'Allo Vigneault

The decisions has been made, Glen Sather has made the call: Alain Vigneault is the new head coach of the New York Rangers.

Yet again, the Manhattan team has settled for mediocrity instead of reaching for something better. Vigneault has been to the Stanley Cup Finals just once in 10-plus NHL seasons, and lost that one time with the Canucks being bested by the Bruins. He has one career championship, coming a quarter-century ago in the QMJHL.

But we don't care about championships in New York, we care about corporate money and that will come with consistent regular season success - something Vigneault had in his seven seasons in Vancity. Unlike his predecessor, AV is affable and easy going, and an easy sell to the suits. And, frankly, that is all that the Blueshirt bosses care about nowadays. They need to grab as much big business money as they can to help pay off the fan-unfriendly renovation.

Like his predecessor, Vigneault stuggles to make strategy changes and is a big fan of line juggling. He leans heavily on his stars and his team goes as far as they will take them. In Vancouver he was primarily a three-line guy, so don't expect the Rangers to pull a page out of the recent Cup winners' playbook and suddenly be a four-line team. He will give the forwards more freedom, to be sure, but that could expose our atrocious bottom three defensemen even more then they had been in the last few seasons.

Vigneault's power play, despite the telepathic link between the Sedins, went a below-average 15.8% ... the Rangers went 15.7% and the teams were 22nd and 23rd overall. For fellow fight fans, who knows what we will get: Vancouver had 28 majors last year to the Rangers' 18, but the season the Canucks went the distance they were 23rd overall (with 29, the Rangers were sixth with 62).

This particular coach is not big on this generation of kids: of the 36 players drafted by Vancouver from 2006-2011 just seven have played in the NHL and just two are regulars ... both with other teams (Hodgson and Grabner). This last season just five Canucks 25 years old or under played more than three games in the big league. That being said, there were plenty of home-grown Canucks on the roster - the Sedins, Burrows, Edler, Bieksa, Schneider, Kesler, Raymond, Hansen, etc.

Frankly, the hiring of Vigneault just looks like the NHL coaching carousel is going around, rearranging chairs on the deck of sinking ships. Sadly we know that with Glen Sather at the helm, the SS Rangers is not aiming towards the tropical waters of paradise but sailing through known seas simply trying not to hit icebergs.

Disappointing Opening Day Of Free Agency

Wow, is that a redundant headline or what? I mean, every opening day of free agency of Glen Sather's term has been disappointing to some degree or another. As the saying goes Trader Sather is a genius, Signer Sather is a fool.

And that fool continued to trouble Ranger fans as he tinkered with the team's roster. While he can't be blamed for Brandon Prust's greed, he can be hung for his idea of a replacement: Arron Asham. As he did with Donald Brashear, Sather signed one of the most loathed members of the opposition (who is all but certain to disappoint). Check that, two of the most loathed members - he also added Islander Micheal Haley.

Given that Asham has be-Deviled, be-Flyered, be-Penguined, be-Islandered the Blueshirts in the past all we can hope is that he does the same dirty, infuriating things against everyone else.

The signs are not good, especially when compared to the man he is replacing. In his career Asham has played in MSG 27 times and racked up all of one goal, one assist and 33 PIM. Asham has not played a full 82 game campaign his entire career; despite his injuries Prust did the last two seasons. Prust had nine shorthanded points in his last 164 games; Asham has three in 756. Asham blocked 40 total shots over the last three years, Prust blocked 51 this season. HOWEVER, the one good quality they share is that their teammates respond when they fight. I've mentioned the Prust stat a few thousand times and the Pens went 6-1-1 last season when Asham dropped the gloves (and he won too, going 7-1 in those bouts).

As for Haley, he is no more than a minor league neanderthal. With the group of prospects hitting Hartford this fall, it will be Haley's job to protect them. He has a long record with a good number of victories so hopefully he will intimidate the other teams into giving the kids who have futures some room.

Sadly Jonathan Audy-Marchessault won't be among them. The mite-sized scorer earned himself a spot in the Ranger franchise, earned himself a spot in the AHL All Star Game and Sather let him get away. It would have been nice to see JAM get a real shot with the Rangers, but that unlikely with Torts so at least Columbus will use him.

Another guy who had no future with the Rangers was Chad Johnson. Dos Nueve never earned the organization's trust but our old pal Maloney saw something and picked him up for the Coyotes. Like Al Montoya, he can go try to ply his trade in the desert.

John Mitchell is headed to the mountains as Colorado handed him a two-year deal. Tortorella may have loved him but few others did as he made some glaring mistakes and added virtually no offense.

Following that thread, Stu Bickel was re-signed by the Rangers. Tortorella's scapegoat, Stu will be back for two more seasons - or roughly a half hour of ice time - under the head coach's reign.

Kris Newbury also decided to return, taking a two-year, two-way contract. Heard he was a good team guy with the Whale so that will be good for the future Blue.

The near future is certain to see more moves, whether they be signings or trades. Gabby will be out for a while and, given the type of surgery, may never be the player he was again. So there is a mighty Nash/Parise/Whoever-sized hole in the lineup. It will be interesting to see which side of Sather addresses it.

Pryvet Sasha

Well, it is official, the Rangers have signed Alexander "Sasha" Frolov. The terms appear to be one year, $3 million.

I want to make it clear - as it perhaps was not yesterday - I don't hate Frolov. I hate what he stands for. He is the latest mercenary that Sather has signed to maintain this mediocre team's meager reputation. As I tweeted yesterday, I want the franchise to "Either go 4 the Cup or build a team that can win 1. Don't set the bar at 8th place." By bringing in another hired gun, that is all that they are doing.

Tortorella and Sather said all the right things last month to get season ticket holders to re-up: 'youth will be served' and 'the kids will get every chance to make the lineup this fall.' Now that is certainly not the case. Adding a top six winger ensures that any of the skill kids will be on the outside looking in. For all of the hype about Mats Zuccarello-Aasen, his spot on the roster has now been filled. As we saw last season with Corey Locke and PA Parenteau, you can't put a small skill guy on the third or fourth line and have them be effective. Now, unless an injury bug hits the Blueshirts hard, the only open spot on offense will be the time-share with the Boogeyman on the fourth line.

Having Frolov come in one a one-year deal is good in that he will be motivated. He should - emphasize should - be playing with a chip on a shoulder. He needs to prove that he is the 35 goal guy of four years ago who deserves a big money contract rather than the one who lost his top-six slot last season and managed just 19 before being unceremoniously dumped by his team. He could be a high-octane sniper who can come in and give Arty Anisimov some confidence. Replacing Arty's boyfriend Enver with a mentor who speaks his language hopefully will be quite the boon.

And that is all we can hope for. Youth will never be properly served in New York, no matter how much we may want it to be. The big brass feels that they have to ease it in one or two guys a season. It is incredibly frustrating because that isn't the way to build a Stanley Cup contender in today's league. I saw the Stanley Cup raised just feet away from me in Philadelphia last month so forgive me if I want to see it raised in New York sometime soon.

Oh Glen, You Did It Again

Not content to make waves with the horrific contract he gave out to the Boogeyman, Glen Sather has apparently wasted a roster spot on Alexander Frolov. (Player card to be added later, when this is made official - or should it still be if? I certainly won't bitch about money until then but anything more than two million would be ridiculous. This guy should get Boogaard money; I wish that wasn't chuckle-worthy.)

Right off the bat, let's call this Nik Zherdev Part Deux. Anyone want to set the over/under for how long it will take the enigmatic Russian to land in John Tortorella's doghouse? Frolov is a bit older - 28 - and has two 30+ goal seasons under his belt but, like Zherdev, he doesn't live up to his potential and he is just as one-dimensional.

And that one dimension really isn't that great. Just 13 of his 51 points last season came on the power play despite averaging 2:24 of man advantage ice time each night. Well hell, no wonder we signed him. Frolov will fit right in with our current bunch of power play failures. If only we can bring Perry Pearn back ...

Frolov, like Markus Naslund before him, is coming to New York after three straight seasons of declining production. In Frolov's case, he has actually amped up the number of shots he has taken the last two years but it clearly did not help.

Don't get me wrong, Frolov should help chip in a goal or two this season. But, seeing as the team has zero chance at winning the Stanley Cup, the roster spot would be far better spent on someone who would have a future with the team. All this signing does is declare the Blueshirts will again make their annual run at the eighth spot in the conference.

Mediocrity, thy home is MSG ... the perfect place for Alex Frolov.

Keep Bringin' The Pain

As if this free agency period wasn't bad enough, the Islanders added P.A. Parenteau and Zenon Konopka today.

Losing a Ranger to a rival always hurts and Parenteau is not an exception. He won over more than a few fans with his shootout skills. Of course, he still was little more than a complimentary player so letting the little man isn't a big deal. Hopefully another Hartford winger will take his place; perhaps Dale Weise, who could bring more size and toughness with a decent pair of hands.

Speaking of toughness, the Konopka deal kills me. The Rangers give one-dimensional goon Derek Boogaard a four year deal for stupid money, citing his age as the determining factor in their decision in selecting him over Shelley. But what reasoning could there be to pick him over Konopka? Konopka is only a year and a half older and took a one year deal.

I could get into Boogaard's failures as a deterrent; Mikka Koivu lost how many games because of cheap shots? The Tampa tough guy - along with Steve Downie-Syndrome - allowed Steve Stamkos to flourish last season into a superstar.

Konopka, like Shelley, was highly regarded as his teammates. No one in Minnesota has come out saying they will miss the Boogeyman, at least not that I have read. Boogey skates six minutes a night, Konopka eight. Konopka played in 17 more games and had 33 fight majors to Boogey's nine. And, AND Konopka ranked second on Tampa in faceoff percent with 62.5. If Boogey ever took a faceoff, well there would be something seriously, seriously wrong.

The Rangers could have gotten a goon like they wanted AND a worthwhile fourth line center. Instead we are looking at a fall with Brian Boyle coming back in that role. Brian Boyle. Playing alongside Boogaard. And some of us are paying to watch them play. How dumb are we?

Better question, how is it that every July 1st brings a spell of insanity in Sather? Or is it just stupidity? It is just a shame that Glen does his damnedest to avoid us fans so we will never get the answers.

The Derek Debate

The Rangers certainly know how to get people talking about them, despite the absence of a winning team and this afternoon's signing of Derek Boogaard certainly does it. It opens the floodgates with questions:

"Is this worse than the Brashear signing last year?"

"If you were going to give this much money away, why not re-sign Jody Shelley?"

"Does Glen Sather realize that it is 2010?"

"How soon until Boogaard gets Kasparaitis'd to the KHL?"

"Where will Boogaard go down in the ranks of Ranger goons? With Roman Ndur (thanks Jim!)? Shane Churla? Rudy Poeschek? Nick Fotiu?"

"Do you think you can skate better than Boogaard?"

Frankly, there are no answers just yet. It would be alright that Boogaard hasn't scored a goal in four years if he was a big fighter but he had just nine fight majors last season - not enough to rank in the top 40 tough guys in the league. Sure he went 8-1-1 according to Hockey Fights but who cares? The guy plays three out of every four games, skates just over six minutes per game and adds nothing offensively. Sounds just about right for someone getting a four-year contract worth $1.65 million per. Right?

It is astounding how Sather can be so good at trading players and so very, very stupid when it comes to signing them.

And Hank's New Backup Is ...

Martin Biron.

Glen Sather went for an aging player who's best days are behind him. What a surprise. The failure on the Fishermen probably came highly recommended by Chris Drury, who's advice is worth as much as his point total - virtually nothing. Ales Kotalik was highly recommended by the captain and look what happened there.

Biron was a stellar goaltender ... in 2001.

He was a decent goaltender ... in 2007.

He was a terrible goaltender last year.

See a trend there? The Blueshirts picked up a guy who's numbers have gone up each of the last two seasons while his number of starts have gone down. The fact that he played behind the horrible Isles last season is irrelevant - a good goaltender on a bad team would still be able to put up a decent save percentage, just look at anyone who played net for Florida since their inception. Biron's was below .900.

A good backup goaltender needs to be able to come in to give the team a chance to win, and there were far better goaltenders out there. That being said, when Glen decided that Chad Johnson simply was not good enough yet to play in the NHL, he set himself upon finding a veteran. He got one and at a good price - even in the saturated market of netminders, few vets were likely desperate enough to take a deal for 875k. Glen found one that would. Alex Auld, last season's stopgap, took one million from Montreal. Hope that 125k is worth losing an additional few games ... just the difference between making the playoffs and not.

I hope that Hank can handle another 70 start season.

Interpreting Sather-Speak

If you have yet to see it, Larry Brooks caught up with Glen Sather (likely in Philadelphia after the GM meetings) and the Ranger GM actually spoke to him. Sather didn't call him out, nobody got beat up at the bus stop ... actual quotes about the Rangers. Now, let's face it, Glen's MO is to ignore the press and do whatever he wants so why now?

Well, the season subscription renewal date is Monday, June 14th.

My guess is that they aren't getting the numbers they wanted so the big brass told Glen to open the door a little to give the common folk a ray of hope. Seeing as the wait list disappeared over the course of last summer and attendance last season was at its lowest since before the lockout, something had to be done.

And that brings us back to the article. Let's go through it, blow-by-blow, and interpret what Sather was saying:

“We can go over and over why we failed to get the one point that would have put us in, we can find a lot of excuses for it, but losing [Ryan] Callahan and [Sean] Avery the last couple of weeks really hurt our forecheck, and not having [Marian] Gaborik at full strength after the Olympics was a major blow for us.

Or 'I built a good team and my coach did a good job butcha can't do nothin bout injuries ... the hockey gods are cruel bitches.'

"But you know, every team can find excuses why they fell short. We just weren’t quite good enough over the course of the season. But if we had won that final game, would we have been tough enough to compete in the playoffs the way the Flyers have? Could we be where they are now? I think so.”

'You do realize that I built teams that have won Cups before so of course this team could have won the Cup, had things worked out.' Do you think he would say anything else? "If we had won that final game"? C'mon. If I had just picked the right numbers, I would have won the lottery.

“We have to get better,” Sather acknowledged. “And the way we’re going to get better is by staying within our organization and giving our prospects the time to grow and the opportunity to play in New York."

'Because we missed the playoffs and lost the extra revenue, Dolan won't let me overspend on any big free agents like I want to so I'm stuck with what we have. And kids are the only ones who will fit under the cap thanks to the contracts I gave Redden, Rozy, Drury, Gabby and Hank.'

“This has been a long process, and it’s ongoing, but as we go into this summer, our plan is to keep our own players. I can tell you one thing — we are certainly not going to overpay for free agents. If we can improve with a signing that makes sense, we’ll look into it, but we want to give our guys the first shot.”

'You have waited a decade for me to build a winner, so what is another year? And if I can figure out a way to sneak a signing past the boss - or can come up with some convoluted excuse - you had better believe that I am spending money.'

“I told Donald [Brashear] this week that he would not be playing for the Rangers,” Sather told Slap Shots. “After the statements he made, absolutely not; that was the end of it.”

'After I gave him that much money, he hurt my feelings and the big meaniehead can rot in the minors.'

On defenseman Marc Staal and Dan Girardi: “Those two guys are part of our core; of course we’re signing them.”

'The options on the market aren't as appealing as these guys, especially since they are RFAs and I can screw them if I want to.'

“We want to keep Shelley, it’s just a question of whether and when we can get it done,” Sather said. “We want to keep Vinny, and I think we should be able to do that if the contract request isn’t out of whack.”

'If these two guys don't want raises, we will bring them back. Vinny has to take a discount though.'

On Wisconsin senior defenseman Ryan McDonagh and junior center Derek Stepan: “We’d like to get them in and have them earn jobs.”

'If McDonagh makes it, it helps justify my Gomez deal and Stepan was good at the WJC so I remember his name.'

“We’re excited to see whether [Evgeny] Grachev and [Dale] Weise and some of our other kids can earn jobs.

'Jim Schoenfeld is excited to see if Grachev and Weise and some of the other kids can earn jobs and he won't shut up about it.'

“We just didn’t have enough last year, and certainly after the Olympics, Gaborik — our best player — was just a shadow of himself. He just didn’t have the explosiveness or speed."

'Damn Olympics, I hope Bettman takes my players out of that silly tournament. The games were past my bedtime.'

“But we’re looking forward. And we’re excited about it. We’re building an organization where we’re going to have serious competition for jobs at training camp. There are 23 spots and they’re going to the best 23."

'Please buy season tickets. Pretty please?'

“A player’s contract isn’t going to get him a spot on the team if he doesn’t earn it, and that goes for everyone. Everyone is fighting for a job. They all know that. If they don’t, they should.”

'Jimmy D threatened my job and shit rolls downhill so someone had better step up because I am sure as shit not going anywhere. Muahahahahaha.'

Hmmm ...

Press release from the Rangers:

Rangers alternate captain Ryan Callahan, last year's winner of the team's Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award, is in the running for another honor this season -- the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award...

What does it say when Cally gets the call for consideration for a leadership award while the actual New York Rangers team captain, Chris Drury, does not?

Good Job Glen

"We think that Brashear gives you a couple of other things. He is quicker (then Colton Orr), he can get under the puck a little faster and under the style of game we are going to play we think he will be more effective for us."--Glen Sather on a conference call on July 1st.

Colton Orr: 55 games, two goals, two assists, -3, 112 PIM, 12 fights

Donald Brashear: 36 games, 0 goals, one assist, -9, 73 PIM, nine fights

So What Now?

If you haven't heard the news yet, Vinny Prospal will be out for around three weeks after undergoing surgery this morning. Apparently he suffered a lateral meniscus tear during the Islander game, which explains why he played so poorly. Even though he disappears for big stretches at a time, Prospal has been a big part of the Rangers this season and leaves a big void. So what can we do? This is how I see it:

*Option #1: Put Erik Christensen back into the lineup and juggle everyone else around. The Blueshirts dealt with Dubi being out, this really isn't much different. Christensen hasn't really gotten himself a chance to shine as of yet, so maybe this is the opportunity he needs. HOWEVER, January is a ridiculously busy month with 16 games so they might feel too desperate to give Crosby's former running partner a real chance - as they haven't to date.

*Option #2: Call up Corey Locke. Locke is the AHL's leading scorer with 41 points in 34 games with Hartford and has them above .500 at 16-13-5 despite poor goaltending. Valley has a 0.890 save percentage in seven games down there (he is 3-3-1 in case you were curious) and Matt Zaba has been even worse. Locke is undersized but a great puck mover and may just click with a sniper like Gabby. HOWEVER, if the Rangers call up Locke, I believe they risk losing him through waivers on the way back down, which is almost a certainty for any other team that wants to win this season's Calder Cup.

*Option #3: Trade for someone. Sather loves dealing with Phoenix, Robert Lang has 20 points in 39 games and makes just a million bucks so he would be a great fit. HOWEVER, you can be sure Maloney will ask for a high draft pick and a prospect in return - he's no dummy, especially with Sather on the ropes. Plus Phoenix is doing quite well right now despite their ownership so maybe not. Maybe an underachiever like Edmonton's Patrick O'Sullivan would be someone Sather would look at but the 24 year old is just 24 and makes more money so the cost would be high. Is he worth Bobby Sanguinetti and a pick?

*Option #4: Somehow make some cap space and swing a waiver deal with Washington for Michael Nylander. Nylander has 14 points (13 assists) in 11 games with Grand Rapids and knows New York. The Caps would love nothing better than to get rid of him and his salary. HOWEVER, even at half price, the slow 37 year old would have a $1.5 million cap hit for the rest of this season and a $2.4 million hit for next year (thanks CapGeek!).

*Option #5: Go completely off the map, make some massive trade for another half-dead, bloated loser who will hang around the Rangers neck like the albatrosses of Redden, Rozsival and Drury. HOWEVER, what kind of sane general manager would do that?

Personally, I believe that the team will go with the first option for a little while before panicking and making a move of any kind - let's face it, there are other problems that have to be dealt with as well (Kotalik, you SUCK! Three million dollars a year for three years of what? YOUUUUU SUUUUUCK!!!). But, seeing as this is Glen Sather we are talking about, I would lean towards the final option and just be pleasantly surprised if he doesn't drop the ball ...

So Much For Celebrating

Just got his news in:

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that defensemen Bobby Sanguinetti and Ilkka Heikkinen have been assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Guess that means Redden will return on Monday. Maybe Hobey Gilroy too?

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!

The Hockey News has finally realized that Glen Sather is an utter failure as the GM of the Rangers!

"... Sather keeps swinging and missing like a blindfolded kid at a piñata party in a wind tunnel ..."

What is it with MSM guys taking so long to realize what us fans have known for so long? First Brooksie, now Proteau?!? Are they blinded by their desire to remain "objective"? That, in itself, is a joke but I won't get into my ethics and journalism rant. Sather may be a horrible GM, but he may just be the smartest man in hockey - you have to be brilliant to be so very, very bad and stay completely out of the line of fire. And he has.

The Ranger Pundit, a diligent fan for more than 70 seasons, long ago dubbed Sather the Stealth GM. As usual, he is right on the money. By being a recluse, Sather has no media presence and zero interation with the fans. At the Garden we joke that we need to hire some hookers to infiltrate the organization as interns so Sather can pull an Isiah and thus be fired. For every good move Sather has made during his tenure, he has made three others that are horrific. I mentioned to some friends the other day that we have to pray for another labour stoppage when the CBA runs out so they can get another round of those no-penalty buy-outs so we can rid ourselves of Dru, Redden and Rozy.

Think about that.

It will take a second horrific season without hockey for the Rangers to have any chance of success in the near future. That's pathetic. Just like the Bible of Hockey taking a decade to see what we have said from the start.

Sather has got to go.

Monday Meanderings

No proper Peepin' Foes for the Pens, as we just played them. Sorry, just some random notes:

*Matt Cooke got two games for his hit on Arty. A guy with a history of trying to hurt people getting a slap on the wrist. It is like being suspended from school for these guys - ooo, you miss your friends but hey, you don't have to go to school. These guys get a nice break from the long grind and they are multimillionaires, losing two day's worth of salary means a whole lot less than it would to you or I.

*Denis Potvin has been on NHL on the Fly a bit lately. He still sucks.

*Which "calming" presence that was missing on Saturday do you think was a bigger factor in the loss? No Hank or no Redden? Yeah, thought so.

*The Rangers will certainly claim a complete sellout for tonight's tussle with the Pens but the building won't be full again. Rangers Ticket Exchange had 864 seats being sold by season ticket holders remaining at 2 p.m. and plenty more were available on eBay. Prices are too high and the product isn't entertaining enough.

*If Glen Sather ever had the nerve to talk to the fans - you know, be accountable to the people he is supposed to entertain - I can only imagine his explanation for having Donald Brashear making more than a million bucks when you can have the younger, cheaper, more mobile Dane Byers on the lineup. Dane beat up a baby Isle over the weekend, accounting himself well despite the presence of visors. Is he a heavyweight? No. Do the Rangers need a heavyweight? Brash hasn't been one all season, so why not save the money?

*I will not, NOT stop lamenting the loss of Blair Betts - even with Bettsy on the IR for the second time this season. Brian Boyle is a waste of a jersey (what an offensive improvement, he has three points, Betts has two - and in 12 less games) and the Rangers are a woeful 47.3% in the faceoff circle. Sorry Torts, you can't play your all offense, puck possession style if you can't get the puck. Hopefully Dubi will come back and improve upon the percentage a bit but Drury, Boyle and Arty need a lot more practice or, better yet, need to be replaced.

I'm sure there is more but I have to get moving. Catch you guys tonight with a recap of the game ...

*Sniffles*

Philadelphia Flyers announce:

The Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have signed 6'3", 210-pound center Blair Betts to a one-year contract.
...
"Blair came to our camp on a try-out and has earned this opportunity," said [Paul] Holmgren. "We are happy to have him on our team. He will bring experience and depth to our roster."

I make no bones about it, Bettsy was a favourite. It will be tough to see him playing for the Flyers but it's good that a hard working, honest player like him got a job. So congrats and good luck Bettsy, just not against us.

As Expected ...

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with unrestricted free agent defenseman Alexei Semenov.

Semenov, 28, skated in 47 games with San Jose last season, registering one goal and eight points, along with 57 penalty minutes. He established career-highs in games played, assists (seven) and points. In addition, Semenov skated in his 200th career NHL game on March 7 at Vancouver.

The 6-6, 245-pounder has skated in 211 career regular season contests with the Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers and San Jose Sharks, recording seven goals and 26 assists for 33 points, along with 249 penalty minutes. In 2003-04, Semenov represented Edmonton at the NHL All-Star Weekend as a participant in the NHL YoungStars Game, registering one assist in the contest. As a rookie in 2002-03, Semenov notched his first NHL assist on January 20 at Calgary and tallied his first NHL goal on February 7 against Calgary.

Prior to joining the professional ranks, Semenov skated in 158 career OHL contests over three seasons with the Sudbury Wolves, registering 30 goals and 80 assists for 110 points, along with 269 penalty minutes. He captured the Max Kaminsky Trophy, as the most outstanding defenseman as voted by the OHL general managers, following the 2000-01 season.

The Murmansk, Russia native was originally Edmonton’s second round choice, 36th overall, in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.

Wow, Glen Sather signing a Glen Sather draft pick. What a surprise. Semenov has showed some skills during the preseason but has also shown just how bad he can be. He will be fine for a seventh defenseman but I have a bad feeling that he will become Igor Ulanov and end up as a hated part of the regular rotation. At least he comes cheaper than Ulanov did; Gross says one year, just over 500k. Still, he isn't a defenseman opposing coaches have to plan against ...

Catching Up

I wanted to leave that letter up over the weekend and in the meantime a lot has come to pass in terms of Ranger news so please bear with me as there is a bunch to cover. Before I get to it, I just wanted to say thanks to Patrick Hoffman and the Four Habs Fans. Patrick interviewed me yet again and the Habs Fans asked for my input on their two new additions - Paul Mara and Scott Gomez (yet to be posted, but you can be sure it isn't positive). Well, time to look at all that has happened and sadly, a lot of it isn't positive either:

*"Shut Up & Play" huh? It's not a bad motto for the 09-10 Ranger campaign but it is certainly no Commit To The Indian. Of course, I'm not so sure it was decided as a modus operandi so much as a veiled threat at Brandon Dubinsky. (Thanks to Andrea for the graphic!)

*Which leads to Dubi and his contract situation. I am not sympathetic at this point. It was a nice try, playing hardball and all, but it was bound for failure. Especially when you are in no position to negotiate and you are bargaining with a hard-line Hall of Famer who's untouchable and arrogant. Sather called Sean Avery a detriment to the team after he turned them into winners, think about what Glen has to have said to Dubi. Is Dubi asking for too much? Probably not, especially considering the contracts that Voros, Rissmiller and Brashear all were handed. But at the same time, Sather had to seduce them to come to Broadway and he has Dubi bent over a post. The kid has an opportunity to shine with Gabby, if he sucked it up for a season and racked up the points, he could improve his bargaining position. For now, he's just screwed. You know that in a non-salary capped world Sather would have brought someone else in already anyway ...

*Kyle McLaren's bad back screwed up his chance at a NHL job so the Rangers are trying out the massive Alexei Semenov. Semenov's size is certainly needed and appreciated but his distinct suckiness is not. Yes, I said suckiness. This guy was the bane of San Jose fans' lives because he lumbered around the ice. Sure, he fought on occasion - so he has something over former sasquatch Marek Malik - but Sather signed Brash so we don't need to have two oversized, underskilled wastes of roster spots.

*Sather's insistence on bringing in outside assistance for the blueline speaks volumes on his opinion of the prospects of the Ranger youth. Why bring a McLaren, Semenov, Seidenberg, Babchuk, whoever when you have six, seven legitimate defenders? Unless you don't think they are legitimate (and perhaps one isn't as he is already crying)... but this goes back to the whole refuse-to-rebuild-from-within mental block that Sather has and we should expect it by now.

*While I love the thought of seeing Dan LaCouture back in a Blueshirt, the same veteran vs. prospect thing goes for him too. I loved watching LaCouture play the first time around because he hustled like hell and he stood up for his teammates. Well, he still does both but someone like Dane Byers can do it better as he has an offensive upside as well as a few years on his side. LaCouture might be a good veteran presence for Hartford though, so let's hope that he can hang on and earn a two-way deal.

*The Wolf Pack are playing the AHL Devils at the Rock on Wednesday afternoon in a free game as part of a day/night doubleheader with the big boys. Seeing as the first wave of Ranger camp cuts isn't until Thursday, it will be quite telling to see who they choose to put in Pack jerseys. The bigger question is, aside from a hockey geek like myself who already took the day off, who the hell is going to show up for a 1 pm hockey game in Newark?

*Anyone else see that Ryan Hollweg was invited to the Coyotes camp? Too funny. Damn shame that kid had no restraint because he had potential to be a good checking forward with his speed and persistence. Other interesting invitations are Panthers decision to give Christian Backman a shot (somehow I don't think he can be an adequate replacement for Jay Bouwmeester, just a hunch) and Calgary doing the right thing to let Theo Fleury attempt to redeem himself. I'll definitely be rooting for him.

*It is kind of surprising that Atlanta hasn't given Nik Zherdev at least a tryout. Brooksie said Z was back on Broadway begging for a deal but Atlanta makes so much more sense. First, Z clearly was uncomfortable in the limelight here in NY and there really isn't much light at all on southern hockey. Management down in the A-T-L is catering to Kovalchuk in an effort to get him to stay after next season and you have to imagine that he likes the thought of a line with him on one side, Z on the other and Borat in the middle.

*All the invitations mean little as there simply aren't many spots up for grabs in most organizations. Of course, there appears to be several positions up for the Rangers - third defensive pairing, fourth line center, first line center, first line winger ... oh wait, we have that Gaborik guy. Yeah, like I said, that spot is up for grabs. The guy is already sore and sitting out and he has hardly stepped on the ice! Not a good sign at all so I'm setting the over/under at 20 games played this season. That's three more than last year and I think trainer Jim Ramsay can duct tape Gabby together for at least that many.

*Getting back to the Dubinsky thing for a second - should this thing really drag out and the kid is forced out of the lineup, what do you think about trying Michael Nylander in a waiver acquisition a la Avery? Sure he is slow and frustrating to watch and entirely not a Tortorella-type player but he always managed to produce. For the games that Gaborik does dress for, he will need a center to get him the puck and there aren't many alternatives out there. And once Gabby goes on long term injured reserve, the Rangers can grab Jagr back after the Olympics and put the band back together!! (Only a little sarcasm there.)

*Perhaps Glen can think up a trade. Personally, I've always liked the thought of Jason Spezza as a Ranger so why not make something happen? Given their deal with the Sharks, the Senators seem quite willing to write off the next season or two and Dubinsky plus Rozy and a high pick (one of the packages bandied about for Heatley) could be enough to get Spezza, right? Reports out of Ottawa said he was a disappointment last season and a slow start this fall could wear out the rest of his welcome. Dubi and the pick would help boost the Sens youth movement with Foligno, Shannon, Lee and company while Spezza would give the Rangers a legit first-line center. I can dream, right?

Luckily the dream of a new season is just beginning as the puck drops at the Garden tomorrow. Oh baby, let's get this party started!!!

Good Luck Bettsy

Puck Central picked up on some tweets that Blair Betts will be trying out for the Flyers.

Well, that sucks.

Not for Bettsy, he certainly deserves a shot to stay in the NHL and it is a damn shame that the Rangers brought in a coach who believes that Henrik Lundqvist can take care of the defensive zone all by himself. Bitter much? Yes, yes I am. He was my favourite Ranger, after all.

All Bettsy did was give his heart and soul to the team, night in and night out - something very (VERY) few Rangers have done over the last two seasons. I still believe that he did more to deserve a letter on his chest than any of the shmos who wore one last season. After the idiot Brashear knocked him out, the Caps came back and scored two power play goals the next game. Coincidence? Not at all. But what's done is done and Bettsy's Ranger career is over.

As for his chances with the Broad Street Bullies, I would have to say that are slim. Up top they have Briere, Carter and Richards - all of whom can switch to wing but are natural centers - and then they have Claude Giroux, Ian Laperriere, Krys Kolanos and a couple of kids battling down on the bottom of the depth chart. The Flyers already had a good penalty kill (sixth in the NHL last year) and, let's face it, Bettsy doesn't bring any offense to the table. Honestly, as much as it hurts to say, I thought Betts would have been a much better fit for the Devils, as they let John Madden go this summer. But even if he doesn't make it to Broad Street, a good camp could land him offers elsewhere and that's all one can ask for. It will certainly be tough to see see him don anything other than a Blueshirt but hockey is a business and all that crap so at least the man has a shot to keep a job. And you certainly can't begrudge him that.

Best wishes Bettsy, and thanks for everything.

”The saddest thing in life is wasted talent.”

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 ...

Bashing Brash, Day 5

As I mentioned Monday, I am posting some Donald Brashear YouTubage this week.

This week's final selection is still fresh in our minds, and yet was somehow easily ignored by Glen Sather and you defenders out there. Witness the latest egregious act by the animal:



Well, wasn't that fun viewing? Certainly a solid way to cap off a week of lowlights from the lowlife. Hopefully this will be the last we will see of Donald's dastardly acts; I don't want to have a regular feature here bashing Brash this fall. But we don't always get what we want now, do we?