Happy Thanksgiving Day to our readers

It’s a day to be thankful and for us at Blue Line Station it’s a day to salute our readers, the New York Rangers faithful

It’s easy to dismiss the lack of sports as minor compared to the tremendous toll that the pandemic has taken on the world.    However, sports does have a role in our lives and as fans of the New York Rangers, we’ve all learned the value of hope.   It’s hard to believe that the team has played all of four hockey games in the last eight month, but it’s true.  We can only hope that this longest pause from hockey will be over soon.

I’ll be honest.  Writing about a team that doesn’t play games has not been easy.  There are only so many stories to be done on what the lines will look like, who will partner with Jacob Trouba, is Ryan Strome a true second line  center and will they be able to afford Mika Zibanejad.

Thankfully, we’ve had bursts of excitement.  The Return to Play, the Stanley Cup Qualifier and then, the NHL Draft Lottery.

Believe it or not, we generated the most page views in two years on Blue Line Station last month.  That’s what happens when we have the draft and free agent frenzy to talk about. It shows how hungry Ranger fans are for any news about their favorite team.

When there has been no news, we’ve tried to find some interesting topics.  We’ve been keeping you updated on Rangers prospects who are playing in Europe.  With all of the postponed games that hasn’t been easy.  It’s excellent news that the WHL and OHL are on the verge of starting their seasons and NCAA hockey resumed two weeks ago, although on a limited basis.

We eagerly await the World Junior Championships at the end of December.  If the NHL season doesn’t start on time, it will be fascinating to see how our Baby Blueshirts do.

We tried a few other things and some didn’t really work.  Looking back at games from the last five years was one example.  Those daily reports from games in Sweden, Finland and Russia got a little old when Ranger prospects did nothing in those games. Does anyone care that Luleå is in fourth place in the SHL?  Maybe not every day. I get it.

We’ve done a lot on the history of the team, thankfully there’s almost a century of memories to draw on.  Until training camp starts, you’ll be seeing more of that!

Looking ahead

We’ll soon be starting report cards and expectations for next season.  As soon as we know what the divisional alignment will be, we’ll do some previews of the teams competing with the Rangers for a playoff spot.  As always, we will keep you informed about the status of the return to play.  The bad news is that the owners and the NHLPA have not had a direct conversation in over a week.

When the season starts, we will resume our live in-game conversations.  We had some lively chat about the Blueshirts and with the addition of Alexis Lafrenière, I’m sure there will be more.

As always, we are always looking for feedback and suggestions.  Does anyone have interest in closely following Henrik Lundqvist and his work in Washington?  We could recap every game that he plays in.  We’ll be doing a Lafrenière watch (that didn’t really pan out with Kaapo Kakko last season, did it?).   We will provide game previews and full recaps if you  can’t watch the game.

One thing we will really try to stay away from is clickbait.  It would be easy to run with every rumor and outlandish trade speculation that comes down the turnpike.   While some are worth analysis, most are ridiculous.  We’ve done more than enough on the idea of Jack Eichel in a Ranger uniform.  Of course, if the Sabres falter, you will see that come up again.

Thanks to our contributors

Finally, I’d personally like to thank our contributors who do so much to make this site a go-to destination for Rangers fans.  I’d like to remind you that the parent organization is named  FanSided and these websites are fan-generated content, written by fans and written for fans.

We maintain the highest journalistic standards and report on news from the hockey world, but this is also a place for fans to voice their opinions.  If any of you want to contribute, feel free.  Here’s a link.

All of our contributors started out as readers then decided to devote their valuable time to reaching a broader audience.  All of us should be thankful that they have done that, I certainly am.  It’s made for some interesting stories throughout the year.

But again, I want to thank all of you, our readers.  And I’d ask you to never hesitate to comment on our stories, point out errors (we are definitely NOT infallible), and get the conversation going.  The only way we know how we are doing is from your feedback and we need it.

Happy Thanksgiving, stay healthy and let’s go Rangers!