Senator Series Shanabans

For those not following on Twitter, I disagree with Brendan Shanahan's rulings today. Carl Hagelin was suspended for three games for his "elbow" on Daniel Alfredsson and Matt Carkner was suspended for one due to his assault on Brian Boyle.

Shanahan's reasoning was that Hagelin “finishes his check with his arms high, recklessly hitting Alfredsson high with his elbow.” Alright, an elbow high is bad.

Shanahan's reasoning was that Carkner "delivers two punches to Boyle's head, the second of which knocks Boyle to the ice. With Boyle down Carkner continues to throw punches, connecting at least five more times with a player who has chosen not to engage in this altercation." Punching a guy in the head is ok, but continuing to punch a turtle is bad.

These rulings display the utter hypocrisy of the NHL today: one unintentional high hit in the flow of play is three times more egregious than two direct punches to the head and five more to undefined locations upon a prone player's body.

Now add to the equation the $2,500 fine Shea Weber received for grabbing Henrik Zetterberg by the helmet and slamming the Swede's head into the glass. Zetterberg and Boyle were fine, Alfredsson did not return to the game. It is clear that Shanahan bases these punishments not on how egregious the action, but by the fallout of said action.

Shanahan's process is flawed and unfair.

Punishing Hagelin based on the fact that Alfredsson was hurt does not take into account the fact that the 39 year old has a long history of injuries. Alfredsson has not played a full season since his rookie year due to a litany of bumps, bruises and breaks. The laundry list of ouchies includes knocks to his hip, ankle, back, knee, head, jaw and "upper body" so it is of little surprise that a little bit of contact took him out yet again. Wolski gave him his first recorded concussion earlier this season and doctors (and Lindroses) have shown that it is easier to get another concussion once a player has already had one - if Alfredsson does indeed have another, which has yet to be diagnosed. Ryan Callahan took an elbow to the head from Chris Phillips in Game 2 but he didn't collapse like a house of cards so the play wasn't even reviewed.

Hagelin is classy and was, of course, apologetic for hitting his childhood hero. If anything, the way Hagelin handled himself will endear him even more into the hearts of Ranger fans. But he did make things worse by apologizing in his meeting with Shanny - as most kids learn, by saying "sorry" you are admitting that you've done something wrong. Hags may think he did something wrong but personally, I don't think he did. He finished a check and, if Alfredsson wasn't the NHL equivalent of Elijah Price, he would have skated off with a two minute minor, at most.

As for Carkner, he received most of the punishment he deserved in the game. The refs gave him the appropriate 2, 5 and 10 and all that should be left is a beating at the hands of a Ranger. It is not his fault that Boyle bitched out. And to suspend Carkner for a game that he likely would have been benched for makes the ruling even more silly - as an Sens fan explained to me, MacLean has alternated Carkner with Gilroy in recent weeks so it was more than likely that Carkner would have been out anyway.

So the Rangers lose an energetic, capable and clean (24 PIM in 64 games) kid for the next three games while Ottawa goes about business as usual in Game 3 without Carkner. By no means has justice been served, in any form. But what it is is what it is, and the series continues tonight. Let's hope that the Rangers can recover from the loss of Game 2 and the loss of Carl Hagelin - it is all that they can do.

Odds, Ends And Avery

First off, this is post #700 in Scotty Hockey history so I just want to take a second to say thanks to everyone for their support and their readership. When I started I was getting about a dozen or so hits a day, and now I get four hundred or so a day. You guys rock and I thank you all.

So to start off the special post, let's talk about a special player: Sean Avery. If I have given off the impression that I don't want him back, let me apologize because it is far, far from the reality. This summer I bought an Avery jersey because he left the Rangers with a fantastic legacy - he worked hard, he helped the team win, he cared about the fans and he hated our rivals almost as much as we do. If he can come back and do it again, then let's welcome him with open arms because the current crop of Blueshirts struggle with all of the above.

On another side note, with Alex Rodriguez taking the headlines for juicing, it really brings up an interesting contrast - baseball has steroids, hockey has sloppy seconds. According to Baseball Almanac:

The first positive test will result in a suspension of up to ten days. The second positive test will result in a suspension of thirty days. The third positive test will result in a suspension of sixty days. The fourth positive test will result in a suspension of one full year. Finally, the fifth positive test will result in a penalty at the discretion of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball.

Avery's last game with Dallas was on November 30th (a game which he scored a goal). That means that as of right now, he has missed 29 games over two-and-a-half months. While his official suspension was just six game, in effect he was suspended longer then a baseball player who had been busted three times for performance-enhancing drugs.

Does that make sense to you?

Ok, enough on Aves and other other items:

*There is a fantastic, fantastic article about one writer's day as an assistant coach for the Rangers' ECHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. It is a fun read and many thanks to Kukla's Korner for the heads up.

*Carp saw new lines on offense at practice today. My question is why is Renney so willing to juggle his offense while he sticks with the defensive pairings? Redden and Rozsival are allowed to drag down Girardi and Staal and hinder their development game after game but Scott Gomez gets to try every possible winger to find some sort of chemistry. It just doesn't make sense.

*If you haven't checked lately, The Dark Ranger has really stepped up his game of late and his two 'political' cartoons atop his page are fantastic. I highly recommend heading his way and keeping up with with the darkness.

*There aren't many better ways to stick it to your former employer than the way Brendan Shanahan did last night. Tossed away as too old and too slow, all Shanny did was skate for 12:41 (with 1:16 on the power play and 3:42 shorthanded) and collect a beautiful assist on the game-winning goal. We miss you Shanny, as you can clearly tell. Thanks Glen.

*Ok, maybe I am not done with Avery yet. The incompetent columnist Mark Herrmann, who somehow survived the staff cuts at Newsday despite poorly writing about a sport he clearly has no clue about, made the pitch that the Rangers should go after Ottawa's Chris Neil instead of adding Avery. He incorrectly claims that Neil is on the trading block and Neil, frankly, is nowhere near as good as an agitator as Avery. A better fighter, yes, but he can't come close to getting under opponents' skin the way Avery does.

*And there is no telling how long he will have to be in the AHL, where he will be faced with every AHL idiot looking to make a name for himself, but that hasn't stopped The Manic Ranger from putting the cart before the horse and figuring that we will see the last of Lauri Korpikoski once Avery gets picked off waivers. The sad/scary thing? He is probably right. There is no way that the completely useless Aaron Voros will join Pat Rissmiller in Hartford, because that would show that three of Sather's summer free agent signings were complete failures (even though all six were).

*I will throw a Peepin' Foes together for the Caps later tonight or tomorrow morning but as sad-sounding as it is likely to come out we at least can look forward to seeing Alexander Ovechkin, the most exciting player in the NHL. Even Renney's soulless system can't keep Ovie's star from shining. It should be fun.

I Hate You Glen

Hey Glen!

Thanks for nothing.

Glen Sather has failed the Ranger franchise yet again, allowing future Hall of Famer Brendan Shanahan to go to New Jersey. Sather's squad, led by his two huge free agent failures, can't score goals and now a guaranteed goal scorer is going to the team's biggest rival.

Can you say EPIC FAIL?

On the other side of the coin, best of luck to Shanny. He gets one more kick at the can before riding off into the sunset. Mark March 30th on your calendar, it is the last time the Devils come to the Garden. We took him to court, weighed his pros and cons and at the end of the day, Ranger fans still have much love for the cagey vet. Hopefully we can give Shanny the warm ovation that he deserves (before kicking the crap out of his team).

So Long Shanny ...

Wednesday afternoon Larry Brooks reported that Brendan Shanahan has decided to open his options to teams other than the Rangers, since Glen Sather hasn't tendered an offer. Shanahan was proud to wear the Blueshirt and wanted to keep it on so he showed incredible patience and it simply didn't pay off. Hopefully it will pay off for him as he has one less month of wear and tear to start the season. I've looked at the pros and cons of re-signing him, I've sent him to court, I suggested he be player/coach ... I guess there is nothing left to do but wish him the best wherever he ends up.

With New York out of the picture, Puck Daddy and I share the same hope that Shanny returns to Detroit. I can't speak to Wysh's wishes but I want him to head to the Wings for several reasons:

1 - The Detroit fans appreciate Shanny as much as we did in New York and a classy veteran such as himself should be properly revered.

2 - The Red Wings are almost assured a playoff spot and are a likely contender for the Cup. It would be great to see Shanny get a chance to go out on top.

3 - Another Stanley Cup with the Wings may just be enough to get his #14 raised to the rafters of the Joe. The Hall of Fame is waiting for him but he has bounced around too much to cement a legacy with any one franchise. A fourth Cup in Motown could certainly help that cause. Few players in the history of hockey have had as much of an impact as Shanahan (he did help rewrite the rules to revive the game after the lockout) and most every one of them has had their numbers go up - Plante, Orr, Mikita, Howe, Gretzky, et. al.

4 - What could make the Winter Classic more special than having two of the game's elder statesmen in Shanny and Chelios out on the Wrigley Field ice having fun like they're kids again?

5 - And could you imagine Shanny skating on the Garden ice one last time ... in the Stanley Cup Finals?

Hey, a man can dream.

Hopefully Shanny's dream of playing in the NHL keeps coming true and he ends up on his feet, even if it isn't in New York or the Motor City. Best wishes Brendan and good luck ...

The Battle Over Brendan

Now Sam over at Rangers Report has been staying on top of the Brendan Shanahan situation and giving update after update but the bottom line is that a day before the season starts, we still don't know what the future holds for a certain Brendan Shanahan. When I was a kid, for big decisions my mom always said that I should write down the two options, and then scribble the pros and cons of each one. It was an easy device to analytically choose which way to go. So which way should the Rangers go with Shanny? Let's take a look at the pros and cons of each situation:

Brendan Shanahan Is Re-Signed

Pros:
*Adds 20 years of experience and three Stanley Cups to the locker room.
*Capable of playing in all situations.
*Will give everything he has every shift he takes.
*Almost certain to score 20 goals through his wicked shot on the power play.
*Handles media pressure well and will take some of the 'bullets' headed towards Drury.
*Even though the results of the Trial were inconclusive, the Garden faithful will certainly give Shanny a warm reception (and keep buying Shanahan merchandise).

Cons:
*Has slowed down in his advanced age.
*Getting more susceptible to injury.
*Will likely take a while to get into game shape after missing preseason.
*Missed Europe, which the team has already said was a tremendous bonding experience.
*Takes a roster spot from a player with potential.
*Could limit the development of the current younger leaders by taking the media pressure unto himself.

Brendan Shanahan Is NOT Re-Signed

Pros:
*Less jockeying to be done to get the team under the salary cap.
*Captain Drury is forced to speak up to the media, something Jagr didn't have to do with Shanny around, leading to more accountability.
*More movement on the power play as Shanny won't be there just sitting in the circle waiting to unleash his predictable one-timer.
*Don't have to worry about changing team chemistry at this point.
*Younger players have less competition for ice time - is Petr Prucha a NHL-level player?

Cons:
*Is Petr Prucha a NHL-level player? I'm not so sure.
*Fan backlash after Sather led Shanny on for so long.
*After seeing them during the preseason, who will score for the Rangers?
*If Drury doesn't step up and take responsibility in the media, the papers will likely hammer the team hard the first instant things go south.
*Shanahan signs somewhere else (Jersey) where he can come back and make the Rangers regret not signing him.

Final Answer?:
To be honest? I just don't know. Going over this list, I think that the right decision is to not re-sign Shanny. Frankly, I think that call sucks but the home opener is on Friday and you should dance with the date you brought, you know? The NHL doesn't have player/coaches anymore and that would be a perfect role for him to step into, especially on a team in transition like the Rangers. I am a big fan of his and would hate, hate to see him become a Devil or - even worse - outright retire. The man has done so much in his career and has done so much for the sport of hockey that he deserves a farewell tour. Let's hope he gets one ...

The Trial Of Brendan Shanahan

Hear ye, hear ye, will the First District Night Court of the Blogosphere please come to order!

The Honourable Harry T. Stone presiding.

Today we will hear the case of Brendan Shanahan v. New York Rangers. Mr. Shanahan will be represented by Mr. Scotty Hockey, while the Rangers will be defended by Mr. Glen Sather. The jury of New York Ranger fans will hear each of your arguments and decide the outcome of this case. Opening statements please.

Scotty Hockey: Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that my client, Mr. Shanahan has been disrespected by the defendant New York Rangers and seek to prove that, beyond the shadow of a doubt, they need to tender him a contract. Thank you.

Glen Sather: I feel that we, as an organization, have done nothing wrong, have no need to offer up a deal and will not do anything of the sort.

Judge: Alright gentlemen, I will begin hearing your arguments. The floor is yours Mr. Hockey.

SH: Thank you. I would like to submit into evidence Prosecutor's Item #1, the NHL Official Stats and Media Guide. Within it you will find the details of my clients famed NHL career. Take a listen to these numbers: 20 seasons played, three Stanley Cups won, 1471 points in 1667 games, including 120 in 160 for the defendants. And he got those while battling back from several major injuries that would have injured lesser players' careers.

GS: Your Honour, those numbers reflect the past, while we are an organization looking towards the future. Mr. Shanahan is 39 years old, there is no way he can duplicate those numbers now.

SH: I am just trying to present my client's history to show how much he has contributed in the past and the veteran leadership he can still provide.

Judge: I'll allow it. Want to see a magic trick?

GS: No, no I don't.

Judge: Yeah, I guess you see a disappearing act every day with all of that money you waste. Zing!

GS: Not funny your honour.

SH: [snickers] If it may please the court, I would like to summon a witness. Will Mr. Donald Brashear please take the stand ... Mr. Brashear, do you like the Rangers?

Donald Brashear: No.

SH: On the night of December 30th, 2006, what were you doing?

DB: Playing the Rangers.

SH: We knew that, I meant what were you doing during that game.

DB: The usual - hitting people, slashing, spearing, starting scrums after whistles. It's what I do.

SH: And what happened when my client, Mr. Shanahan, confronted you over your actions?

DB: He beat me up.

SH: Excuse me? Did you say that a 37 year old man beat you up?

DB: I'm not proud of it.

SH: Did you stop taking those aforementioned liberties? The hitting, slashing, spearing ...

DB: Yes.

GS: Your honour, if I may cross examine ... Mr. Brashear, the next time your played the Rangers, and every time since, did you continue to act the fool? I mean, did you continue to cause disarray on the ice by attacking skill players and starting confrontations?

DB: Of course, if I didn't, I wouldn't still be in NHL.

GS: I rest. If I may call my witness, Ms. Cindy Crosby to the stand? Ms. Crosby, when your Penguins beat the Rangers in five games last season, where was Mr. Shanahan?

Cindy Crosby: I don't know.

GS: She doesn't know. She DOESN'T KNOW! That is because Mr. Shanahan was invisible on the ice!!!

SH: Objection! Many of the Rangers were invisible in that series!

Judge: Sustained, prosecutor just present your case, don't make outrageous claims.

GS: Sorry your honour. I would now like to call Markus Naslund to the stand. Mr. Naslund, welcome to New York. Do you feel that you can still make an impact in the NHL?

Markus Naslund: I do. As you can see in that record book, I have played 14 seasons in the NHL and scored 823 points. I just got tired of Vancouver so I stopped playing as well.

GS: I find that hard to believe, as the captain of that team ...

MN: Hey, it's tough when your are the only scorer and opposing teams key in on you.

SH: If I may cross your honour? Mr. Naslund, you said you were the only scorer? Did you not play at times along the immensely talented Sedin twins?

MN: Well, yes but ...

SH: That is all, you may step down. Your Honour and members of the jury, Mr. Naslund scored 194 points over the last three seasons, had a plus/minus of -23 while playing in 245 regular season games. He also played in 12 playoff games and had just five points. My client, however, played in 222 games, had 189 points, was a plus +29 and did it while playing alongside several players less talented than the Sedins - Dawes, Callahan, Drury, Prucha ...

GS: But Naslund is younger and faster.

SH: And has never won a damn thing! Not to mention younger is meaningless when you signed the guy for just two years ...

Judge: [hanging gavel] Stop your bickering. You sound like Dan and Ms. Sullivan. Bailiff Bull, can you step in and separate these two? Geez. Once you two calm down you can offer up your closing arguments.

GS: It's my team and I can do whatever I want. Piss on old time hockey and piss on Shanahan. We don't need him, we have Mr. Naslund now. So suck on that Scotty.

SH: Ladies and gentlemen, the Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup this year and on their roster was a certain Chris Chelios. Chelios, an elder statesman who had already won two Cups, didn't play every game and scored just 12 points. But he was there when his team needed him and he provided the guidance needed to get that team to the promised land. This isn't an either/or thing with Mr. Shanahan and Mr. Naslund. We are stuck with Mr. Naslund after the drunken spending spree of Mr. Sather this summer so he will get plenty of minutes on the ice. But his presence doesn't render Mr. Shanahan useless. He wants to play in New York and he will do it at a discount.

GS: Bah, I already picked up Patrick Rissmiller and Dan Fritsche to fill out the roster and be useless grinders! I don't need Shanahan!!!!

Judge: Mr. Sather!! You already closed! Another word and I will hold you in contempt of court!

GS: [stamps feet, chomps on cigar]

Judge: I thought so. So I leave it to you, Ranger fans of the jury, to deliberate and determine a verdict. Place it in the comments and we will determine the sentence at a later date.

[Gavel]