toes to count how many times Blue Line Station‘s editor Steve Paulus has cleaned up my scraps.
Somewhere, former NHL goalie/hockey media critic Ilya Bryzgalov is smiling.
In case you’re unfamiliar with Bryzgalov the media critic, check out this hilarious video. Fast forward to about the nine-minute mark, where you’ll hear this gem to the Philadelphia media from his playing days with the Flyers: “You (are) just guys here to blame, to fault someone but you never look yourself in the mirror, eh? You’re always good, you never make mistakes, your article is always perfect but in reality what have you done for the city? It’s ridiculous, just ridiculous. Sometimes you’re reading and you’re like ‘Oh, my God, who is this lunatic with the writing?'”
Happy Thanksgiving.