Off to Vegas Again...

It's been a big week for me. New car, new job, and now, much like injured training camp invitee Kyle McLaren, I will not be around for Rangers training camp, either. While he will be failing physicals, I'll be in lovely Las Vegas for the 2nd year in a row. Got a great deal too. Last year, we paid $120/night for the MGM Grand. This year, we got a nicer hotel for $90/night. Last year, if we wanted the hotel I'm staying at this year, it would've been $180/night. Thank you, Internet.

Here's what I'm hoping for to happen while I'm gone...

- Dany Heatley to finally be traded - and not to the Rangers, unless it's for Wade Redden, which I think we all know the odds of that happening are less than 1%.
- The Rangers roster to be finalized. Probably not going to happen, but we should have a good picture of it by Friday.
- Blair Betts to have a job in the NHL. Has no GM watched him the past 3 years to see how good he is on faceoffs and on the penalty kill?
- This Phoenix Coyotes situation to be resolved. My ideal resolution: Have them play this year in the same spot since it's too late to move an entire franchise, but have them play next year in Hamilton, Ontario. Sure, it would kill their attendance this year, but, be honest, who is going to see a bad hockey team play in the desert, anyway?
- Brandon Dubinsky to be signed - and not for $2M. Remember how often he didn't score last year? I'm sure he'll have a good year, he'll be a heart and soul player, and he'll grow leaps and bounds, but he still has trouble scoring, he isn't a first-line center, and since the Rangers are tight on Cap room as is, giving him a lot of money would make things very rough come trade deadline day.
- One of the two discount hockey jersey sites I visit gets a Marian Gaborik jersey in so I can buy a new one for under $50.
- My SUV to arrive. (Probably won't for another month though.)
- Bryan to text me updates if any of the above happen.

Have a good week. See you Saturday.

The Blueline...

For next season, which begins October 2nd in Pittsburgh, the Rangers currently have 4 defenseman with "guaranteed" spots. I put that in quotes because you never know who might get traded - let's hope - or injured - let's hope not - before then.

We have: Wade Redden, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, and Michal Rozsival.

Matt Gilroy is probably going to play in the NHL also. Everyone is very impressed by him, and you don't pay $1.75M/year to keep a player in the minor leagues.

So that leaves one spot. Corey Potter? Mike Sauer? Possible on both fronts, but more likely they will be in Hartford until their contracts end out, then bounce around the AHL (with some rare NHL appearances). Their career-paths will probably look more like Bryce Lampman's and Lawrence Nycholat's than Brian Leetch's.

I figure it comes down to two players. Granted, I don't know a ton. I don't go to training camp, I don't travel to Traverse City. I just read about the Rangers online, a lot, and I know a certain bit about the NHL from watching it for years.

Those two players: 2006 1st round draft pick (21st overall) Bobby Sanguinetti and 2008 1st round draft pick (20th overall) Mike Del Zotto.

And the early edge goes to Del Zotto. He looks real sharp from all accounts in nearly every aspect, and a lot of people think he can push for a spot. Even if he is bound for the OHL this year (he is too young to play in the AHL), the Rangers can still have him in the NHL for 10 games before they decide to send him there. That's good experience as a 7th d-man, and a great chance to make the Rangers think they should keep him up here - much like Josh Bailey and the Islanders last season.

So where does that leave Sanguinetti? This kid grew up in Trenton, NJ, and was a Rangers fan even when the Devils were winning Stanley Cups when he was 7, 12, and 15. He had a great 2007-08 season in Brampton (OHL) and didn't play particularly bad last year in Hartford, either.

But is he improving? Has Del Zotto out-performed him? And this is the year that Sanguinetti's contract is up. Sure, he'll only be a restricted free agent and he is still only 21, but Del Zotto is two years younger and seems to have surpassed him.

This isn't an attack on Sanguinetti at all. It just seems that there aren't very many roster spots available for the taking - 2, possibly, but probably only 1 - due to a few heavy-handed contracts (as well as the fact that you need veterans on the blueline). Maybe if Gilroy wasn't signed last year, or maybe if Del Zotto didn't emerge, Sanguinetti would be the 6th.

What are the options? No doubt they'll keep him around in Hartford if he doesn't make the team, but he could be Al Montoya-ed during the trade deadline to get a real nice veteran for a playoff run.

At any rate, Del Zotto vs. Sanguinetti should be one of the best "fights" at training camp. I'm looking forward to it, and I hope both show incredible talent.

* * *

Oh, and if anyone wants half-priced tickets to the Rangers/Bruins pre-season game on Tuesday, September 15, please let me know. I'll be in Las Vegas (lobbying for an NHL team there) and can't make it. Each seat is $60 and I'll sell the pair for $60. Email: arson83@aim.com

We're Almost There

We've finally reached Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer.

Thank God.

It can be said that hockey fans are more passionate about their favorite sport than anybody else. And as wonderful as baseball can be, everyone's probably a little sick of hearing about the third-place Yankees. Just the same, we've all heard a little too much about Brett Favre this month. Time to move on.

Thankfully, the NHL season isn't all that far away. Well, okay, maybe it is. But training camp isn't far off at all. The Rangers open up their training camp on September 16th, just over two weeks away. The Islanders... well, we don't know when they're going to start their training camp. Their website doesn't say. Because, you know, nobody would want to know when their team opens training camp or anything. Their first pre-season game is September 23rd, so take that as you will.

With every preseason game for both teams airing on TV this year, it'll be easier than ever to catch hockey fever early. It'll also be a good opportunity to see what each team has in store for us. Ranger fans are dreaming about a Cup run, and with good reason. Islander fans are thinking first overall draft pick, and with good reason. At this point, it doesn't really matter how our teams do. We just want our game back.

You can only watch so much NHL Network over the summer. How many first-round games from 2007 can one take? It's almost time for the real sports season to begin, and I could not be more excited.

The Islanders might be a seriously awful team this year. You know what? I don't care. I just want to see them play some games. I want to draft a fantasy hockey team and be utterly disgusted with it immediately afterward. I want to see who's going to get off to a hot start, who's going to get hurt early, and which coach is the first to be canned. And now that September is here, it all seems like it's so much closer than it was just days ago.

Which is a great thing. If I have to hear one more outlandish quote from Hank Steinbrenner, I might kill somebody. As Zach said, bring on the winter. Bring on the NHL.