Predictions...

Well, I haven't written anything since March on here, and it's 7:16 on the morning of the NHL's first games. In less than 5 hours, the puck will drop in Helsinki between two great teams - Derek Boogaard's former team (the Minnesota Wild) and Bobby Sanguenetti's current team (the Carolina Hurricanes, and yes, he made the NHL team).

Predictions - the best and worst part of October. Everyone is normally wrong, but they're fun to debate anyway. So, here we go...

Eastern Conference
1. Washington Capitals
2. New Jersey Devils
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
4. Pittsburgh Penguins
5. Buffalo Sabres
6. NY Rangers
7. Tampa Bay Lightning
8. Philadelphia Flyers
9. Atlanta Thrashers
10. Boston Bruins
11. NY Islanders
12. Carolina Hurricanes
13. Florida Panthers
14. Ottawa Senators
15. Montreal Canadiens

Notes: The Rangers missed the playoffs by 1 point yet improved a lot over the offseason. They got a better backup goalie than they had (Martin Biron is in fact better than any combination of Chad Johnson and Matt Zaba and Steve Valiquette) and Alex Frolov is going to add much more offense than Aaron Voros.

Tampa Bay has a great forward line up including Lecavilier, Stamkos, St. Louis, Ryan Malone, and Steve Downie. With Victor Hedman and Mattias Ohlund on the blue line and competent goaltending in Dan Ellis and Mike Smith, they should take make the playoffs, edging out a much improved Chicago Blackha err, Atlanta Thrashers team.

In the Northeast, I can't see an aging Ottawa team with questionable goaltending making the playoffs again. Yes, Sergei Gonchar is good, but I think he'll fall apart without Crosby and Malkin on the same PP unit. And Toronto might be unstoppable. The best defense in the NHL (Beauchemin, Kaberle, Komisarek, Lebda, Phaneuf, Schenn), solid goaltending (Giguere, Gustavsson), and a much improved offense featuring Colby Armstrong, Kris Versteeg, and a healthy Phil Kessel. The Leafs... will... be... very... good.

And I don't think Florida will - or should - ever make the playoffs again. Send that stupid team to Canada already!

Western Conference
1. Vancouver Canucks
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Detroit Red Wings
4. Chicago Blackhawks
5. Phoenix Coyotes
6. Los Angeles Kings
7. Colorado Avalance
8. St. Louis Blues
9. Nashville Predators
10. Edmonton Oilers
11. Calgary Flames
12. Columbus Blue Jackets
13. Anaheim Ducks
14. Minnesota Wild
15. Dallas Stars

Notes: Vancouver should win the division because they have the best goaltending of the top contenders. I mean, I guess Chicago would (with Marty Turco) if I were writing predictions for 2003-04. With Raffi Torres, Manny Malhotra, and Dan Hamhuis, the Canucks improved under-the-radar, but all 3 are great additions.

I think the East is a lot stronger this year. The top 5 teams in the West are good, but all have their flaws. Is Detroit getting too old (and Mike Modano is not an injection of youth)? Does San Jose, LA, or Chicago have the goaltending?

Does LA have the offense? They'll need better years from Dustin Brown and Ryan Smyth and a breakout year from Wayne Simmonds. Alex Ponikarovsky replaces Frolov, but can he?

Edmonton, while not a playoff team yet, is building something with Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Magnus Paajarvi. Tom Renney will be great there.

Anaheim must be content being middle-of-the-road. All they did was sign 3 marginally good defenseman (Paul Mara, who I love; Toni Lydman; and Andy Sutton, whose best years are far behind him). Dallas, the same (whose less bad, Kari Lehtonen or Andrew Raycroft?).

Playoffs
Washinton vs. Pittsburgh in the East
Canucks vs. Sharks in the West

Washington vs. Vancouver in the Finals
Washington winning

I know it's cheesy to pick your Conference Winners to play each other in the Finals, but that's why I picked them both #1 I guess. To be honest, I can completely see Vancouver stumbling in the playoffs, but they do have a very good team, and when Alex Burrows is back from injury in early-November, they'll be even better.

Enjoy the season, ladies & gentleman. Here's hoping the Islanders and Rangers both improve, both over last season and from the beginning of this one to the end.

Hart Trophy: Ilya Kovalchuk, NJ
Conn Smythe: Alex Ovechkin, WAS
Norris Trophy: Drew Doughty, LA
Vezina Trophy: Ryan Miller, Roberto Luongo, or Henrik Lundqvist (oh, hell, Martin Brodeur is probably going to be given it anyway)

Beating the Weaker Teams...

What was refreshing (I hate that word) about tonight's 4-1 Rangers' victory over Toronto was the fact that the Maple Leafs are a weaker team.

I know what you're thinking, and you're right - a good team should always beat a weaker team.

The Rangers have had a horrible problem with losing to teams below them in the standings. It didn't matter what the numbers on the back of the jersey were - whether they were 2, 9, and 11 or 68, 82, and 92, or 35 or 30. They would always play pretty tightly against better teams. They had good records against New Jersey and the Penguins, and they would keep up with Detroit (although they are 0-3 vs. the Wings since the lockout), yet they would give up 2 goals leads against Atlanta and they'd lose to Chicago when the Hawks had 5,000 fans in the crowd.

And tonight's game was setting up for a fall. A 6-game winning streak; a team they just beat 7-2; a road game after a few days off; the opponents were looking for their first win of the season; and a nationally televised game in Canada where the refs might've called a lot of bogus penalties against the Rangers. In previous seasons, this would be a game they would be up 2-0, then disappointingly lose 4-2.

(To be fair, the referees called a good game although I would've liked to have seen Jason Blake get a penalty for running into Henrik Lundqvist on his breakaway.)

Is this team different? Very. Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal don't quit; Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan aren't intermittently good like last year (ok, Callahan played hard every shift last year but Dubinsky disappeared for weeks at a time); Chris Drury isn't relied upon for offense so he can be a "behind-the-scenes" type player (killing penalties, blocking shots, etc.).

Yet there are 3 huge differences in this year's team...
1) The defense moves the puck and shoots. Most "SHOOOOOT" shouts from the Garden crowd should be silenced this year. Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival aren't passing up shots or missing the net as much since Mike Del Zotto and Matt Gilroy are passing and shooting on the power play. Hell, Dan Girardi had a two-goal game.

2) John Giannone said tonight that the Rangers lead the league in power play chances. Of course, they've played 8 games now (no team has played more than 8; a few have played as little as 5 or 6), but they're also fast and hard-charging, which makes opponents more likely to hook, slash, grab and pull in order to get back into the play.

Think about it: Marek Malik used to take tons of penalties because he was slow. He would get beat, turn around, and have to grab a jersey or use his stick for leverage, gaining nothing but 2 minutes in the penalty box.

Now, you have Enver Lisin, Artem Anisimov, Sean Avery, and Gaborik skating. A defender is going to have to yank them when they get passed, and then it's a power play.

3) Well, #3 is the whole point of the post. The Rangers are beating up on lesser teams. And to be honest, of the 8 games, only 3 are from teams who won't make the playoffs (Leafs twice, Senators once). The Penguins and Capitals and Ducks are going to be in the playoffs, and the Devils and Kings have good chances of it.

But what happened when they played those non-playoff teams? They pounced. And that's what good teams do.

Orr vs. Brashear, Round I...

If Colton Orr and Donald Brashear square off against each other Monday night when the Maple Leafs come to town, who are you going to root for?

Rangers Lose...

The Rangers did something today they haven't done since before the lockout - they lost their season opener.

Of course, the difference between this year and the past 4 years is the quality of the opponent they played. Since the lockout, they haven't played any teams that made the playoffs that season for their first game. They beat, in order, Philadelphia, Washington, Florida, and Tampa Bay. This year, not only did they have a team that will make the playoffs, they faced a team that won the Stanley Cup.

So, how have those teams who played the defending Stanley Cup Champions done when they got to see the banner raised?

Last year, defending champions Detroit played Toronto on the night they raised the banner, who missed the playoffs for the 4th straight year.

In 2007, defending champions Anaheim played Boston when they raised the banner (they played their first 2 games vs. LA in Europe, then went on a road trip, then played Boston in their home opener). Boston snuck into the playoffs but lost to Montreal in the first round.

In 2006, Carolina played Buffalo in their home opener when they celebrated winning the Stanley Cup. Buffalo had a fantastic start, a great year, and lost to Ottawa in Game 5 overtime to be eliminated from the playoffs in '07.

In 2005, Tampa Bay had a delayed celebration at home against Carolina. Carolina had a dream season and won the Stanley Cup.

In 2003, New Jersey played Toronto. Toronto wound up losing to Philadelphia in the 2nd round (the Flyers were very good in those playoffs, and the only reason they didn't go on to the Finals that year is because Keith Primeau couldn't play every shift and Brad Richards played the game of his life in Game 7).

In 2002, the Red Wings played Montreal, who missed the playoffs and ended up 5 games under .500.

Which will the Rangers be more like? Will they be #1 in the league like Buffalo and run out of steam in the Conference Finals? Will they miss the playoffs like last season's Toronto and Montreal of '02? Will they win the Cup like Carolina did in '06? Probably not any of those scenarios. They'll probably go hot, go cold, and then fight for a playoff spot in mid-March. They'll clinch in early-April, and then have a 2nd round exit like Toronto in '03.

Of course, I'm hoping it's different. But I'm also realistic.

I could be wrong. John Tortorella's system could be good. Marian Gaborik looked very good vs. Pittsburgh in Game #1, and he might score 45 goals. Brandon Dubinsky even looked good last night. Plus, the defensive pairings I wanted were put on the ice tonight (Staal/Girardi; Redden/Gilroy; Rozsival/Del Zotto).

I'm not going to dissect last night's game. You probably saw it. Sure, there's a lot I can talk about - poor officiating; an excessive amount of odd-man rushes on Henrik Lundqvist; Mike Del Zotto being in the right spot twice but not being able to get good wood on the puck; Wade Redden's $6.5M body check on Evgeni Malkin; Redden being near the net and playing physical until he sucked the last 6 minutes of the game; Marc-Andre Fleury's game-breaking save on Vinny Prospal. But it's a long season.

And with 5 more games against Pittsburgh, expect plenty of confusion about phantom penalties called in favor of the Penguins. (I say "in favor of the Penguins" instead of "against the Rangers" because for years, this site has been saying that the NHL doesn't have a bias against any one team, but they do have a bias for Pittsburgh.)

It was an exciting game. They had some good chances. Gaborik can be incredible. Ales Kotalik and Prospal played good. Sean Avery can help a lot and hopefully will soon. But there were way too many odd-man rushes against Hank is too many. He is a great goalie, but he shouldn't have to be the hero every game. And what are you going to do when he isn't playing that game?

I'm also disappointed Alexei Semenov didn't sign with the Rangers. Having a 7th d-man is a luxury they haven't had in a while. Jason Strudwick was good in the locker room a few years back, but he wasn't a great player. Last year, no d-man was help accountable because there was never a threat of benching one player. A veteran 7th man would mean a struggling player could take a seat, or a rookie with nerves could watch a game from up high one night to get his bearings back.

Anyway, it's a long season. It's been nice to start the season with 2 points every year, but there are 81 games left.

Free Agent Frenzy

We're past 12 PM on July 1, which can only mean one thing - deals are being made by the second. We'll try to give our thoughts on some of the big moves of the day as they pop up.

1:10 PM: Mattias Ohlund to Tampa Bay, 7 years, $24.5m ($3.5m/year)
- Bryan: Um... interesting? On one hand, Ohlund is the first casualty of the long-term deals given to the Sedin twins and the rumored long-term deal the Canucks are working on with Roberto Luongo. On the other, seven years is a lot of years, particularly for a 32-year-old defenseman. Hey, you know who would have been a great fit for Tampa Bay? Dan Boyle! Oh, wait, nevermind...

1:18 PM: Colton Orr to Toronto, 4 years, $4M ($1M/year)
- Bryan: This one comes from Darren Dreger's Twitter and a text from Zach. Leafs fans will expect the world from Orr with a 4-year contract, then will promptly turn on him when they realize he isn't a superstar. Four years is a ton for an enforcer. But God forbid Brian Burke doesn't make a splash on July 1.
- Zach: Wouldn't call him a "splash" but he is a big loss to the Rangers. Not points wise (1G, 4A, and an awful -15 last year), but they should try to pick up a big-name medical staff for their players with all the cheap shots Chris Pronger is going to take on them next year. Who's going to protect them? Aaron Voros? Wade Redden? Get real.

1:58 PM: Craig Anderson to Colorado, 2 years, $3.6M ($1.8M/year)
- Zach: Not huge news, but I think the Islanders probably wanted him, and he would've been good there if Rick DiPietro can't play this year.
- Bryan: Anderson would have been great for the Islanders to nab, but this is actually a good signing. It sets a fairly low price for whoever they end up signing. Besides, if Anderson actually plays well for a depleted Colorado team, he'll be in line for a big payday in two years.

2:07 PM: Marian Hossa to Chicago, 12 years, $62M ($5.2M/year)
- Bryan: Chicago is aware that they have to sign Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to long-term deals, right? The Hawks are starting to make the Rangers look like a fiscally responsible team. That said, Hossa should fit in great with the high-flying Blackhawks. And the price isn't bad at all.
- Zach: Contract is probably front-loaded like Zetterberg's so that in 8 years if they have to buy him out or trade him, it's a lot easier. Still, 12 years for someone who hasn't been a point-per-game player in 2 years is crazy. Some might also argue he is a loser, being on the losing end of the Finals twice.

- Bryan: As per Darren Dreger's Twitter (ugh), the first eight years of the deal will pay $59.3 million, while the final four will pay $3.5. Smart move by the Hawks.

2:18 PM: Ty Conklin to St. Louis, 2 years, $2.6M ($1.3M/year)
- Bryan: Obviously, this is a temporary move, as Conklin will be moved to one of the Winter Classic participants before long. Conklin might have found himself a home in St. Louis as the team grows, but he probably deserves more money after having a fine season in Detroit.

2:21 PM: Dwayne Roloson to NY Islanders, 2 years, $5M ($2.5M/year)
- Bryan: I can get on board with this. The money is a bit steep, but you're getting a guy who will play at least 25 games each of the next two years. Roloson can also provide some veteran leadership, as he was part of the 2006 Oilers as well as some Minnesota teams who have made deep playoff runs. As per Darren Dreger, Roloson wanted a second year, which the Islanders were willing to do and the Oilers were not.

2:58 PM: Donald Brashear to NY Rangers, 2 years, $2.8M ($1.4M/year)
- Bryan: Great recovery from losing Orr. Brashear wore an A in Washington and could provide the Rangers with some good leadership as well as some toughness. Not exactly the big splash Rangers fans were looking for (or dreading, as the case may be), but there's still time.
- Zach: In the past 3 years, Brashear has been suspended twice for actions he has done AGAINST the Rangers! He sucker-punched Aaron Ward (something we all wanted to do) and then tried to decapitate Blair Betts. One, I assume Betts won't be back. Two, it's a decent move from a hockey sense (he is more talented of a player than Orr) but I'm not sure I'll be able to root for Brashear, especially when he fights Orr in Toronto. Of course, I'll always root for the Rangers, but rooting for him will be very hard.

3:48 PM: NHL Network needs new commercials
- Zach: If I see the "new" NHL.com commercial with Eddie O or a 2-minute commercial for debt reduction starring a Barack Obama speech, I might give Donald Brashear $1.4M to attack Bob McKenzie.

And I love that commercial of everyone lifting the Stanley Cup, but I've seen in 9 times today alone.

By the way, it's so awkward watching McKenzie, Pierre McGuire, and Darren Pang banted while no news trickles down.

Jaroslav Spacek just signed in Montreal and they said, "Finally, we have news to report."

Worst Stat Ever Stated?...

Up until last night, the stupidest stat I had ever heard was a few years ago while watching my 4th repeat of ESPNews, a TV show I used to watch religiously until I got tired of seeing Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals highlights.

The stat: Someone had hit a home run, and it was his birthday. They then mentioned that he was the 4th player to ever hit a home run on his birthday when his age matched his jersey number. So, for example, he wore number 33, and he turned 33 that day and hit a homer, joining this exclusive club.

Yesterday was the stupidest hockey stat I might have ever heard.

The stat: Jordan Staal's shorthanded goal was the first for a Penguin in the Cup Finals since 1992! The first since Bob Errey scored in Game 2 against Chicago!

My Lord! Stop the presses!

Let's figure this out. They Penguins played 2 more games in the Finals that year, as they swept Chicago in four games. They then played 6 last year and 3 games this year in the Finals without scoring shorthanded.

It was the Penguins first goal in 11 Finals games that came shorthanded. Wow. What an accomplishment. It's not like the Penguins had played in the Finals 6 times since then '92. They had made it two times, and one time they didn't score a shorthanded goal.

Maybe it wasn't even the stat that was completely stupid, it was the way they had said it. They said it like it was some sort of amazing feat, similar to the Chicago Cubs making the World Series (or in hockey terms, the Toronto Maple Leafs winning the Cup or the Florida Panthers making the playoffs).

They were so astonished by this incredible 11-game shorthanded goal drought that they said it twice. They said it once, confusing me. Then, Christine Simpson did a between-period interview with Jordan Staal and said it to him, and then they flashed the stat on the screen.

Sleep easy Penguin fans. Your team has finally scored a shorthanded goal in the Finals after 11 tries. Now that the monkey is off your back, perhaps the team can get back to actually playing and forget about that. I heard that was hovering over them like a black cloud on a sunny day.

(For the record, the entire 2005-06 Rangers team only had 4 shorthanded goals in 82 games, less than 1 in 20. Imagine how crazy the Versus broadcast would've gone had they seen Jason Ward put one away while a man down!)

0-4-1...

Let me regale you a tale about a fellow hockey fan - and hopefully, avid reader of this blog - named Lou.

I’ve known Lou since 1997 or 1998, and while I don’t follow other sports as much as hockey, we share the same teams in all sports (Rangers, Mets, Jets, nobody likes basketball).

I like Lou, and consider him a good friend. However, we have one problem: We have never been together at MSG to see the Rangers win a game, and we try every year. 

Sure, we’ve had our successes alone. We’ve been to the Coliseum a few times when the Rangers beat the Islanders (including the game where Jaromir Jagr broke the Rangers’ points record with a slew of first period assists). 

Oh, we’ve even seen wins at MSG when we were both there but not together. We both saw the shootout victory on Brian Leetch Night, and we both were at a Penguins game where they won 4-2 (his seats were much better than mine).

But together, we are the Buffalo Bills of Ranger games - there once a year, can’t win.

And they lose in majestic fashion as well. This tradition started in 2002-03 and here are the games...

2002-03 :: 3/26/03 :: A game against the Penguins (we had a total of 3 Ranger fans and 1 Penguins fan with us) where the Rangers got thoroughly outplayed by the equally-crappy Penguins (Rangers ended the year with 78 points; Penguins had 65). The Penguins didn’t have Mario Lemieux, hadn’t won a game in over a month, and had Sebastian Caron in goal. Of course the Rangers would lose this game. PIT 3, NYR 1

2003-04 :: 1/20/04 :: We lost the Penguins fan, and me, Lou, and another Rangers fan went to see Boston on Vintage Night, where both teams wore retro 1970s jerseys and prices on cotton candy and popcorn were rolled back to 75 cents. Disco music even played during the game. Apparently the Bruins beat the Rangers a lot in the 70s, because it happened this night too. The one saving grace was me yelling “SHOOOOT!” (which, ironically, I don’t like when people yell that now) when Leetch had the puck, and he shot, and scored the Rangers lone goal. Joe Thornton didn’t play in this game. BOS 4, NYR 1

2005-06 :: 3/12/06 :: The Rangers were beating the Thrashers 2-0 entering the 3rd (on goals by Jagr and Marty Straka), and then gave up one midway through the period. “Sweet Caroline” came on with 5 minutes left in the game, Ilya Kovalchuk scores, and the Rangers lose in overtime. Quite a depressing ending, and if the Rangers had won the game, they would’ve had an extra point in the standings, and at the end of the season that would’ve translated to home ice advantage in the 1st round. One point. ATL 3, NYR 2 (OT)

2006-07 :: 2/5/07 :: Okay, so seeing Detroit play probably wouldn’t help our winless streak, we admitted, but we wanted to see an Original Six matchup, as well as Brendan Shanahan’s first game against his old club. Two red-clad females sat in front of us and asked us not to hurt them (we didn’t). I was on the phone with my friend Dan, talking about the Sean Avery trade that just went down, when I saw Shanahan skate down the wing and I said, “I’ll talk to you later. Shanny’s about to score.” Shanahan actually scored 2 minutes in and then 13 seconds later Michael Nylander followed suit. A Marcel Hossa goal gave them a 3-1 lead after the first period.

In the third, the Wings made it 3-2, and the whole place fell silent. When it was 3-3, we knew what was happening. Keep in mind, the Rangers weren’t on their “run to the playoffs” yet, and they had blown mutliple 2-goal leads. They lost 4-3 in regulation, dropping their record to 25-24-4. DET 4, NYR 3

2007-08 :: 12/6/07 :: Desperate to break the streak, we picked an easy game. A slumpbuster, if you will. Toronto. One of the worst teams in the league. How could they not beat Toronto? This was also the 3rd Original Six matchup we'd gone to.

Tied 2-2 after one, Nik Antropov took over and scored 3 straight goals. The final was 6-2 Toronto, and the Rangers completely mailed in the 3rd period. I have memories of Michal Rozsival giving up (what? him?) and having Alexander Steen ravage him for the 6th goal. Toronto actually only had 10 shots in the first 2 periods, yet had 4 goals. TOR 6, NYR 2 

* * * 

So the point of the story is that me and Lou will be going to the matinee against Philadelphia at the Garden today, carrying an 0-4-1 record when going to a game at the Garden together. If the Rangers lose, please blame us (unless it's squarely Wade Redden's fault - entirely possible), and we promise we’ll pick a game against Tampa Bay next year.

A Couple Of Thoughts

 - It's sort of old news at this point, but I caught Brian Burke's introductory press conference with the Toronto media on NHL On The Fly on Sunday. At first, I was a bit put off by the whole Burke situation. I mean, the whole world knew he was going to Toronto once his contract was up, and yet he ended up in Toronto before December 1. I guess Anaheim didn't want to delay the inevitable, but it was a little strange how it all worked out. Besides, it's always a bit annoying to see Toronto get what they want.

In any event, Burke spoke to the media and completely blew me away. Just about everything he said was impressive, but there were two things that stood out. First, he made a point to say his players would be more involved in the community than ever before. Now, we're pretty lucky in that both the Islanders and Rangers are very active in charity and volunteer work, so we don't know how it works in cities where players barely do anything besides show up for games. It's nice to see a general manager recognize the importance of his players being active in the community. The second thing struck an even bigger chord. He mentioned how the NHL has a holiday trade freeze so that no players can be moved during Christmas. He then went on to say that he doesn't believe in trading players at all during the holiday season in general and that he wouldn't be making any transactions between December 7 and the start of 2009. This isn't because he needs to see what he has with the Maple Leafs, but because he doesn't think it's fair for a player to be uprooted and moved during the holiday season.

After hearing that second point, I remembered that Brian Burke is the same GM that released Ilya Bryzgalov last season rather than have Bryzgalov sit behind J.S. Giguere. Burke knew he could probably get a decent package of players or picks, but he also knew Bryzgalov wasn't going to be staying in Anaheim and he wanted to make sure Bryzgalov would end up in a decent situation. You could make the argument Burke is getting back the same generosity thanks to the precedent he set with the Ducks. And by all accounts, Burke made the move back East for the right reason, to be with his family. Hard to argue with that one.

Long story short, while the Toronto Maple Leafs are still a loathsome franchise, they became a little less so with the hire of Brian Burke. Now let's see how Burke gets rid of the Leafs' awful contracts and barren farm system.

 - Sean Avery made headlines today by making a comment about his, as he said, "sloppy seconds". The remark was made in reference to Dion Phaneuf, whose Calgary Flames are facing Avery's Dallas Stars as we speak. Phaneuf, of course, is dating Avery's ex-flame Elisha Cuthbert. Avery's punishment was not getting drilled by Phaneuf; instead, he's been suspended indefinitely.

This raises a couple of issues in my mind. First, Mike Mottau cheapshots Frans Nielsen and knocks him out for 2-3 months, yet only gets two games. Now, Avery is suspended indefinitely for making a crack to the media? OK, it's a really funny crack, but still. Second, it looks like Dallas is already regretting the Avery deal. Reports are that he's not very popular in the clubhouse; he also has a "limited no-trade clause". But the third is the thing that really gets me. We've barely heard a peep about hockey from the major sports media so far this year. Just about the only thing anybody talks about is the possibility of Barack Obama attending the Winter Classic. Of course, Avery opens his mouth, gets suspended, and it's the top story everywhere. You think it's possible for the NHL to get some positive attention ever? Of course not. That'd be too easy. But when something bad happens, it's the perfect opportunity for the major sports media to bash hockey and say things like, "This is why we don't pay more attention to the NHL." Meanwhile, Plaxico Burress shoots himself in the leg and nobody can stop talking about it. Go figure.

So there you have it. Maybe if the media didn't take the obvious story about Avery and dug a little deeper, they'd see some real good out there. Like the new Toronto GM a few paragraphs up. You think you're ever going to hear a story on ESPN about any GM in any other sport who won't make trades during the holidays out of fairness to his players? No way. Our game is a great one. It's a shame most people refuse to see it that way.

(Crappy) Hockey Night In Canada

How do you describe what happened to both New York teams last night?

The hour between 8:30 and 9:30 last night was one of the more surreal I can recall. I was at Hooters with some friends. The Islanders were on many of the TVs, but our table had the Islanders and Rangers side-by-side. Things were looking good for both teams; the Islanders were playing really well and had taken a 4-1 lead, while the Rangers were blanking the Maple Leafs behind the goaltending of Steve Valiquette. Suddenly, things took a turn for the bizarre.

The Canadiens scored to make it 4-2. Toronto scored to make it 2-1. And that's when all hell broke loose. It was literally back-and-forth. Every time you looked up and saw the Canadiens celebrating a goal, you'd look a few feet over and see the Toronto fans going wild after a goal in their game. All in all, Canadian teams outscored New York teams in the third period by a score of 9-0. And it was really unfortunate because I wanted to rub it in to Ranger fans that they'd just let up five goals in five minutes. Of course, since the Islanders had just blown a three-goal lead, so I couldn't say a word. Worst lead in hockey? You bet.

Thankfully, we all had a mutual reason to be happy later on in the night - we found out Martin Brodeur got hurt. At least we can all agree on something.

A Scoreless Tie...

If tonight's Rangers vs. Maple Leafs game had occured during the 2003-04 season, it would have been a scoreless tie, and the fans would have been angry. However, it was a very exciting game besides the final tally, and the third period was especially fun to watch. 

Personally, I have been in attendance for one game that went 0-0 through regulation, and it was horribly boring. NHL.com doesn't let me search for all games after the lockout like they used to anymore (hmm... am I missing something?) so I'll guess on the day. I believe it was January 2, 2006, the first season back. Rangers vs. Tampa Bay, at MSG. It was an awful, boring, horrible game. Both teams played with a complete lack of passion and I believe Vaclav Prospal scored the game winner quickly into overtime. Awful game.

Tonight's atleast was interesting. While the Rangers did have 32 shots, most of them were bad, low-angle shots that didn't test Vesa Toskala. However, the 8 or 9 good shots they did have that tested the Toronto netminder were turned away, and Toskala did indeed have a very good game. 

Likewise, Steven Valiquette also played good. He wasn't tested tremendously, but when he was called to action, he responded very well. A great showing by the backup, and that is very good news. As good as a team player Kevin Weekes was in his tenure as Henrik Lundqvist's backup, it was always a scary moment when he was announced as starter. Anyone remember 1/11/07, his last game as a Ranger, when he gave up 4 goals on 8 shots against Ottawa and was pulled?

Some other notes...

1) The Rangers should start declining penalties like they do in football. I mean, technically, when they negated two power plays by taking penalties themselves, they almost did that. However, on one power play they stunk it up, and as soon as the Toronto offender left the box, the Rangers played great 5-on-5 thanks to Marc Staal and Aaron Voros. 

2) Chris Drury should either a) play on the fourth line with Colton Orr and Blair Betts or b) be sent to Hartford for a conditioning stint to regain some scoring touch. 

No, I don't think he should be sent to Hartford. I know how the waiver wire works. I do, however, think his playing time should be reduced or he should watch a game in the best suit $7M can buy. Never has a player making so much money whiffed on the puck so many times since Eric Lindros played on the Rangers. 

3) I'm not saying I'm a psychic or anything, but I do watch enough hockey to correctly predict events. How many times today did Sam Rosen or Joe Micheletti tell us that Michal Rozsival shot the puck... and missed the net? Three? Four? Five? 

I'll give it to him, though. At least he was shooting. His overtime shot probably would've gone in on a goalie who wasn't as hot as Toskala.

New York Islanders 2008-09 Preview

The Islanders' season starts tomorrow, and yet everybody is convinced that it's already over. Are they right?

Sort of.

I've gotten a fair amount of crap from people for being too hard on my own team. Hey, it's a defense mechanism. You root for teams like the Islanders, the Jets, the Mets, and Newcastle United and you start to accept losing. You don't want to get your hopes up because you know you'll just hurt that much more when the other shoe drops. I don't think any Islander fan ever expects to see a winning team, just that they really, really want one.

So, as the NHL Network would say, is this the year? In terms of scoring points, no. In terms of cracking the top eight, no. In terms of being a pushover? Absolutely not. These Islanders do have a few things going for them... and here they are.

- Nobody knows them yet. Scott Gordon is new to the NHL, and most opposing coaches are not sure what to expect. We've all heard about the Isles rebuilding themselves as a "speed" team, but with so many veterans in the lineup, who really knows for sure how they'll look? Even if it's out of necessity, that the Islanders can give opponents a number of different looks does work in their favor.

- They never quit. One thing you have to say about the Islanders is that they don't give up, even when they're playing for nothing and they're down four goals. Just because Ted Nolan's gone doesn't mean the team is going to go soft. Gordon might not be the disciplinarian Nolan was, but word is that Gordon's a very vocal coach, meaning he's not going to tolerate lazy play.

- They'll have support. People love to dump on the Islanders and their fanbase. Some of the criticism is justified, but a lot of it isn't. Hockey fans on Long Island are dying for a team they can be proud of. They might not have that yet, but with the Islanders' aggressive marketing and ticket promotions, they'll be looking at crowds of at least 12,000 on the worst of nights. Compared with where we've been, that's not bad.

- The young players will only get better. Josh Bailey is likely to play nine games in an Islander uniform this year. That's a great head start for an 18-year-old. But the other young players who just signed one-way contracts, like Frans Nielsen and Bruno Gervais, will have a full season to not only get acclimated to the NHL, but start to get extremely comfortable. There's a decent chance this team gels by March or so and starts to play a pretty good spoiler role. Even if it doesn't happen, at least next year's team will have a full year of NHL experience.

Now, those of us who have followed the Islanders for a long time can pretty much tell how this season is going to play out. They know because the same thing happens pretty much every year. The Islanders are going to start out doing well, ending October in the East's top eight. Over November and December, they're going to have ups and downs, but will steady out and remain in the top ten. They'll crap out on the West Coast, like they always do, and come home and get those points back. At the All-Star Break, they'll be within six points of a playoff spot. Sounds familiar? It should.

The key to any Islanders season is mid February through early March. This is where the team has to figure out if it's a buyer or a seller. It's been hard to tell lately. In 2005-06, they waived the white flag and dumped off Mark Parrish and Brent Sopel. In 2006-07, they sold the farm to get Ryan Smyth. Last year, they did nothing and collapsed in March. This year? Although they'll be situated fairly well in the standings, Garth Snow will see the opportunity to improve his team over the long haul by dumping off some veterans. And unlike last year, he'll take advantage of the opportunity. As the veterans leave and the not-quite-ready Sound Tigers fill in the gaps, the Islanders will slip. They'll play well, but will lose lots of close games after which the other team will say things like, "They've got a lot of energy," and "They've got a lot of good young talent over there."

Will it be enough to land in the draft lottery? Islander fans don't want to admit it, but they sure hope so. But be careful what you wish for, Islander Country. As Scotty Hockey ominously predicted, the NHL could very well decide to screw the Islanders to ensure John Tavares goes to Toronto. Could you script a worse ending? Ugh.

So let's forget that scenario. Let's not look at this season as an investment into our future. Let's enjoy it for what it is - the chance to watch our boys play hard for 82 games. If they do great, that's great. If they're awful, so be it. Me, I'm just thankful hockey is back.

Who Improved and Where the Rangers Stand...

Last year, the Eastern Conference was a crapshoot. Much like David Caruso's career, Ottawa started real hot then dropped off the face of the Earth. Montreal and Pittsburgh, boosted by strong power plays, were the obvious best teams in the East, but they only rose to the top of the standings around early-March. Every other team was mediocre. 

If it was pre-lockout, the Rangers might not have made the playoffs, but they did last season because of Brendan Shanahan, Nigel Dawes, and Henrik Lundqvist's shootout performances. Washington clinched the playoffs on the last day possible. Carolina lost out on a playoff spot on the last day possible. Even the Islanders were relevant until March's injuries piled up. Boston made the playoffs for the first time since 2004 and nearly beat the #1 ranked Canadiens.

What I'm saying is that it's anybody's conference to take. In the West, you knew Detroit will be up there, and Anaheim, San Jose, and Dallas should make the playoffs, while Phoenix, LA, Chicago, Edmonton, St. Louis, and Columbus would be awful. 

Will anything change in the East this year? Probably not. Who really improved in the East in the offseason?

* * * 

Far and away the winners of the East are the Tampa Bay Lightning. Vaclav Prospal returns next season, Matt Carle is in on defense, and they signed Ryan Malone, Radim Vrbata (both people I think the Rangers should have tried to get), Gary Roberts, Olaf Kolzig, Mark Recchi, and power play QB Andrew Hutchinson. Oh, and Steven Stamkos should transition well in the NHL playing alongside Vinny Lecavilier. While their goaltending still is a question mark (Mike Smith and Kolzig are both a half-step up from being backup goaltenders), their beefed up offense should make up for a shaky back half. The only one missing from their team is expensive Dan Boyle, but now that they have an owner who wants to spend money, a trade deadline deal for a top defender is certainly possible.

Atlanta was awful last season and should be this season. They did rob the Penguins blind in the Marian Hossa deal, but Angelo Esposito probably won't catch fire this season, even if he makes the roster. The additions of Erik Christensen and Colby Armstrong from Pittsburgh do help, but they are role players who aren't going to pot you 40 goals like Hossa would have. When your big offseason acquisition is named Ron Hainsley, you aren't moving forward.

Florida is also a team that is going nowhere. They might be the worst franchise in all of professional sports, Knicks included. They traded Olli Jokinen for a bundle of nothing, somehow re-signed Jay Bouwmeester even though we all know that he will not be there next season. Their lone spotlights are Nathan Horton and Tomas Vokoun. These guys are not a threat for anything except John Tavares in next year's Entry Draft.

Finishing off the Southeast, the Hurricanes and Capitals stood pat. While cash-strapped Carolina would up getting the defender they needed in Joni Pitkanen, it cost them heart-and-soul man Erik Cole. Yes, they signed Darcy Hordichuk, but can a 4th line goon lift you over the hump and into the playoffs? After making the playoffs last year, the Capitals decided to go with the same team this year. Sergei Federov, a good deadline deal, is back for another older, slower season, and their goaltending tandem of Jose Theodore and Brent Johnson is not as good as Kolzig and Christobal Huet were last year.

Long story short: One team will make the playoffs from the Southeast, and that's just because those are the rules.

* * * 

In the Northeast division, the Toronto Maple Leafs aim to miss the playoffs for the 4th straight year, which would be a new team record. Overpaying for Jeff Finger, trading for Jamal Mayers and Ryan Hollweg, not-yet-re-signing Mats Sundin or moving Bryan McCabe. I like GM Cliff Fletcher, but what exactly is he doing?

The Montreal Canadiens improved by leaps and bou-- no, they didn't improve at all. They missed the boat on Hossa, they probably won't get Sundin, but don't worry, Georges Laraque has arrived in Montreal! Alex Tanguay should help their already strong offense though and he came cheap in the form of just draft picks. They shouldn't miss Mark Streit on the power play too much, but can Alex Kovalev have another great season? While they are a good team still, the fact is, they aren't much better than last year, if at all.

The Boston Bruins signed unproven, unmotivated forward Blake Wheeler (although he did want to play in Beantown) and overpaid for Michael Ryder to replace Glen Murray. Is that any way to build a playoff contender? However, I think they would take a step forward if they would finally just admit to themselves that Tim Thomas is their starting goaltender. This guy is so motivated it's incredible.

Buffalo... uhhh, did the Sabres have an offseason? Yes, they traded away Steve "Brian Campbell" Bernier. Campbell's replacement is Craig Rivet, a journeyman who, while solid, won't stop a Crosby, Ovechkin, or Malkin from scoring. They also re-signed the aging, unhealthy Teppo Numinen, presumably as a locker room presence. 

Ottawa's big offseason move was what they didn't do - they didn't trade Antoine Vermette, which is huge. He can be a great player if any of their Big 3 - Heatley, Spezza, Alfredsson - falter or get hurt like in 2007-08. Their goaltending is a question mark as well, with Martin Gerber and the well-traveled Alex Auld standing guard. That shouldn't inspire confidence in Canada's capital.

* * * 

Now, the East. I won't dwell too much on the Rangers, but regardless of what you think of their offseason moves, they are a better team today than they were in May.

Wade Redden and Dmitri Kalinin, and whoever turns out to be the 7th d-man are better than the likes of Tyutin, Backman, Malik, and Strudwick. Plus, Paul Mara returned at a discount, and Marc Staal and Dan Girardi should continue to excel this season.

Markus Naslund and Nik Zherdev are being counted on to have comeback years, and that may be asking a lot, but atleast the offense is styled differently. Plus, their power play should click this year without Jaromir Jagr to receive passes from Michal Rozsival and Marty Straka.

The one big loss is Sean Avery, a winger who could change games with his gritty style as well as put the puck home in big situations (just ask Martin Brodeur). Losing Ryan Hollweg for a draft pick was a no-brainer, and Aaron Voros and/or Patrick Rissmiller will take over his role and make it more offensive as well.

Did the Pittsburgh Penguins improve? Not too much. As well as losing roster players in Christensen and Armstrong and a top prospect in Esposito, they essentially traded hometown-boy Ryan Malone and Hossa for Miro Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko, two middling wingers who had bad seasons. Their bright spot of the offseason was getting Brooks Oprik back when it looked like he would be on the way out. They still have their core, and they will be dangerous, no doubt. But they question is, did they improve? The answer has to be no, they did not.

We all know the Islanders' problems, starting with Charles Wang and Garth Snow and moving out. Streit should help the team and make up for losing Marc-Andre Bergeron and Bryan Berard with the man-advantage.  Doug Weight will help as well, that is until February, when he along with a bunch of other expiring-contracts are traded to contenders for draft picks and prospects.

It was Old Timer's Day in July for the Devils, as they signed former players Bobby Holik, Brian Rolston, and Scott Clemmensen as their 3rd goalie. Rolston is a great utility man, but I think the Devils will overuse him. Holik is a serviceable 3rd line center these days, but the days of him shutting down other teams top lines are over. They also overpaid for Bryce Salvador, but they did need a big body on the blueline. While Rolston was a good pick-up, their defense is still holier than the Bible Belt, and their offense can't make up for it. However, while I expect big years from Zach Parise and Travis Zajac, I can't say they improved much.

The Flyers were active in getting Glen Metropolit in his declining years, Steve Eminger, a few Finnish defensemen whose names I can't pronounce, and re-signing Jeff Carter, but it came at the cost of young gun R.J. Umberger and Prospal. Still, I would say the Flyers improved, if only slightly. Their defense is suspect with Derian Hatcher still there and Jaroslav Modry gone, but Braydon Coburn can only get better. Him and Kimmo Timonen on the same pairing could be one of, if not the best in the East.

* * * 

I didn't mean for this to be this long, and if you made it this far, I applaud you.

Who improved? Tampa, for sure. Probably the Flyers. Other teams just swapped one player for another, getting rid of a Malone for a Satan, or a Sergei Brylin for a Holik. That doesn't necessarily make them a better team, just the same team with different names on the back.

On paper, it appears the Rangers are one of the most-improved teams in the East, if not only by their additions then by their subtractions. That's not to say I didn't love Jagr and Straka and Shanahan, but it will be a completely different team, and that can't hurt.

Review: Ultimate Gretzky DVD Set

Gretzky Week continues with a look at the re-release of "Ultimate Gretzky". Initially issued as a documentary, this four-disc DVD set comes loaded with extras, not to mention five of The Great One's finest games.

Release Date: Initial release in 2003; re-released in 2006

Availability: Amazon, Best Buy, etc.

Price: Approximately $25


In the NHL's perpetual struggle to remain relevant, we've seen other sports pass hockey by in many areas. One of those areas is the availability of older games and old footage. NFL Films does a tremendous job with its footage library; not only is their older coverage well-presented, but it looks great. Major League Baseball has offered broadcasts of classic games on its website for years. The NBA is just about the only sport seen on ESPN Classic. And while the NHL Network has done a great job bridging this gap, perhaps even eliminating it, the network just isn't in the amount of homes necessary for people to take notice.

The other sports have all branched out into the DVD world, something the NHL hasn't exactly done well. While baseball gives us entire World Series on DVD and the NFL and NBA have given very detailed DVDs on most teams, the NHL has given us crap like "NHL's Greatest Goals" and other hour-long fluff pieces that don't really do anything for hardcore fans. We want something more. We want something that does more than remind us of the game's past; instead, we want to relive the past.

Ultimate Gretzky is a significant step forward in this regard. The re-issue contains five classic games from Gretzky's career, but that's only the start. There's an entire side of a disc devoted to extras. And the documentary portion, the crux of the DVD, is extremely well-done.

Let's start with the documentary; after all, this comprises the entirety of the original Ultimate Gretzky. Our "host" is Kiefer Sutherland, the NHL's hired gun when it comes to cross-promotion. The program itself is an interview done with Gretzky (and sometimes his dad) by John Davidson. I'm supposed to hate JD because I'm an Islander fan, but I've always loved his work, and he does a great job here. He lets Gretzky tell the story, and it's clear Gretzky did his homework, which makes for a very compelling tale.

We get a ton of great footage in this documentary portion. Clips of Gretzky playing for the Oilers of the WHA. His greatest and most famous goals. His first time hoisting the Stanley Cup. The reactions of Edmontonians as he was traded to Los Angeles. Gretzky himself says that the footage itself is what he looks to most as he remembers his playing career, and we're very fortunate that so much is available.

But the documentary is so much more than a series of clips. Gretzky has some gems in store for us. He's not as candid as he was in his autobiography, but he says a lot of really interesting things, most of which make a ton of sense. At one point, he's given a chance to trash the state of hockey today, but instead, he diplomatically points out that it's a different game and it's just not as offense-driven as it used to be. He also becomes among the first to state that the only way to increase scoring is to decrease the size of the goaltending equipment. This is one of those moments where you see exactly why Gretzky has been such a great ambassador for the game of hockey.

One of the best parts about this DVD is how balanced it is. It might seem like the DVD starts to crap out after Gretzky scores his 802nd goal, but that's not really the case. Instead, we get to see the things that meant a lot to Gretzky, but don't get a lot of coverage, like the 1999 All-Star Game. There's also extensive coverage of his retirement, the 2002 Olympics, and Gretzky's progression into ownership with Phoenix. How ironic it is that Gretzky becomes part-owner (and later, coach) of a team that wouldn't be anywhere near Phoenix without his influence.

Then, we get to the bonus disc, which is kind of a mish-mash of stuff that didn't make the final cut. We get to see a ton of really cool clips, including ceremonies related to his retirement, his jersey retirement ceremonies in Edmonton and Los Angeles, his wedding, so on and so forth. My personal favorite would have to be the "Pond Of Dreams" short that was shown before the 2000 All-Star Game. It gets me every time. This was so good that ABC actually ran it twice. Can you imagine a network actually going on the air and saying, "Our open was so awesome that we're going to show it to you again."? I don't think so. Anyway, it's on the DVD, along with a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the short.

So with all that said, let's get to the games. We'll go in chronological order, just as the DVD does.

- 12.30.81 - Flyers at Oilers. This is the game where Gretzky scores five goals to hit 50 in 39 games. It's your typical 80's affair - tons of scoring and some pretty awful defense - but it's actually a close game that's fun to watch. Also, it's worth noting that the Flyers are wearing Cooperalls - and it's also worth noting that they actually look pretty cool. I'm still trying to figure out how they didn't catch on league-wide.

- 2.8.83 - NHL All-Star Game. Remember back when the Nassau Coliseum was worthy of hosting an All-Star Game? Me neither. I was a whopping sixteen months old when this one aired. It's most well-known for Gretzky's four-goal performance in the third period to win the game for the Campbell Conference. To be honest, it's not all that enjoyable to watch. If you insist on checking it out, just skip to the third period.

- 5.19.84 - Islanders at Oilers. The torch is passed. I'm supposed to hate watching this, but it's a very interesting game. You can tell the Islanders are done and the Oilers have surpassed them in every way. It's also clear how much respect the Oilers had for that Islander team. Islander fans might no love watching the Oilers blow their team out in this one, but it's worth watching for the emergence of Pat LaFontaine, called up after the 1984 Olympics and immediately given valuable minutes.

- 5.29.93 - Kings at Maple Leafs. Here's the famous Game 7 hat trick game. This is one seriously awesome game. Both teams were pretty much stacked at this point in time, but Gretzky carries his team on his back to get the win. One thing Gretzky says about this game in the documentary - the final minute represents the only time in his career he had to beg off from playing because he was too spent. It's also fun to hear the blatantly biased CBC announcers bash Gretzky after his third goal.

- 3.23.94 - Canucks at Kings. Gretzky scores #802 in front of the Kings faithful. It's a great moment, but the entire game was a trifle unnecessary. The ball is dropped even further when it's noted that the ESPN telecast of this game - complete with Gary Thorne's awesome call -isn't used. Instead, it's someone different; apparently, it's the Canucks' feed. How appropriate. Oh, and the Kings don't even win this game, which isn't a surprise, as they only won 27 games that year.

The games, obviously are nice to have, but they certainly could have found some better choices. For example, Game 2 of the 1987 Canada Cup would have been exceptional. Not only have many of us never seen the game, but it's not available elsewhere on DVD. I also would have taken the game when Gretzky breaks the all-time points record; not only does he do it in Edmonton, not only does he break the record with a game-tying goal in the final minute, but he scores the game-winner in overtime as well. Oh well. I guess you can't have it all.

The other thing that drives me crazy about this set? None of the discs have disc numbers on them. So if you're a slob and leave DVDs lying around without putting them away (not that I know anything about this), you end up putting the wrong disc in all the time. Hell, even if you do put the discs back into the case, it's hard to tell which is which. This is one of those stupid things that should have been spotted long before the set's release, but it never happened. Also, the dual-sided discs tend to get dirty and scratched, but it sure beats paying more for extra one-sided discs.

Ultimately, these are minor complaints. The important thing is that we not only have a definitive document of Wayne Gretzky's career, but we have the standard by which all other NHL DVDs should be judged. There's no reason why we can't see similar productions for Mario Lemieux, Mark Messier, or anyone the NHL wishes to commemorate. Now that we've seen what a hockey DVD can be, let's see the NHL take the initiative and satisfy its fans.

My 3 Jerseys...

On June 30, I had three Ranger jerseys of current players.

On July 2, my blue Sean Avery #16 jersey became null and void. I will however, still wear this one to the Garden and even on some road games, because nothing incites a different team's crowd like seeing Avery's name emblazoned on a $185 jersey.

On July 3, my vintage Jaromir Jagr #68 jersey became obsolete. I probably won't wear this one though, and I don't think I did last year either. It was a vintage jersey I had gotten a few years back that I added his name and number on the back. I liked it at first, but when I got some others, it was pushed to the back.

On July 14, my blue Ryan Hollweg #44 jersey became a thing of history. It was autographed by a lot of players from the early 2006-07 team, including Hollweg. Other former Rangers to sign it are Marcel Hossa (he grabbed the Sharpie before I could say "No!"), Brendan Shanahan, Aaron Ward, Fedor Tyutin, Jason Ward (a hell of a nice guy) and Adam Hall. This jersey was worn at certain times last year, although the Avery was my first choice. It will officially be retired in a ceremony before training camp.

This follows a pattern of mine, where I get jerseys of a player who leaves the team after the season. My Russian Pavel Bure jersey (he got hurt and retired), my white Eric Lindros (got it before the lockout, then he went to Toronto), my Liberty Steve Rucchin (signed with Atlanta after the season ended). Hollweg was the first player that I got a jersey of who was on the team for more than one season after I bought it.

I think I'm safe with my planned white Dan Girardi #5 jersey this season.

* * * 

On the Hollweg trade...

He wore out his welcome in NY. When he first came into the league, following the lockout, he was part of the "new corps" of Rangers. Jed Ortmeyer, Blair Betts, Dom Moore, Hollweg, Petr Prucha. He hit hard, he played with energy, and he was a solid checker. In 2005-06, I loved him, and he was a definite fan favorite. Besides mine, Hollweg jerseys and Ortmeyer jerseys became big in the Garden.

In 2006-07, his lack of offensive skills shone through when he played with Colton Orr more and more. Two players with the same style were useless together. They didn't shut down any top lines, they didn't energize the other lines, and they didn't score. 

Last season, Orr became better with his skating and puck-moving games, and Hollweg was scratched heartily. Freddy Sjostrom's arrival put Hollweg on the bench more, and you could now tell he was a borderline NHLer. When he did play, he took bonehead penalties that cost the Rangers more often than not (I will not talk about Game 3 of the Rangers/Penguins series, because I don't want my blood pressure to go through the roof).

The signings of Patrick Rissmiller and Aaron Voros signaled the end of Hollweg for good. These players had more upside than Hollweg did. They could score more than 5 goals in 3 years, and while they take penalties, they aren't a detriment to the team like Hollweg had become.

That said, I wish the Rangers got more for him. I understand a borderline NHLer on a re-building team like Toronto isn't going to get much in return, but I wish he was included in a bigger package. The Rangers have a glut of forward, and packaging him with someone could have gotten back a bigger reward than a previously-acquired 5th round pick.

In the end, though, I'm glad they didn't trade Prucha.

Yet.

* * *

And yes, I really own a Steve Rucchin jersey.

Me in my Rucchin jersey in Boston, January 2007.

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.

Gary Roberts

Now that the Finals are over with, we can start discussing New York hockey again. There's just one thing I wanted to get off my chest.

We all saw Gary Roberts take a cheap shot at Johan Franzen's head in Game 2. I have to admit, I cringed when I saw this. Concussions are no joke. I suffered a concussion last year in a car accident and it affected me for days. Even now, I have to be really careful, because you're that much more susceptible to another concussion once you've had the first one.

We're seeing the danger of concussions - namely, that the dangers we don't know are far scarier than those we do know - with Ryan Church of the New York Mets now. For those who don't follow baseball, Church suffered a concussion a few weeks back trying to break up a double play. The Mets, in all their infinite wisdom, kept trotting him out there to pinch-hit. Now, he's totally disoriented and can't play. Oh, and Church has been their best player all year. So, in their rush to get the team going, they might have dug themselves an even deeper grave.

How many great athletes have lost their abilities due to concussions? Eric Lindros, Bret Hart, and Wayne Chrebet come to mind. How many others never got the chance to succeed because of concussions? Say what you want about Brett Lindros, but he was a top-ten draft pick and could have been a solid player if head trauma didn't end his career before it even began.

Another player who lost something after a concussion was Kenny Jonsson. With that in mind, let's bring Gary Roberts back into the picture.

No Islander fan will ever forget April 26, 2002. That night, the Islanders didn't just get blown out by the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the wind was taken from their sails in a big way. It could be argued that the franchise is still trying to recover from this night. In the first period, Roberts skated the length of the ice to drill Jonsson into the boards so hard that his helmet cracked. One period later, in the more famous of the two hits, Darcy Tucker took out Michael Peca's legs and put him out of action for seven months.

Peca's injury still bothers me to this day (less so since he tried to do the same thing to Zdeno Chara after returning), but the more important one is Roberts' hit on Jonsson. People look up to Gary Roberts for returning from his own injuries, and he's played an important role on quite a few good teams now. But he now has two strikes against him. However, what has the NHL given him for his transgressions? Five minutes in the penalty box.

Five minutes. For essentially killing one man's NHL career (Jonsson was never the same) and endangering another's. And yet, Chris Simon gets 55 total games for his attacks on Ryan Hollweg and Jarko Ruutu. Now, I'm not going to compare who did worse things to who; that's irrelevant. All I'm saying is that Roberts has gotten off extremely easy. What if Roberts' punch to Franzen's head triggered something in his brain that caused him serious brain damage? It's not out of the realm of possibility; after all, Franzen did have blood seep between his brain and his skull.

There's "old-time hockey", which we all associate with grizzled veterans and playoff beards and guys playing hurt and players policing themselves, all that good stuff. That's fine. But there's a very fine line between "old-time hockey" and the thuggery that many associate with the league thanks to people like Todd Bertuzzi and Chris Simon. Gary Roberts, somehow, is still considered a "good guy". I'm sure he's a wonderful person off the ice; however, I really don't care. He not only put Johan Franzen's career in jeopardy, he could have killed the sport completely. After all, with a record audience tuning in, how would it have looked had Roberts done some serious damage to Franzen? Imagine the field day the hockey-hating media would have had with that one.

Where the Islanders Went Wrong...

When you title a post "Where the Islanders Went Wrong," you could conceivably take unlimited cheap shots at their collective abdomen, mentioning hiring Mike Millbury, any of his trades (turns out Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish aren't as talented as Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen), talking about how people with no money bought a multi-million dollar franchise, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I won't do that. I will rise above that level.

I also won't be talking about the signing of "character players" like Josef Vasicek and Jon Sim, and how we were told it's because of their heart and grit that they were signed, as opposed to the real reason that no one wants to play for the Islanders (except, for some reason, Bryan McCabe).

I want to talk about how Garth Snow messed up at the trade deadline this year.

I'm not anti-Snow. Sure, I thought it was a joke when Blogger Bryan texted me about them firing Neil Smith and promoting their back-up goalie (much like me texting him "Isles trade DP to Ottawa for Eaves, Corvo and 2 1st rounders"), but I think he isn't an awful GM, especially compared to Millbury. 

When he traded the farm for Ryan Smyth, he did what he had to do. The opportunity came up, he swung the deal. The grand prize wound up being a few weekday sell-outs and 2 extra home games, but he did what he had to because he felt he had a team worthy of making the playoffs.

This year, he completely dropped the ball. He had to have known Rick DiPietro was hurt, unless he wasn't watching Versus during the skills competition when DP said into his mic "Fucked up my hip." 

A bunch of his veterans, including key faceoff man Mike Sillinger, were hurt, and the ones that weren't should have been shipped out to make way for the future, not held onto in a pathetic, desperate, unintentionally funny attempt to make the playoffs.

The NHL is simple and cyclic (except for the Red Wings). Teams are bad, stay bad a few years, get high draft picks, sell off overpriced vets for more picks and prospects, have a few okay years, get good. Read the book on the Penguins (Fleury, Whitney, Crosby, Malkin, and Staal were all Top 5 picks). 

When teams are good, they don't stay good for very long because of what they sacrificed to be there. The Rangers won the Cup in 1994 and Neil Smith gave up a lot for that, even noting that they would be bad for a while when he did it, and they were. Tampa Bay won in 2004, then signed Conn Smythe winner Brad Richards to a huge deal. So big, in fact, that had to let their goalie go. They then paid 4 players so much that they couldn't sign or keep any role players (see: Pavel Kubina moving to Toronto).

Then, there are teams that are bad but won't admit it. Teams like the 1998-2003 Rangers, or the current Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs should have had a firesale, but their players wouldn't waive no-trade clauses (bad management in John Ferguson, Jr.) and then they played decent down the stretch, giving them slight, slight hope for a top-8 seeding. The Rangers thought they were always one big name away from glory, so they spent the money they had and it brought nothing. They never re-built from within until 2004, when the upcoming CBA gave them no choice.

The Islanders were a bad team last year, even when they were winning. Mike Comrie will never be more than a 2nd line center on other teams. Sillinger shouldn't be playing 19 minutes a night at age 36. Hell, at age 26 he shouldn't have been. Miro Satan is not a top-line winger or your go-to guy with an empty net.

Yet, the Islanders stood pat. They didn't sell for the future. A team like Ottawa would have loved Satan, who would have contributed more than Cory Stillman eventually did for them. Ruslan Fedotenko is a proven playoff performer, scoring both goals in the Lightning's 2-1 Game 7 win over Calgary in the '04 Finals. He could have been a useful player in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia (instead of Vinny Prospal) or Dallas. Vasicek will never score 40 goals, but Nashville could have used him again (instead of Jan Hlavac) or maybe Calgary to give a pop to their offense.

They had no studs to trade away, no Smyth's, Marian Hossa's or Cristobal Huet's, but they could have fetched a 2nd and 4th rounder for Satan, and a 3rd rounder for Tank and Vasicek. This is a very deep draft, and those picks could have turned into something more than what they got for trading Marc-Andre Bergeron.

How The Other Half Lives

It's very rare that you can clearly see your lot in life. Tonight, I was fortunate enough to see mine.

I don't just back underdogs. I'm a glutton for punishment.

The Jets are more than a cursed team that will never win a Super Bowl. They're a franchise that seems to truly relish breaking the hearts of Jets fans every year. The Mets just completed a historic collapse and will surely find a new way to disappoint us this coming season. The Knicks are an embarrassment to everybody who grew up idolizing John Starks, Charles Oakley, and the rest of the Riley-era Knicks. Even my newest love, Newcastle United of the English Premier League, is fighting just to avoid being relegated to the second-tier league of English football.

And the Islanders? Well, odds are good I don't need to tell you of their plight.

Simply put, I have no idea why someone would become an Islander fan unless they were born into it. I've said the same thing about the Rangers, but at least they've been successful since the lockout. The Islanders have exactly four claims to fame since the dynasty years...
- The Easter Epic
- The Miracle Of '93
- Trading away an entire team worth of blue-chip prospects for pennies on the dollar
- Playing the Maple Leafs in one of the most brutal series of the modern era

Of course, the Isles lost the series immediately following both the Easter Epic and the Penguins series in '93, they never would have developed those prospects as effectively on the Island, and they didn't get it done against Toronto. The shame of it is, the Islanders easily could have reached the Finals in either '93 or '02 with a little luck (there was no way they were beating the Flyers in '87), and God knows how well they could have done with even half the guys they traded away.

In a nutshell, that's the past quarter-century of Islanders hockey - what might have been.

Ironically enough, it was those Maple Leafs that opened my eyes tonight. The same team that had to injure two of the Isles' best players to beat them in 2002 embarrassed the Islanders tonight. Obviously, both teams have taken major turns for the worse since then, with the Isles fighting scoring woes for much of the season and the Leafs languishing in a lottery spot until very recently. Still, in a game where the Coliseum faithful got their first glimpse at the future, the Islanders should have had this one.

It's never a good thing when your only goal tops the list for flukiest goals in a given season, but that's the Islanders for you. Toronto woke up after that, finally turned it on in the third period, and kept the Islanders' scoring chances to mostly weak attempts from bad angles. It happens, I guess. It's just hard to take when you're sitting in a half-empty Coliseum, with a team consisting largely of unrecognizable faces playing before you, and your team can't buy a break. And as much as I tried to cheer myself up by thinking about our improved draft position, or contemplating the popular Leafs fan prediction of making a playoff run that's destined to fall just short and ruin their shot at a premium draft pick, it didn't work. Especially when contrasted with the scenario that occurred across town.

My friends Tom and Kristine attended tonight's Rangers-Penguins game at the Garden. They got to sit in a sold-out building and watch the Rangers make short work of a legitimate Cup contender. They got to see Sean Avery score two goals, Henrik Lundqvist shut the door, and the Rangers move one step closer to potentially gaining home-ice advantage in the first round. Not bad, eh? Meanwhile, all Islanders fans got was another disappointing finish to what has quickly become a forgettable season.

Believe me when I say that I'm not giving up on my team. I can't stress this enough. We've been through far, far worse before. This isn't the Fishstick era, or the John Spano era, or even the Steve Stirling era. I just wish that, for once, I could be on the other side of this rivalry. I wish I could be the one supporting the winning team. I wish I could dream of Stanley Cups and marquee players. I wish I had the confidence that my team could make a playoff run and maybe, just maybe, win this thing. Is that too much to ask?

Apparently so.

Again, I'm not giving up. I just wish my faith wasn't tested so often.