Entries with the tag: new+york+rangers

Bye, Naslund

by Alanah McGinley on 07/03/08 at 05:06 PM
Comments (36)

Markus Naslund signed a two-year deal with the New York Rangers today—New York being pretty much as far as one can get from Vancouver without actually swimming in the sea or hanging out in Miami.  And I don’t blame him one bit.

To quote the Yankee Canuck—“Well it’s official: I want Mike Gillis’s head on a spit.”

Continue Reading »

Standards for Online Journalism - Sean Avery and The NY Daily News

by Alanah McGinley on 04/30/08 at 01:57 PM
Comments (5)

The reports on Sean Avery’s medical condition this morning started off at a furious pace with words the NY Daily News (reporters John Dellapina and Larry McShane) had to have known would incite a frenzy:

Rangers bad boy Sean Avery, unconscious and not breathing, was rushed to a Manhattan hospital Wednesday morning in cardiac arrest just hours after his team’s playoff loss, sources said.

By 12:30pm Eastern Time, the NY Rangers issued a statement denying these facts, and confirming rumors that were already circulating: that Avery was in fact suffering from a lacerated spleen.  A serious condition, but one that did not involve anything as extreme as Avery not breathing for any period of time. 

By early afternoon, David Shoalts at the Globe & Mail was quoting a NYR spokesman who stated that “[Avery] walked into the hospital and was not on a stretcher.” And Steve Simmons at the Toronto Sun spoke with Avery’s agent, Pat Morris, who says the condition was never life-threatening.

Almost certainly, this was an entirely innocent mistake by the Daily News, but a profitable one for their website, and they’ve not handled the situation very well in general.

Continue Reading »

Story of a Trade

by Alanah McGinley on 04/22/08 at 02:05 PM
Comments (0)

From Mike Smith’s blog at The Hockey News:

I was recently asked, of the many trades I made, which had the most interesting story to it? I answered immediately, “the Tie Domi-Kris King for Ed Olczyk trade I made with Neil Smith in New York while I was in Winnipeg.”

My first NHL job was as an assistant coach with the New York Rangers. The genesis of the Domi-King trade began when I went to a Ken Norton heavyweight fight at Madison Square Garden…

continued...

Wanted Dead or Alive

by Alanah McGinley on 03/18/08 at 02:11 PM
Comments (3)

According to the Post-Gazette’s Empty Netters, “Jason Strudwick has a sweet moustache.” (Which almost certainly has to be the universal code for “View this tape at your own risk.")

Some random weirdness for the day…

KK LiveChat Game of the Week

by Steve on 01/19/08 at 02:58 PM
Comments (1)

With the new chat rooms opening up this week, I felt it would be cool if we had sort of a weekly “Hockey Gathering”.  Where there’s pretty much 1 important game going on at the time, the numerous and widespread KK readership could just talk intelligently (hopefully) about the game and the sport in general.  So I thought long and hard on a cool title, and came up with “The KK LiveChat Game of the Week”.  Please, feel free to suggest a better one.

Anyway, we’re going to start with tomorrow’s Bruins-Rangers game on NBC, and will continue with the All-Star Game next week. 

It doesn’t look as if there’ll be any pre-game tomorrow, so make sure to be in the KK Hockey Chat Room Sunday at 12:15 ET for some lively hockey discussion!

Blake Heard No Disparaging Comments From Avery

by Alanah McGinley on 12/06/07 at 08:06 PM
Comments (3)

From the CP,

If noted New York Rangers agitator Sean Avery made disparaging remarks toward Jason Blake the last time they faced off, the Toronto forward never heard them.

A Toronto radio report following the teams’ previous meeting last month in Canada said a pre-game scuffle between Avery and Leafs counterpart Darcy Tucker was fuelled by a comment that Avery made toward Blake regarding his current battle with leukemia.

FAN 590 reporter Howard Berger had claimed Avery made “cancer-related remarks” to Blake, citing an unidentified Rangers player. Blake was diagnosed with a rare form of the disease in October but has continued to play while being treated.

continued...


Note: report earlier today that MSG denied Berger access to the press box tonight.

Avery Gets His Retraction

by Paul on 12/03/07 at 06:15 PM
Comments (2)

from the CP,

...Avery denied making the comments and his lawyers served libel notices against the Fan and the Toronto Star over the matter. Berger voiced the 46-second retraction that aired Monday.

“It was my intention only to report accurately on what transpired during the pre-game warmup,” said Berger. “Based on Mr. Avery’s clear statement that he made no such remarks, my information and therefore my reporting does not appear to have been accurate.

“I truly regret reporting that Mr. Avery made any such comments. I apologize to Mr. Avery for having done so. And I hereby retract my comments about what transpired during the pre-game warmup on Nov. 10, 2007.”

update 8:22pm, Avery was just interviewed on MSG, said he is not done with this subject.  He doesn’t feel any better than he did before the statement read by Berger today and said the media cannot hide behind a pen and get away with it.  He plans to continue his fight on this topic.

The Best In The East

by Paul on 12/03/07 at 12:17 PM
Comments (0)

from Stan Fischler at Game On,

You pessimists who frequent The Rangers Despair Society can dispatch your crying towels to the laundry pile; the Blueshirts are on the move, up, up, and UP.

A victory on Monday night against Carolina at The Garden SHOULD, if accomplished, establish New York as “la creme de la creme” of the East.

continued

Don’t Touch Those Stitches

by Paul on 11/30/07 at 08:00 AM
Comments (3)

from the AP via CBS Sportsline,

As players from both teams entered the fray, Martinek said Hollweg threatened him and then reached for his face.

“He said he is going to take my stitches out. I think that was stupid,” said Martinek, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound defenseman.

Martinek added that no damage was done, but said he had never seen a player act in such a way.

“No, no. Never, never,” he said. “I think he could show a little bit of respect, but he didn’t. I cannot respect him.”

Hollweg contended that he was merely defending Orr, a 6-3, 222-pound forward, who has five career points and 239 penalty minutes in 114 NHL games. Simon and Witt had already double-teamed Orr before Martinek got near.

read on

Avery Gets His Retraction

by Paul on 11/29/07 at 02:04 PM
Comments (0)

from William Houston of the Globe and Mail,

The FAN590 in Toronto will retract, on air, its report alleging that New York Ranger Sean Avery had ridiculed Toronto Maple Leaf Jason Blake’s fight with cancer during a trash-talking session at the Air Canada Centre on Nov. 10.

In addition to strongly denying the report, Avery also served the radio station with a notice of libel. The Fan’s Howard Berger had quoted a Ranger source saying Avery had alluded to Blake’s chronic leukemia during an exchange at centre ice before the start of the game.

continued

Avery to Undergo Wrist Surgery

by Alanah McGinley on 11/28/07 at 01:20 PM
Comments (0)

From On the Rangers Beat,

Avery---already sidelined once this season with a shoulder separation----will not only miss the Islanders game, but several more after arthroscopic surgery to clean out his left wrist tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.

Avery---who reinjured the wrist against Tampa when hit by a shot--- practiced without shooting today, but was waiting for resuslts of a CAT scan on the wrist, which has bothered him since the start of the season. He said afterward that the decision had been made and didn’t know how long he would be sidelined. Avery said he had been playing with a fracture, and was worsened during a fight five games after he returned---we’re thinking with Darcy Tucker in Toronto.

“Hopefully, it’ll only be a week or two,” he said. “But I don’t live in a reality world.”

more...

Watching The Wings Power Play

by Paul on 11/28/07 at 10:57 AM
Comments (11)

from the Blue Seats at the NY Post,

I bring this up because of the heavily European Red Wings roster. North American players are out numbered slightly in Detroit, but it hasn’t hampered the club’s regular season success. Granted, they haven’t won a cup since 2002 when their core was comprised of greats like Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Brett Hull, Pat Verbeek and Luc Robataille…

What this all has to do with the Rangers is this: we complain about the Jagr-ization of the power play, decrying it as European hockey when it’s not exactly that simple.

more… and no Cup for the ‘Little Ball of Hate” with the Wings. He only played two seasons with the Wings, 1999 & 2000, both non-Cup years.

Oh Jagr

by Paul on 11/27/07 at 10:51 AM
Comments (3)

A rough translation of this story from iDNES.cz,

Q: Writer Larry Brooks wrote in NY Post that Rangers shouldnt start next season in Prague but is not sure you will play for the team. Do you know it?
A: I dont solve this. I dont mind it.

You know, Nylander has left during summer. Straka was out for 15 games. That is not funny. I dont wanna complain, but with players, who Rangers bought in summer, i havent found clue, i didnt know how to play with them. Rangers invested big money into centers but i finished playing with boy from minors.

Q: You are captain, the biggest star on team. Rangers was Jagrs team. Is it stil Jagrs team?
A: I dont think so. Not now. If I dont play good, I am losing my position. But that is normal.

If you want to take a shot at more of the translation, feel free to post in the comments…

added 11:17am, You can find a better translation at HFBoards.

Report- Jager Could Hit UFA Market

by Paul on 11/27/07 at 06:54 AM
Comments (3)

from Larry Brooks at the NY Post,

Jaromir Jagr’s contract no longer contains a team option for next season, meaning that the current agreement under which he would earn $8.36M for 2008-09 will be extended only if he hits the performance triggers included in the deal, The Post has learned.

That means that unless Jagr scores 40 goals or records 84 points while the Rangers win a playoff round in April, or unless he wins the Hart Trophy, Art Ross Trophy or Conn Smythe Trophy, a) No. 68 will be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1; and, b) beginning next season the Blueshirts will no longer be entitled to any cap discount on their captain.

continued

Power Play An Issue For Rangers

by Paul on 11/26/07 at 06:03 PM
Comments (0)

from Stan Fischler at Game On,

When I addressed Tom Renney with that point, he paused and then hit the nail on the head.

“We’re legitimately in the top four or five of the conference,” said the coach. “But if the power play is bad - or we beat ourselves - the stats will bear out where we belong. And we should be humbled by that.”

“There’s a level of excellence that’s acceptable and we expect."…

When I asked Sean Avery about it, he was blunt.

“The power play is all about work ethic and there are not enough guys working hard at it,” said Avery, who labored as energetically as any Ranger against Dallas.

read on

It Is A Team Thing

by Paul on 11/26/07 at 08:32 AM
Comments (0)

from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,

Funny, but when it was over no Rangers player stomped around the locker room complaining that his team lost 3-2 because it had been out-goaltended, although Lundqvist griped after Wednesday’s 2-1 victory in Tampa because he was unhappy with the players Tom Renney had on the ice when the Lightning scored at 19:43 of the third to spoil the shutout....

“I wasn’t questioning why any individual player was on the ice, but I had a conversation with Brendan about maybe having more defensive players on the ice,” Lundqvist told The Post yesterday. “I haven’t talked to Tom about it. I’m not going to.”

more

Block Those Shots

by Paul on 11/25/07 at 09:21 PM
Comments (0)

from the New York Times,

“You have to break the fear,” Rangers defenseman Michal Rozsival said. “You try it once, it hits your shin pads and you say, O.K. We all played the game for so long. Nobody really thinks about it anymore. It’s like natural. I don’t think there’s any guy in the locker room who would be thinking, Oh, should I block it or not?”

The N.H.L. did not start keeping statistics for blocked shots until 1998. Since then, blocking shots has become an increasingly important — if still hard to fathom — part of the game. Coaches preach of them as a way to cut down scoring chances, to keep life easier for the goalies, and to turn defense into something practiced by the whole team, not just the defensemen.

more

The Great Jagr, But…

by Paul on 11/23/07 at 07:40 PM
Comments (1)

from Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News (Sunday edition) via the Santa Barbara News Press,

I simply don’t have any great playoff memories of Jagr past 1992....

Maybe Jagr is more Scottie Pippen than Alex Rodriguez. Maybe he’s the sidekick who could never get it done on his own. Jagr floundered with the Penguins when Lemieux wasn’t there. He actually made the Washington Capitals a worse team. They are paying about $4 million a season for Jagr to not be on their team.

He’s all flash and no grind, and that’s a major sin in hockey.

more

Sean Avery’s Fine Line

by Alanah McGinley on 11/20/07 at 12:31 AM
Comments (4)

From Mark Herrmann at Newsday,

There is no neutral zone on the subject of Sean Avery, former boyfriend to actress Elisha Cuthbert, suitor to Paris Hilton (he was shut out), member of People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” contingent, provocateur in Toronto Nov. 10 in a pregame dustup that left Avery denying a rumor that he had ragged Jason Blake for having leukemia. Avery later said that that’s over the line.

For someone like him, everything is a fine line. It’s part of NHL strategy for a team to have someone who challenges players physically and tries to intimidate them verbally. Euphemisms refer to them as “pests” or “agitators.” They are different from “tough guys” or “enforcers,” who are known for using their fists, not their vocabularies.

This protocol is one of hockey’s quirks that non-fans find hard to understand. Maybe the sport would be more popular if more people took the time to love or hate the likes of Avery.

continued...


A friend of mine (not a Rangers fan) argues that—love him or hate him—Sean Avery is good for hockey in many ways.  I’m not always sure, myself… but he certainly does does know how to draw a spotlight. 

Funny Shanny

by Paul on 11/19/07 at 01:55 PM
Comments (2)

from Men’s Vogue,

The interviewer, Gary Thorne, pressed Shanahan about the cottage in Ireland and running with the bulls. Finally, he brought up the Canadian Jazz Festival. To Shanahan’s dismay, he handed him a saxophone. “So, Shanny,” he said, a trifle smugly, “we wanted to have the opportunity to hear you do it.”

Shanahan, cornered, stood the saxophone on his thigh. He turned strangely calm, and he spoke without hesitating. “I would,” he said earnestly, “except the coach says, ‘No sax before a game.’ ” Such suave aplomb is only one reason I admire Shanahan.

read on

Go To Dman

by Paul on 11/19/07 at 08:19 AM
Comments (0)

from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,

But it still is no less incredible that Dan Girardi, emerging as a go-to, first-pair defenseman at the age of 23, could have gone through both the 2002 and 2003 entry drafts without one of the 30 teams calling his name; no less incredible that 583 players were selected in those two drafts and Girardi was not one of them.

“We were just talking about that this morning,” Tom Renney, then part of the Rangers’ personnel evaluation staff and now the coach who will send Girardi onto the ice with partner Fedor Tyutin against the Islanders’ most dangerous line tonight at the Garden, said on Friday.

read on

The Home Team In Prague

by Paul on 11/18/07 at 08:33 AM
Comments (0)

from the Blueshirts Blog at Newsday,

The papers haven’t been signed yet, but the Rangers are all but signed, sealed and delivered to Prague to open next season with a two-game series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

And that pair of games will only comprise half of the NHL’s season-opening plan for 2008-09. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators are expected to open their season with two games in Stockholm.

continued (permalink is not working for the blog, so off you go to the homepage)…

New Yorkers Watching

by Paul on 11/15/07 at 08:11 PM
Comments (3)

via Watchdog at Newsday,

For their eight games on FSNY, the Islanders are up spectacularly, from 0.07 percent of area homes last season at this point to 0.32.

The Rangers are up 102 percent on MSG compared to last year.

They Meet Again

by Paul on 11/14/07 at 01:26 PM
Comments (1)

from Game On,

Alive and well. Patrik Elias and Scott Gomez.

By a remarkable scheduling coincidence, they meet on Wednesday night at The Rock for the Rangers’ first trip to Newark’s fabulous Prudential Center.

In a sense, it’s a meeting of The Comeback Kids: both player-wise and team-wise.

continued

Useless Trip To Toronto

by Paul on 11/14/07 at 07:10 AM
Comments (3)

from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,

But the language Avery slung at Darcy Tucker that provoked a skirmish on the ice prior to Saturday’s match in Toronto, was most certainly not worthy of supplementary discipline, even in the increasingly antiseptic NHL.

It is beyond belief that VP Colin Campbell would have summoned Avery to his office for a disciplinary hearing here yesterday, even if the winger was merely fined for “unprofessional conduct” and not suspended at the end of the day.

more

Avery Statement

by Paul on 11/13/07 at 05:12 PM
Comments (1)

via the New York Rangers,

On Tuesday afternoon, the Rangers organization released the following statement to the press on behalf of forward Sean Avery.

Avery made the following remarks regarding recent media reports:

“I am extremely upset and hurt that false and damaging comments were attributed to me regarding Jason Blake. I made no such comments. I have lost two grandfathers to cancer and have been a consistent contributor to multiple cancer related charities, first and foremost, Hockey Fights Cancer. I am unable to comment further, as the matter is now being addressed by legal counsel.”

Update 5:48pm ET: From TSN,

Avery and Darcy Tucker began jawing at each other near centre-ice during the warm-up to Saturday’s game at Air Canada Centre. Blake was also involved before Avery and Tucker exchanged shoves as both teams gathered around. In the first period, Avery and Tucker hooked up in a fight and continued a heated conversation in the penalty box.

As a result of the incident, the Rangers were fined $25,000 and the Maple Leafs $10,000 while Avery was fined the maximum $2,500 and Darcy Tucker $1,000.  The Maple Leafs made no formal complaint about the incident to the league.

Report- NHL Looking At Leafs/Rangers Pre-Game Incident

by Paul on 11/12/07 at 07:44 PM
Comments (7)

from CBC,

The NHL is investigating an on-ice incident involving abrasive New York Rangers forward Sean Avery, according to the Canadian Press.

Avery, 27, shoved Jason Blake and got into a heated exchange with Darcy Tucker during the pre-game warmup prior to Saturday’s 3-2 shootout victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre.

“He has no sense of class,” Tucker told reporters following Monday’s skate.

Avery allegedly irked Tucker by saying something inappropriate to Blake, who revealed Oct. 8 that he is suffering from a rare but treatable form of leukemia (chronic myelogenous).

more

added 6:30am on 11/13/07, from the Globe and Mail,

The agent for New York Rangers forward Sean Avery was steaming mad that a radio report yesterday suggested that taunts made by his client during the pregame skate on Saturday evening were directed toward Toronto Maple Leafs winger Jason Blake, who is battling against cancer.

The FAN 590 in Toronto reported that an unnamed Rangers player said Avery ignited a scuffle with Leafs forward Darcy Tucker because of insensitive remarks.

Although Avery did not publicly comment yesterday on the radio station’s accusation, behind closed doors he and other Rangers said the remarks made by Avery were directed at Tucker and his family.

continued

added 7:01am on 11/13/07, from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,

Sean Avery is preparing to file a libel charge against a Toronto radio personality who reported yesterday that Saturday’s pregame skirmish between the Rangers’ winger and the Maple Leafs’ Darcy Tucker was incited by Avery referring to Jason Blake’s cancer condition, The Post has learned.

Advised by his attorney to decline public comment, Avery has privately denied the charge as broadcast by Howard Berger over The Fan 590.

more

Keep Your Head Up Sean

by Paul on 11/12/07 at 08:15 AM
Comments (1)

from the Toronto Sun,

Citing Avery’s pre-game tomfoolery Saturday night as yet another example of why the instigator rule should be scuttled, Belak warns that the New York Rangers agitator is going to pay the price for his antics.

“He’s pissing guys off,” Belak said yesterday. “He’ll bring harm to himself and not too many guys around the league are going to be sad to see it.

“If he keeps this up, someone is going to kill him. One day he’s going to say something the wrong way and he’ll be clubbed.

“And I’m not saying it will be by me, either.”

read on

Watching The Rangers

by Paul on 11/08/07 at 08:01 PM
Comments (1)

from Multichannel News,

National Hockey League games on Madison Square Garden Network and Fox Sports New York have skated to a fast start during the 2007-08 season from a ratings perspective.

Through its first 11 New York Rangers telecasts, MSG averaged a 0.85 household rating in the New York DMA, according to Nielsen Media Research data, an 85% jump over the same number of contests last season. Network officials also noted that the Broadway Blueshirts have notched a better than 1.0 mark in four of their last five telecasts.

more and some Devils numbers too…

Jagr A Game-Time Decision

by Paul on 11/05/07 at 01:01 PM
Comments (0)

from On the Rangers Beat,

“If I felt good I would say it,” Jaromir Jagr said after testing his achy groin/hip flexor early in practice before leaving. Asked if he would play tonight, he said, “I’m not sure...It wasn’t the way I wanted.”

If Jagr---who went on the ice again in a track suit against Stephen Valiquette--- doesn’t play against the Flyers, it would be the first time the big winger has missed a game in two years.

continued

Jagr Bothered By Slippery Stick

by Paul on 11/04/07 at 09:43 AM
Comments (3)

from the NY Daily News,

Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr ain’t happy with his twigs at the moment. And he believes that while much fuss has been made about his getting used to a new center, his modest start to the season is also due to unfamiliarity with his hockey sticks. But there appears to be little he can do about that, because Reebok doesn’t make his preferred model anymore.

“Look at this - just touch the stick, how slippery it is. How am I supposed to shoot?” Jagr said, disgustedly trying to get tape to stick to the ultra-smooth surface of the RBK sticks he’s felt stuck with this season.

more

Avery Stirs It Up

by Paul on 11/04/07 at 06:48 AM
Comments (1)

from Fire & Ice,

Avery called Clarkson “a bonehead minor leaguer” after the game and called Brodeur, “Marty the diver”, a reference to the goaltender’s first period diving penalty. “I don’t even know who this guy is, why am I talking to him,” Avery said of Clarkson. “We’re not friends. It’s not an (expletive) secret. We’re getting ready for a game and we go to war.”

When asked if Brodeur said anything back to him, Avery said, “I can’t understand a word he says with his accent.”

more…

thanks to a KK member for the pointer…

MSG Loses in the Courtroom

by Alanah McGinley on 11/02/07 at 03:02 PM
Comments (0)

From John Dellapina at Blueshirts Blog (NY Daily News),

The Garden’s string of courtroom losses was extended today when a federal court judge ruled in favor of the NHL in MSG’s bid to independently control the Rangers’ Web site.

The NHL was going to fine the Rangers $100,000 a day unless they complied with league rules mandating that all team Web sites come under the NHL.com umbrella.

continued...

added 5:08pm (by Paul), from Watchdog Blog at Newsday,

MSG officials pledged to appeal the ruling against the injunction and also vowed to proceed with its overall lawsuit against the NHL. “This decision is one step in what will be a very long legal process and we look forward to having the opportunity to present the facts, which support our position.”

Update 12:35am ET November 3rd: More from the Canadian Press

Jagr Shows Teeth

by Alanah McGinley on 10/30/07 at 09:24 AM
Comments (0)

From Larry Brooks at the NYP,

“After Saturday, Jaromir and I sat in the locker room until 12 o’clock, talking about changing the power play, and then [Sunday] we practiced it,” said Shanahan. “Jaromir really takes it personally, being here, and winning.”

Lundqvist was outstanding again. Ryan Hollweg had a mighty fine game going up and down the wing. Chris Drury was more involved in the action than he’d been since the opener. The defense played a simple game. The Rangers got pucks in and pucks out and Jagr got a puck in the mouth.

Someone wanted to know whether Jagr lost his original teeth.

“A gentleman never tells,” he said, with a Jack-o-Lantern grin. “But I think if I paid $20,000 for them, they’re mine.”

more...

Avery Close to Return

by Alanah McGinley on 10/29/07 at 01:30 PM
Comments (0)

From Steve Zipay at ‘On the Rangers Beat’,

Sean Avery (separated shoulder) has been cleared for contact, and briefly skated with Jaromir Jagr and Scott Gomez this morning in what was not an optional practice. All healthy players were on the ice.

Rangers coach Tom Renney said Avery “probably has Thursday’s game circled on his calendar,” but that Saturday---four weeks since the injury---was more likely.

continued...

No Excuses in New York

by Alanah McGinley on 10/29/07 at 11:40 AM
Comments (0)

From Larry Brook at the NY Post,

“There are background story-lines for each one of us,” Shanahan said yesterday following a round of lengthy team meetings and a brief practice session. “With me, it’s age. With Jaromir, it’s not having Mike (Nylander). With Scott and Dru, it’s their contracts and coming into a new environment.

“Except there are no excuses for anyone. I think our situation is magnified because it’s the first 10 games of the season, but that’s on us. We’re not playing bad hockey, but we’re just making it very tough on ourselves.

“I think we’ve become consumed with scoring when our focus should be on winning. We’re putting the cart before the horse. When we get our minds off of goals, wins will come, I’m sure of that.”

more...

As Jagr Goes, So Do The Rangers

by Paul on 10/28/07 at 08:33 AM
Comments (0)

from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe,

The root of the problem, no surprise, is that Jaromir Jagr once again just hasn’t found that right fit to work as his pivot. Sometimes it’s Drury (6 points in nine games). Sometimes it’s Gomez (3 points in nine games). And thus far, neither of the new centers has come close to striking up the kind of magic and chemistry Jagr shared last year with Michael Nylander, the ex-Bruin center who eventually made his way back to the Capitals after Gomez and Drury signed their lucrative pacts.

We have seen this before, of course. Just as in Boston, where we’ve learned to live with the Manny-being-Manny reality, it has been that way for both Capitals and Rangers fans with Jagr, the superstar Czech winger. Partnered with the right center, he is often the game’s most dominant force. When not paired with the right give-and-go associate, he looks stagnant and lost, sometimes petulant and brooding.

read on & other NHL bits too…

The NHL Bites Back?

by Alanah McGinley on 10/26/07 at 02:50 PM
Comments (4)

[Updated below, with a response from the NHL.]

I happened upon something interesting last night: Madison Square Garden’s Youtube account, MSG Online, has been suspended. And from what I can tell, no videos have been posted to that account for about a week or so prior to this suspension.

It’s hard to say what’s going on—and my requests for an explanation from both MSG and the NHL have yet to provide an explanation—but it’s a curious situation.

First of all, an account suspension is how Youtube has previously responded when a copyright holder has erected a challenge to the content carried by one of its members.  And secondly, the NHL itself has enforced their copyright claims with Youtube in the past.

So it makes me wonder: did the NHL claim a copyright violation by MSG and the New York Rangers, and request Youtube suspend their account? 

Continue Reading »

Relax Rangers Fans

by Paul on 10/25/07 at 12:38 PM
Comments (0)

from Stan Fischler of MSG Network,

These days some dear, dear Rangers fans I know remind me of a TV director with whom I once worked.

Whenever there erupted a crisis in our production, Mr. Director would shout, “Oogah.” This was his take-off on Hollywood flicks about submarines in World War II. When it was time for the U-boat to crash-dive, the “OOGAH” signal would blare and all hands would man their battle stations.

I’m hearing too many versions of “Oogah” from the Blueshirts faithful these days.

more

Wrong Way, Rangers

by Paul on 10/25/07 at 09:04 AM
Comments (1)

from Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen,

It’s just like old times for Sather and the Rangers. Spend big. Lose big.

As much as I admire Drury, I hope the Rangers continue to struggle, compared to teams that build the old fashioned way.

From within. Via the draft.

By identifying YOUR guys and locking them up. And then by adding a tiny sprinkle of free agent talent as required.

more

Line Of The Day

by Paul on 10/24/07 at 04:39 PM
Comments (0)

from Rangers Report,

This was Devils coach Brent Sutter speaking to reporters today about facing Scott Gomez tomorrow:

“I had no impact on Gomez whatsoever. I was never here when he was a New Jersey Devil and personally I could care less. It was his choice to decide where he wanted to go play. It was his choice not to want to play in New Jersey anymore and that’s his prerogative. So, to think that we should be easy on him is dead wrong. We’ll treat him like any other player…It’s his choice to across the river and play there. That’s up to him. But our job is go to there and win a hockey game.”

more on the Rangers including Callahan out with knee sprain…

Rangers Searching For Goals

by Paul on 10/24/07 at 05:36 AM
Comments (1)

from the New York Times,

The Rangers have not scored in 126 minutes, dating to the final minute of their loss Thursday in Atlanta, and have a total of 13 goals in eight games. That is one goal fewer than the Washington Capitals have through seven games.

“It’s tough to take,” Rangers center Chris Drury said. “You feel for your goalie and you feel for your ‘D’ that’s playing solid. It’s our job to put some goals in the net.”…

“At some point, it’s got to give,” Drury said. “You get 30-plus shots every game, at some point they have to go in. That’s the way it works. We just have to keep shooting.”

read on

added 6:06am, from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,

If Shanahan were going to be 29 in January rather than 39, his lack of finish wouldn’t cause alarm bells to ring. But he is 38, and though Jagr’s lack of production can at least partially be attributed to learning how to play with a new pivot, Shanahan is simply failing to bury shots he’s made a Hall of Fame career of burying....

Shanahan came into the season, experienced. The Rangers had best hope he hasn’t become old.

more

Having Fun with the Rangers

by Alanah McGinley on 10/23/07 at 03:07 PM
Comments (6)

In honor of tonight’s game between the Penguins and Rangers, Empty Netters at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has posted what they think is the best NYR video to be found on YouTube. (So go check it out.)

Meanwhile, I think I have a pretty strong challenger for that honor.  If you ask me, this one should win the prize:

_______________________
*hat tip to GGower.com.

NHL Responds To MSG Lawsuit

by Paul on 10/22/07 at 09:39 AM
Comments (0)

from Sports Business Journal (paid sub.),

In its lengthy rebuttal to the lawsuit brought by MSG over new media rights, the NHL alleges MSG’s “real gripe” is with a league-imposed $100,000 fine — not the NHL’s effort to migrate MSG’s New York Rangers Web site to a league platform.

The league also dismisses MSG’s antitrust charges in the lawsuit saying, “MSG’s implicit suggestion that the NHL and its Member Clubs have somehow limited the scope of their joint venture to scheduling games and agreeing on limited broadcast rights is absurd.”…

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly wrote, “The Rangers’ complaint amounts to an attack on the fundamental manner in which the league and every other professional sports league is organized and operates. … Granting MSG its requested relief would strip the league of its essential and fundamental structure.”

Trying To Find Someone To Play With Jagr

by Paul on 10/22/07 at 07:12 AM
Comments (0)

from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,

Manhattan, we’ve got a problem.

Let’s face it. Gomez has looked lost skating with Jagr the last two games, but what’s even more troubling, Chris Drury also looked lost skating with Jagr the first five games of the season. Really, there hasn’t been a single shift on wh