A Bronx Tale was a great movie and that line by Bob De Niro has never rung so true now that the Nik Zherdev era has ended in New York. This morning the Rangers officially told Zherdev to walk away, as expected. It's no big shock, and definitely not heartbreaking. If you want heartbreaking, read this.
But there is hope on the horizon, not for Redden, but for the Rangers. Ales Kotalik should prove to be an able stopgap while Evgeny Grachev learns the professional game. The cap space left in Z's wake should go to whoever will be first-line center - whether that be in the form of re-signing Brandon Dubinsky or dealing him for someone more experienced and not as brash and cocky. We'll just have to wait and see what Sather has up his sleeve next ...
17 comments:
whats with the diss on dubinsky? brash and cocky? i haven't seen that come from him, i've seen heart and leadership, grit and hard work. you seem to dislike almost everybody that wears a ranger's sweater.....getting kinda annoying reading it all the time.
for shame scotty, for shame...
Seriously Scotty, just go be an Islanders fan already, you seem to hate everyone, just because you have a blog doesn't make you the greatest fan in the world or anything
Maybe it's time for you to cut your losses
While this move comes as no surprise (Welcome to the KHL, Dr. Z!!!) I hope they can find a player now that can truly fill the void he left. Well the void he should have left. OK< the void he didn't fill... whatever....
I disagree with your stance on Dubinsky as well. I love his work ethic on the ice, his desire to win and to lead by example, and his pride in being a part of the organization. Arrogance comes with youth (see "Gretzky, Wayne, 1980's") and with the right mentor around him it might be shaped into a fiery personality that often awards NHLers the C on their jersey.
My main fear with him the whole summer has been how he'll handle the foot dragging over the contract situation. Would it lead this young player to reconsider the above points? Would he skate/hit as hard? Fight players twice his size (scary to watch, I know, but the thought counted)? All rhetoric questions, of course. You never want to take a kid's heart and soul for granted.
And would this mentor be Tortorella? Maybe. His hard-charging style on the ice can surely use a guy like Dubinsky on the roster.
I think the Rangers should sign Dubi and not bother bringing in anyone else. I happen to love him and disagree with your stance on that item.
We will get a little bit of cap relief and should keep building from within. We all know we arent winning the cup in 09-10.
Wait, wait, wait, I never said I didn't like Dubi. I like the thought of a home grown kid making good and have said in the recent past that I think he deserves a shot at the first line center gig alongside Gabby since he did so well with Jags. That doesn't mean he isn't brash and cocky and inexperienced. Like NYR34 said, it is a symptom of youth.
I apologize for using the word Brash, now that we have Donald, it is indeed more of a slur than just meaning hasty and impetuous ...
You actually buy into the crap that Kotalik is an able replacement? We saved less than $1 mil to get him over Zherdev. Half the skill and twice as soft.
Unlike Zherdev, who was able to generate some offense on a weak team, Kotalik has proven that he's incapable of doing anything without highly skilled teammates. His only good season was when Buffalo throttled us in the playoffs when they were offensive juggernauts. Now he's a 2nd/3rd liner who will put up 40ish points for $3 mil per...
I recall reading a Fischler article last season that also referred to Dubi as being cocky, and that it was putting him in the doghouse with the coach. Since Dubi was producing hard-core at the beginning of last season, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the case. MY only hope is that they didn't slap him around for it in a way that hurt his production over the last half of the year. I think a coach like Torts has as much of a chance at hurting the development of a player like Dubi as he has of helping him grow.
Scotty, I think it's hysterical that you can put just one tiny line in a blog and people will blow it so far out of proportion. While it is true that you are down on this team, I for one can understand why. I was there with you for just about every game the last 2.5 seasons, and there hasn't been much to cheer about from either players or staff. I also know that, as soon as the tides change for the better, so will the tone of this blog. Morale doesn't only impact the team, but the fans as well.
It also amazes me that people actually take the time to chastize you on your attitude, your opinions, etc, yet also insist on reading the blog. I don't like liberal bullshit, so I don't read the New York Times. If I was looking for puppies and roses and rainbows, I surely wouldn't be reading this blog. I point these people to anonymous' comment; "maybe it's time for you to cut your losses?"
But, that won't happen, because some people feel the need to be validated by posting contrary and often inflammatory comments. To quote a great scene in Clerks: "I hope it feels good...I hope it feels so good to be right. There is nothing more exhilarating than pointing out the shortcomings of others, is there?"
how exactly is dubinsky brash and cocky? he's a guy who can be with this franchise for a long time and is apart of the young core.
is there anybody on this team you actually do like? cause there really is no reason to be throwin garbage at dubinsky
nevermind, i caught your last comment.
i dont think dubi is cocky at all, half the reason he was on such long periods w/o scoring is his lack of confidence. when he was more confident going towards the playoffs, he picked his game up. just as he was confident playing with jagr, he picked his game up
@Pete and Scotty
Blow it out? Didn't mean to sound as such. I was merely voicing my concerns for what the future holds for the team and for Brandon.
I for one, would hope he does stay and eventually work his way up to being a leader. I just hope that Torts helps and not hurts his development, as he seems like a perfect Torts-system player.
Dubinsky is cocky. That's well documented. So, it's accurate. However, I hope they re-sign him and give the kid the chance to center the top line. Let's go with what we have.
Dac vee daniyah Nikky!
you know who else was famously cocky? Jeremy Roenick.
who cares if he's cocky? first off, he's an NHL player, some cockiness should come out of that. 2nd, cockiness come with confidence, confidence being the most important mental aspect to hockey.
and no one is blowing scotty's comments out of proportion Pete. we just understand where the negativity comes from, and if it wasn't meant to be negative, we're just used to all the past negativity about all the players. i'd be one of the first to criticize a player who deserves it....but scotty seems to come out of left field with some of this stuff. granted, it is your blog scotty and your opinions and voice come with it and when i'm bored at work (like now and everytime i visit) it entertains me with the posts written by you and the ability to voice my agreement or disagreement with you.
just lay off Dubi!!!
@gt260
I was thinking the same thing yesterday about Dubi - a JR type player and leader. Even if he never develops JR's talent, just having that type of on and off ice personality would be a big plus for the team.
Ahhhh, remember the days when Sather FLEECED Howson on that Zherdev deal? LOL...yep, boy I am sure the jackets are feeling really fleeced now.
I really don't think the Rangers improved much on paper this season, but I do think they will be better on the ice.
If this team is going anywhere it is guys like Dubinsky and Callahan who will be driving the bus.
Funny how I can really enjoy young players, mistakes and all.
Zherdev looked like an ongoing experiment, that could land on either side of the fence. Once the final days of the season and then the playoffs arrived, it was really evident that the funding for this grand experiment was going to be pulled.
I would rather watch Dubinsky any day of the week than the Zherdev we saw when the team needed him most.
Pete, thanks for gettin' my back. I think you are spot on with the morale thing. At the same time, I am a realist - while everyone was riding high with that start last season, I was the lone person pointing the faults that eventually brought the team down. Everyone calls me an idealist but all I ask is that the players play to their potential. If they do that and they fail, then so be it, at least they tried. I sincerely hope that Torts gets that out of them this season, because Renney never was able to.
As for Dubi, I don't see the Roenick comparison - JR always played with a reckless edge to him that I don't see in our boy. As I've said for a long time, the player I do see most - and truly hope Dubi becomes - is Jason Arnott. The former Devil plays a big, strong, intelligent game that makes his teammates better.
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