I Hope

Puck Daddy's playoff live blogs have been great fun and I highly recommend folks stop by tonight (Friday). Somehow during the Game 6 escapades, Morgan Freeman and Shawshank Redemption came up and it got me thinking.

I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams.
I hope.

Well, this time of year for Ranger fans hope is the only thing we have to go on. These are some of the things I'm hoping for:

I hope: that our leap of faith to pay for our season tickets before June 22nd pays off.

I hope: the price increase doesn't force too many folks to give up their tickets, especially the kind people in 330 and 329 who listening to my rantings and ravings game in and game out.

I hope: that what they say is true - that a sucker is born every minute.

I hope: Glen Sather finds one of them to take Redden, Drury or Gomez off of his hands. I know not to hope for all three.

I hope: that in his quest to get John Tortorella his balls-out, all-attack, 'safe-is-death' lineup Sather doesn't forget that there are three zones in the rink.

I hope: Blair Betts will be back to help take care of one of them.

I hope: Derek Morris won't.

I hope: Nik Zherdev, if he returns, realizes that it will be his big, and likely final, chance at achieving NHL stardom.

I hope: Nik Antropov, if he returns, realizes that he has to be in better shape if he is to play for this club.

I hope: nothing happens to any of our draft picks like what happened to Cherry. Or to any other draft pick for that matter.

I hope: the Islanders do something stupid with their top draft pick.

I hope: the Rangers don't.

I hope the Ranger selection is less Pavel Brendl and more Pavel Bure/Datsyuk/even Demitra.

I hope: more of the recent draft picks are NHL ready come Traverse City and training camp.

I hope: the coming season doesn't come with as much of a feeling of dread as the last season left.

I hope.