On Campbell, Hossa, Sundin, and Other, Former Mistakes...

The Rangers would be in a terrible position if they decided to throw $8M a year at Marian Hossa or Brian Campbell (or Mats Sundin, for that matter). Yes, they are all good players, but that's a lot of money. Remember when Eric Lindros made $8M, and Bobby Holik made $9M? The Rangers were a bunch of expensive, overpaid, underachieving, non-performing jokes.

The Salary Cap Era was supposed to change that. Payroll got cut from over 80 million dollars a year in 2003-04 to less than half of that in 2005-06. Ticket prices went down 10%, roughly $4-$16 a ticket depending on how rich you are, but not because of the work stoppage, but because they didn't make the playoffs for the 7th straight season.

I don't need to run this down for you. You know how bad things were in NY. Hockey was off the radar because both teams were ridiculous.

So, the Cap Era is ushered in, the Rangers restock their farm system, build a Czech-centric team around Jaromir Jagr, and have a dream season, followed by 2 more seasons of making the playoffs.

Now, if all the rumor-mongers are to be believed - and by no means am I saying this is true, but you can see it all playing out, can't you? - GM Glen Sather will be making pitches to any of these 3 players.

Hossa has averaged a point per game in his career 4 times (including once when he had 80 points in 80 games). Last season, he had 66 points in 72 games. Jason Arnott and Ales Hemsky were on the same pace. Yet, if someone offered Arnott $8M a year, he would be put in an asylum. Hossa is 29, no doubt looking for atleast 6 years. He will be an expensive cap hit when he's putting up 25 points a year at age 35.

You should also ask Carlos Beltran, Stephon Marbury, Dwayne Wade, and Lindros about how that old adage goes. Something about phoning it in when a player already has his big guaranteed paycheck.

Campbell is a good defenseman with a nice scoring touch. Lucky for him that Dan Boyle re-signed with Tampa Bay in February, so he is the only one of his kind on the free agent market, making him a very rich man automatically. Yes, Buffalo could have had him at $5M/year last summer, but they rejected his offer, and now someone is going to offer him (along with his 8 goals last season) a huge contract in both length and cash.

New York used to overpay for defensemen with marginal-at-best talent, or have we forgotten Stephane Quintal, Bruce Driver, Mathieu Schenider, Ulf Samuelsson, Vladimir Malakhov, and Boris Mironov. It was because of these players like people like Sergei Zubov, Mattias Norstrom, and Marek Zidlicky, all once drafted by the Rangers, were shipped off.

Sign Campbell, have him stick around, and Sather will wind up trading Mike Del Zotto, Mike Sauer, or Bobby Sanguenetti for a 2nd round pick in 2 years.

And yes, Sundin is a good player as well (and in the 90s he was amazing), but when the team is trying to get younger, does it pay to sign an expensive center when we already have 4 solid centers? (Yes, I consider Blair Betts "solid", considering his role as a 4th line center and an exceptional penalty killer at a very reasonable price.)

Need I remind you how bad hockey was in these parts when Oleg Kvasha and Alexandre Daigle were marquee names?

* * *

With Ryan Malone off the market, the Rangers best moves are to send offer sheets to Corey Perry, a young RW, and Jay Bouwmeester, whose name is fun to spell. Brooks Orpik, whose stock rose with one shift in Game 3 of the Finals, wouldn't be bad, although I am still bitter of him breaking Erik Cole's neck. Mark Streit and Ron Hainsey would be good choices if the price is right. Wade Redden was bad at 31. How awful is he going to be at 35?

Islanders Free Agency Preview

As the Islanders approach July 1, there's only one thing that most people can say about their free agency chances - don't expect much. Last year, July 1st saw every Islanders free agent signing elsewhere, most notably Ryan Smyth and Jason Blake. Clearly, Garth Snow knew something we all didn't, as both Blake and Smyth went on to have subpar years in Toronto and Colorado respectively. However, he didn't exactly restock the team very well, handing out one-year deals to grinders and infamously leaving the first day of free agency with only Jon Sim signed. What has Snow learned from last year? Does he have a different approach this year, having seen so many of his young prospects in the NHL last year? We'll find out on Tuesday.

However, we here at The Rivalry enjoy prognosticating (and, of course, feeling like we can perform the job of general manager better than half the GMs in the league). With the salary cap and salary floor rising this year, the Islanders should be one of the more active teams in the league. (Note: They won't be.) With this in mind, let's look at the Islanders as they stand now.

All contract data comes from Isles Info.

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THE SURE THINGS
These are those players who are under contract with the Islanders that are assured of making the Opening Day roster and, barring a trade, sticking with the big club for the entire season.

GOALIE
- Rick DiPietro ($4.5 million, 13 years left)

DEFENSE
- Chris Campoli ($625,000, 2 years left)
- Radek Martinek ($1.5 million, 3 years left)
- Freddy Meyer ($600,000, 2 years left)
- Andy Sutton ($3 million, 2 years left)

FORWARDS
- Trent Hunter ($2 million, 5 years left)
- Kyle Okposo (no contract data available, 2 years left)
- Richard Park ($700,000, 2 years left)
- Jon Sim ($1 million, 2 years left)

TOTALS
- Nine players, $13,925,000

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RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
These players are not under contract, but their rights remain with the team. They have all been given qualifying offers of 10% above their 2007 salaries (those making more than $600,000 in 2007-08 only require 5% raises). For our purposes, we will assume that all players will accept these offers, which in all cases do not need to be one-way contracts.

GOALIE
- None

DEFENSE
- Bruno Gervais ($495,000, 1 year left)

FORWARDS
- Sean Bergenheim ($550,000, 1 year left)
- Jeremy Colliton ($735,000, 1 year left)
- Frans Nielsen ($561,000, 1 year left)
- Jeff Tambellini ($821,908.50, 1 year left)
- Ben Walter ($632,000, 1 year left)

TOTALS
- Six players, $3,299,908.50

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TRADE BAIT
These are players with deals that expire after this season. After the season, they will be unrestricted free agents.

GOALIE
- Joey MacDonald ($500,000, 1 year left)

DEFENSE
- Brendan Witt ($2.5 million, 1 year left)

FORWARDS
- Mike Comrie ($4 million, 1 year left)
- Bill Guerin ($4.5 million, 1 year left)
- Andy Hilbert ($700,000, 1 year left)
- Mike Sillinger ($2.1 million, 1 year left)

TOTALS
- Six players, $14,300,000

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OOPS
These are players who were bought out by the Islanders while they were still under contract.

GOALIES
- None

DEFENSE
- None

FORWARDS
- Shawn Bates ($800,000)
- Alexei Yashin ($2.2 million)

TOTALS
- Two players (zero active), $3,000,000

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GRAND TOTAL
- Twenty-one players, $34,524,908.50

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So, what to make of this? Here are the simple facts about the Islanders' approach in free agency.
- Assuming Okposo makes somewhere around $500,000, The Islanders need to spend approxmiately $5 million just to meet the 2008-09 salary floor.
- The Islanders have, at minimum, two spots to fill in order to complete a 23-man roster.
- The Islanders may be able to add even more than two players if they send down any of their restricted free agents.
- The Islanders love to go after guys coming off bad years or with something to prove, and will usually give one-year deals to these type of players.
- The Islanders, in line with Garth Snow's philosophy, will not be caught overpaying for anybody who isn't worth the money.

Now, let's look at potential lines for this team. Healthy scratches make negligible dollars and aren't included against the cap for our purposes.

OFFENSE
Jeff Tambellini-Mike Comrie-Bill Guerin
Sean Bergenheim-Mike Sillinger-Kyle Okposo
Jon Sim-Jeremy Colliton-Trent Hunter
Andy Hilbert-Frans Nielsen-Blake Comeau

DEFENSE
Brendan Witt-Chris Campoli
Bruno Gervais-Andy Sutton
Radek Martinek-Freddy Meyer

GOALIE
Rick DiPietro
Joey MacDonald

HEALTHY SCRATCHES
Tim Jackman
Jack Hillen
Ben Walter

When I look at this potential lineup, three needs stick out at me...
- More offense from the top two lines
- An offensive-minded, puck-moving defenseman
- A more capable back-up goalie

Let's look at each of those needs individually, and see if there are any players out there that could help.

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MORE OFFENSE FROM THE TOP TWO LINES
This is a problem the Islanders have had for a very, very long time. Kyle Okposo is going to be a top scorer on this team very soon, but there's nobody who can complement him particularly well. Mike Comrie is a good playmaker, but there's no guarantee the two will be playing together; besides, the line wouldn't exactly be too physically imposing. It's best to split the two, but the likes of Mike Sillinger and Bill Guerin can only do so much.

A goal-scoring left winger wouldn't hurt. Nor would a lunchpail, bang-in-the-garbage type of player to crowd the front of the net. Michael Ryder could be a pretty good option for the Islanders - he's coming off an off-year, and may take one of Snow's patented one-year contracts to prove his worth. Another potential one-year guy could be Ladislav Nagy, who was putting together a fine season before getting hurt in January. And, as much as Islander fans would hate it, Darcy Tucker would certainly fit the bill of a player capable of scoring and being a physical presence.

There are also a bevy of ex-Islanders to consider - Arron Asham, Michael Peca, Mike York, and Brad Isbister are all available. However, none of these guys are really the answer. The Isles need someone who can hang around for a while, and these players were all traded for a reason. Ultimately, there are some decent players out there, but there aren't many great buys to be had. Snow would do best to get what he can get, but not break the bank. That said, offense has to be the key, not any combination of grit, character, and heart.

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AN OFFENSIVE-MINDED, PUCK-MOVING DEFENSEMAN
Say what you want to about Marc-Andre Bergeron, but when he was an Islander in 2006-07, he averaged nearly a point per game and the Islanders made the playoffs. Last season, the tandem of Bergeron and Bryan Berard didn't perform nearly as well. Now, with Berard seemingly moving elsewhere and Bergeron gone to his third team in this calendar year, it's time to retool the defense.

Chris Campoli is becoming a solid offensive defenseman, but he could use some support in a group of players who don't contribute much offensively. There's the Rangers equivalent of Bergeron, Michal Roszival, but as Zach has said before, let someone else overpay for him. The big name in this year's free agent crop is Mark Streit. People say he's not too strong in his defensive end, but he just completed his third year in the NHL and contributed 62 points. That's pretty impressive. Better than that, the Colorado Avalanche, a team many thought would be a major competitor for Streit's services, just re-signed John-Michael Liles to a four-year deal. If the Islanders overpay for anybody, it should be Streit - though it should be cautioned that he played for Montreal, the best offensive team in the East this year.

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A MORE CAPABLE BACKUP
I'm sure Joey MacDonald is a wonderful person and a good goalie. That said, the Islanders claim to be committed to giving Rick DiPietro more rest this year. (Note: They say this every year. They never do it.) So it would be a good idea to get a solid backup in there, not only as a failsafe, but to keep MacDonald motivated and to actually let him win the backup job in training camp.

The list of notable backups are endless. Alex Auld, Jocelyn Thibault, John Grahame, Patrick Lalime, Dan Cloutier, David Aebischer, Scott Clemmensen, Andrew Raycroft... wow. That's a lot of names. Surely, one of them would take $750,000 to open up the bench door 65 nights a year and play the other 17 (hopefully). It's a good insurance policy to have. If the veteran backup wins the job, MacDonald gets sent down; if he clears waivers, the Islanders have someone ready in Bridgeport - never a bad thing. If MacDonald wins out, the Islanders trade the vet for a late draft pick. Hard to lose in this situation. In my eyes, it's a more than worthwhile investment, especially since the Islanders will be nowhere near the cap.

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OTHER WANTS
It'd sure be nice to get an enforcer this year. Jody Shelley is a free agent, as is the aforementioned Arron Asham. Even giving Kip Brennan a shot at the big club would be a good idea. As I've mentioned before, the Islanders sure didn't drop the gloves for a team that prided itself on its' grit (they were 26th in the league in fighting majors last year).

I wouldn't mind seeing a trade, as long as it were for the right player. The Islanders now have the resources (and the cap room) to make a pretty big splash on the trade market. Problem is, they'll have even more leverage around the trade deadline, with tons of veterans to move - especially if they're out of playoff contention. So they probably won't do anything, even though it wouldn't cost that much more to do something now.

In the end, though, I want to get a better picture of where the Islanders are headed. One-year deals to crappy veterans only patch up the fact that the farm system isn't where it needs to be. I'd like to see the Islanders bring in players to complement the young guys, help move them along, and let these veterans be part of it when the Islanders become a good team again. Signing two or three veteran leaders to three-year deals is a great thing, especially when they can contribute to the team. In other words, I'd rather see another Mike Sillinger-type deal than another one-and-done waste like Ruslan Fedotenko or Josef Vasicek.

It's going to be very interesting to see how things play out with the Islanders. Nobody's expecting the Islanders to do much this season, both in free agency and during the season, but the Isles could use a playoff year to keep interest high. It's going to be up to Snow to make the right deals for the right players - and it wouldn't hurt to make a splash, either. Losing Ryan Smyth last July 1 hurt more than anybody would care to mention. Perhaps more than anything else, Islander fans want to see their team bring in players who want to play on Long Island.

Mr. Snow, you're on the clock. Good luck.

Two Players Our Teams Won't Be Signing...

1) News yesterday broke that Wade Dubielewicz won't be playing in the NHL next season broke, rending my "What to Du?" and other such titled posts irrelevant. 

He will be playing in Russia, and count me in as a surprised party of one. The new Russian league, while it will not nearly be on par as the NHL (Jamie Heward, who spent last season there, said it would be 50 years before the talent level equals the NHL), might steal a few borderline NHL players this year.

If Dubie could have gotten $700,000 this year from an NHL club, it would translate to around $380,000 because the NHL pays players in shares, first of all, not money. Then, minus agent fees and taxes, and that's what he's left with. A nice chunk of change, absolutely, especially for the 25-30 games he would have played at most, but nothing compared to what the Russians are offering, especially if the tax-free rumors are correct.

2) Ryan Malone will not be a Ranger next season. Not that he was ever close (as far as we know). Rumors have him already being signed in Tampa Bay. Huge gain for the Lightning; huge loss for the Rangers. 

Malone, 28, could have given the Rangers a gritty winger who could put the puck in the net, especially on the power play, for the next 6 years. He would be better suited for Chris Dr

ury, but would also seamlessly play with Scott Gomez. 

No doubt the Rangers would have contacted his agent on July 1, but Tampa Bay received his rights for a 3rd round pick (4th round if he didn't sign with them). I believe the Rangers do have their 3rd round pick in 2009, and if not, what about a 2nd round pick if you think you can sign him?

Now, they will no doubt overpay for someone on the free agent market come Tuesday. God help us all if Marian Hossa comes to town.

2008-09 New York Rangers: Defense...

The last in a three-part series of how the 08-09 Rangers will shape up.

DEFENSE

The Rangers have enough forwards, as I wrote about in my Offensive Preview. Regardless of the returns of Marty Straka (probably not), Jaromir Jagr (probably), Sean Avery (hopefully), and Brendan Shanahan (undecided), they have enough young talent and established players that they will probably only need to grab one player from the free agent pool to add depth on wing. 

That leaves a lot of money for defense, considering the cap has been raised to $56.7M. 

So who is signed for next year? Christian Backman, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, and Fedor Tyutin. Last season the Rangers carried 7 or 8 defensemen at all times, so for argument's sake, I will come up with 8 of them.

From last year, Marek Malik, Paul Mara, Michal Rozsival, and Jason Strudwick are unrestricted free agents. 

I think most Ranger fans are hoping Backman gets traded, although I don't see a trade or a buyout happening. Simply put, GM Glen Sather doesn't admit to mistakes often, but fans know Backman is the second coming of Sandis Ozolish (the comparisons to Malik are inevitable, but to Malik's defense, he did have a great 2005-06 before becoming slow like molasses in January the past 2 years). 

So let's assume that the 4 under contract stay under contract.

I'm certain Malik has played his last game on Broadway, if not in the whole NHL. I could be wrong, as he is only 33, and some team might find him as a serviceable 7th defenseman. However, not our problem, as he dug his own grave in New York. (While he did the digging, fans certainly pushed him into it.)

Rozsival - The big question is if Rozsival returns. Pre-lockout, he was hurt, and the Rangers took a chance on him. It paid off for both of them. However, I haven't ever been a big fan of his. He passes too much considering he has a decent shot. He does have offensive upside, but defensively he can hurt the team. Much of that might stem from playing with Malik or rookie-Staal and having to make up for their deficiencies, 

Still, the Rangers have too many defensive liabilities, considering how much he might get paid come July 1. Besides Brian Campbell, there aren't many puck-moving Ds out there, and Rozy is nothing if not puck-moving (as in, he moves it to Jagr; he moves it to Shanahan; he moves it back to Jagr).

Let some other team overpay him. He tied for 7th in defensemen scoring last season (his 13 goals were 5 more than Campbell's), including 6 on the power play. He was the only D to have 2 short-handed goals, as well (yes, they were in back-to-back games). He made $2.2M the past 2 years if memory serves me correct, a steal for his production. This year, he will want atleast $3.8M, and teams might throw him close to $4.5M/season. I've said this since we started this blog, let some other team overpay for him.

Mara - Mara wants to be a Ranger. He has made that clear. He was useful in his role, if not overpaid (Boston's fault, not Sather's). He is a more disciplined version of Mara with a booming shot from the point that could be useful if he sees power play time in 2008-09. 

That said, he will test the free agent market because he has not been tendered an offer by the Rangers. Quite simply, the Rangers are seeing how everything shapes up for them. With restricted free agents, Rozsival, Campbell, and others in the mix, they have a wait-and-see-if-we-still-need-him attitude with Mara. Expect Mara not to pick a team to play on until July 5th or 6th.

Strudwick - Struds has very little NHL ability anymore. Yes, he is a great guy and a solid locker room player, but in a practical sense, he brings little to the ice. One day he will probably be coaching in the NHL, and he should start by retiring. I loved having him on the team last year, but it makes no sense to bring him back, especially when Andrew Hutchinson is waiting in the wings to play the same role on the Rangers that Strudwick played last year.

RFAs

The restricted free agent pool for D-men is weak. The Rangers aren't normally the ones to tender offer-sheets to players, and only a few names make sense. Dennis Widemann (Boston) is a young, cheap defender. Edmonton isn't losing Joni Pitkanen (and he has more defensive flaws than Malik does). 

Ville Koistinen is a real solid player and Nashville has enough defensemen that they might let him walk on July 1, or they might let a team offer him a deal and take the draft picks as compensation. Of course, the Rangers have a young blueline already, and he doesn't add more than 50 games experience. 

That leaves Andrej Meszaros, Jay Bouwmeester, and Mike Green. Bouwmeester is the sexy name there, and for good reason. With the most experience of the group, he is the best player there as well. On top of that, Florida is a horrible organization who he might not want to play for anymore. It's not beyond the Panther's management to trade his negotiation rights for Colton Orr and a 6th round pick in the 2010 draft. 

Green would be a good addition, but he is still, well, green, especially on the blueline. Meszaros is a good player, scoring over 30 points in every season, and he shoots the puck as well. Not a power play pivot, but a solid player.

UFAs

Campbell heads the UFA list, but at $8M, he will be extremely overpaid. I took issue with Eric Lindros being paid $8M for 19 goals once ($421,000 per goal). Imagine paying Campbell a million per goal. Is it really that hard to find a PP QB that he gets paid the equivalent of 40 years at a respectable university everytime he puts the puck past a goalie?

Wade Redden (don't be duped by him), Rob Blake (wants stay in LA, and at 37 is extremely risky consdering his injuries lately), Adam Foote (no) and Mattias Nortstrom (hey, wasnt' he a Ranger once?) are the veterans. I don't see the Rangers signing anyone here, partly because it's not 2002 anymore and most of these players are has-beens. 

I do see them taking a shot at maybe Mike Commodore (respectable, cheap), John-Michael Liles (would be a good fit at 26), or Ron Hainsey, although both of those last 2 are inexperienced. Rumors have them talking to Brooks Orpik, who I openly dispise because of his neck-breaking dirty shot on Erik Cole in 2006.

Mark Streit is the best name on the list and would probably ask around 3 or 3.5M a year, but I think the Canadiens would want to re-sign him as soon as they could. If the Rangers got him, Rozy would be a goner and Campbell wouldn't even be on the radar anymore. 

Kurt Sauer, Dmitri Kalinin, Andreas Lilja, and David Hale also wouldn't surprise me. It's not a tremendously strong crop, but there are some good names out there. Trouble is, since it isn't a good crop, they would come with pricetags like a Ferrari (or, like 50 Ferraris).

From Within

Ivan Baranka is overseas, Corey Potter isn't ready, Bobby Sanguenetti has atleast one year of minor league hockey in him, and Andrew Hutchinson has NHL experience... wait for it... as a power play point man. Hmmmm.

Hutch will definitely be in training camp, and hopefully he can crack the roster. In Hartford, he had 64 points in 67 games, 13 power play goals, and was a +28. He's 28, and had 8 power play points in 41 games in 06-07 in Carolina, leading the team while playing in half the games. 

Overall

Should be interesting come July 1. Once again, let's hope the concentrate on defense. Last season, the Rangers played team defense to make up for what they lacked individually. While it worked, it limited their offense severely, especially Jagr.

Straka Done in America...

Rangers winger Marty Straka has ended his NHL career, according to a Czech website. (Hope you can read Czech Republican if you click on it.) He will be playing with the Plzen hockey club in the Czech Extra League. Straka was a warrior, and he will be missed. He played severely hurt in 2006-07 (with a not reported torn bicep) and injured in 07-08 yet never complained and didn't miss a shift if he was able to.

How this relates to Jaromir Jagr will be seen on July 1. 

With a glutton of forwards signed already, as restricted free agents, or unrestricted (Jagr, Brendan Shanahan, Sean Avery), the Rangers should concentrate on defense. Look for my defensive preview tonight or tomorrow.

Revisiting the DP Deal

Word out of Tampa Bay is that the Lightning are on the verge of completing a "lifetime" deal with Vincent Lecavalier. It's supposed to be a nine-year deal to finish out Lecavalier's playing career, followed up by some kind of coaching or front-office job for Lecavalier's golden years. Not a bad idea; Lecavalier certainly is deserving of a big contract and has proven his worth to the Lightning for many years. Good job, guys.

Now can we finally leave Charles Wang alone?

Seriously. The Alexei Yashin deal, we'll ignore for the time being. Not because it wasn't an awful deal (it was), but because it was signed nearly seven years ago. More relevant to the Lecavalier signing is the Rick DiPietro deal from 2006, a deal that was criticized by pretty much everybody. The whole thing was a bit dubious, what with Wang handling the negotiations with DiPietro's agent directly, but the deal isn't nearly as bad as it was made out to be. DiPietro is making $4.25 million a year; he'd get significantly more than that as a free agent. His contract might look bad after year ten or so, but for the seven seasons between then and now, the Islanders will have DiPietro at or below market value.

But the real proof is in the emulation of this deal. Mike Richards for twelve years. Alexander Ovechkin for ten years. Now, Lecavalier for nine. Was Wang really that crazy after all?

I say he wasn't, and it's not because I'm an Islander fan. You need stability in goal to be a good team; look at the Flyers' teams over the past decade for proof of that. Besides, goalies don't take the pounding of average players and so are more durable. If DiPietro's hip troubles don't prove to be chronic, the Isles got themselves a great deal for much of the contract's duration. And the Ovechkin and Lecavalier deals will prove to be just as beneficial for Washington and Tampa Bay respectively.

In these uncertain times, the NHL is heading down a familiar path of fiscal responsibility. Although the salary cap was intended to curtail overspending, teams are tempted more than ever to spend on free agents since the cap is rising each year. Worse, the floor isn't rising with it, so the same economic disparities we became accustomed to around the turn of the century will be back before we know it. It's these long-term deals that may be the best deals of all. Who would you rather have on your team - a 26-year-old DiPietro on the verge of becoming an elite goalie, with thirteen more years at $4.25 per, or a washed-up and untradeable Bryan McCabe? Sort of makes you wonder which GMs are really the smartest.

Rick Tocchet and Sean Avery...

Today, I will be using simplified examples that never actually happened in my life to describe why Rick Tocchet is a backstabber and how Glen Sather might be insane.

* * * 

Let's say I was accused of something in a legal manner. For argument's sake, maybe I ran a gambling ring at my job (for the record, I work at a restaurant as a bartender). Okay, so I'm running this multi-million dollar gambling ring and I get accused, and it comes crashing down on me.

I don't face jail time, but I do get suspended for 2 years from my job. 

While gone, my bar manager supports me fully. I don't receive a paycheck, but he holds my job open while I'm suspended. Imagine that!

Two years to the day later, I return to my job as a bartender.

Four months later, an old friend calls me and tells me he just got put in charge of a new bar, and would like me to be a bartender there. Forsaking my old boss, who treated me very well and stood up for me while the media and the federal court system were against me, I join this new bar.

- - - 

 Tocchet gets suspended for running a gambling ring. Wayne Gretzky holds his position as assistant coach of the Phoenix Coyotes open for 2 full years, maybe as a "Thank you for not having my wife sent to jail," maybe out of the goodness of the Great One's heart. Who knows. Tocchet returns in February of 2008, only to join Barry Melrose (and Wes Walz) in Tampa Bay when the opportunity arose.

No, I don't know the whole situation. Maybe Gretzky or Coyotes' GM Don Maloney didn't want Tocchet to return. But the way I see it, it is a slap in the face of Gretzky and the whole Phoenix organization the way he handled this. When I first heard Melrose's press conference where he announced Tocchet and Walz as assistant coaches, I thought it was a joke.

And no, that picture isn't of Howie Mandel.

* * * 

Let's say that since the feds shut down my gambling operation, I now own a small, small business. Last year, I was given $50 in which to run this business. This year, however, I am given $56 in which to run it, due to a rise in profits last year.

Now, my seat-filler, my enforcer, my agitator, the guy who helped me so much last year and the year before, wants a raise. Last year, he made $1.90. Paltry, I know. This year, I offered him $2.75 and he wanted a whole $4. I could probably talk him down to around $3.75 or maybe $3.80. 

Once again, he is a seat-filler. He got my business national attention during a competition we had with a New Jersey store. Two years ago, we competed against an Atlanta-based store, and he closed down their best salesman, even goaded him into a fight. That's what I pay him for. Shouldn't I pay him?

- - - 

I like Glen Sather, I do. I think he has done a great job post-lockout, even starting with the "fire sale" of March 2004 (regardless of where Maxim Kondratiev, Josef Balej, and R.J. Umberger are playing now). 

However, he would be terribly remiss to not re-sign Sean Avery. When all is said and done, the NY Rangers are a business. Avery gets butts in seats (yes, they would still sell out without him there... probably), he creates excitement. The Rangers were plastered on TV sets all across the country when he danced in front of Martin "The Whiner" Brodeur in the playoffs this year and when Brodeur wouldn't shake his hand after the series.

He made headlines this week with his article in Men's Vogue. He is constant media fodder.

On top of that, he gets under the skin of every player who plays against him, from Brodeur to Jarkko Ruutu to Jaromir Jagr to Marian "Soon to be Overpaid" Hossa. 

On top of that, he scores. Sather compares him to Chris Kelly of the Senators. Kelly had 30 points in 75 games. Avery had 33 in 57. In 2007, he had 20 points in 29 games and was a +11 with the Rangers. This year in the playoffs, he stepped it up, scoring 7 points in 8 games with only 3 penalties. He has a wicked wrist shot, brings excitement to the team, and as a winger who can play center, has playmaking abilities.

I know you don't come to this blog for breaking news or inside information. Of that, we have little. You probably read elsewhere that the Rangers are 50-20-10 with him and 9-13-3 without him. I don't have to tell you that they went 8-1-1 with him to reach the playoffs in 2007, and 10-0-3 to rally when he was healthy in 2008. You come here because my first word was "Wangers" and because Bryan (my Islander fan friend) was named after a Hall of Fame Islander. We eat and breathe hockey. We've been watching since we were 3 years old. I believe we know more about hockey than any other person we know. 

With that said, I know talent when I see it. Chris Kelly is a marginal player. Ruutu is a pest at best. Ville Nieminen got under people's skin but he couldn't deliver in the points department. 

Avery's closest comparison is probably to Esa Tikkanen. An agitator who can fight and score. A player like him doesn't come along often. Remember when he danced in front of Brodeur? He scored about 15 seconds later.

A player like him doesn't come along often.

If I had a store, and my budget went up 6 dollars, I would gladly spend the 125 cents to bring back my moneymaker. And I would do it before July 1, when other teams can (and would) throw money at him.

Because a player like him doesn't come along very often at all.

Jerseys...

Sean Avery, fresh off his gig as an intern at Men's Vogue, edited an article about the 20 worst sports uniforms of all-time.

One of them highlights the Dallas Stars third jersey, as modeled by Marty Turco, which includes a bull's head (because of Texas) with varying stars inside and one flying star on the outside. The jersey is a pretty poor concept for two reasons. One, it doesn't make much sense, and in fact in no way resembles anything close to hockey. However, the real reason is because it's obscene.

Don't see the resemblance to a woman's reproductive system? Let's just say that the only NHLer who should have worn this jersey was Filip Kuba, because his name bears an uncanny resemblence to Fallopian Tube.

By the way, we now have our own domain name, so please bookmark (CTRL + D) http://www.nyhockeyrivalry.com. If you go to the old blogspot site, it will redirect you here.

Meet Kirill Petrov...

If you read Newsday today, you would have thought that Mike Milbury was fired from his job for no reason, and that Garth Snow became GM of the Islanders by sleeping with Charles Wang. Articles by Greg Logan today and yesterday questioned Snow (somewhat rightfully), and the readers who sent in "daily rants" seemed like an angry mob looking for blood.

Let's get one thing straight. Garth Snow traded down 4 spots to take Josh Bailey. Mike Milbury would definitely have drafted Nikita Filatov or Luke Schenn in the 5th spot, and then would have immediately traded him to the Penguins for Adam Hall and a 2009 6th round pick.

By the way, Josh Bailey is the second best player the Islanders got in the 2008 draft. The first best is Kirill Petrov, taken 73rd in the draft. Remember last year when the Rangers took Alex Cherepanov at 17th when he probably could have gone 3rd or 4th overall? He slid so far because teams were wary of him being able to transfer from Russia within a few years. (Yes, teams also worried about his work ethic.)

With Petrov, he might never come here. Ever. He makes a boatload of money in Russia and is completely content playing there. However, if you take into account raw talent and skill, he was Top 10 in the draft, probably around 8th. If he does ever come from Russia, the Islanders have an incredible talent on their hands. The only reason they were able to draft Petrov was because they stockpiled so many picks (13, the most of any team in the '08 draft) that they were able to "waste" one on a prospect who might never see a North American rink.

Without further ado, the highlight video...

Now, as a logical, smart, street-wise Ranger fan, I hope he never comes here. Oh, and we talk about Mike Milbury way too much on this blog.

Islander Draft Thoughts & Site News

Real quick, just wanted to state that we have our own domain now! You can now access The Rivalry at http://www.nyhockeyrivalry.com/. The changeover is, to our knowledge, complete; however, if you have a bookmark at the old Blogspot address, it'll redirect you to the new domain. We also added a Google search that will let you search this site as well as the Web in general. The site isn't totally indexed yet, so it doesn't really work right now, but in time you'll be able to search the site as opposed to searching through our million tags. We just made our hundredth post, and the site is running as smoothly as ever heading into free agency. Hooray for us.

Anyway. Getting to the Islanders' performance at this weekend's Draft. The reason why I don't follow the draft or read the Central Scouting reports is because the truth about any draft is that it takes years to see who really "won". As such, there is no sense getting all worked up about things that are in no way certain. So the Islanders passed on Nikita Filatov for Josh Bailey. Does it really mean anything now? In three years, we can worry about it. I get that Islander fans have been burned in the past and don't want to go down that road again, but there comes a time when you have to have faith in your GM. Now would be a good time to trust in Garth Snow. We're not dealing with grinders and one-year contracts here. Snow hasn't screwed up a draft yet; until he does, he should get the benefit of the doubt.

I, for one, think Snow had the right idea. Get as many picks as possible in a deep draft, then see what happens. If Josh Bailey was really their guy from the beginning, that's wonderful; even if he wasn't, the Islanders were smart to take this approach. Besides, if they hadn't acquired all of the extra picks, the Islanders wouldn't have been able to take a flier on Kirill Petrov. And while Islander fans will point out ad nauseum that Josh Bailey was only the 14th highest-ranked skater in North America, Petrov was actually the second-highest ranked skater in Europe. Not bad. Figure that at least one of these guys will be solid players in the NHL, and if they both make it big, all the better for the Islanders.

Again, it doesn't pay to kill a team for their draft moves right after the draft. So let's allow time to see how right (or wrong) Snow was for trading down. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. Besides, if the Islanders have a lousy 2008-09 season, they'll have a shot at John Tavares - and that's one guy the Islanders won't pass up.

Worked Through the Draft...

Much like Gary Bettman, I worked throughout the whole draft. However, I'm not (over)paid by the NHL, the people I work with don't hate me, I don't have to wear a tie at work, and I know how to handle a microphone.

Since I worked, I missed most of the draft, but I did get to hear/see the last few picks on XM in my car and on Versus (via TSN) in my house while watching topless, on my bed.

I caught up, don't worry. I read TSN for the trade analysis (RJ Umberger is worth a 1st round pick but Olli Jokinen is not?); I read Bryan's blog below mine for a play-by-play (I didn't plan on reading it, but like a Ben Affleck movie, it just sucked me in); and I checked the Rangers web site and TSN's for a bit about the players.

Oh, I also read Greg Logan's blog and I think Garth Snow did the right move by trading down and acquiring all those picks and still getting their guy at 9th that they would have taken at 5th. But the question is, why take him at 5th? He didn't seem to be the 5th most impressive player in the draft, seems like a poor man's Scott Gomez to me. Luke Schenn or Nikita Filatov seemed like better choices.

Rangers didn't do much, but you can't blame them for drafting an offensive defenseman who by all accounts could have gone as early as 14th or 15th. I guess they didn't want to give up their 3rd rounder to move up to take a guy they got 5 spots later.

The winner of the night was Phoenix, I think. Mikkel Boedker was a strong pick at 8, and Viktor Tikhonov was a great pick as well. He is very excited about playing in America, and I'm pretty sure he can come here next year. He also was named best forward at the World Juniors. Two first round picks, and they still got Olli Jokinen for a bunch of mid-level players. A fantastic night for the Coyotes.

Oh, and if the Dolans actually are forced to give up ownership of the Rangers (not gonna happen), I wonder if I can be on the waiting list for season tickets at their new arena, the Central Park Ice Skating Rink.

The Quasi-Live Blog Of The 2008 Entry Draft

OK, we've never really done a live blog here, so we're just going to post this thing when the first round is over. (EDIT: We lied. We're updating it every couple of picks or so now.) It's not that we don't know what we're doing (really?), but our little Ice Girl decided to make her presence felt...

Yup, that's my little girl. She wasn't too much up for watching the draft, though. She just wanted to eat and then be put to bed.

Anyway. Enough of the gratuitous baby pictures. We've got a draft to cover!

- Bettman graces us with his presence and tries to make a joke about the passion of the Ottawa fans to rationalize their boos. Thankfully, the microphone is on a stand, so he doesn't get to do his Muhammad Ali impression all night long. (Dodges the tomatoes being thrown)

- It's almost time for the draft to begin... and it's 7:10. Stamkos at #1 is a foregone conclusion. Tampa Bay's brass comes up to pick and give shout-outs to their three different draft parties around town. They then cheap out and give Stamkos the generic #08 jersey. Boo!!!

- Stamkos is apparently all over billboards in Tampa Bay. Can they do that if they haven't signed him?

- Up next at #2 is Los Angeles. They select Drew Doughty. He's got some sick moves. I honestly didn't even know he was a defenseman until they showed it on the screen after the pick (hey, give me a break, I was trying to feed a baby). His closest comparison is Ray Bourque... well, they certainly guaranteed him a career without a Cup, anyway.

- Doughty lost 25 points in an attempt to impress the Kings, his hometown team. After the pick, the studio hosts ask GM Dean Lombardi what his plans are for the rest of the Kings' picks. Lombardi dismissed the question as the hosts laughed awkwardly. This will become a recurring theme tonight.

- Speaking of hosts, Pierre McGuire is wearing one of the nicest ties I've ever seen.

- We have a trade to announce! The crowd cheers. Florida trades Olli Jokinen to Phoenix for Keith Ballard, Nick Boynton, and a 2nd rounder. Good trade for both teams. However, they told us about this trade at the beginning of the broadcast. Sorry, Bettman.

- Ottawa's owner is interviewed. He's asked about Ottawa's trade discussions. Hardy har har.

- Commercial break. Sounds like Sum 41 is the artist they'll play over and over tonight. I guess The Tragically Hip wanted too much money.

- Atlanta picks at #3. They hired a new coach today, they have a premium draft pick - maybe things are turning around in Atlanta. Zach Bogosian is the pick here. His comparison is Rob Blake. And, like clockwork, there's yet another "It's the year of the defensemen!" statement from the talking heads.

- Bettman is caught awkwardly staring at the floor before announcing the Tanguay trade. I think he's already sick of announcing trades.

- The Islanders are the talk of the Draft for the moment, but not because they're laughing stocks. Snow and Wang are talking to Toronto about... something. Apparently, Snow has been on the phone the whole time. As long as he's not talking to Alexei Yashin, I'm happy.

- John Davidson is shown at the Blues' table, looking rather tan. They take defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. The hosts answer my question by stating that he is indeed former goalie Frank Pietrangelo's nephew. That's a relief. One of the idiots compares Pietrangelo to someone named "Larry Zubov". That's Larry Robinson and Sergei Zubov combined.

- JD is asked about what kind of offers the Blues received for the fourth pick. Guess how he responded to that one.

- Darren Dreger spoils all the fun and announces that the Islanders and Leafs have agreed to swap the #5 and #7 picks, but isn't sure what the terms are. They cut to commercial, and when they get back, they're still talking. Bettman is looking down from the stage with a "Hurry the f**k up" look on his face. One of the announcers immediately proclaims that whoever is involved, Toronto got the better deal.

- It's finally announced. The Leafs and Isles swap picks, and the Isles have their choice of the following: Either the 60th overall pick this year and Toronto's third-round pick next year, or the 68th overall pick this year and Toronto's second-rounder next year. Bettman states this twice because he thinks we're all idiots.

- One of the guys - I think it's McGuire - is abolutely gushing over this. He assures us that the Leafs will take Luke Schenn, who will singlehandedly spark the Leafs' rebuilding. Once Schenn is finally picked, his biggest fan proclaims "While Ottawa's fans don't like the Leafs, they would love to have Schenn." Oh, and his closest comparison is to Adam Foote. That's an awful lot to give up for Adam Foote.

- The hosts throw it up to Bettman to announce a trade... only he states that Columbus is on the clock. Whoops. They claimed Columbus traded for R.J. Umberger. Good going, idiots.

- After McGuire finishes rubbing one out to Schenn, Bettman announces the Umberger trade. Columbus is still on the clock.

- Gary Green is adamant that Nikita Filatov is a risky pick at #6 because he can up and go to the Continental Hockey League (the successor to the Russian Super League) whenever he wants. This is big for the Islanders; clearly, they traded down because they thought they could get Filatov at #7.

- Columbus selects Filatov. Fuck. (Sorry. We don't curse a lot here, but it's warranted now.) This kid speaks pretty good English. He's going to be a good one.

- The Islanders recover nicely, immediately trading down to #9 and taking Nashville's second-rounder in the process. Theoretically, they've got three second-rounders right now. But, of course, the Maple Leafs absolutely swindled the Islanders and got the second coming of Bobby Orr in the process. Right, McGuire?

- Bettman must want to kill himself. He figured he'd be in for an easy night of grip-and-grins with player jerseys. Not exactly. Zach was right about the level of activity tonight.

- Detroit coach Mike Babcock shakes hands with one of the prospects. The hosts accuse him of tampering. Then again, Babcock is the same guy who tried to use the HIPAA Compliance law to get out of disclosing Tomas Holmstrom's injury in the Stanley Cup Finals. He was right, by the way.

- Nashville uses its' newly-acquired pick to select Colin Wilson, whose name suggests that he should be a country singer. Instead, they take the first American-born player in the Draft. Those Nashville uniforms look a little different this year. Maybe it's because they gave Wilson a white uniform rather than a blue one.

- Fun fact about Wilson - he was born in New York (his dad was Carey Wilson), but grew up in Winnipeg. He chose to represent the USA instead of Canada. Also, his Wikipedia profile already shows him as a member of the Predators.

- Phoenix is up for #8. I bet they make Gretzky announce the pick to get a cheap pop.

- Yup. The crowd even gives him respect during the generic "hospitality" speech. Mikkel Boekder is the pick here. He's "character personified", whatever that means. He wore a pretty nice shirt to the draft, which goes a long way with me. He's compared with Milan Michalek. We can only hope that he won't follow Michalek in signing a contract extension and immediately getting thrown on the trading block.

- Gretzky hints at a trade in the second round. Nice to see someone throw a bone to our interviewers.

- The Islanders are supposed to be up next. They seem to love odd numbers tonight. Did they trade down to #11 yet?

- Nope. Snow comes up to the podium in a horrible suit and picks Josh Bailey. Word is that he's the guy the Islanders wanted all along. He's only ranked 12th overall by Central Scouting, but he put up 96 points in the OHL last year. Now, suddenly, McGuire praises the Islanders for moving down to get their man.

- Bailey was just compared to Cory Stillman. Gulp. I guess it's better than Adam Foote, though.

- The Canucks are up at #10. The exec announcing the pick is Steve Tambellini, who came very close to becoming the Islanders' GM in 2006. Tambellini mentions Luc Bourdon, who died last month in a motorcycle accident. Classy.

- Vancouver picks Cody Hodgson. One of the idiots says he could be as good as Stamkos, but a "short stride" is holding him back. They do say he's the smartest player in the Draft, though. He's compared to Chris Drury, which is never a bad thing. McGuire makes a good point - Hodgson could be a nice replacement for Trevor Linden.

- Next up is Chicago. Their draft party is at a bar. Jeez. Their pick is Kyle Beach, who was considered "the bad boy of the Draft". He had 27 goals and 231 penalty minutes last year. Canada wouldn't let him play in the Under-18 World Championships. Now here's a guy the Blackhawks fans can get behind.

- The Kings go back up there at #12. Last time, their representative thanked the 2,000 fans watching at their Draft Party (that's it?) and made a bad joke about having "a hundred picks" at this year's Draft. Nobody laughed. It was awkward.

- The idiots speculate that the Kings just traded the pick to Buffalo. Bettman confirms it. Buffalo gives up a 3rd-round pick in 2009 to move up one spot. Shrewd. Bettman looks like he wants to hit the hotel bar pretty hard tonight.

- Buffalo's rep shows up LA by announcing it has 4,000 people at their Draft Party. Oh, snap! The Sabres select Tyler Myers, an extremely tall and thin white guy. TSN, in their infinite wisdom, compares him to Zdeno Chara. I wonder where they got that one from. Still, he's a defenseman, which Buffalo needs pretty badly.

- The Kings take Colten Teubert, a defenseman. He looks like someone who can hold his own at both ends. The Kings' defense seems pretty solid for the next decade or so.

- Teubert has a really, really horrible nameplate on the back of his jersey. I guess the Kings had no idea who to pick, brought a bunch of nameplates, and just pinned one on real quick before going up there.

- Ron Francis comes up to announce the pick for Carolina. Did you know that in 2006, his number was retired in both Carolina and Hartford? That's quite an accomplishment, considering there's no team in Hartford anymore. Carolina takes Zach Boychuk, who compares with Jason Blake. Let's hope that's the Jason Blake we saw on Long Island, not the Toronto version.

- TSN gets a nice shot of Ottawa and Nashville (who is due up next) signing some papers about a trade. Bettman promises the Ottawa fans that they'll like the trade. Ottawa moves up three spots to #15 for their first-round pick (#18) and next year's third-rounder. Given that Buffalo gave up what will be a better pick to move up just one spot, that's a pretty good deal.

- Ottawa brings up Daniel Alfredsson to make the pick. Gag. He's the only male in the building not wearing a tie. Who does he think he is, Vince McMahon? Anyway, Erik Karlsson is the pick. TSN has him ranked at #20, but one of the idiots claims some places had him as high as #5. I guess that's what happens when a Canadian team picks someone.

- Karlsson has already stated that he's staying in Sweden next year. He looks young as hell. And he speaks really, really good English. He's going to be a tremendous player someday. Ottawa GM Bryan Murray proclaims Karlsson as "the bessssht player available".

- Boston GM Peter Chiarelli tries to suck up to the Ottawa crowd by announcing that Ottawa is his home city. He also congratulates the Celtics for their NBA Finals victory. Surely, he realizes that the Bruins will never cut it with the Massholes because his team didn't reach the Stanley Cup Final this year. However, should they ever make it, ESPN will be happy to ride the Boston bandwagon some more.

- Oh, the pick? Sorry. Boston takes Joe Colborne at #16. Colborne gets a jersey with no name on the back of it. That's always a good sign. One of the idiots calls him a "project" and proclaims him as "either a home run or a strike-oot". Eh?

- TSN cuts to commercial, stating that Calgary is on the clock. Calgary picks 25th. We're up to #17. See, I told you they were idiots.

- Anaheim, well-compensated from the Dustin Penner fiasco of last year, gets a plush pick. They're "proud to select" Jake Gardiner. He's American. I love when teams say they're proud to select someone. Gardiner is sporting a pink shirt tonight. He's got guts.

- The idiots reveal that today is Gardiner's 18th birthday. Imagine being drafted on your 18th birthday. How awesome would that be? I spent my 18th birthday home sick.

- Brian Burke is asked about trades, and he confirms that he's received offers for his second first-rounder. The idiots ask him who made the offers and what they're offering. UGH. Do people actually find this stuff funny.

- And with that, we're finally up to date. I'm going to miss being able to fast-forward all the crap parts. Oh, and Versus probably should have budgeted more than 3 1/2 hours for this thing. They're up to #18 and they only have 55 minutes left. I guess "Bloodsport" is going to be joined in progress due to the length of the preceding program.

- Nashville's GM is no-nonsense, not even thanking the city of Ottawa for their hospitality or shouting out their fans at the Nashville Draft Party (if there is one). Nashville selects Chet Pickard, who gives props to fellow Predator pick Colin Wilson on the way to the podium. Pickard was the consensus top goalie in the draft. Good thing Dan Ellis signed that extension today.

- Philadelphia has the 19th overall pick. Luca Sbisa is the pick. I'm almost certain Paul Holmgren butchered his name. Sbisa is compared to Mark Streit, which is a pretty high compliment. Philly's building up quite a solid defensive corps.

- Next up are the Rangers. The idiots mention their "problems" with the NHL, and they all laugh about it. OK, it is pretty funny.

- Commercial break. The Mets are winning 5-2 in the second inning. Apparently, the Mets have joined the American League. Oh, wait, they're playing in Colorado. That explains everything.

- Our sideline reporter (she's a female) informs us that tickets to the Draft were free, but ended up being scalped for up to $125. Damn, those Canadians are crazy.

- The Rangers' brass steps up to the podium, has an awkward exchange with Bettman, and sends up one of the guys to make the "hospitality" speech. This is followed up by: "With our first pick in the 2008 Draft, from the Oshawa Generals, Michael Del Zotto." That's not a real sentence.

- For the second year in a row, the Rangers end up with the once-highly-touted guy that nobody picked. Del Zotto was ranked 15th by TSN, but went #20. He was even projected to be as good as Stamkos and Doughty by this time, but it hasn't worked out. Apparently, his question mark is his maturity. It's a good thing he went to a team whose owners are on the verge of being booted out of the league over the team's website. He's also been accused of being too offensive-minded. He compares with Mathieu Schneider, a legendary Ranger.

- Trade. Devils trade their first-rounder (#21) to the Capitals for their first-round pick and one of their three second-round picks. The idiots just told a story when the Devils traded the 10th overall pick in 1990 to Calgary for the 17th pick. Calgary took Trevor Kidd with the 10th pick; the Devils took Martin Brodeur with the 17th. I hate the Devils.

- The Caps take Anton Gustaffson with their new pick. TSN doesn't even have his stats ready. He was supposed to be drafted higher, but he has a herniated disc which scared teams away.

- They've got to move this thing along. I think the NFL Draft was more briskly-paced.

- Edmonton takes Jordan Eberle with the 22nd overall pick. They show clips of him from when he was like ten years old. He projects out to be similar to Joe Mullen - not bad at all. The idiots proclaim this a "perfect pick". Is that because it's a legitimately good pick, or is it because a Canadian team made the pick? I couldn't tell you that. Eberle grew up an Oilers fan. It's always nice when guys go to their ideal team.

- ANOTHER trade. The Devils trade down once again, this time to #24, getting Minnesota's first-rounder and a third-rounder in 2009. This same trade has been made like five times tonight.

- The Wild's representative makes an awkward segue from the "hospitality" speech into their pick, thanking Ottawa for providing them Tyler Cuma. See, Cuma plays for the Ottawa 67's... get it? Ugh. Anyway, he was ranked 16th by TSN. He's got a great leadership pedigree; on a team with revolving captains, Cuma might lead this team for a long while.

- The Devils finally get around to making their pick. Lou Lamoriello shouts out the 5,000 people at the Prudential Center, which is right in line with their usual attendance. Some other guy announces the pick, which is Mattias Tedenby. Tedenby unquestionably wins the award for the tightest shirt of the evening. He's compared to Mats Naslund, which is a bit much for someone who was just picked 4th overall. Hey, Tyler Cuma was compared to Steve Staios, for Christ's sake!

- After the commercial... Calgary picks! They mean it this time!

- True to their word, Calgary approaches the podium. Darryl Sutter, in great spirits, keeps talking to the people at his table and laughing... until Bettman asks him to hurry up. Hey, if I just traded for Mike Cammalleri, I'd be in a good mood too. The Flames pick Greg Nemisz. Calgary always seems to pick up these good forwards without even trying. Nemisz wore an orange shirt, which looks pretty stupid with Calgary's red, but at least he tried.

- Darryl Sutter looks kind of like Bill Murray. Everyone's exhausted, so the hosts try to liven it up by asking Sutter about trade rumors. The hilarity ensues.

- Only three minutes until the slated start time of "Bloodsport". Let's bring it home for Jean-Claude.

- Brian Burke is spotted talking trades with people that aren't TSN hosts! What a bastard.

- Buffalo drafts Tyler Ennis with the 26th overall pick. Like five people clap. I guess $125 doesn't go as far as it used to. One of the idiots suggests that the Sabres picked Ennis because they wanted to take two guys named Tyler in the first round. It's time to go home, people. The only people who care at this point are the players and their parents.

- Ennis is projected to be similar to Cliff Ronning. That's the pick they got for Brian Campbell. Ronning was an underrated player. But even if Ennis is better than Campbell (or Ronning), does it replace the impact of Buffalo trading away yet another star with an expiring contract? If Ryan Miller leaves next year, the Sabres are in deep trouble.

- Commercial. 6-2 Mets in the 5th.

- Apparently, The Tragically Hip are still with us! They played some song of theirs over the PA. The Capitals take John Carlson, a defenseman, with the 27th overall pick. I can't remember the last time I saw relevant footage of a drafted player.

- Carlson is 6'2" and 212 pounds at just 18 years old. That's impressive. Not surprisingly, he's compared to Mike Komisarek.

- Anaheim and Phoenix are talking trade. They're also doing so right in front of Bettman so he doesn't have to give them the evil eye.

- The Ducks give Phoenix #28 in exchange for the 35th and 39th overall picks. Not bad. Sure beats a third-rounder in 2009.

- The Coyotes have a humongous bucket of popcorn on their draft table. It's even bigger than the large ones at the movie theater.

- Gretzky gets another cheap pop. They select Viktor Tikhonov, former coach of the Russian Red Army. Just kidding; it's the grandson of the legendary coach. He's thought of so highly that TSN didn't even rank him. However, Tikhonov grew up in America and does want to play in North America, so this could be a good pick. Of course, TSN says that despite his "high skill level", most scouts had him at a third-round pick. These people contradict themselves every time they open their mouths.

- Two picks left. Time for another commercial.

- Mike Mussina has ten wins this year? How? Remember when every Yankee fan wanted to cut him? Yeah. Leave it to the uber-loyal fans of the Yankees to be rewarded by those whom they cast off.

- Fun fact: There have been more first-round trades in this draft than in the previous four years combined.

- Atlanta picks at #29 with the pick Pittsburgh gave up in the Marian Hossa trade. Daultan Leveille is the pick. He's said to be one of the fastest guys in the draft. They actually show footage of him... yup, he's fast. I guess they're tired of saying "project", so they say he's a "long-term projection". In other words, he needs work.

- Last up in the first round, the Stanley Cup Champs. It's a shame Montreal didn't have a first-round pick. I love hearing them announce their picks in French.

- Detroit is wasting absolutely no time busting up to the podium. They brought Steve Yzerman along to make the pick - good idea. He gets a nice ovation from the crowd. He's also apparently the vice president of the team. Hmm. Their pick: Thomas McCollum, a goaltender. He could be the heir apparent to Chris Osgood, though goalies tend to take forever to develop.

- McCollum looks like a grown-up version of Junior from "Problem Child". The announcers just stated that he'd probably be in juniors for two years, then spend two years in the AHL, then come up to the big club. So much for him taking over for Osgood. However, he is compared to Ed Belfour. Better him than Eric Fichaud.

- That's a wrap. The crowd is empty at the ScotiaBank Place. So is my brain. Thanks to anyone who read this. The other six rounds will air tomorrow on the NHL Network; needless to say, we will not be live-blogging them. Good night!

Your Guide To The 2008 NHL Entry Draft

Tomorrow night, young prospects from all over the world will convene at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. The first round will be shown in prime-time on Versus. Look no further than The Rivalry for your one-stop shop for information about the Draft. We're not going to do a mock draft or anything like that; after all, the one thing in common about all the draftees is that we don't know anything about any of them. That said, we'll still be watching, as we think all hockey fans should.

And away we go!

When and where is the draft taking place?
The 2008 NHL Entry Draft will be at the ScotiaBank Place in Ottawa. The Draft will be split up into two parts. The first round will take place Friday night at 7 PM. The Draft resumes Saturday morning at 10 AM, when the remaining six rounds will take place.

How can I watch the Draft?
For the second straight year, the first round is airing in prime-time on Versus. Saturday's portion of the draft will be broadcast on the NHL Network.

What can we expect to see?
We have yet to see even one second of footage of any of the top prospects at the Draft. So we have no idea of who will be picked where, which teams are likely to take what players, or any of the actual "draft" stuff. However, there are a couple of picks we're willing to take to the bank. And, since it's hard to get excited about a player we might not even see for five years, these items provide the most entertaining part about the draft.

• At least thirty mentions that this is "the deepest NHL Entry Draft in years".
• An awkward introduction by Gary Bettman where he thanks the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins for great TV ratings... err, a great Stanley Cup Final.
• Steven Stamkos showing up to the Draft with his parents, wearing a suit that combines the colors black, blue, and silver.
• Only one team will provide its' first-round pick with a jersey with the player's actual number on it - the Tampa Bay Lightning (Stamkos, #91).
• Each team will send a gaggle of executives and one alumni member to the Draft. The group will make a 5-minute speech, congratulating the Red Wings on their Stanley Cup win and thank the Ottawa Senators and city of Ottawa for their hospitality. Then, the pick will be announced, and the last name of the player will definitely be mispronounced.
• Lots of footage of the draftees, accompanied by lots of awful jerseys and lots of corporate sponsors all over those jerseys.
• Lots of bad interviews with players who are either nervous wrecks or are overly relieved to be chosen (or both). The phrases "happy to be here", "the organization", and "looking forward to training camp" will be said approximately ten thousand times. Each.
• Versus will air that Dockers commercial they showed a million times during the playoffs another fifty times on Friday night alone.
• Live cut-ins to Draft Parties around the country, where at least one team's fanbase will boo the pick of a player that they've never even seen play.
• Plenty of lagged interviews with GMs who will state that they got who they wanted, even if it's a blatant lie.

What will the local teams be doing for the Draft?
The Islanders, no strangers to high draft picks, will be hosting a Draft Party at the Coliseum. John Buccigross gets the night off from the Boston sports circlejerk that is SportsCenter and is slated to be the MC. Jack Hillen and Robin Figren, with a combined two games of NHL experience between them, will be there to greet fans. The event will feature interviews with Garth Snow, Ted Nolan, and whomever the Islanders pick.

The Rangers... um... don't get to have a Draft Party anymore now that the NHL hates them and wants to kick Charles Dolan out of the league.

As for the actual Draft?
Well, the Islanders' draft promotion says it all. "2000: Rick DiPietro. 2006: Kyle Okposo. Who's next?" I guess they'd like us to forget about Raffi Torres (traded for Janne Niinimaa), Jason Spezza (traded for Alexei Yashin), Robert Nilsson (traded for Ryan Smyth) Petteri Nokelainen (traded for the immortal Ben Walter), and Ryan O'Marra (also traded for Smyth). In other words, Isles fans, don't get your hopes up.

The Rangers have recovered from the era of Pavel Brendl and Jamie Lundmark to have a very impressive draft record in recent years, particularly in the later rounds. If they don't wow you early on, just be patient - they'll get at least one or two solid NHL players in this draft, which is more than can be said for a lot of teams out there.

Will there be any trades?
Tough to say. We have all heard for months about how deep this Draft is and how nobody wants to trade their picks. Is this true, or was all that talk simply posturing for a bigger deal later on? We'll find out this weekend. The truth is, the sure thing of a quality player now means more to GMs than a player who might be good down the line, especially with a lot of teams feeling like they're just one or two players away. This year's free agent crop is pretty weak, which might force a few hands this weekend, so don't be shocked if there's a good amount of trade activity. However, don't be surprised if teams opt to simply take the best players they can with the picks they already have.

Anything else?
Nope. We hope you enjoy the Draft; after all, Versus could use good ratings so that they can bring us more quality NHL action next season. Seriously, even though these prospects are all mysteries to us, we still watch the Draft each year and are entertained by it. Hey, why not? It's hockey.

Oh, and if you actually care about who's good in the Draft, here's TSN's Top 60 Prospects. Enjoy!

Bryan's Hall Of Fame Ballot

The Hockey Hall Of Fame is voted on by a selection committee. However, let's pretend for a second that it's like the Baseball Hall Of Fame, where the media does the voting. (We'll leave out the part where the baseball media holds vendettas against players and doesn't vote for worthy players because they don't "deserve" to be voted in on their first year of eligibility.) Let's extend the fantasy even further and pretend that The Rivalry is a credentialed media source. Yes, the very site that applied for the NYI Blog Box twice and didn't even get a response is going to decide who is a Hall Of Famer and who isn't.

This is a very important year for the Hockey Hall Of Fame. Thanks to the lockout, there are no new entries this year, which means some of the older players who have fallen through the cracks get a legitimate second chance. And it's a chance these players will need; next year's class will almost certainly feature Steve Yzerman, Brian Leetch, and Luc Robitaille. So, for many of these players, it's get in now or potentially wait a very, very long time.

There are a lot of players out there who get Hall consideration that, quite frankly, don't deserve it. The fine line between "great player" and "Hall Of Famer" grows more blurry each day as the media pressures itself to compare everything in the context of history. So let's clear it up a little. Here are some players who qualify as great, but fall just short of the Hall Of Fame: Glenn Anderson, Tom Barrasso, Adam Oates, Mike Richter, Pat Verbeek, Mike Vernon. Sorry, five hundred goals doesn't get you in if you played in the 80's. Of the goalies, Vernon has the best case of the bunch, but he was never considered the best goalie in the league at any point in his career.

Guys who could be Hall Of Famers, but didn't make the cut?

- Pavel Bure. His numbers compare with Cam Neely's, namely high production in a short period of time. Bure gets high marks for having some good seasons in the Dead Puck Era. However, Neely also brought a physical element to his play, whereas Bure was strictly an offensive player. Bure will get in, probably this year, but there are more deserving guys out there.

- Sergei Makarov/Vladimir Krutov. Having never seen either of these guys in their primes, it's hard to differentiate the two. They were both superstars in Russia when Russians couldn't play in the NHL, but flopped once they finally came to North America. Each is exceedingly deserving of enshrinement in the Hall, but I can't bump two players I know well for two guys I don't know much about.

- Dino Ciccarelli. Dino almost made the cut, but ended up falling just short. No Stanley Cups hurt him, not to mention the fact that, like Vernon, he never stood out as the best player of his generation. Playing in the era Ciccarelli did hurts his chances, but he did score 35 goals for Tampa Bay at the age of 37 in 1997. He'll get in, but the stats show he was just an average playoff performer. Hard to stand out that way, even with 608 regular season goals.

So, then, who gets in? Here are the four guys I'd vote for if my vote actually meant something.

- Igor Larionov. Odds are pretty good that Russian players would have eventually found their way over to the NHL if not for Igor Larionov. But he's the one who made it happen in the 1980's, when it was unfathomable that the Russians would ever join the NHL. Larionov managed to make the NHL a true global league, opening the doors for all of Europe to come to North America to play. We take Europeans for granted now, but Larionov paved the way for them. Oh, and Larionov was also a tremendous player, lasted the longest of any of the original Russians, won three Stanley Cups, and groomed many of the young stars who just won the Cup with Detroit.

- Claude Lemieux. People are going to love this one. So be it. It's absolutely insane that Claude Lemieux isn't in the Hall Of Fame already. A lot of guys have four Stanley Cup rings, but how many of them earned them in four separate tours of duty? People point to Lemieux's lackluster regular season stats, but the NHL is the one sport where the regular season means absolutely nothing. Also, the NHL loves to promote "old-time hockey" as something desirable, so the argument that Lemieux was a dirty player doesn't hold much water. After all, nobody complained when Scott Stevens built a Hall Of Fame resume with tons of elbows-up, open-ice hits. If the mark of a great player is someone who raises his game in the playoffs and wins games, Claude Lemieux has to be included in the Hall Of Fame.

- Doug Gilmour. Gilmour gets lost in the shuffle of the great players and ridiculous stats of the 1980s, but he proved his worth in the early 1990s with the Maple Leafs. It could be argued that Gilmour was the best player in the NHL just before the 1994 lockout, and the stats reflect this. He never won a Cup with Toronto (something that would have sealed his fate as a Hall Of Famer instantly), but did win one with Calgary in 1989 and was part of the 1987 Canada Cup team. Gilmour's physical play is also underrated, breaking the 100-PIM barrier three times in his career.

- Esa Tikkanen. See the entry on Claude Lemieux for why a pesky player who simply won everywhere he went should be included in the Hall. Tikkanen played in the playoffs in thirteen years for six different teams, yet his teams lost in the first round only three times. Furthermore, his teams reached the conference finals in nine of those thirteen years. Imagine that! Four Cups with the Oilers, one with the Rangers, and one Finals appearance with the Capitals. Tikkanen also played a very important defensive role on the offense-first Oilers, yet still managed to average nearly a point per game with the club.

So there you have it. That's a ballot from someone who realizes there's more to hockey than scoring points. In other words, Tikkanen doesn't have a chance and Lemieux is more and more of a longshot each passing year. Gilmour and Larionov definitely get in this year, though, likely alongside Bure and a random straggler (probably Oates).

2008-09 Rangers: Offense...

The second in a three-part series of how the 08-09 Rangers will shape up.

OFFENSE

There seem to be 4 big questions about the Rangers offense come October.

Will Sean Avery re-sign? Will Jaromir Jagr? Brendan Shanahan? Will they make a splash on July 1 during free agency?

My guesses: Yes, yes, no, minimally.

First off, who is under contract next year?

The middle looks solidified with Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Brandon Dubinsky, and Blair Betts coming back. Ryan Callahan, Ryan Hollweg, and Colton Orr are also under contract, making 7 out of 14 signed.

Nigel Dawes, Petr Prucha, and Freddy Sjostrom are restricted free agents (known as RFAs, the Rangers have first rights to them before they can hit the open market... if another team offers them a contract, the Rangers can either match it or let the other team sign them and receive draft picks as compensation).

Regarding those signed to contracts and the RFAs, I would see most of them playing in blue next year, except two of them, especially Sjostrom. He really seemed to take to NY and the fans really took to him in his two months with the team.

I believe a team might offer Petr Prucha an offer sheet with the Rangers letting him go for 2 draft picks, or whatever the compensation for him would be based on the contract. He was wasted the past two years, mainly last year, and is no longer a big part of the team like he was in 2005-06. Plus, the team isn't going to be Czech-centric any longer, as it's moving towards a Swedish/North American unit. Keep in mind I love Prucha, and would like to see him given a chance somewhere else.

I think Hollweg might be moved in the off-season, maybe even as a draft-day package to move up. Think about it. If you're Glen Sather, who would you rather have on your ice, Lauri Korpikoski (goal in his first playoff game) or Hollweg (season-killing boarding penalty in playoffs). Hollweg was once a big energy player, but that was 2 seasons ago, and now he is more of a liability then anything else.

I also can see Colton Orr being moved on deadline day, but that's a while away. He has proved to be a real good enforcer with better skills then when the Rangers picked him off waivers from Boston, and a team lacking in toughness (hi, Dallas, hello, San Jose) would need him for a deep run.

Unrestricted Free Agents

Right off the bat, I don't think Shanahan will return. He was obviously hurting in the playoffs, but regardless, he has lost a step since his concussion in February of 2006. He is a legend with 3 Stanley Cups. Would he return to be a 3rd or 4th line player? Plus, the Rangers already owe money against the cap for his 07-08 season.

I do think Sean Avery will return, regardless of what Swedish Tomas Holmstrom wannabe's they acquired today. A multi-year, $3.3M deal sounds good. The Rangers obviously need him, and he needs New York as well.

I also think Jagr will come back, in a one-year, $4M contract, maybe with bonus incentives. He wants the Cup. However, this is his first year of free agency in his lifetime, and he might want to test the waters. Atleast people are saying that. I think for him, it's either NY or Russia or Czech. After the lockout, he said he wasn't going to return to America if he wasn't a Ranger. He doesn't want to be a Red Wing, or a Senator, or anything else. 

Marty Straka hinges entirely on Jagr. If Jagr doesn't return, Marty isn't either. If Jagr does, Straka might do a one-year deal, around the $2.5M mark. I would venture to say this warrior still has gas in the tank. He has been a great Ranger since Day One, playing hurt (a not-reported torn bicep for the last few months of the regular season and into the playoffs in 2007; breaking his finger in 2 spots blocking 2 different shots on the same play in Boston this year).

Prospects

Expect Korpikoski, P.A. Parenteau, Brodie Dupont, Artem Anisimov, Dane Byers, and Greg Moore to get looks in camp. Although I doubt Dupont and Byers will make the club, the rest will get a solid shot. If Anisimov can bulk up, he might surprise people. Remember, he should have been a first round draft pick but went 2nd round because teams were scared he would never transfer from Russia. 

Korpikoski is next season's Dubinsky, I believe. Using one game as a focal point isn't fair to anyone, but when the Rangers season was dim, he scored a key goal while Shanahan, Gomez, Drury, and Jagr sat on the bench doing nothing. 

Moore might be next season's Dawes - a player who goes up and down to the minors and breaks in when someone gets injured.

Parenteau is the player I'm looking forward to (as well as Anisimov) the most. He did very well in the AHL the past few years, and once scored 118 points in a season in the Q. 

Oh, don't forget to keep in mind Hugh Jessiman. Oh, and here's an expression I don't use often - LOL! The Rangers will keep him in preseason games, pretend they're looking seriously at him, then send him to Hartford again. They just don't want to admit that they should have drafted Zach Parisa, Ryan Getzlaf, Dustin Brown, Brent Burns, Mike Richards, Patrice Bergeron, Shea Weber, Patrick O'Sullivan, or Dan Carcillo instead of him.

Final Thoughts

Expect the forwards to be something like this...

CENTERS: Drury, Gomez, Dubinsky, Betts

WINGERS: Dawes, Callahan, Orr, Sjostrom

UFAs: Jagr, Avery, Shanahan or Straka (can't see Sather bringing both veterans back)

KIDS: Korpikoski

That leaves one spot, either a free agent signee or a prospect. 

The free agent pool isn't terribly deep. Peter Forsberg, Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison are sexy picks. Oh, no, this isn't 2003. 

Marian Hossa will be grossly overpaid, and since Drury and Gomez were grossly overpaid (and Michal Rozsival might be), they can't afford another Hossa mistake. Brian Rolston is older now, but still solid. However, the Wild want him back so bad they can taste it. Ladislav Nagy gets a bad rap but is really a good player. However, I just don't see him being signed.

The only free agent wingers I can see the Blueshirts getting are Radim Vrbata (had a very good season in the desert), Michael Ryder (had a very bad season in Montreal), Matt Cooke, and maybe Pascal Dupuis, who left NY and became very dependable and quite dangerous. Of course, I would blow a load on my keyboard if I log onto TSN on July 1 and see "RANGERS SIGN RYAN MALONE TO MULTI-YEAR DEAL."

I'm sorry I'm long-winded. The defensive preview will be shorter.

Stanley Cup Champions

"The New York Islanders are the 2007-2008 Stanley Cup Champions!" - Gary Thorne

The Islanders are champions of the world. Or, at least they are in the X-Box 360 world. In NHL 08, the Islanders just defeated the Minnesota Wild by a score of 3-1 to clinch their fifth Stanley Cup. Bryan Berg won the Conn Smythe with 14 goals and 23 points in 19 games.

Since it took a great deal of work to turn the Islanders into winners, we'll be looking at exactly how it was done. It wasn't easy to turn this batch of grinders and bad contracts into a Cup contender, let alone a playoff team. However, in NHL 08, it was possible. We here at The Rivalry have a tremendous amount of reverence for this game; the video game site I write for, Die Hard GameFAN, voted NHL 08 the 2007 Sports Game Of The Year. In the coming weeks, we'll be linking to an exclusive interview I did with EA Canada about NHL 09.

Anyway. In short order, you'll see the free agent signings, trades, and player creations that were necessary to just barely get this team into the playoffs. From there, the team was able to round into form and capture the Cup. But it sure wasn't easy.

Coming soon: Rebuilding The Islanders, Part 1: The Overhaul

My Rangers DVD Set...

Asked by Bryan to pick 10 games for a hypothetical NY Rangers DVD boxed set (essentially, a Top 10 Rangers games of all-time list), like yeast in dough, I rose to the occasion. Keep in mind, I was born in 1983, so anything before 1990 or so is based on what I have heard about, read about, or seen on TV. Tempted to only write about Ranger victories over the Islanders, my judgement caught up with me...

April 13, 1940 - NYR 3, Toronto 2, Overtime - Stanley Cup Finals, Game 6 - All-Star RW Bryan Hextall (he of 39 points in 48 games) scores in overtime to give the Rangers their 3rd Stanley Cup in just 14 seasons. Then, management burned the lease of MSG in the Cup, and the Rangers wouldn't win the Cup for another 54 years.

April 29, 1971 - NYR 3, Chicago 2, Triple Overtime - Semi-Finals, Game 6 - Pete Stemkowski scores in triple overtime to give the Rangers a Game 7 against the Blackhawks while at MSG. They wound up losing Game 7, but the game - and Stemkowski - are forever a part of Rangers's lore.

November 2, 1975 - Detroit 6, NYR 4 - Regular Season - The season before, Eddie Giacomin started less games than his partner, Gilles Villemure. In the off-season, Villemure was traded to Chicago. Giacomin lost his starting job to John Davidson, and in fact only played 4 games in blue before going to Detroit on waivers. Two days later, he returned, and when a Ranger scored on Eddie, they were boo-ed mercilessly. The Wings won the game, and Giacomin received a standing ovation.

May 8, 1979 - NYR 2, Islanders 1 - Semi-finals, Game 6 - The Islanders were the future, the Rangers an afterthought. However, in this series, John Davidson became a Rangers legend with his incredible play. Mike Lupica called the series "a gift" because of how good the hockey was. In a baseball town, it put hockey on the map and solidified JD's legacy in NY.

March 6, 1994 - NYR 5, NYI 4 - Regular Season - The Rangers hadn't won at the Coliseum since October of 1989. The night before, they tied 3-3 at MSG. With a young, chubby, 10-year old me at the game, the Rangers won on a Sergei Zubov power play goal with just over a minute remaining in the game. In this game, Mike Richter started, Glen Healy replaced him, and Richter replaced Healy later on. (By the way, Islanders goal scorers that night: Pierre Turgeon, Ben Hogue, Ray Ferraro, and Marty McInnis.)

May 27, 1994 - NYR 2, Devils 1 - Conference Finals, Game 7 - How was this not one of the best games - if not series - ever? Up 1-0 with 7.7 seconds left, Val Zelepukin scores for the Devils to bring it to overtime. If the Devils won in OT, the Rangers would still be cursed to this day. However, the Stanley Cup was their Destiny in 1994, and Stephane Matteau (he of the Tony Amonte deadline-day trade) scored his second double-OT goal of the series. Not only did this game cement his legacy in Rangers lore, it put Howie Rose's call on the list of greatest calls ever. By the way, Howie, there is no Mount Vancouver.

June 14, 1994 - NYR 3, Vancouver 2 - Stanley Cup Finals, Game 7 - What can be said about this that hasn't already been said? This was the apex of Ranger fandom and might be forever, regardless of how many Cups they wind up winning. After 54 years and a turbulent playoffs where they went 3-0 in elimination games, who else but Mark Messier scores the Cup-winning goal. Looking back, it was an amazing game, with all the stars scoring - Mess, Adam Graves, Brian Leetch, and Trevor Linden had the only 2 for the Canucks. Richter also played off the wall in this game, saving history for the Rangers.

March 31, 2004 - Buffalo 4, NYR 2 - Last home game of the regular season - Not wanting his last game to be on the road, Mark Messier played his final game - and scored his final goal, number 694 - at MSG, followed by a few victory laps and a lot of tears from him. A disappointing end to another disappointing season, the game was only remarkable because he scored a goal and was surrounded by Jaromir Jagr, Bobby Holik, and a bunch of people named Green, Green, Balej, Murray, Larose, and other names you won't care to remember.

October 5, 2005 - Rangers 5, Flyers 3 - Regular Season, First Game - I remember sitting on my couch, depressed, as the Flyers took a 3-1 lead in the first game since the lockout. Some dude named Jason Strudwick scored the Rangers goal early in the first, but the Rangers gave up 2 quick ones and another in the 2nd before Jamie Lundmark (boooo) scored. Then, Jaromir Jagr took over, scoring 2 power play goals 5 minutes apart, and Marcel Hossa scored a half-minute later to make it 5-3. Jagr's goals were a pre-cursor of things to come, as we have never seen a Ranger score so many points in all of their years.

This also marked a turning point for the franchise. No longer were they going to go down by a few goals and not fight to stay in the game. No longer were the superstars going to stand around and collect paychecks. This was a team made up of grinders, stars, and established vets who played with heart and soul, not to mention a superstar goalie waiting in the wings. To this day, I call the 2005-06 season a dream season.

April 4, 2006 - NYR 3, Flyers 2 - Regular Season - This was the game where the Rangers clinched the playoffs for the first time in 9 years, with starter-turned-back-up Kevin Weekes in net. The Rangers needed just one point to clinch the playoffs, so when Marty Straka scored in the third, we all felt it. The shootout win was just icing on the cake. This was a great, great moment that took the gorilla off of the Rangers' backs, and on top of that, the game itself was excellent. Of course, the Rangers would only win two more games until October, but this was a night of celebration, a night the Rangers fans hadn't seen since Wayne Gretzky was in blue and Jagr was still on his first team.

April 5, 2007 - NYR 3, Montreal 1 - Regular Season - The last home game of the season, and as per usual, Steven McDonald was there to give out his Extra Effort Award (Jed Ortmeyer won). He also fired up the crowd and the team, who needed a win to clinch the playoffs again. His speech went something along the lines of this...

"When I lay dying in my hospital bed after being shot, the NY Rangers came in and gave me a challenge: Live. Today, I give you the NY Rangers a challenge: Win."

The Rangers won on with goals from Petr Prucha, Jagr, and Marek Malik (!). And the Chili's to-go I had gave me stomach pains for about 12 days.

April 17, 2007 - NYR 7, Atlanta 0 - First round, Game 3 - The 06-07 season was mediocre at best, with the Rangers again finishing in 6th place, although they drew a weak opponent in Atlanta. Still, it was a good sign when the Rangers won both games down south, then came back to MSG and demolished the Thrashers, 7-0. Michael Nylander scored one in the first minute and ended up with a hat trick. Malik (!) scored, rookie Ryan Callahan scored 2 in the second, and seasoned-vet Brendan Shanahan scored as well. It was also Henrik Lundqvist's first postseason shutout, and proved the Rangers were to be taken seriously in the playoffs on the heels of being swept last year. (They were the only team to be swept in 2006 and the only team to sweep a series in 2007.) Oh, and I had Subway for dinner.

Okay, okay, so it's 12 games, but I wanted to include the 7-0 game and Messier's final stand just in case it's hard to come by footage from 1940.