Big Decision, Big Decision

Lost amid the celebration that followed the firing of John Tortorella is the fact that these are dangerous times for the New York Rangers. We sit upon the very precipice of long term success or long term failure and the replacement bench boss will have a big say in which way the franchise heads.

Failure, by the way, includes mediocrity - the malady that infected the Blueshirts for season after season in the post-94 era. Sure the team has at least made the playoffs in recent history but, as Vin Scully has said, "good is not good enough when better is expected."

And better is expected. The bar was raised last season and, despite Dolan's virtual disinterest in the Rangers, he does care about his wallet. It is a fat wallet he opened to rebuild the Garden after his mouth ruined hopes of a new building. Nearly a billion bucks have been spent on an aesthetically pleasing, physically uncomfortable remodeling and now it's time to start making money again. They expect to recoup all of that cash in the next five years so where will that revenue come from?

Victory.

Nothing sold the Rangers and nothing sold the sport of hockey like the lone New York championship in the last 73 years. They made it to the Finals three times in the 54 years between Cups and have yet to get that far in the last 19. So there are veeeeerrry narrow windows for success in this town and, for all of the flaws and holes in the lineup, the players that make up the current core of the Big Apple are in or are entering their prime. Either they will take the next step toward Stanley, or they will wither on the vine.

There are no blue chippers coming to camp this fall, no saviours waiting in the wings. Glen Sather cut short the rebuild by buying Richard$ and selling three True Blue and a top pick for Nash, among other moves. Recent draft selections have been projects and are still years away. The kids contained in the current lineup are pretty much all that is in the cupboard and the new coach will have to look through it to figure out what he can make of the shattered pieces left by the last bench boss.

That being said, for all of Glen's failures - and there have been many over the dozen-plus years of his tenure - he has been accommodating of his coaches. Renney took the Czechs as far as they could go and wanted a more North American north-south team so Sather signed Drury and Gomez. Torts wanted familiar foot soldiers he could order around so Sather got Fedotenko and Richard$. So it can be certain that the new shot caller will have the mercenaries he wants to implement his philosophies.

Glen shouldn't hire an old buddy or someone who has some impressive hand writing. Taking someone off the coaching carousel brings expectations and baggage and the best of those candidates haven't had the best history when it comes to the Cup, i.e. Ruff and Vigneault. Speaking of history, it is easy to see Sather going the Gretzky or Messier route - not only are they old friends who had some success in a former life, but they also are 'names' that can sell Dolan on the thought they can sell tickets. Because fans pay to watch the guys behind the bench. /sarcasm

Dave Tippett has a nice track record, and everyone knows Glen's relationship with Phoenix. But who knows if the former Star is interested in leaving the desert.

The rebuild is over but that doesn't mean that young blood can't build this team into a winner. Just as Jeff Gorton has helped refresh the Rangers front office, someone outside of the OBN (Old Boys' Network) needs to bring new ideas behind the bench. Davis Payne and Guy Boucher weren't bad before being undone by abominable goaltending and the AHL guys out there - Dallas Eakins, Mark French (just went to the KHL), Willie Desjardins - have shown signs they can succeed in in the show.

But whoever Sather selects will have little time to implement his strategy. This team needs to win, and soon.

Or else. 

Ice Hockey In Arlington?

It sure would make one helluva rink, right? From its Wiki:

Cowboys Stadium is a domed stadium with a retractable roof in Arlington, Texas, for the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys. It replaced the open-air Texas Stadium, which opened in 1971, as the Cowboys' home. It was completed on May 29, 2009 and seats 80,000, but is expandable to seat up to 111,000.

The stadium is the largest domed stadium in the world, has the world's largest column-free interior, and the largest video screen hung from 20 yard line to 20 yard line. [9] The facility can also be used for a variety of other activities outside of its main purpose (professional football).

Tickets would have to be quite cheap to get over 100,000 people to pay to watch the Stars but still, what a sight that could be. Maybe they should keep the Winter Classic up north but what about something special? I know the All-Star Game was in Dallas in 2007 so it isn't due to come again anytime soon but - should the NHL bail out from the Olympics and should they revive the World Cup of Hockey - Cowboys Stadium would make for a mighty host for the final game ... What do you think?

The First Sign Of Fall!!

After sitting on the computer and reading the 16,000th 'why haven't they signed Dubinsky' comment and the retread rumours of the signings of Chris Chelios and/or Francis Boullion and the 1,800th permutation of the Rozy for Richards deal, I finally found some relief down in Penn Station.

No, not the same kind of relief that many of the homeless find in those dimly-lit, disgusting concourses but the kind of relief from the summer doldrums that comes with the first hockey preview guide of the summer. One of the magazine stores had The Hockey News' Ultimate Fantasy Pool Guide 2009-10.

Now, while it felt wonderful to make the official start to the build up to the start of the preseason, even I have to admit that this is a bit early. The guide, which has a newsstand kill date of October 27th, is already out of date on August 15th. The Hockey News clearly finished it up a month ago as it still has the Korpedo as a Ranger (traded on July 13th) and projects Nik Zherdev to score 63 points for the Blueshirts (officially ditched on August 4th). They do, however, have a big ad right up front for Dobber Hockey, which is a certainly a site you want to head to if you are serious about fantasy. If you are, do your research there and elsewhere online, rather than blowing eight bucks on old news. If you play in a easy-going league and just want to see who is out there and have something by your side during the draft, this book lists a good number of the NHL players and prospects and includes a blank page where you can set up your own draft list.

Getting past the fact that the issue is behind the times, a few other observations I have:

*In their projections THN has Matt Gilroy not only making the Rangers, but being the power play quarterback and collecting 45 points, two more than Chris Higgins, 13 more than Rozy and 15 more than Redden. Marc Staal comes in with 17, one less than Aaron Voros. Yeah. As for our snipers - Gaborik is rightly red flagged as an injury risk but even with seven missed games, their prognosticator sees him putting up 94 points. Now that would be awesome. On the other hand Ales Kotalik, who is still listed as a UFA, will only play 70 games and collect 40 points. Their advice? "Only consistency is that he's a consistent disappointment. Don't bother." If only this came out last month and Sather read it!

*THN doesn't differentiate between '09-10 salary and cap hit. Sean Avery at two million bucks = steal. Sean Avery at four mil? Just ask the Stars what they think.

*It helps pick out some stars for this season by pointing out who will be UFAs after the year. Seeing as many players step up their game when it's contract time, this is clutch.

*They blow the whistle on a couple of sleepers I have my eye on, so hopefully if we are in a league together, you will have listened and not bought the book so I can still grab them in late rounds. No, I won't tell you who they are.

*There are a ton of good stats in the back of the book, which reinforce my desire to find a league that counts hits and fighting majors instead of penalty minutes and adds blocked shots. If you know of any, let me know.

Speaking of which, I always fall into the trap of getting draft happy and start 12, 15 teams each fall. A word of advice to everyone, keep an eye on what the categories are in the leagues you sign up for. Players who might be huge in some leagues, may not be as important as in others and if you overextend yourself like I do, you end up picking up the same guys across the board.

And finally, I mentioned a while back that I was guiding the Rangers in the Cycle With The Sedins re-draft of the league. The goal is to build a team that both does well in a simulated season on NHL10 and one that is approved by a panel of 'experts.' We've gotten through eight rounds and I've only disappointed myself with one pick so far (which, for me, is pretty good):

1-20 (20) - New York Rangers - Miikka Kiprusoff
2-11 (41) - New York Rangers - Dan Boyle
3-20 (80) - New York Rangers - Derek Roy
4-11 (101) - New York Rangers - Chris Kunitz
5-20 (140) - New York Rangers - Jason Arnott
6-11 (161) - New York Rangers - Marc Staal
7-20 (200) - New York Rangers - Nick Schultz
8-11 (221) - New York Rangers - Jason Pominville

The full draft board is here. That lone disappointment? Picking Nick Schultz instead of Fedor Tyutin, who was snapped up by New Jersey right after me (yet another reason to hate the Devils). Don't get me wrong, Schultz is a helluva defensive defenseman, but Toots and Staalsie? Reunited? Could have felt so good ...

Speculation

Everyone is now reporting Marian Hossa is headed to Chicago. That means they won't be able to re-sign Marty Havlat. Havlat is a cheaper alternative - think Sather goes after him? He is another high risk/high reward considering his injury history (and being Kronwalled) but Mr. X from the Blue Seats and I discussed him earlier this season around deadline time and we agreed, he would look nice in Blue. We will see ...

Sunday Speculation

The Rangers are 4-0 so why mess with a good thing? Because it is a slow Sunday and the boys in blue don't play until tomorrow so speculating will make for a fun past time!

First off, lets look at a few things we have seen so far:

1 - Wade Redden and Dmitri Malik Kalinin are as terrible defensively as advertised, but Redden is coming through on the other side of the ice so we will give him a pass for now. Kalinin has had no redeeming qualities.
2 - Despite being given power play time, space on the ice and good linemates, Nigel Dawes hasn't been able to recapture that sniper's edge he flashed last season.
3 - The same can be said for Petr Prucha, who hasn't been able to recapture anything except a spot in the pressbox.
4 - Patrick Rissmiller has been adequate but Dan Fritsche and Freddie Sjostrom bring more to the table in a fourth line slot.
5 - Lauri Korpikoski has a bright future ahead of him, but there will be growing pains before he gets there.

With those five things in mind, what can we do about them? Perhaps a little wheeling and dealing? So grab your Glen Sather cigar and think about who we can target in fair and reasonable deals (and some not so fair or reasonable) and let's start some rumours!

*Let's start big: Redden and a conditional draft pick to Florida for Jay Bouwmeester. The pick will depend on if the Rangers can re-sign the young defenseman at the end of this year. McCabe is already out so the Panthers get an established veteran to base their defense around for the next six years while the Rangers get a younger, bigger player who has yet to show his best stuff. As I mentioned, Redden has shown he still has some offensive skills, but Bouwmeester knows how to play defense too.

*Petr Prucha to Edmonton for Steve Staios. The Oilers get another young, quick skater and the Rangers beef up their blueline with a solid, experienced defender.
OR
*Petr Prucha to Phoenix for Enver Lisin. Lisin is really, really fast and uses it on both sides of the ice. He also didn't endear himself to the Coyotes by refusing to go to the AHL two years back and was barely given a cup of coffee last year. The Russian will find some Brighton Beach comfort in New York and would be a great compliment to Cheraponov if he ever comes over to the States. Prucha has experience, a willingness to work and a scoring touch - Gretzky will just have to work to find it.

*Patrick Rissmiller to Nashville for Ville Koistinen. Koistinen is a Finnish puck moving defenseman who went to arbitration last season and is low on the Preds depth chart. Rissmiller is responsible defensively with good size and some offensive upside that has yet to be tapped (and won't be on the Rangers).

*Malik Kalinin to the Islanders for 'considerations.' They add an experienced defenseman and we get back cap space, while improving our defense with addition through subtraction.

I also figure we hold onto Dawes because he really does have some skills and he just needs everything to click. Unlike Prucha, Dawes hasn't gotten chance after chance after chance to stick. Let's give him them. And all the Kor-pedo needs is time, he has already shown so much in so little time and is well worth a little patience when the times get tough.

So what do you think?

Back In The Times

The New York Times blog solicited my input yet again, trying to get a Ranger fan's perspective on the upcoming Hudson River battle. Please check it out here! You can clearly see that I give a fair analysis of how we will win, rather than the clouded delusions of John Fischer from In Lou We Trust, who somehow thinks that going 1-7 against us this year is meaningless. He also mentioned the "Rock The Red" campaign that the Devils are pitching but if I were them, I wouldn't want to associate myself with the Bloods so deep in the ghetto ...

And, on a lighter note, I might as well put my other predictions out there, if only to be proven wrong in a few weeks:

EAST
(1) Montreal vs (2) Boston: Montreal in seven. This Original Six matchup should be quite the battle as the Habs like to play offense while the Bruins play the Devils' defense.

(2) Pittsburgh vs (7) Ottawa: Pittsburgh in six. Ottawa has been reeling of late. Neither team has solid goaltending but the Pens have a better offense as Sens star Daniel Alfredsson is out with an injury.

(3) Washington vs (6) Philadelphia: Washington in five. Marty Biron really isn't good and Alexander Ovechkin is. The Caps are the hottest team in the league right now and unless the wheels fall off in the week they have to prepare, they should romp.

(4) New Jersey vs (5) NY Rangers: Rangers in six. MAAAAAAAARRRRRRTTTYYYY, MAAAAAAAARRRRRRTTTYYYY, MAAAAAAAARRRRRRTTTYYYY. Sean Avery will beat you and bag both your wife and sister in law!

WEST
(1) Detroit vs (8) Nashville: Nashville in six. I love Detroit, but they have the bad habit of falling apart after romping through the regular season. The Predators are entirely underrated thanks to their coach, Barry Trotz. He has made them a contender even without any star power, and even without the injured Jed Ortmeyer.

(2) San Jose vs (7) Calgary: San Jose in five. The Sharks are awesome to watch nowadays. Jeremy Roenick deserves a good chance at the Cup and this team will give it to him. As classy as Jarome Iginla is, he is just one man and he can't carry the Flames to victory alone.

(3) Minnesota vs (6) Colorado: Colorado in seven. This series should shape up to be one helluva battle as the teams have had some bad blood of late. Watch out for the Boogyman!!

(4) Anaheim vs (5) Dallas: Anaheim in six. Dallas has a lot of players that I like but Anaheim has been showing the sheer of domination lately that took them to last year's Cup.

Swap Or Not?

I don't think the Rangers will make a huge splash at the deadline, and from the way they are talking may even stand pat, but you never know. Personally, I think the team needs some chance, at least in the form of some grit on the blueline. Here are some guys that could help all over the ice and shouldn't cost too much:

Mattias Norstrom, Dallas - the former Ranger is a rock on defense, will be unrestricted and may even forgo the NHL next year for a return to Sweden. Who cares, we need a big, solid defenseman like him right now, watching Marek Malik get pushed around by players six inches smaller is just horrifying. If we can't land Norstrom, then J.D. might be willing to part with Barret Jackman - which would be fantastic - or Brian Burke has considered moving the Sean O'Donnell. O'Donnell has experience (he is on his sixth NHL team), a Stanley Cup and a 6'3 230 frame. I don't see Minnesota dealing Nick Schultz but he would be a great acquisition as well. Schultz plays with strength and poise and stepped right into Willie Mitchell's skates when he went to Vancouver. I'm a fan.

Bobby Holik, Atlanta - another former Ranger, he was horribly misused during his first Broadway tour. He can play at the same pace as Jagr, will clear some space for him, bring some Czech love for the captain, and will free Dubi to play a faster, pressure-based game with the other kids - Cally and Dawes. Barring Bobby, there is Calgary's Daymond Langkow (who will be much more expensive). I would say maybe, maybe Mats Sundin, but I really don't see the Leafs dealing him, and really, really don't see them dealing him to another team in the East.

Vaclav Prospal, Tampa Bay - he hates his coach and can actually put the puck in the net, unlike most of the Ranger forwards. As I've said before, he may come at a low cost and would definitely help immediately. You also can't discount the impact that he would have on Jagr, as the two Czechs have history playing together. The other scoring wingers out there really aren't worth dealing for Alex Tanguay has been terrible since he left Colorado, Ladislav Nagy has no idea what defense is and is prone to slumps and Martin Rucinsky ... we've read that story three times already, I don't think the fourth will be the charm.

Dan Boyle, Tampa Bay - ah, one of the true prizes of the deadline, a puck moving defenseman who can play 30 minutes ... but at what cost? He really could prove to be too expensive, would you give up Dubi or Toots for him? I am not sure I would. There aren't a lot of guys like Boyle out there, but barring him, maybe the Blueshirts could try San Jose's Christian Erhoff, who supposedly fell out of favour with Ron Wilson, or Edmonton's Steve Staios.

Other than those guys, I don't think there are any named that have been dangled out there that is worth dealing for. We depth players, we have 'stud' centers and - in theory - we have a goaltender; the King he was, the pauper he has become. A save, a save, his kingdom for a glove save! If he could regain the form he had late last year, or early this year, then I don't think we would be talking deal at all, but the Swedish sieve hasn't been bailing the team out so Tuesday will be a very interesting day ...