The Guerin Trade

So the Internet is abuzz about this supposedly "done deal" that has Bill Guerin going to an Eastern Conference playoff contender. And as is always the case when details aren't finalized, speculation comes to the forefront and people go crazy trying to figure things out. We're not going to be doing that. Sorry.

I actually missed tonight's game so I could take my wife out to dinner. When I got home, my mom told me Guerin warmed up, but didn't play. She's not as well-versed in NHL business as I, so while she was a bit confused, I immediately knew it had something to do with a trade. After all, he had agreed to waive his no-trade clause earlier this week. The story now is that he's going somewhere for at least a second round draft pick, if not more. Not bad for a team who is only really losing 20 or so games out of a player in a season that is going nowhere.

Now, when I told my mom about all of this, she responded with something like, "Oh, well if he really cared about the Islanders, he wouldn't agree to waive his no-trade clause." That's not true. If anything, I'm sure it was Garth Snow who initiated such a discussion. Besides, nothing is stopping Guerin from coming right back here next year. Remember when Guerin's buddy Doug Weight got traded from St. Louis to Carolina, won a Stanley Cup, then re-signed with St. Louis? It's not totally out of the realm of possibility. As Zach likes to say, Long Island is awesome for those who have the money to really enjoy it.

Most fans wouldn't mind Guerin and Weight re-signing with the Islanders next year. After all, this team isn't ready to become a youth-driven one, and it never hurts to have guys who want to play for the Islanders. But tomorrow's Newsday promises to be a fun one, as Greg Logan states his article will be about some veterans who have shaky relationships with coach Scott Gordon. It's hard to see Weight, who was enjoying a tremendous resurgence before being injured, being among the players who are tuning Gordon out. Guerin is on pace to at least match last year's totals despite playing with less offensive talent. This article will have huge repercussions with fans, especially since we all know players talk to each other and anyone who's not a Gordon fan will tell any prospective free agent not to come to Long Island. We can only hope for the best here.

In short, there's a lot in the air in Islanders Country right now. Tomorrow morning, we'll have a lot more closure. My only question is how the Islanders can possibly trade Guerin for only a draft pick and stay above the salary floor. I guess this is another question that will be answered tomorrow.

An Interesting Night Of Hockey

There are a handful of times each year when fan loyalties are put aside in favor of certain results that are favorable to playoff position. This is one of those nights.

The free-falling Rangers face those juggernauts from the West, the Colorado Avalanche. Meanwhile, the Islanders face the Buffalo Sabres, who are 8th in the East with 69 points, just one behind the Rangers. It's too early to be doing all this, right? Wrong. If the Sabres beat the Islanders and the Rangers don't take advantage of two gift points againt an awful Colorado team playing 2000 miles from home, the Rangers are in deep trouble. Because if these things happen and if Pittsburgh beats Dallas, the Rangers will find themselves out of the East's top eight. That might not sound like a big deal, but Rangers fans are furious and the players are under a ton of pressure. They don't need to add to this by dropping out of a playoff spot, something that will surely get the fans even madder than they already are. Islanders fans, on the other hand, would love nothing more than to put the screws to their biggest rivals; with a considerable cushion at the bottom of the league, this is a win they'd love to have.

Again, another quality night. It's always awesome to see these teams play on the same night. I just wish they'd start 30 minutes apart so they wouldn't go to intermission at the same time.

No, I'm Not Saying What You Think I'm Saying...

Tonight's 2-1 loss to Florida in regulation (in a "4-point game," no less) goes to show that if you sign 2nd-line players to 1st-line money and 4th-D-men to 1st-pairing money, you won't be able to score goals or stop an onslaught, no matter who is behind the bench and how good your goalie is.

The Rangers wasted cap space by signing 2nd-line centers Scott Gomez and Chris Drury to money Rick Nash, Marian Hossa, and Ilya Kovalchuk should be making. Ryan Whitney makes less than Michal Rozsival, and Zdeno Chara makes only a million more than Wade Redden.

And this is going to be the same for a long time, unless GM Glen Sather admits his mistakes and tries to take what he can for these players. It's not entirely a knock on the players - although even they'll admit they aren't playing up to their ability - but they are eating up so much cap space for such a long time that there is no light at the end of this tunnel.

Sather has admitted mistakes in the past. He signed Matt Cullen to a crazy deal, Cullen couldn't take NY, and he shipped him back to Carolina. Aaron Ward isn't on Broadway anymore, either. Adam Hall is gone. (I realize as I'm typing this that the only year he recognized mistakes from where 2006-07, also the year he let Petr Sykora leave for Edmonton when he wanted to be a Ranger. Sorry to get off topic.)

He needs to ditch some of these contracts if only for the cap room. I like Gomez as a person, but wouldn't you, as a fan, rather see the Rangers put his $7M cap hit into a proven scorer like Kovalchuk or Nash, or into a big defender like Chara or Jay Bouwmeester? Or maybe divided into a $4M player and a $3M player?

* * *

The team did seem more "attacking" today with John Tortorella behind the bench, but...

a) He has only coached 2 games now.

b) You can only squeeze so much juice from a dry lemon.

c) He had Gomez, Markus Naslund, et al, on the ice with the time winding down. Tom Renney would've done that, also. Same as for the power play - basically the same guys. Yes, they went 1-4 in Toronto, but they only had 2 shots on goal in 4 power plays!

* * *

What's worse? Missing the playoffs and getting a 1st round draft pick in the top 14, or selling some future to barely make the playoffs, lose in the first round to a superior New Jersey or Boston team, and getting a pick around 16-22?

I'm not rooting for them to lose - no way. But I do hope that if they make the playoffs they don't sell off what they have in their system just for 2 extra home games. The Islanders did that with Ryan Smyth and failed the same year that Atlanta did it with Keith Tkachuk.

We all know what will happen if they get a draft pick in the 1st round though - they'll waste it.

* * *

Crazy that after a 5-0 start and a pretty solid first two months (I think they were 11-2-1 at one point) we are talking about what happens if they miss the playoffs.

I told you those early points would be huge in February, March, and April. Imagine if they started 2-2-1? They'd be out of the Top 8 right now.

Stat Of The Day

In the past two games - last night and tonight - Sean Bergenheim has three breakaway opportunities while shorthanded. Of the three, one ended when his contact lens came dislodged, one resulted in a penalty shot, and the other resulted in a goal, his third shorthanded goal of the season. Bergenheim is now just one goal off his career high of 10, which he set last year, but has played 29 less games this year.

Oh, and Bergenheim is signed through next year and has gone on record saying he wants to stay on Long Island and make it work with the Islanders. We need more guys like Sean Bergenheim on this team.

The More Things Change...

If you didn't know any better, you'd think Tom Renney was still coaching the Rangers.

Sure, there were moments that inspired you. Markus Naslund dropping the gloves with Ian White. Chris Drury, Michal Rozsival, and Wade Redden collaborating on a power play goal. Petr Prucha getting 15 minutes of ice time. But in the end, you got the same results you're used to getting - yet another shootout, and yet another loss against an eminently beatable opponent. A point is a point, but this probably should have been two.

After 62 games, the Rangers have won 31 games and lost 31, although eight of those losses came in overtime or the shootout. They have 20 games left, 14 of which are against the top ten in the Eastern Conference. Tomorrow night, the Rangers host Florida in what is not only a four-point game, but is the biggest game either team has played all year. Who would have ever thought that would be the case? If you're a Rangers fan, you hope John Tortorella can at least inspire a solid effort in back-to-back games; however, tomorrow's game will not be easy. The Rangers have to travel overnight from Toronto, while the Panthers are steaming after getting destroyed by Boston last night. Should be a good one.

Speaking of Toronto, how ridiculous is it that they played the Rangers at home tonight, but will be traveling to New York overnight to play the Islanders tomorrow? It makes no sense, at least if you choose to ignore the fact that the Knicks played at home tonight. Anyway, the Islanders probably deserved a little more than they got against Pittsburgh, losing 1-0 on a Petr Sykora goal with less than three minutes left. Yes, it's true that the Islanders didn't manage a shot on goal on the power play. But they also hit the crossbar twice, got some great saves from Yann Danis, and were more than up to the task for facing a reeling, Crosby-less Penguins team. However, as all good teams do, the Penguins answered the call with about five minutes left, finally turning the intensity up and shutting the door once they finally scored. It didn't help that the Islanders were extremely sloppy after allowing Sykora's goal, a telltale sign of a young, inexperienced team.

Watching the Pittsburgh Penguins, the defending Eastern Conference champions, celebrate their only goal against a 30th place team like they had just won the Stanley Cup was a bitter pill to swallow. Forget the whole race for the first overall pick for a second. This one hurt. This is the point we're at with these Islanders - they'll play well enough to be competitive, but more often than not will fall just short. The Isles are a somewhat respectable 5-7-1 since the All-Star Break, and they have a better chance than you might think at finishing the second half with a .500 record; of course, should this actually happen, you'll never see it mentioned once in any newspaper or on any talk show. The Islanders dug their grave long ago, and a lot of it has to do with Scott Gordon's stubborn refusal to bench Joey "12-24-4" MacDonald in favor of Yann "5-8-2" Danis. Nevertheless, each game is an opportunity for these Islanders, and there are 22 chances left to watch these young players learn and show the occasional flash of brilliance.

Two New York teams, two results we all saw coming. Both teams are back in action tomorrow night. The Rangers desperately need a win; the Islanders, on the other hand, are 16 points back of Toronto and can play as well as they'd like. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better night for New York hockey than this one.

Mark Bell...

So John Tortorella thinks Sean Avery should "stay home" because of a bad joke he made about an ex-girlfriend (comments he made on TSN), but apparently being arrested for a hit and run made while driving under the influence is perfectly acceptable.

Why do the Rangers need another 3rd/4th line winger? Are Nigel Dawes, Lauri Korpikoski, Ryan Callahan, Petr Prucha, Colton Orr, Fred Sjostrom, and Aaron Voros not enough? Not to mention Avery in the wings if he doesn't get picked up by another team on his way up.

Were Theo Fleury and Sandis Ozolinsh not available?

Unless he goes straight to the AHL, or unless this is a prelude to a trade where the Rangers unload a bunch of players, this makes no sense at all. It's not like he's a great value. For Christ's sake, Toronto didn't want him!

Wasn't this the Rangers' problem in the beginning of the year? Too many forwards signed for no reason (Voros, Pat Rissmiller) that there wasn't room for everyone?

* * *

And for the record, I'm not picking on someone who made a mistake once in his life. I'm pointing out that he's a jerk - for lack of a dirty word - and he's always been, on and off the ice.

* * *

Bell was chosen 8th overall in 1998 by the Chicago Blackhawks, 7 spots after Vinny Lecavilier, two spots after Calgary took Rico Fata, one spot after the Rangers chose Manny Malhotra, and 19 spots before New Jersey took Scott Gomez.

Couple of Tidbits...

A few notes regarding Tom Renney...

First off, out of the 4 teams who started the season in Europe, none of them have the same coach they started out with. Barry Melrose was replaced in Tampa Bay early on. Craig Hartsburg was fired from Ottawa, and then Michel Therrien was fired in Pittsburgh. Peter Laviolette (Carolina) and Denis Savard (Chicago) are the only coaches to have been fired who did not play overseas.

Secondly, out of 32 teams in the NHL, only 9 have made the playoffs every year since the lockout ended. Six of them (Wings, Stars, Flames, Predators, Sharks, Ducks) are from the West. The only East teams to do so? Ottawa, New Jersey, and the Rangers.

Renney ended his Rangers career 164-121-42 (those 42 are overtime/shootout losses, as he had no ties in the 2003-04 season when he went 5-15-0). He received 363 points in 327 games. He was 11-13 in postseason play, winning 2 playoff series (Atlanta, New Jersey) and losing 3 (New Jersey, Buffalo, Pittsburgh).

Two Sides to the Renney Firing...

Islanders Writer BRYAN - Rangers Report (among others) is stating that Tom Renney and Perry Pearn have been fired. Whether it's the right move, whether it's Renney's fault or that of GM Glen Sather, none of it matters anymore. The truth is, this was an ongoing story that distracted the team big-time. Simply put, this HAD to happen. And, quite frankly, it should have happened at least two weeks ago.

The question now is, was the trigger fired too late? Baseball fans know that the Mets' hemming and hawing about whether or not to fire Willie Randolph last June ended up digging the team a pretty big hole. Thankfully for the Mets, it was early enough that they could salvage their season. These Rangers are in deep trouble. There's still 20 or so games left, so a playoff berth is certainly in the cards as long as the team gets its act together, but you can forget about home-ice, a division win, or any of the other things that seemed certain just two months ago. At this point, just getting in would be an accomplish for the new coach, who is yet to be named. The odds of this new coach being Glen Sather are approximately 1:1.

There's certainly more to report on this story - even TSN doesn't have this news on its website yet  - so we'll be on top of things as they develop. The one thing inquiring minds want to know, though, is who will replace Perry Pearn in talking to Al Trautwig between periods?

* * * * 

Rangers Writer ZACH - Tom Renney certainly needed to accept responsibility for the Rangers' atrocious record as of late (3-7-3 in the last 13 games). He is a good coach and a good guy, and he did to the Rangers what no other man could've done the past 3 seasons. However, his main flaw was relying continually on players who did not perform (last season as well, but I'm talking mainly about this season). Instead of changing the power play or sitting struggling veterans in favor of fresher legs, he (almost comically) put out the same dreadful names shift after shift after shift. 

That said, Scott Gomez, Wade Redden, Chris Drury, Markus Naslund, and Michal Rozsival all played a part in the firing of Coach Renney. 

Coach Renney has now been held accountable. When will the rest of the team?

And the question is worth asking: Does the remained of the season fall on the poorly-dressed shoulders of GM Glen Sather? If the Rangers miss the playoffs after riding the top of the standings until winter, does James Dolan fire Sather?

(The answer is "probably not," but it is worth asking anyway.)

* * * 

The common train of thought is that John Tortorella will become the coach of the Rangers. He is a coach in the Mike Keenan-style - as in you can't give him rookies to nurture (which is where Renney excels) but he can whip a group of veterans into shape real quickly. He holds players accountable, and best of all, he yells at the officials when they mess up. We only saw that from Renney once.

Breaking News...

WESTCHESTER, NY - It was leaked today from a source inside the New York Rangers organization that Petr Prucha is responsible for shooting and killing Tom Renney’s dog, Scratch. The accidental killing of the Bullmastiff happened in mid-October, but details started emerging Thursday.

Coach Renney, when confronted by reporter Dan Pagano, immediately confessed that this news is indeed true. In retaliation, Mr. Renney said, he has been benching Mr. Prucha often since the incident.

Mr. Renney has claimed that he will only put Mr. Prucha in for sporadic, three- or six-game stretches throughout the season, regardless of performance.

Certain members of the team, including captain Chris Drury and defenseman Michal Rozsival, have spoken directly to Mr. Renney, clamoring for Mr. Prucha in the lineup and offering to pay for grievance sessions for Mr. Renney. Thus far, the four-and-a-half-year coach has refused.

“We need his enthusiasm, spirit, and offensive skills playing for us every night. I believe Coach Renney knows this, but he is refusing to play him,” Mr. Drury said before the Rangers game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.

Mr. Rozsival added, “I think he knows we need [Mr.] Prucha in uniform, but he keeps going back to Aaron Voros. I don’t understand.”

Mr. Rozsival and then Mr. Drury then debated on if Mr. Renney really believed Mr. Voros adds to the team, even though his stats (1 point, minus-6 in the last 20 games) stand firmly against that standpoint.

On the contrary, Mr. Prucha has 2 points in his last 4 games, although he is a minus-1 in the same span. In a span of 6 games from December 29, 2008 to January 10, 2009, he notched 2 goals, 3 assists, and was a plus-1.

Mr. Renney also confided to Mr. Pagano that to spite Mr. Prucha, he will play Mr. Voros on the power play. This drew the ire of players, as well.

“It’s bad enough that I get put on the power play. What business does Aaron Voros have being out there, especially with the game on the line? Scratch was a good dog, but Coach Renney is going to lose his job if we keep losing,” said Wade Redden.

As is his nature, Mr. Prucha politely declined being interviewed for this story at first, but later changed his mind. He said, “I know what I did was wrong, and Coach knows it was an accident. However, this team is starved for offense and passion, both of which I bring every single night. I have bought him three other dogs. I don’t know how [many more I have to buy] him before he does what is best for this team and sits Aaron. Putting him on the power play, a position he can’t play at all, is like spitting in my face.”

Mr. Prucha has admitted to his mistake, and he - and the team - hope Renney can admit his and fix it. The Rangers next play in Toronto on Wednesday, and the players all individually told Mr. Pagano that they hope Mr. Prucha plays instead of Mr. Voros.

The preceding story was a work of fiction. The writer of the story has no connections to the New York Rangers or any of the real-life people mentioned in it.

The Rangers Make My Job Easy...

It sure saves me time when the Rangers lose continually - I just keep rehashing old points. Okay, I won't do that today, for sure, because I don't want to bore everyone like the Rangers bored me today. Yes, the first 8 or 9 minutes were good, and they have a furious - for them - flurry in the final 6, but for those other 45 minutes, I was teary-eyed and bored.

They lost to a mediocre-at-best, heavily-injured St. Louis Blues team. They barely beat a bottom-feeding, injury-depleted Islanders team. Then tonight, with a huge 2 points on the line (call it the first "four point game" of the season), they blew it. No rebounds, no hitting, no Colton Orr attacking Patrick Kaleta for his constant attack of the Rangers (Kaleta, by the way, grew up about 20 miles from Buffalo in Angola, NY).

I personally have not played hockey in a professional matter. To be honest, I'm not even great at the amateur level (I have a good shot and nice stick-skills, but I skate like a koala). But even I know that if you're a defenseman you should not be behind the other team's net chasing a puck when you have 3 forwards capable of doing it. ("Capable" might be a kind word for this team.)

That said, when Wade Redden pinched behind Patrick Lalime's net (and in doing so directly caused a 2-on-1 which turned into a goal and a 4-1 Sabres' lead), my first thought was, "Who does he think he is? Dmitri Kalinin?" And my second thought was, "How did this guy ever fool people into thinking he was worth more money than Jason Strudwick is?"

Scott Gomez wasn't bad tonight. He also wasn't good, regardless of what Joe Micheletti tells you. Chris Drury was a non-factor, again. I think he almost had a power play shot, though. Redden had one good play, followed by bonehead ones galore. Henrik Lundqvist was repeatedly out of position for the 2nd straight game. Michal Rozsival doesn't deserve to be wearing Harry Howell's #3. Markus Naslund has been awful lately, as well, "goal" or not. Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, and Lauri Korpikoski also did as much to contribute to the team today as I did (and I sat on my couch with my chubby dog).

Two good things about tonight: Nigel Dawes had a strong game all around (that was a great pass from Nik Zherdev). And I made a pretty delicious guacamole around 5:30.

* * * 

Accuse the Rangers of a lot of things and you might be correct. However, one thing they aren't is dirty. Dubinsky hit someone - I think Adam Mair - on the knee today, and it looked dirty but it was an accident. He was lining him up, the guy turned, and he got upended.

And once again, say what you want about Gomez - second-line player, can't score, can only skate the puck through the neutral zone than gives it away - but he isn't going to run a goaltender. It's not how he plays. It was an accident, contrary to what Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff thinks. He's a clean player who doesn't take the game too seriously - obviously - and he isn't out to hurt anyone.

Cheap Plugs and Third Jerseys

There's a bunch of stuff I've wanted to link to, but the opportunity never presented itself. So here goes.

 - Video Games. My first ever gig writing on the Internet was for a video game site. Almost seven years later, I'm still proud to be a part of the Die Hard GameFAN team. Here are links to my reviews of NHL 09 and 3 on 3 NHL Arcade. NHL 09 still rules; 3 on 3 NHL Arcade was fun, but extremely weak in terms of modes.

 - New Islanders Blogs. Four or five years ago, my friend Leslie barely even had a passing interest in hockey. Now, aside from yours truly, she's the biggest Islanders fan I know. Leslie stepped up to a half-season package this year and now has her own Islanders blog, The Lefty Stick. I'm pretty sure the title of this blog is a dig at me because I'm a lefty. Anyway, one of the people who sits in front of her at the Coliseum, a nice fellow named Brian, has started his own blog called Islanders Five Hole. I wholeheartedly welcome these two into the Islanders blogosphere and look forward to seeing their work develop in the future.

 - Guest Blogs. A few months ago, I had the privilege of guest blogging at Puck The Media, one of the better hockey blogs out there. I submitted two pieces as a guest. The first dealt with the excessive length of intermission breaks and how they could drive potential hockey fans away. The second is devoted to Islanders and Versus announcer and NHL Network personality Billy Jaffe, someone who should be one of the biggest names in hockey broadcasting in the coming years. Thanks again to Steve for letting me crash the place for one Friday in December.

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So, with that out of the way, the third jersey stuff.

I have a theory about hockey. And that theory is this - people in charge have no idea what they're doing. I'm sure you could say the same about a lot of things, especially the company you work for. But hockey is an especially alarming case. For example, take Glen Sather. He spent the second half of the 2003-04 season clearing bloated contracts in an attempt to rebuild his team correctly. After two fine seasons, what did Sather do? Perhaps unwittingly, Sather spent his team into the exact same hole they were in for the late 90s and the early part of this decade. Sather is far from the only fool, though. We don't need to tell you about the missteps of one Mike Milbury, who proved to be a horrible drafter despite having top picks for much of his tenure. Gary Bettman's impact is proven by the pockets of empty seats in NHL arenas throughout the United States.

We all know the league is run by idiots. But even when the league and its teams have the chance to do really good things, the ball is routinely dropped. Or, at the absolute best, the obvious choices need to be beaten into the heads of the oblivious. And third jerseys are what made this whole thing come full circle for me. During a recent Islanders telecast, Howie Rose mentioned that the Edmonton Oilers conducted a poll to see what kind of design fans would want to see on a potential third jersey. As just about anybody could have predicted, the fans overwhelmingly responded that they wanted to see the Oilers wear the same jerseys as they wore in the dynasty years. So, of course, that's what the Oilers went with. But that's not the point. You mean to tell me management couldn't figure this out on their own? That fans don't want to see the Oilers in some generic RBK Edge jersey with hideous piping and a shade of blue that looks more like black? You've got to be kidding me.

Look around the league, and you'll see retro designs are the best looks and biggest sellers among the third jerseys. This is particularly true among teams that haven't had much to write home about lately, but have great histories. The Sabres' third jerseys aren't perfect because the blue is too deep, but it's something. The Flyers' 70s-era jerseys look incredible; rumors suggest that the Flyers will begin wearing these full-time in the near future. The Blackhawks will certainly follow the Penguins' lead and wear their Winter Classic jerseys as third jerseys next year. And perhaps my favorite third jerseys in the NHL are those of the Los Angeles Kings, who managed to perfectly combine the Gretzky-era jerseys with the jerseys they currently wear.

All of this brings us back to the New York Islanders, who are currently wearing their retro third jerseys for this Saturday night game. The next time you watch an Islanders game, look closely at the logo at center ice. You might notice it's a little brighter than it used to be. That's because it was recently repainted to match the color scheme of the third jerseys. Chris Botta has mentioned that the Islanders are trying to get these third jerseys approved as their 2009-10 everyday jerseys. It might not happen in time, but the wheels are in motion, and for good reason. These jerseys are sharp, sell extremely well, and best of all, remind fans of the Cup years.

And that's exactly the point. For years, hardcore Islanders fans have been clamoring for a return to the shade of blue seen back in the 80s. For years, the brass at the Islanders have ignored the requests of their fans. Until now. And now that this new jersey is a cash cow, suddenly it's a great idea to make them the full-time uniforms, right? It's sickening.

It's common sense that if you do right by the fans and do right by your principles, you'll succeed. Fans want to be treated like people, not idiots who are going to shell out $140 on jerseys that say "BOLTS" and "SENS" across their chests. Fans want to remember what made them fans in the first place; for many fans, an old-school look is as good as it gets. Maybe if executives did more to remember who exactly they're working for, things in the NHL would be better than it is today.

Meet Dean McAmmond...

Last year, the Islanders made a huge mistake in not trading all of their potential free agents - Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Mike Comrie, to be specific. It turned out not to be a big deal with Comrie, because he re-signed on the Island and played this year as well. Satan and Fedotenko were big mistakes. GM Garth Snow needed to realize his team was going to miss the playoffs and he had to sell off the assets.

This year, with injuries to Doug Weight and Mike Sillinger, the "tradeable veteran" pool has quickly dried up. In fact, with Mike Comrie getting traded today, Bill Guerin and Andy Hilbert are the only real names left on that list.

I assume Comrie was traded so early because there was a chance he gets hurt like Weight did (Comrie was already hurt this year a couple of times) and brings his trade-value to Zero.

It should also be noted that Ottawa was the first team to go buying last year, when they were in a slump and make a trade for Cory Stillman from Carolina. This year, Ottawa, on the heels of a 5-game winning steak, thinks they have a shot at the playoffs, so they moved quickly again.

This trade isn't great for the Islanders, to be honest. San Jose's 1st round pick will be bottom 5 (somewhere between 26-30) probably. Yes, Mike Green was picked there, and it's still a nice bargaining chip if they want to trade it on Draft Day to move up, but if I was Garth Snow, I'd have wanted Ottawa's pick instead (I don't know if Ottawa still has it).

I think they could've gotten a 1st round for just Comrie and not have to have given up Chris Campoli also. Granted, that was probably a big sticking point for the Senators, because Comrie won't re-sign there next year (or at least there is a chance he won't) while Campoli is obligated to Ottawa through at least next season as well.

Dean McAmmond is a servicable player. That's my way of saying he isn't bad, he isn't great, but he goes out there and delivers his best every shift. It just so happens his "best" isn't very good anymore - as in 3G, 4A in 44 games, compared to 51 in 73 in 2002. He also has an injury problem, never playing a full season besides the strike-shortened 1994-95 season (81 in 2007 with Ottawa is his most, then 78, 77, 73, and then in the 60s... very poor numbers over a 14-year career). He was hurt during the 2003-04 season with Calgary and didn't play in their run to the Cup Finals that year.

Anyway, I'm not going to sit here and berate the Islanders. They made the move they had to while the iron was hot. Comrie's been playing real well and there is a chance he gets hurt again, a chance Snow couldn't take. I just wish, for Islander fans' sake, that they had gotten a better draft choice and maybe one of Ottawa's few prospects instead of an aging vet with a history of injuries and declining stats.

Ryan Sheckler

There's no way in hell we're touching tonight's 6-2 drubbing at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes. Instead, here's something else that sticks in my craw.

That damn Ryan Sheckler commercial.

Every year, there are a handful of ads that regional sports networks feel the need to show over and over again. For example, anyone who watched any Mets games in 2007 or 2008 can recite Giuseppe Franco's Procede ad verbatim. So for 2008-09, the ad whizzes at MSG Plus have chosen Ryan Sheckler, his choppy reading of sentence fragments, and his humongous headphones to torment us this season. As if watching a last-place team for 82 games wasn't bad enough. Thanks a lot, MSG Plus.

Anyway, I've seen this ad probably a billion times this year, and I never thought Ryan Sheckler was anybody to be concerned with. But his Wikipedia page paints quite the positive picture of this young fellow. Apparently, he actually is young, and he actually is an award-winning professional skateboarder. I also understand he was the subject of an MTV reality show, but really, who hasn't been? My sources tell me this show wasn't very good. Frankly, I'm shocked. Because Ryan Sheckler's work in the Panasonic ad had me thinking such a show would be a smash hit.

Speaking of this commercial, I got to thinking about how such a commercial would work with a different person. Namely, yours truly. And as much as I despise the Ryan Sheckler commercial, I'd keep the music in the background because I actually like it.

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(start commercial)

BRYAN: My name is Bryan Berg.

(Shot of Bryan skating up to a puck to take a slapshot. He proceeds to miss the puck entirely and fall on his stomach.)

BRYAN: I'm a 27-year-old hockey blogger.

(Shot of Bryan typing away on his laptop. Bryan reaches for a beer.)

BRYAN: Beer is what keeps me going. It's the key to my performance.

(Bryan spills the beer all over his laptop.)

BRYAN: Traveling to new places is always fun. I'll definitely be taking my 40 of Olde English everywhere I go.

(Shot of Bryan wearing a really big set of headphones that have to weigh at least 20 pounds. Bryan takes a swig of beer, but the weight of the headphones causes him to fall backwards out of his chair.)

Panasonic - Ideas For Life

(end commercial)

---

OK, so maybe Panasonic hasn't found their ideal sponsor here at The Rivalry. However, try Googling "Panasonic Digital Replay" and notice how many times this blog appears. As for ubiquitous commercials, I wouldn't mind seeing that shady foreclosure/bailout commercial we saw tonight a few thousand more times as the season winds down.

EDIT: That shady foreclosure/bailout commercial comes from some company called "Netlink Funding". Their ad, unfortunately, is not on YouTube. Also, I have no idea how we didn't have a Panasonic Digital Replay tag until now.

A Big Two Points...

Yes this was indeed a big two points - two points that if the Rangers wound up losing this game and missing the playoffs by 1 or 2 points, you look to this game as being the reason.

However, a (basically) 2-1 victory against the worst team in the league when you are desperate?

 

I will still harp on the fact that Scott Gomez does not deserve such grandiose amounts of power play time. It was a crappy shot - one of his famous ones - that happened to go in. 99 out of 100 times, that shot is saved, but Yann Danis dropped it, it fell, and went in the net.

It was Gomez's second PP goal of the year. No doubt, he plays more time on the power play than nearly anybody on the team.

Wade Redden - highest paid defensemen on the team, 5th best in terms of talent - still gets put out on the point regardless of how many times he can't shoot and can't control the puck. Oh, the perks that come with an irrationally high contract.

Listen, it was a big win. They needed the points. But if they can't score more than 2 goals with a goalie in the net against the worst team in the league (while they are playing a cache of AHL players, no less), you are going to have a hell of a tough time playing Boston, Philadelphia, and/or New Jersey in the playoffs.

Tomorrow Night's Game

It's been a while since an Islanders-Rangers game has really mattered. Sure, they're always good to get the fans riled up or to break a team out of a slump. But this? This is HUGE.

With the Rangers in freefall, all eyes in the hockey world will be on this game. The Islanders have a huge opportunity tomorrow night, for two reasons. First, they have the opportunity to make life extremely uncomfortable for their biggest rivals. Imagine the ugly scene at MSG - the Islanders are winning big, the game devolves into a series of brawls, and angry mobs of Rangers fans are chanting at 100 decibels for the heads of Tom Renney and Glen Sather. I know these games aren't supposed to be a big deal because the Islanders are in last place, but that's exactly why this would be so huge. Forget about the Islanders-Rangers rivalry for a second - the Rangers, losing at home to the 30th-place team in the NHL? Not pretty. Secondly, and slightly less significantly, the Islanders can take advantage of the spotlight (or as much of a spotlight as the Islanders are going to get going forward) by showcasing the veterans they might want to move in two weeks. For the Islanders, it's a win-win.

For the Rangers? Not so much. Instead, it's pretty much a lose-lose. If the Rangers lose, as detailed above, things will not be very happy in Rangers Country. If the Rangers win, big deal, right? I mean, they only beat the Islanders. A last-place team with an AHL lineup. At home, no less. It's a game the Rangers are supposed to win. So a win doesn't really solve anything, not unless it's followed up by another four or so wins in a row.

This game is huge for just about everybody. The rivalry has always meant a little bit more to Islanders fans, so they're seeing this as their chance to stick it to the Rangers, maybe force some heads to roll, and contribute to what might be a drastic freefall out of the playoffs for the Blueshirts. Rangers fans see this game for what it is - a must-win game, a gut check for their biggest (and best-paid) stars. Maybe they can't get up for the Islanders in light of their recent history with the Devils, but this is certainly two points a playoff team should expect to pick up. It'd be nice to see the Rangers play that way for once.

No matter how you slice it, this is going to be one awesome game. As an Islanders fan, this is all we have left, so let's enjoy. And as for the Rangers, I hope they show enough to give their fans reason to believe a postseason birth is in the cards. Let's face it, the NHL needs the Rangers in the playoffs, and as a fan of hockey in general, I hope they get their act together soon. That said, I wouldn't exactly mind a 5-1 win that completely destroys the Rangers for the rest of the season. Either way, it's gonna be fun. Enjoy!

Ice Time...

Ice time on the power play tonight (of the Rangers' 4:35 total)...

Wade Redden - 2:30

Marc Staal - 9 seconds

Scott Gomez - 2:31

Chris Drury - 2:53

Petr Prucha - nothing

Lauri Korpikoski - 22 seconds

I'm not saying Prucha is the be-all-and-end-all of the New York Rangers. I'm not saying Korpikoski is worth the 2004 1st round draft pick. But Gomez has done nothing - in an incredible fashion - on the power play lately. Redden has done nothing the entire season, on the power play AND even strength. Drury - eh, nothing, at least Drury wants to play for the Rangers.

Could it really hurt the Rangers to put Prucha or Korpikoski on the power play? (Ryan Callahan played just over 2 minutes today on the PP). Korpikoski has 3G, 1A in the past 4 games and, along with Callahan, Prucha, Henrik Lundqvist, and Paul Mara, appear to be the only Rangers interested in playing past early-April.

Listen, I love Tom Renney. He will go down in history with Lester Patrick, Emile Francis, and Mike Keenan as the most important coaches in Ranger history. But, he has an over-reliance on these bums - for lack of a better word. Gomez and Redden don't perform. Why keep putting them out there? 

I sincerely think that Renney won't get fired, because either GM Glen Sather is clueless, or he is out on vacation somewhere. He is an absentee GM, and because Jim Dolan will make money on the Rangers (and Knicks) regardless of how they finish, he has no need to change things.

It makes me angry just typing this. Redden either needs to refrain from showing his loyalty so much, or he needs to step away from the bench and move to a cozy office a few floors below ice level at MSG.

Homegrown Talent (aka I have no interesting title)...

I could make myself angry and harp on the same stuff I've been saying for months about what flaws the Rangers: always staring at the puck and never looking at who is sneaking up behind them; over-reliance on overpaid players; Wade Redden; Scott Gomez; taking bad shots; lopsided ice time; same crappy players on the power play who continually give up short-handed goals and can't score.

I will just say one thing. In the first period, Markus Naslund was skating down the left wing and took a "shot" from a bad angle that Martin Biron easily covered for a whistle, and we go to commercial. What was Naslund thinking? It appeared that he actually wanted to get the whistle so he passed it to Biron. I had to watch this about 5 times on TiVo and I still can't come up with why he thought this shot was a good idea. It was an awful angle, no one was there for a rebound, and it was a weak shot.

But anyway, all I really wanted to write tonight was...

Did you see that play by Ryan Callahan on the Lauri Korpikoski goal?!!? Great! Being chased and hit, he somehow pokes the puck out to Korpikoski, who himself made a great spin-move for the goal. Excellent, excellent play.

Give them some power play time, Coach Renney. Your livelihood depends on it.

Voices: Howie Rose

For anybody who's even remotely interested in the business of broadcasting or even the lives of broadcasters, the NHL Network's Voices is a must-see. Each week, the show profiles a different broadcaster, including clips and interviews with that particular announcer. This week, Islanders broadcaster Howie Rose was on the show.

Overall, the show did a great job of showcasing the abilities of Howie Rose. Howie's a hard guy to dislike; Rangers fans still have reverence for his work with their team, while Islanders fans can claim him as one of their own. Stan Fischler, one of the other broadcasters interviewed, mentioned the difficulty Howie had being accepted by Islanders fans after leaving the Rangers. While the program didn't discuss this at all aside from Fischler's remarks, it remains a remarkable accomplishment that Howie has acclimated himself so well to Long Island.

Obviously, Howie Rose and Stephane Matteau will be forever linked, and Voices devoted an entire segment to the spring of 1994. Islanders fans probably don't want to watch this part, but it's an important part of Rose's career as well as hockey history. Howie discusses his admiration for Marv Albert and how proud he was to share the broadcast of Game 7 versus Vancouver with his idol. In the segment, Rose admits he grew up a Rangers fan and was horribly nervous throughout the third period, which Albert called. At the end, pictures are shown of Rose kissing the Stanley Cup - and after that Matteau call, he has every right to do so.

Unfortunately for Islanders fans, there isn't much devoted to any of Howie's great Islanders calls, probably because there haven't been all that many great moments in his tenure. They did show the Wade Dubielewicz pokecheck that put the Islanders in the playoffs in 2007 as well as some of his amateur calls, which were done on a hand-held tape recorder. Quotes from Rose's current partner Billy Jaffe, his former partner Joe Micheletti, and Rangers announcer Sam Rosen all paint Howie Rose in the best possible light. 

The Voices crew trailed Howie Rose the day of an Islanders-Rangers game on January 13 and gave fans the true experience of a broadcaster. Howie is a noted opponent of the morning skate, so when he showed up to the morning skate and asked Scott Gordon a question, Gordon quipped, "Who's the new guy?" We also got a look at how Howie prepares for the game (mostly game notes and interviews, in contrast to some other broadcasters who pen entire notebooks) as well as a trip inside the booth. Perhaps the most interesting part of the booth is the assistant next to Rose who writes pertinent facts on a Dry-Erase board so Rose and Jaffe can quickly state timely information.

All in all, Voices with Howie Rose was fun and informative, and to be quite honest, it was just nice to see the Islanders being treated like a real team instead of a punchline. Howie Rose's episode of Voices replays tomorrow (Friday) at 4 PM as well as Tuesday at 4 PM. It's definitely worth a look.

Rangers Finally Score Goals...

The Rangers didn't play great last night, but they outplayed Washington, finally scored more than 2 goals in a game, didn't play atrociously, and got two points out of the deal.

I wonder if Scott Gomez has watched the replay of Paul Mara's goal a few dozen times. If Tom Renney still had control of this team, he would probably make him do that to show him what can happen when you fire from in front of the net as opposed to a crappy, low-angle shot from the boards. (He also should be force-fed replayed of Ryan Callahan's, Lauri Korpikoski's, and even Markus Naslund's goals so he can learn to crash the net/shoot from the slot to score goals).

Gomez's play has gone from serviceable to inconsistent to poor to horrendous. Nobody making $7M/year should be described as "horrendous" now that we have a salary cap in place. It was different when Eric Lindros and Val Kamensky ate up money, because it only affected the wallet. Now, it affects the entire team like an 800-pound gorilla in the room. As opposed to when it used to just cost money, it now handcuffs the team from making other moves because they have a non-performing player with an un-trade-able contract.

He's not just a non-performer. He actually hurts the team with his giveaways near his own goal, in the offensive zone, and his blown coverages that lead to goals (namely, when he was staring at Henrik Lundqvist instead of the man who eventually scored the Capitals' 2nd goal last night).

Between him and Wade Redden, $13.8M in salary cap room is alloted to players who actually help the other team. For the next 5 years after this year, as well.

Think these two are bad now? Wait to see them slower and older in 2013.

* * * 

I want you to look, next time the Rangers give up a goal, at where the players are standing/looking. Nearly every goal they give up, including the first 3 last night, the players were looking at the puck-carrier and not paying attention to the rest of the ice. Joe Micheletti brought it up on the first goal, where everyone (biggest error was Redden) was staring at the puck. 

It was also evident on Mike Green's goal to make it 3-2 Capitals, when he was alone just above the right circle. Four Rangers were "hounding" the puck-carrier - who in reality wasn't pressured at all - and Green was wide open as the 5th Ranger was nearer to him but was also staring at the puck.

* * * 

Aaron Voros was in the lineup presumably because Renney likes his "size" and ignores the fact that he is a poor skater, doesn't punish people with body checks like a man his size should, and doesn't put pucks in the net. 

I've been harping on the fact that his size hasn't given the team anything lately except a blowout loss, a bunch of shutouts and one near shutout.

Well, I stand corrected. Last night, he correctly demonstrated to all those in the system how to effectively lose a fight to someone you tower over. 

Not sure, but I think even Petr Prucha would've stood a better chance against Matt Bradley.

Progress Of The Best Kind

Check out Zach's post below about not chanting for Tom Renney's dismissal, especially if you're an Islanders fan and think your team has it bad. Hey, at least you weren't pre-season Cup contenders who are now fighting for their playoff lives. Could be worse, right?

For the Islanders right now, we're seeing the best possible results. We're getting great efforts each night, but falling just short. Last night, playing against a suddenly red-hot Kings team, the Isles blew a third-period lead, but still got a point. And it didn't hurt them at all because Atlanta won. Same can be said for Saturday, when the Islanders lost a tough 1-0 game to Tampa Bay. At this point, you're better served playing well and losing. This way, fans get to see progress being made, but not at the expense of a draft pick.

Now, similar to what Zach said about the Rangers, we shouldn't be rooting for the Islanders to lose or anything. The team has been playing great hockey for the past two weeks, and if they end up winning some games, great. We all know the top spot in the draft lottery guarantees absolutely nothing. The next two months aren't about losing games or giving points away. They're about seeing this team come together and play the best hockey they can. In a month, they might trade some veterans away and be a shell of their current selves; maybe then we can watch the standings more intently. For now, though, enjoy what we're seeing out of this Islanders team, because it's special to watch young players figure out the NHL game right before your very eyes.

That brings us to tonight. On paper, the Devils should destroy the Islanders. But I don't think it'll happen. These two teams always play close games, and that's exactly what we should be seeing tonight. Maybe the Islanders pick up two points, maybe they don't, but they should do exactly what they've been doing lately - playing good hockey that's fun to watch. At this point in the season, that's all we can ask for.

Chants...

While I am advocating for Tom Renney to be replaced, in no way do I think he is a bad coach who needs to be ostracized from the league. Like Emile Francis, Lester Patrick, and Mike Keenan before him, Renney will always be remembered as a Ranger coach - regardless of when he is relieved of his duties and regardless of what other teams he eventually coaches.

He brought the team that was predicted to be 15th in the Eastern Conference the year after the lockout and took them to the 6th seed. They were a group of Czechs (Jagr, Straka, Rucinsky, Rozsival, Malik, Sykora), a group of rookies (Moore, Ortmeyer, Hollweg, Prucha), and a group of ragtag veterans (Nylander, Rucchin, Jay Ward, Strudwick, Nieminen), and he took them to within 1 point of the Atlantic Division title.

This year, his loyalty almost got the best of him. To be honest, last year it almost did too, until Jaromir Jagr started playing like a beast and he started relying less on Brendan Shanahan. But this year, he keeps sending out the same players (Gomez, Redden, Naslund, Drury, Rozsival) who aren't getting the job done. Time and time again, the same ineffective players go out on the ice. Sometimes, Markus Naslund gets lucky and connects with 10 seconds left, or Nik Zherdev scored with 10 seconds left, but most of the time, Scott Gomez misses the net and Wade Redden loses the puck. Yet, they are still counted on.

I am merely advocating for his termination because his time has come. He has done all he can with the Rangers, and a replacement is necessary.

In January, February, and March of 2004, the Garden chanted relentlessly for GM (and interim coach) Glen Sather to be fired. (We also chanted "RE-FUND" when they lost a home game.) 

Under no circumstances do I want to hear "Fire Renney" chants. I can care less about a recurrence of the "Fire Sather" chants, because he isn't very likeable, he hasn't done much for this team (whatever good he did, like trading for Jagr and drafting Marc Staal, Artem Anisimov, and Brandon Dubinsky, could've been done by any GM), and replacing him should probably be done sooner rather than later.

But Renney was serviceable as a coach, and put his heart into it, from when he replaced Sather for the final 20 games of the 2003-04 season (5-15-0) to right before the All-Star break this year. He was so good in 05-06 that he was nominated for Coach of the Year.

So no. Please don't chant for Renney's head tomorrow. If it happens, it happens, but treat him with respect.

Drop the Axe...

Aaron Voros's size, Chris Drury's leadership, Scott Gomez's incredible shots from the boards, Wade Redden's fantastic play from the point on the power play, and Petr Prucha looking snazzy in a suit and tie brought the Rangers another shutout - the 2nd in 4 games (and almost the 3rd if Markus Naslund didn't connect with 10 seconds left on Adam Graves Night).

Yet, the "coach" deploys the same players in the same situation, night after night. Gomez played 19:49 tonight, nearly an entire period of uselessness.

I can hear the axe coming for Tom Renney's head. The hammer should be falling sometime this week.

* * * 

Oh, and was that not the most boring fight you've ever seen between David Clarkson and Eric Reitz?

Henrik Lundqvist was sharp tonight, whcih was the one saving grace for them.

But seriously, Tom Renney's time is up. He's lost this team.

Ridiculous...

We all know that "coach" Tom Renney likes to keep lines intact after a win. Well, apparently he has given up on the team, because he isn't tampering with them after a 10-2 "game."

Okay, that's not entirely true. If the beat writers are to be believed (and they should be), Aaron Voros is down on the 4th line and Fred Sjostrom is up on the 3rd.

Why even play Voros? He was great, great!, in October, and has since faded to obscurity. He can't skate, barely hits, is awful on the power play, and takes bad penalties.

Yet, Petr Prucha sits. What has Voros' "size" given this team? I know I harped on this a few days ago, but it adds nothing to the lineup. It doesn't get them power play goals, that's for sure. They couldn't even score in two games against Boston or Atlanta until the 120th minute. It didn't help them not get slaughtered against Dallas.

Ridiculous.

Once again, I know Tom Renney can't do anything about the players he has on the team. But dictating ice time is his one power tool, and he has lost control of that. 

Regardless of whether he thinks Voros is a good player (and besides Voros' family, he might be the only one... which hurts me to say because I know he grew up a Ranger fan and I respect that he is living his dream in blue), wouldn't he want to shake up the lineup?

Remember when they lost in a matinee to Florida in November? It was a 4-0 horror show, and the next game, he inserted Prucha in. Prucha got the game-tying goal in the 3rd and the Rangers beat the Penguins in a shootout.

Is it really time for Renney to go? I'll give him one more game, but if he keeps deploying the same personnel (aka Voros, Scott Gomez, Wade Redden, even Michal Rozsival on the power play), then yes, it is.

News Items

Just a couple of items you might be interested in, with the first topic being of extreme importance...

- 1050 ESPN Radio (by way of Sean Leahy's Facebook status) reports that Tom Renney will be fired tomorrow. This is the only outlet to report this news, so take it as you will. But it wouldn't surprise me one bit. Either way, it's just speculation at this point, so there's not much to discuss. His firing wouldn't be a surprise, nor would it be surprising to see him coach for the remainder of the season. We shall see.

- Howie Rose will be the focus of the show "Voices" on the NHL Network this coming Thursday. This news comes courtesy of the iO Digital Cable Channel Guide. Howie mentioned on the air a few weeks ago that they were following him around for the show, but I can't remember which game it was. Either way, I look forward to hearing what Howie has to say. If I could interview any one person in the entire Islanders organization, it'd be Howie Rose.

- I played the demo of 3 on 3 NHL Arcade tonight for PS3... that's one fun game. The demo is extremely limited, but the gameplay is all kinds of awesome and fun. It looks like the game's options are a bit lacking, with the main gripe being that you just pick four guys from a pool of NHL stars as opposed to playing as the NHL team of your choice. This also means there's no "season" mode or anything, which is kind of weak. Still, for $10, it's not bad at all. And for those interested, Rick DiPietro appears in the demo as one of the two goalies, with Roberto Luongo being the other. It's always interesting to see how the careers of these two intertwine as time goes on.

I'm watching my tape of the Islanders game right now - I already know they lost. But that's okay. For the first overall pick, these are the games you need to lose. This is still a much better team than the one who sucked it up throughout December and much of January. I can live with these losses as long as the team shows signs of improvement, which they certainly have since the All-Star Break.

The Return Of Mr. Avery?

We conveniently avoid a discussion of the 10-2 drubbing the Rangers received at the hands of the Dallas Stars tonight. Zach talked a little bit about it in the post just below this one. I'm sure you won't want to hear much more about it than that if you're a Rangers fan. You also might not want to hear about Sean Avery, but that's life. Because this post is about Sean Avery.

Here's a simple question. What do the Rangers have to lose by bringing back Sean Avery?

The team is in shambles. They play the most boring style of hockey in the NHL; they make the Devils look like the Oilers of the 1980s. They're fundamentally flawed and stand at least a decent chance of missing out on the playoffs at the expense of the Florida Panthers, for Christ's sake. Their coach just tried to bag skate the mediocrity out of his team on Wednesday, only to backfire horrifically on this night. Clearly, the Rangers are missing SOMETHING.

Is Avery the answer? Maybe. Maybe not. But we all recall the argument for re-signing him this past off-season. And that argument was based around the fact that the Rangers won a crapload of games when Avery played for the team and lost a crapload of games when he didn't. Now, this is a very different situation than the one the Rangers were faced with on July 1. Avery himself is a different person and may end up being a different player; after washing out of Dallas, he has undergone "sensitivity training", whatever that is, and might have lost a bit of his edge. Besides, we all know Avery has ambitions outside of hockey. Lastly, this isn't Jaromir Jagr's locker room anymore. Can Chris Drury control Sean Avery the way Jagr did? Tough question, one nobody can really answer right now.

For Avery to become Rangers property, he'd have to clear waivers. And as all of us Islanders fans know, the waiver order is determined by point totals; namely, the fewer points you have, the better chance you have of nabbing a player off waivers. The Rangers, for all of their troubles lately, have the ninth-best point total in the NHL. That means 20 other teams (Dallas doesn't count) have to pass on Avery in order for the Rangers to submit their claim. Don't dismiss the possibility of another team claiming Avery and trying to get a draft pick out of the Rangers. No matter where Avery ends up, whichever team claims him will end up paying him half the value of his contract (approximately $2 million per year), and if that team wants Avery for the playoffs, the deal has to be done by the trade deadline.

So, if I'm Glen Sather, here's what I do. I try to bring in Avery. It's good publicity, and it might actually work. I declare Tom Renney as safe until the end of the season; after all, it's easier to bring in one player than to fire a coach at this point in the season. If it doesn't work out, it's okay; after all, Renney is coaching his way out of his job anyway, and there's no way we're beating Washington, New Jersey, Boston, Montreal, or Philadelphia in a seven-game series without Avery, and we're probably not winning these series with him, either. But why not go for broke? It beats trading prospects at the deadline for what will inevitably be a sour postseason.

Having said all of that... one last thing to consider regarding Avery. They're 17-7-3 since Avery's suspension. Make no mistake about it, Avery can cure the Rangers or outright kill them. It'll be interesting to see what happens if he ends up with the Blueshirts once again.

As We Speak...

As I type this, it's the 1st intermission and it's 3-1 Dallas.

Listen, Wade Redden is a bum. We know this. Scott Gomez - he of 36 points and an infalted 6.2 shooting percentage due to his proclivity for empty nets - is a bum as well. Not a surprise. Aaron Voros - he of 3 points since Thanksgiving - is a bum as well. Oh, wait, Voros is big and weighs 215 pounds. The Rangers need size in their lineup. Hey, Tom Renney, I weigh over 215 pounds. I'd be just as useless as Voros is out there.

Listen, Petr Prucha is a strikingly good-looking gentleman. He looks great in a suit and tie, probably better than Voros does.

That said, I hear he also looks good in Ranger jerseys during hockey games. 

The Rangers have had Voros's "size" in their lineup for a bunch of games now. Did it help them beat Atlanta, or even score in Boston? Did it stop them from being crushed in the 3rd period by Pittsburgh?

This team is made up of the parts it is made up of. They aren't a great team. They have a decent core, they don't give up, and they are awful defensively. That's going to be the same every game as long as they have the same players.

However, the way they are deployed and (mis)used falls solely on the soldiers of Tom Renney.

Not Much to Say...

What do you say about a game in which the Rangers were nearly shut out 1-0 for the second time in a row?

Well, for one, it was a miserable performance. Losing 1-0 to Boston proved to be an exciting game where the Rangers relied on defense and couldn't penetrate Boston. (Not that they played great, but atleast they weren't atrocious on Saturday.)

Losing 1-0 to an Atlanta team is unacceptable for a team that thinks it should be in the playoffs. One team in the league has given up more goals than Atlanta has, and the Rangers couldn't score one goal until 59 minutes, 50 seconds in? (For the record, the team with the most goals against in the NHL is Toronto - whom the Rangers battled to a 0-0 tie earlier in the year.)

What went wrong? Well, for one, the Rangers have an awful defense - regardless of the fact that Wade Redden actually played pretty well on Adam Graves Night. So since the defense is so bad and can't stand alone, they are forced into a "team defense" system. To be sure, if they didn't play that system, the forwards would be able (hopefully) to pot more than 0.5 goals a game. However, they would also give up 4 or 5 per game, regardless of how good their goaltender is.

So the team defense is stifling the Rangers, but it's also their only choice if they want to win games. They can't run-and-gun like Buffalo or Carolina, where the defense has holes but the team still wins games because if can score goals in an instant. And they can't sit back on leads and pounce when the opponent makes a mistake (like Boston does) because their forwards aren't that good.

But isn't Scott Gomez paid $7M/year for that reason? Yes. And he is overpaid. The year before he became a Ranger he only had 13 goals (and 47 assists... why that equals a $51M contract mystifies me). He is not a goal scorer, he is a playmaker.

Yet, he makes no plays. He had 21:17 of relatively useless ice time in Boston. Last night, his reigns were shortened and he played "only" 18:12. Yet, he still got 1:57 of power play time (the Rangers only had 4 minutes on the PP). 

Why does Tom Renney still employ the same personnel night in and night out on the power play? Aaron Voros played 1:57 on the power play also. He hasn't been effective since early-November yet still wastes space there (oh, I forgot, his size makes him more useful than Petr Prucha). 

Artem Anisimov - him of 9 power play goals and 2 shorthanded in Hartford - was brought up for 9 minutes, all at even strength. Why even bring him up? So he could play as much time as Colton Orr (who actually had a very good game)?

If you are going to bring up a scorer, use him. Tom Renney is overly loyal - we saw it with Jaromir Jagr when he was hurt and ineffective, and we're seeing it now with the shell of Scott Gomez, and with Chris Drury, and with Markus Naslund (who scores a goal then seems to disappear for 3 games). 

Until Tom Renney sits a "superstar" - in reality a 2nd line center who is making huge money to underperform on Broadway - who isn't playing well, this team will not chance. When ineffective players are ineffective and still get huge minutes, and players who give heart and soul sit on the bench (Ryan Callahan) or in street clothes (Prucha, Nigel Dawes), nothing changes. 

This team might have to fight to make the playoffs. And to do that, they'll have to give up something good at the trade deadline. Lord knows Gomez isn't going anywhere, except on the ice in overtime.

Ceremonies...

October 14, 1979 - Rod Gilbert Night - Rangers 6, Minnesota North Stars 4

"You have given me a home, friendship, respect, and love, and that's more important than fame. For these things, I will always be grateful."

March 15, 1989 - Eddie Giacomin Night - Winnipeg Jets 6, Rangers 3

"You have been my motivation, my inspiration. It's the most thrilling moment of my life."

The bottom-feeding Jets scored 4 power play goals and 1 short-handed goal to beat the Rangers. The Blueshirts lost their 6th game in 7 tries yet were still in 2nd place in the Patrick Division, trailing Washington by 2 points.

Brian Leetch got hurt after scoring his 22nd goal of the season.

Giacomin became the 2nd Ranger to have their jersey retired and the 4th in NHL history (first 3 were Bernie Parent, Rogatien Vachon, and Tony Esposito).

February 4, 2004 - Mike Richter Night - Minnesota Wild 4, Rangers 3

"I'm wondering whose idea it was to get a guy who retired because of head injuries to memorize a speech to give to 18,000 people."

Adam Graves got the loudest cheers of the night.

Rangers were leading 3-2 on two Jaromir Jagr goals (and an assist), then Mike Dunham gave up two goals and the crowd chanted "We want Richter!"

January 12, 2006 - Mark Messier Night - Rangers 5, Edmonton Oilers 4 (OT)

"I was ready for the challenge of winning the Stanley Cup. I was ready for this city. I wasn't intimidated about coming to New York."

Leetch wasn't in attendance because Boston was playing (and losing 6-0 to Los Angeles) that night, but his video tribute gathered the loudest applause.

Rangers leading 1-0, Oilers go up 3-1, Rangers go up 4-3, Mike Peca scores in the 3rd to tie it at 4. Jagr scores a beautiful goal 14 seconds into overtime to end the game. A great game capped off an emotional and incredible night.

January 24, 2008 - Brian Leetch Night - Rangers 2, Atlanta Thrashers 1 (SO)

"I've always been privileged to play for the Rangers. We'll always share that championship banner that hangs from the rafters."

Thrashers had a 1-0 from early in the second period. The crowd was getting restless until Michal Rozsival finally tied it up midway through the third. Brendan Shanahan scored the only goal in the shootout to end a night that will be remembered more for the ceremony than for the boring game.

February 3, 2009 - Adam Graves Night - Rangers vs. Thrashers

As I sit here watching a replay of Game 7 of the Rangers/Canucks series in 1994, I'm reminded of how great a player Adam Graves really was. This team is missing someone like him, although Brandon Dubinsky reminds me of him in spurts. Graves went to the net, got smacked around, hit by sticks, cross-checked from behind, and still stood and scored. The 2 points tonight are needed, but tonight won't be remembered for the game, that's for sure.

Three In A Row

In my last post, just after the Islanders-Thrashers game on Thursday, I guaranteed the Islanders would have a three-game winning streak at some point down the stretch. Little did I realize it'd be happening so soon. The Isles have now won three straight (and gotten points in four straight) thanks to their performance against Florida last night.

I had the rare opportunity to watch last night's game without any distractions and without having to miss parts of the game, and it was an absolute treat to watch. It might have been the best 60-minute effort put forth by the Islanders this season. On the defensive end, they were virtually flawless. It almost seemed like the Islanders were playing with a man advantage throughout the game; the Panthers never had the numbers on offense or any significant odd-man rushes, and every time Florida tried to do anything, the Islanders were right in their faces. It's a shame Yann Danis couldn't get the shutout, but that's a good problem to have.

We're seeing a different Islanders team these days, one that's a ton of fun to watch. People are talking about the modifications in Scott Gordon's sytem; I could not care less about these modifications. What I do care about, though, is that the young guys are starting to come into their own and figuring out their roles on this team. At the forefront of these emerging stars is Kyle Okposo, who was easily the best player on the ice last night. Okposo now has four goals in his last three games; of course, this isn't good enough to get into the YoungStars game, but that's okay. Let Okposo be our little secret for now. It's always nice to see young players start to figure it out and blossom before your very eyes. Mets fans saw Jose Reyes and David Wright emerge in 2005. Rangers fans saw Henrik Lundqvist become a star during the 2005-06 season. Now, Islanders fans get the opportunity to watch one of their own discover his potential. And after years of watching traded players become stars for other teams, it's about time.

These are good times for Islanders fans. This is not the time to worry about the Lighthouse or the race for the first overall pick. We're seeing something special - it's all starting to come together for the Islanders now. It won't last for the rest of the season, but the Isles won't be pushovers, and they absolutely have the potential to be spoilers down the stretch. And who knows? With Tampa Bay, Florida, Tampa Bay, and Los Angeles coming up, this little streak could continue for another few games or so.

Aggravation...

It's aggravating when the Rangers put forth a decent effort and still come up blank - and they have now been outscored 8-0 in their 3 afternoon games this season (4-0 to Panthers, 3-0 to Penguins, 1-0 today to Bruins). You will see other writers and media-types call this a "good game" where they "played well" and were "shown up by a rookie goalie." All the while they were "playing down a man."

That said, my doctor told me I had high blood pressure (slightly), so I won't dwell much, but I will say a few things. (To be sure, I did enjoy this game. I thought it was great back-and-forth action, and very exciting. Another Bruins-Rangers 1-0 game that I enjoyed, I just wish the score was reversed. Since they were again shutout, a lot of flaws came to light.)

"Good game" - How good of a game could they have had if they scored 1 goal? They couldn't break through the Bruins' defense, they had no answer for Zdeno Chara's size and wingspan, and while they won a lot of battles along the boards, the one big one they lost turned into a goal.

"Played well" - Again, they couldn't penetrate the Bruins D. They'd try to split the defenders and get stood up, and Tuukka Rask would clear the puck away easily.

"Shown up by a rookie goalie" - Was Rask good? Indeed. Was he great? Not nearly. He made a few good saves, for sure. And when Michal Rozsival hit the post, he was forced to shoot at the post because Rask gave him nothing else to shoot at. But for the most part, the Rangers shot directly at him. Markus Naslund gets a rare rush, shoots right at the "B" on the goalie's chest. Same for Nikolai Zherdev in the 3rd. Earlier in the game, Zherdev has a slight 2-on-1, and instead of passing with a 50% chance of scoring, he shoots from a poor angle and reduces his chance of scoring to about 5%.

Remember when Rick DiPietro made 56 saves against the Rangers in March 2007? People hailed DP as incredible, when in fact he only had a 60-second period in which he made great saves. The rest were right at the logo or right at his pads, where a Shooter Tutor could've made the saves. The Rangers do this all the time - take a lot of crappy shots and turn the opposing goalie into an NHL Star of the Night.

"Playing down a man" - To be honest, they were better off without Dmitri Kalinin. Even Wade Redden had a decent game (sans his awful penalty when the Bruin player - I think Phil Kessel - was already past him because of his poor play).

* * *

Some of the post-game talk and nighttime talk centered on calling up Artem Anisimov because he is doing really well in the AHL for Hartford. I'm a big Anisimov fan and have been ever since they drafted him in 2006. He should've been a 1st round pick but teams were afraid he would never come over from Russia. The Rangers took a chance and it will probably pay off.

But will it pay off this year? If he comes up, who does he replace? He could take Aaron Voros's spot, but Voros plays with his heart a lot and I would rather see Petr Prucha in instead of Anisimov.

You can't sit Blair Betts or Fred Sjostrom. They are invaluable penalty killers who rarely make a mistake 5-on-5 either.

Does Colton Orr take a seat? Maybe, as he is the worst technical player on the roster. But then you call up a player from Hartford and give him 7 minutes a night? And you need Orr on the team most nights (he wasn't needed against Boston but would you like to face Philadelphia without him on the ice?).

The real culprits in today's shutout loss were Naslund, Scott Gomez, Zherdev, and Chris Drury, who was nearly invisible all day. They are relied upon for scoring and couldn't break through the defense or take shots that had any intention of going in the net.

If Renney would sit a Top 6 forward for Anisimov, I say bring him up. But don't bring him up to toil for 6 or 8 or 10 minutes a night.

Plus, like I said, Petr Prucha is waiting in the wings.