The NYR Facts Of Life: #12 Todd White

For each player who suited up in a Blueshirt this season we will take the good, we will take the bad and take them both and see what we have. And this time around we started with the high numbers and are up to #12, Todd White.

#12's #s: 18 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, -2, 2 PIM.

Take the good: Donald Brashear is no longer a Ranger; the Blueshirts picked up White last summer by getting rid of the goon (along with failed experiment Pat Rissmiller).

Take the bad: White became a failed experiment himself. He never reformed any chemistry with his old Wild teammate Marian Gaborik and spent much of his NHL time confined to the fourth line. He was a slow shadow of the player who had 73 points two seasons prior with Atlanta. For the energy that he brought, he simply did not have the size or strength to make it translate into anything positive.

Take them both and then we have: A 36-year-old veteran of 653 NHL regular season games that has reached the end of the thread. White cleared waivers three times before heading for Hartford just before New Years. Once there he played just nine games in the bus league - putting up five points - due to several injuries, including a concussion suffered when he ran into one of his teammates. The writing is on the wall.

Cause For Celebration & Exasperation

Oh Donald.

The times we had with you. We cried, we laughed, we cheered.

We cried when you were signed.

We laughed when you got your ass handed to you by Colton Orr.

We cheered when you were demoted to Hartford.

And again now that you are gone. Don't let the door hitcha where yer momma splitcha pal.

Yet another of Glen Sather's free agent failures, Brashear was a disasterpiece from the second he was signed. There is no need to rehash the hatred here, only cause for celebration as ding-dong, Brashear is finally gone. It is remarkable how good ole Glen can be so completely inept when it comes to signing players and so deftly skilled trading them.

While people are fretting over the cap concerns of adding Todd White, they need to realize that numbers can always be massaged. The Blueshirts improved the organization by bringing in a friend of Gabby and by removing the blight of Brashear.

It is odd how the Rangers got rid of the younger, stronger, better Orr and replaced him with Brashear by using the rationale that Brash would stand up for his teammates more and could skate better. When he didn't do either, they picked up Jody Shelley, who actually could skate better. Then they turned around and replaced Shelley with Boogaard, who barely fights and can't skate. And Colt stands as the reigning top fighter in the NHL.

I digress, let's get back to this deal. After letting the People's Champ go, Sather replaces him with another Wild forward, one who should push Erik Christensen for the first line center slot alongside Gabby. Should the claims of Arty getting a top-six slot be true, we could very well have another Isbister situation on our hands where White or Christy either plays on the first line or is out of the lineup. I know you guys are quick to get Brian Boyle out - as am I - but his size and penalty killing could be too tempting to scratch or demote for Torts.

We will just have to wait and see how that pans out. But it is clear as always that Glen Sather's idea of improving the team does not include patience. The so-called rebuilding and promises of playing time is limited to the Hartford Wolf Pack. The goal in New York is not to build a Stanley Cup winner - or even a contender. The goal is simply to make the playoffs and earn the extra revenue. I said it before and surely will say it again, setting the bar at eighth place is simply infuriating. All we can do is all we have been doing: ride this out and hope for an end to the Dolan/Sather era.

I don't know about you, but I'm not holding my breath.