Why the Rangers Lost...

Why the Rangers lost last night in Chicago was actually an event 20 years in the making.

You see, on a cold December morning in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada, while the rest of the young hockey team was learning how to throw body checks, a 12-year old Wade Redden was having his first period.

His parents, who had woken up at 5 in the morning to drive him to play with his team, instead had to drive him to the gynecologists office to look at why their preteen son was such a pussy.

Fast forward to 1995, and 18-year old Wade had become the first woman ever drafted into the NHL. His family cried, and the Islanders were questioned, but stood their ground. (Six months later, when they realized he could never throw a body check, he was traded to Ottawa for Bryan Berard and Martin Straka.)

It is now 2009, and with a snowy Chicago as the backdrop, Marian Hossa was standing in the crease between Henrik Lundqvist and Mr and Mrs. Redden's daughter, Wade. A slew of Chicago players were pounding at the puck and Lundqvist, and the younger Redden daughter was content standing behind Hossa. His one defense mechanism - pushing Hossa once with his stick.

Well, her decision to go to the gynecologist to learn how to use tampons instead of learning how to throw checks and clear the crease sunk the Rangers again. Hossa, unfettered in an area of the ice he never should have been allowed to enter anyway, kept Redden away from doing anything to stop him or Jonathan Toews from putting the puck past Lundqvist.

Game tied with 6 minutes left.

That's one minute for every million dollars Madame Redden is being paid this year to not hit, not clear the crease, not play defense.

A Few Notes on an Off Day...

First off, I would like to thank longtime loyal NY Hockey Rivalry reader Lou for the seat upgrade at Monday's game against the Sharks. Thanks to Lou, who had two extra tickets, me and my friend moved up to Section 94 - the purple seats in the lower bowl, 10 rows from the ice. Lou deftly knocked off a 22 ounce Heineken, a footlong hot dog with kraut, and a pretzel with mustard. Yours truly had his own 22 ounce Amstel Light, a pretzel, and popcorn. Pretzel was tasty (though not Nassau Coliseum-esque). Popcorn was not very good. Actually, of the 4 words on the box of popcorn, only one was true: Fresh Popcorn, Delicious! Crisp!

Second, I want to mention that Cory Murphy was placed on waivers by the New Jersey Devils. A few times in the past, I'd mentioned that I wanted to see Murphy in a Rangers sweater. While it's not a pressing manner, I still think he'd be worth a shot as a 7th defenseman. He is 31, played college in New York (Colgate) and pro in Finland before coming to America in his late 20s. He can lead the power play pretty well but was never given the chance in Florida or Tampa Bay, and the Devils apparently gave up on him after being a -1 in 3 games.

Third, I am making my glorious return to Montreal in early 2010. In February of 2008, right before this website started, I went to a Rangers game at the Bell Centre. It was actually Super Bowl Sunday, the day the Giants beat the Patriots, and it was the only NHL game on the docket. The Rangers were down 3-0 but wound up winning 5-3 in an incredible game.

So this year, I return. January 23. Anyone else going to be there?

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.

Just Brainstorming Here...

I'm back from Las Vegas (mid-September and still 100 degrees!) and I received a 2-for-1 in the week I was gone. Not only was Dany Heatley traded, but Phil Kessel was as well, leaving September only for training camp, and no drama.

I'm just brainstorming, but let's say for argument's sake, the 6 defensemen who make the Rangers roster for opening night are: Michal Rozsival, Wade Redden, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, Mike del Zotto, and Matt Gilroy. Not a huge stretch, right? Sure, you could possibly sub Bobby Sanguinetti in for del Zotto, but that has no effect on my point today.

The newspaper today said that Rozsival and Redden would be top pairing, like they were together for most of last season. My question is: Why?

Now, it's well-documented that I am against having Redden and Rozsival on the team simply because this is a Salary Cap Era. If there was no Cap, then having a waste of space like Wade Redden on the team would simply be par for the course. They'd demote him to 3rd-line pairing or send him to Hartford, and spend big money on someone better than him.

Of course, since his $6.5M/year is looming large for the next 5 years, he has no choice but to play. And of course, it ultimately cost Tom Renney his job, as Renney's over-reliance on him led to his downfall.

Same for Rozsival. While I may personally like Rozsival and think he is a decent defenseman, he in no way warrants $5M/year, Salary Cap Era or not.

So why pair them together? They were horrendous separately and together last year. Plus, by doing that, you are putting 2 pairs of "kids" on the blueline.

Girardi and Staal should be a tandem. They were last year often, they play well together, one is a lefty, one is a righty. Both broke into the league near the same time and both are equally as good as the other.

So that leaves Del Zotto and Gilroy, two rookies together, no?

I say John Tortorella should put Gilroy with either Redden or Rozsival, and Del Zotto with the other one. That way the future top-pairing could learn from the veterans, who could (hopefully) cover the mistakes the rookies make.

Couldn't hurt, right?

My ideal pairings...
Redden - Gilroy (Redden is a left-handed shot, Gilroy a right-handed shot)
Staal - Girardi (Staal, lefty; Girardi, righty)
Del Zotto - Rozsival (Del Zotto, lefty; Rozsival, righty)

I mean, it's not like Redden and Rozsival were so dominant last season that breaking them up would be disastrous. They aren't MacInnis-Suter, Leetch-Beukeboom, or Stevens-Neidermayer. Hell, they aren't even Staal-Girardi. They're one step better than the pre-lockout pairing of Vladimir Malakhov and Boris Mironov.

It worked 2 years ago when Staal paired with Paul Mara. Why not let the rookies learn from the veterans? At the very least, they could learn what not to do.

In 13 Hours...

In less than 13 hours, free agency will start. Last year, on June 30, 2008, this web site probably had 10-15 posts.

In fact, I remember one that I wrote about the 4 big free agents for the Rangers: Sean Avery, Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan, and Martin Straka. I presumed Straka would leave if Jagr stayed, that Shanahan would not be back, and Avery wouldn't either. What I didn't predict was that Avery would sign elsewhere, get banished from the NHL, and return half-priced in February. But, really, I doubt many people guessed that. I remember I also put a good word in for Mark Streit in hopes he would be a Ranger. And I said that Wade Redden was awful and no team, especially the Rangers, should overpay for him. Well.

Anyway, this year, not as many posts. The Rangers, up until about 6 hours ago, were up near the Cap, and the Islanders appear to be growing from the inside, or at least attempting to. Besides some fillers and 4th line players, the big news would be which players wouldn't be returning.

Well, with Scott Gomez gone, $5M is freed up. The 3 players I would love to see don Rangers blue next season are, in order...

Mike Cammalleri, Mike Komisarek, Rob Scuderi

Cammalleri adds instant offense at a reasonable price. He scored 39 last year and had his 2nd 80+ point season (out of 4 career seasons). Plus, he's only 27, so a 5-year deal for $24-25M wouldn't be insane.

Remember how well Komisarek would shut down Jagr? He isn't going to give you many points, but he will crush opponents, clear the crease, kill penalties, and he would go a lot way to shutting down Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin 6 times a year. Ah, but would he and Avery get along?

Scuderi will probably come cheap, maybe $1.5-2M. I think he grew up an Islanders fan, but even so, he can be enticed to playing in Manhattan. He did great in the Stanley Cup Finals, and gives his best every single shift. He would make a great 4th defenseman.

The only problem with signing D is there are so many of them. Redden, Girardi, Staal, Gilroy (according to reports, he is looking good), and Rozsival will all be on the team next season. That leaves just one or two spots and not much money to spend, since most of the Cap space should be used for scoring help (with some saved for emergencies and the trade deadline).

Should be an interesting day. Even though nothing happens until about 1:30, I'll be tuning in at noon to see how awkward it gets when nothing happens. Can't wait to see Bob McKenzie text messaging people on-air to see what's going on.

(I was happy that Dany Heatley was being sent to Edmonton, not because I want him in the West, but because I don't want the Rangers to trade a lot for him. The Rangers don't need a different $7+M deal for 5 years, especially one who requests trades from everywhere he has played. If they wanted a headcase with talent that he sometimes uses, hey, Alex Kovalev is a free agent tomorrow, too.)

Matt Gilroy...

I won't dwell much on a player who won't be in a Ranger uniform for another 5 months, but I will add a few notes on Matt Gilroy.

This year, the Rangers have 6 defensemen (regardless of whether or not you think some of them are really "7th d-men").

Next year, the following 4 will still be under contract: Wade Redden (5 more years); Michal Rozsival (3 more years); Dan Girardi (1 more year then UFA); and Marc Staal (1 more year then RFA, will be extended long-term next year).

That leaves Paul Mara and Derek Morris.

So we have 4 under contract, and Corey Potter and Matt Gilroy, both NHL-ready (or will be by the time training camp rolls around). I say Gilroy will be NHL-ready for two reasons: 1) He could have signed in the NHL last year but wanted to play one more year at Boston University so he could win the title and play with his brother and graduate. 2) You don't give a minor-leaguer a $2.5M deal for 2 years.

That leaves 6 defensemen. I'm assuming Potter will be on the big club next year. He's cheap ($542,000 against the cap) and still has a year left on his deal.

But what about Bobby Sanguinetti? He's making $855,000 to stay in the minors. Wouldn't they want him on the team? By all accounts, he will be ready to play in the NHL next year too. There's also a guy named Vladimir Denisov in the AHL who is having a good year and could be a 7th defenseman (will probably serve as an injury call-up though).

And don't count out Paul Mara. He could have signed elsewhere for $3M last offseason, but chose to stay a Ranger for $1.95M. “There was interest from other teams but I wanted to win in New York" is what he said in July when he re-signed. He has also played very well this year, better than he did last year, and you can't deny that someone plays better when he wants to be here as opposed to just collecting a $6.5M paycheck.

So what am I getting at? I'm saying that something will have to give. The four under contract, Gilroy, Potter, Sanguinetti, maybe even Mara, that's a lot of D-men. A trade will have to happen to accomodate everything, and of course, we'll all hope it will be Redden or Rozsival. I think it would have to be Rozsival, because it's hard to move a $30M+ contract when the player has no desire to be good.

Of course, this is Glen Sather we're talking about, the man who got the same player 3 times in a week last July when he signed Aaron Voros and Pat Rissmiller and traded for Dan Fritsche. What he probably will do is trade for another defenseman, sign someone on July 1, and start the season with 9 on the blueline.

Wade Redden and the Defense...

At the Garden the other day, they were giving away "spots" for the Blueshirts Off Our Backs promotion. For those who don't know, that's after the last home game (April 9 vs. Flyers). They line everyone up on the ice, and the players come out in number order, take off their jerseys, sign them, and put them on your back.

No, I didn't win one of these spots (from what I know, about 1/3 of the people on the ice "overcome obstacles," and the remaining 2/3 are season ticket holders who are plucked from the crowds that night).

But my friend asked me what I would do if I got on the ice, noticed I was the 2nd person, did the math, and realized I would be getting a Wade Redden jersey. I had two reactions: 1) I would try to convince someone in line that they would rather have a Redden jersey than a Colton Orr jersey or 2) I would turn the tables on him, take off my jersey, sign it, and give it to him.

But today, he had a good game! He barely pinched, and when he did he joined rushes for shots on goal and didn't get caught out of position. He had a few shots that almost hit the net also (he was credited with 3 shots on goal). He even made a very good plan on Nik Antropov's goal. 

Joe Micheletti said it best today when he said all the D-men were playing good today. Paul Mara always plays to his ability. He shoots all the time (granted, does that thing where he misses the net on purpose to make a rebound way too much) and hits everyone he can. He's a 5th D and he's good at his job. When Dan Girardi messes up, Marc Staal is there to back him up (the rare exception is when he kicked in Nashville's 2nd goal Wednesday). 

I have no qualms with Derek Morris. He shoots hard and often. No goals yet, but he has been shooting a lot and it was his shot that Sean Avery deflected in for a 1-0 lead Sunday against Philadelphia. 

You know what you get with Redden and Michal Rozsival. Well, fans know what they get. GM Glen Sather thinks he's getting Scott Stevens and Brian Leetch for their combined $11.5M/year. You get players who are overpaid, underperform, don't shoot, and give up odd-man rushes when they "man the point" on the power play. However, even Rozsival played decent today. There was one play where a Canadien (I think it was Alex Kovalev) tried a fancy toe-drag-deke move, and instead of following the puck, he stood up and knocked him down, clearing the puck.

Marc Staal is a different story. He is excellent sometimes, like in Nashville, he was great. He was good Saturday in Philly also. Sunday, however, "This odd-man rush is brought to you by Marc Staal getting caught up-ice."

* * * 

Anyway, got off track there. I still don't want Redden's jersey, signed, free, unsigned, or if I donate blood. But if the Rangers are going to make the playoffs, they need him to play good. Like it or not, he'll be getting 20 minutes every game (he was getting less and less, but he got 22:37 in Montreal). 

No, he isn't good enough to be a Top 2 D-man. Yes, he's brutally overpaid and probably doesn't care if this team wins or loses (I don't like to question an athlete's passion, but you have to with him sometimes). Yes, we are stuck with him for 5 more years or until he waives his no-trade clause, but we need him.

* * * 

From an entertainment standpoint, today's game was excellent. Even the first period, which had no scoring, was great. Avery vs. Mike "The Original Sloppy Seconds" Komisarek was shaping up nicely, and it was a fast-moving period. The only thing that would've been better was not giving up that 2nd point to Montreal, but right now, getting 2 points is the bigger picture.

Defensive Help...

Once again, as for the past 2 years, rumors of Phoenix Coyotes D Ed Jovanovski going to the Rangers will not die.

First off, the Rangers don't have cap space for his $6.5M contract. Second off, don't the Rangers already have a crappy D taking up $6.5M this year (and for the next 5)?

Yes, he has a cool nickname, but I railed against trading for Jovo last year - and the year before, when we didn't even have this URL. His stats last year were atrocious, and this year they are even worse!

As fans, we are saddled with Wade Redden's contract until the year after Barack Obama's term is up. Jovo has two more years after this one on his contract, undoubtedly with a No-Trade Clause. Can you imagine Redden, Jovanovski, and Michal Rozsival (total of $18M cap hit, about 1/3 of the salary cap) stinking up the backline until 2011?

Get real.

* * *

So who is available? I'm going to paraphrase this post (and expand on it, as well) I wrote on January 23rd of this year.

3) Ville Koistinen, Nashville - Young (26), going to be a UFA on July 1, and a good player who doesn't fit into the Predators future plans (they already have a real young, very good blueline). He isn't the ideal player, but he is definitely good as a 4th, 5th, or 6th D and is better than Dmitri Kalinin (who is also a UFA after this season). He could be picked up cheaply like Christian Backman was last year (he cost a 4th round pick).

2) Filip Kuba, Ottawa - Definitely on the trading block in Ottawa, especially now that former Islander Chris Campoli is getting a ton of power play time. Kuba is probably not going to be back in Ottawa next year, and they will be looking to get something for him before he walks, if only to justify trading Andrej Meszaros. He shouldn't be a part of the Rangers future plans, but if he is traded for a late pick and/or Kalinin, they will be improved for the playoff run.

1) Cory Murphy, Tampa Bay - This is the guy. Like Mark Streit, he came here in his mid-to-late 20s from Europe and can man a power play with the best of them. However, in Florida, he competed with Bryan McCabe and Jay Bouwmeester for time, so he didn't play much. In 2007-08, he was an even +/- rating, while Olli Jokinen was a -19 and Bouwmeester was a -5, all on the same team.

Murphy is the guy they should be targeting, and unlike Kuba, he could be a Ranger for a couple more years, and cheaply as well. He is making under $1M this year, and signing him for $1.25 for the next 2 would be a great move for an unexpected gem.

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.

17-8-2?...

From the Looks Can Be Deceiving Department, the Rangers are simply the worst 17-8-2 I've ever seen in my life.

First of all, yes, they have 36 points, and that's very good at the 27 game mark, and right now they are "in" first place. However, they've played more games than the followers. Boston has the same 36 points and have played 3 less games. One shootout loss, and the Bruins have more points. The Penguins have 31 points in 23 games. Hell, is the Devils go on a 5-game winning streak again, they would have the same exact record as our Blueshirts (they're 12-8-2 right now).

What I'm saying there is that while it's impressive, the numbers being spouted by Tom Renney (he said something like "we're 14-7 so I'm not worried" earlier this week) and MSG (specifically Stan Fischler) are false. First in the Eastern Conference. I guess. Until Boston plays their next game.

I don't even want to talk about today's game against Florida, but I guess I have to a minute. Florida, perennial basement-dwellers who came in with a dismal post-lockout, shootout-heavy 19 points in 22 games. The Rangers should've been angry about being taken to a shootout in the first game of this home-and-home, come out strong on home ice, and attacked them.

However, this roster isn't built for attack. Scott Gomez is strong on the puck, so is Chris Drury. Yet, both can't finish. If it's not Drury's stick breaking in half (not his fault, I know), it's Ryan Callahan shooting way too high on a shot 4 feet from the net (on a shot that seemed like an 85 degree angle), or it's Brandon Dubinsky, Drury, or Dan Girardi shooting directly into the Panther logo on Craig Anderson's jersey. 

Dubinsky, by the way, had 12 points in 13 October games and has had 4 since then. I should never have dropped Simon Gagne for him on my fantasy team. (I thought Gagne would get hurt again!)

Defense? What defense? On Thanksgiving, when the Detroit Lions gave up 47 points in their game against the Tennessee Titans, I was pretty sure I saw the Titans' RB Chris Johnson burning past Michal Rozsival while Marc Staal fell down.

What I'm saying is that it's an awful defense. And it shouldn't be. Rozsival was good once for the Rangers (actually, he had 2 good years... the first season after the lockout he wasn't good and didn't deserve an extension). Staal was rushed into the NHL and while he plays well a lot, when he makes mistakes, they glow. Dmitri Kalinin was a filler because they needed a 6th defenseman and were too short-sighted to use Andrew Hutchinson (who led the Wolfpack last year and is now a Dallas Star). Kalinin should've been a 4th line winger instead of a 6th d-man. Wade Redden was bad last year. He is bad this year. How bad will he be when he turns 37 and is in the last year of his Ranger contract? Paul Mara and Girardi do what they can, and while they don't light up the ice, I have no problem with them. In fact, I will proudly wear my Girardi #5 jersey Wednesday night at the Garden.

I know there apparently weren't many good defensemen on the free agent market last year (although Mark Streit is working out for the Islanders pretty well), but Redden was the worst choice they could've possibly made. Yes, he can make that all-important first-pass out of the zone. And yes, he sometimes has good defensive plays. But for $6.5M, was Glen Sather looking for sometimes?

The thing with the Rangers this year is that they normally try hard. While teams past would go down 2 goals and then phone it in the rest of the game, these Rangers normally fight back, and have erased a handful of 2-goal deficits this year. I say normally, because every now-and-today, there is a stinker. Two goals in 12 seconds to Florida? Florida had scored 52 goals in 22 games! And I'm pretty sure that figure includes shootout wins.

There are other good things about the Rangers (mostly Gomez, Blair Betts, and Henrik Lundqvist), but after today's frustrating, emotionless, passionless, half-hearted, heavy-legged "performance" in front of thousands of little kids, I choose not to dwell on them.

The Rangers played well against Phoenix, and well against Tampa Bay this week. Yes, they gave up a last-minute goal to Tampa, but they played well all game until that moment. However, that last-minute goal is beginning to be a problem. When you play two games against Florida and give up a goal with 90 seconds left and then get blown out in the next game, something is wrong. 

They got 6 points in 4 games against mediocre-at-best teams. However, it took an incredible Lundqvist (uh, today notwithstanding) and 2 tiebreaking shootouts for those points.

What happens when they face Montreal, Pittsburgh, Carolina, and Calgary in December? Not to mention 2 games against the suddenly-streaking Devils, a game against the notoriously hard-to-beat Islanders, and a 3-game swing out in California against Anaheim, the Kings, and San Jose?

This ship, starting from different personnel on the power play and out, needs to be righted, or a 7-game losing streak isn't far away. 17-14-2? Not as impressive, is it??

Ship Jumper...

Since the beginning of this blog, there has not been a player to go from the Islanders to the Rangers, or vice versa (and no, minor league enforcer Mitch Fritz does not count). Until today.

New York Islander fans, please welcome aboard 7th defenseman Thomas Pock. I don't know how to get the ".." over the "o" in his last name, but I do know you pronounce it poke, as in "can't poke check to save his life"

While he did have some offensive upside, his defensive game always lacked. He scored a lot of points in college (UMass), scoring a point per game or better his junior and senior years. 

He was always on the outside as a Ranger. In fact, GM Glen Sather thought Jason Strudwick and Marek Malik were better choices than him. A lot of Ranger fans thought he should have gotten more chances, but last year he couldn't be called up presumably because a team would have grabbed him off of waivers, much like the Islanders did.

He probably will be with the NHL club this year, as he is a better choice than Jack Hillen and Brett Skinner. He will probably rotate in and out as a 6th and 7th d-man with once, former, and future Islander Freddy Meyer.

2008-09 New York Rangers: Defense...

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

DEFENSE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RFAs

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

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

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

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

UFAs

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

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

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

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

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

From Within

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

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

Overall

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