Home & Home With Montreal...

Next Saturday, I will be venturing into Montreal to see the second game of the Home & Home with the Canadiens. Okay, it's a home-and-home with 2 other games in between, but still, it stands to be more intriguing than a home game against Tampa Bay and a game in Philadelphia.

So, which jersey should I wear?

Should I go with the autographed Dan Girardi jersey?
The autographed Sean Avery?
Superstar Marian Gaborik?
New addition to my collection Vinny Prospal?

I normally like to wear Sean Avery jerseys when I'm in other buildings.

I did it in Nashville last year about a month after the Rangers got him back on re-entry waivers, and a few fans yelled "Sloppy Seconds!" at me. To recap, I am not Sean Avery, I just wear the jersey. And the Rangers won that game.

I wore it in New Jersey amid death threats from the upper level (directed at me, my friends, and Scott Gomez, playing his first game in Jersey since signing with the Rangers). Those were quieted when the Rangers won the game.

I wore it in Philadelphia, where some kid tried to body check my friend. "How could you wear a Sean Avery jersey in Philly?" one cigarette-smoking man asked me. Well, the Rangers won that game.

And I wore it in Montreal on Super Bowl Sunday when the Giants beat the Patriots. As I was on the escalator, there was a man in a Mike Komisarek Habs jersey in front of me. We had an awkward silence, then discussed what it would be like to really date Elisha Cuthbert. The Rangers went down 3-0, then won that game 5-3.

Should I keep the tradition alive, or change things up?

Notes From the Garden...

:: My lead off today was going to be "Chris Higgins couldn't score at a bar near Arizona State University" until about 90 seconds remained in the Rangers/Bruins game tonight.

Still, I guess even the fat mathlete can find the drunk sorority girl every now and then.

:: To the people who said the following regarding my Steve Rucchin jersey...
- "Isn't Prospal number 20?"
- "It must be his own last name."
... is this your first season watching the Rangers? Do you know know who the best - and only competent - second-line center on the Rangers since the lockout is? By the way, both Jason Krog and Freddy Sjostrom wore #20 between The Rucch and our favorite player named Vaclav.

I understand it's an obscure jersey, but when you go to a lot of games, it's nice to dig deep into the closet once in a while.

But to the guy in the Scott Gomez jersey... please... retire it.

:: Best jerseys of the night...
- Marco Sturm #19 German Olympic jersey
- Marc Savard # 33 Rangers jersey

:: Fun game tonight, and it was a relief from the 1-0 Bruin/Ranger games we're used to, but it definitely got a little hazy in the 3rd period. My head still hurts from when I involuntarily hit it after Blake Wheeler scored to tie it 2-2.

:: Paging Sean Avery: Eventually, you're going to have to score. You have still only scored in 2 games this year. I appreciate that in both games you scored 2 goals, but a 5th goal in forthcoming, no?

:: I know it's a little premature, but I'd like to keep Erik Christensen with Brandon Dubinsky and Marian Gaborik when Prospal returns. Christensen has found his niche - playing with superstars like Gaborik, Sidney Crosby, and Ilya Kovalchuk - and it's relieving to see him fitting in. When Prospal returns, have him center Ales Kotalik and Ryan Callahan. Have Avery play with Chris Drury and Artem Anisimov, and then have a 4th line that doesn't do anything. I'm never one to speculate on line combinations, but that sounds good, no?

The Best (And Worst) Islanders Jerseys To Wear

As Zach explained on Sunday, there are certain jerseys you can wear to the game. At the same time, there are others you wouldn't be caught dead wearing at the Coliseum. Here's a (hopefully) comprehensive list of what's in and out when it comes to Islanders jerseys.

Good

Denis Potvin#5, Clark Gillies #9, Bryan Trottier #19, Mike Bossy #22, Bob Nystrom #23, Billy Smith #31 (if your number is retired, it can be worn by fans forever)

Pat LaFontaine #16 (that this number is not hanging from the rafters is a travesty)

Pierre Turgeon #77 (they really should retire this; it's not as though any future player will wear it anyway)

Josh Bailey #12, Kyle Okposo #21, John Tavares #91 (nice future-proof jersey)

Darius Kasparaitis #11, Ray Ferraro #20, David Volek #25, Glenn Healy #35 (for many of us, the '93 team is the only time we've seen the Islanders win)

Gary Howatt #8, Rich Pilon #2/#47, Mick Vukota #12, Steve Webb #20, Eric Cairns #33 (nothing like wearing the jersey of a goon)

Trent Hunter #7, Claude Lapointe #13, Dave Scatchard #38, Butch Goring #91 (wearing the jersey of a grinder shows you appreciate the nuances of hockey and accentuates your fandom)

Iffy

Rick DiPietro #39 (not because he's hurt, but because everyone has one and it makes you look like you're not as big of a fan as you probably are)

Derek King #27 (fine player, but most of us would prefer to forget the early 1990s)

Michael Peca #27 (he had a great run, but he hasn't been an Islander in five years)

Miroslav Satan #81 (he didn't leave the team all that long ago, but it's not as though he was a legendary Islander)

Roberto Luongo #1, Zdeno Chara #3, Bryan McCabe #4, Zigmund Palffy #16/#68, Bryan Berard #34, Todd Bertuzzi #44 (it never hurts to remind people how good this team would have been if not for the Mike Milbury era)

Bad

Alexei Yashin #79 (Zach argues that this is okay, because Yashin left the NHL as an Islander, but it's probably time to buy a new jersey if you're still wearing Yashin)

Eric Fichaud #1, Dean Chynoweth #3, Dave Chyzowski #9, Oleg Kvasha #12, Scott Scissions #14, Robert Nilsson #21, Brett Lindros #75 (busts of epic proportions)

Garth Snow #30 (as a fan, you are required to hate your team's management)

Kirk Muller #9, Trevor Linden #32, Ron Hextall #72 (these guys were great elsewhere, but didn't exactly work out well on the Island)

Anything from the Gorton's Fisherman era (obviously)

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.

Five Ways I'd Change The NHL

Yeah, so after seeing Puck Daddy's series, every hockey blog on the entire Internet has done one of these. But honestly, what else is there to write about?

1) Reduce the size of goalie equipment. I know they've been working on this one, and I know we've seen worse. But the average hockey fan can't tell who the really good goalies are because so many guys can stop any shot just by getting square to the shooter. Pads are supposed to protect the goalie, not the net. Clearly, we could do a little better in this area. Smaller pads would not only increase scoring, which we all know the NHL desperately wants, but would also separate the elite goalies from the Garth Snows of the world.

2) Ban all non-wooden sticks. It's not fair that everyone dumps on the size of goalie pads when 90% of NHL players have enhanced shots thanks to composite sticks. It's not quite the difference between an aluminum baseball bat compared to a wooden one, but the shooters have an unfair advantage. And if we're going to be reducing the size of these goalies, the shooters have to make a bit of a concession as well. Besides, if I see one more slapshot from the point ruined because a composite stick decides to shatter upon impact, I'm going to scream.

3) Make replica jerseys more affordable. If you enjoy wearing your team's colors, it's going to cost you dearly. A RBK Edge jersey from NHL.com, currently "on sale", costs $114.99. A pre-customized jersey you'd buy at Dick's or Modell's costs $149.99. That's ridiculous. For that price, you could buy two NFL or MLB jerseys. Word-of-mouth advertising - or, in this case, word-of-clothing advertising - does more than anything else to elevate a league. The more someone sees of a league and their apparel, the less likely they are to tune the product out. The NHL could do worse than to see thousands more people wearing their stuff.

4) Get the NHL Network on basic cable. On Cablevision, NBA TV is a top-tier channel and the NFL Network isn't even available. The upcoming MLB Network will be available as a basic channel. The NHL would do well to join them. Not only would this be a bone thrown to the many fans who don't get Versus, but it'd do the league a world of good in terms of exposure. You'd take fans who are completely unable to watch hockey and are therefore unable to get into the game, and you'd be able to transform them into knowledgable, attentive fans. It'd cost money, sure, but the NHL Network has plenty - and I mean, plenty - of ad space to sell.

5) Copy baseball's scheduling format. We can pretty much all agree that the NHL could schedule its games better. They should look at how baseball does it. In baseball, the divisional games are pretty much all played in April, June, and September. The relatively meaningless interleague games are played in May and June, and the other games fill in the blanks. Why couldn't hockey do this? You could play all the divisional games in October, November, and March/April. Throw the inter-conference games in during January or so, when nobody's paying attention to hockey to begin with, and then play the rest of the games whenever it's convenient. This way, you only have teams making one cross-country trip each, and you have the rivalry games when they really matter - at the beginning of the season and the end of the season. Lastly, each team would be required to do one home-and-home series - on consecutive nights - with each significant geographical rival. So while the Islanders might only do one with the Rangers, the Rangers would do one with both the Islanders and the Devils.

Two for Tonight...

1) As I have written about before, I have bad luck with Ranger jerseys. I currently own no jerseys of anyone on the team. I bought a Pavel Bure jersey when he was injured and he didn't return (it's a Russian jersey). I got an Eric Lindros one and then he got injured on a cheap shot by Jason Doig (currently a scrub in the Swiss leagues). He never returned as a Ranger and went to Toronto after the lockout. My Steve Rucchin jersey was short-lived, as he signed in Atlanta the next year. Then, I got a Ryan Hollweg jersey that lasted two seasons, although he was awful in both seasons. My Sean Avery jersey lasted one entire season until he signed in Dallas. I did, however, turn a vintage Rangers jersey into a Jaromir Jagr one, and although I didn't wear it much, it was available to me over 3 seasons.

This afternoon, I went to NHL.com and bought a new one. It's a road white Dan Girardi #5 jersey. I did research and made sure friends didn't want a Girardi jersey so we wouldn't look like tools in the same exact jersey. It helped that I put the word out towards the end of last season that I wanted a Girardi, and that my friends should get Marc Staal or Brandon Dubinsky or Nigel Dawes.

I think it would have been easier to just replace the nameplate on my Dale Purinton #5 jersey with a Girardi nameplate, but, alas, I never had a Purinton jersey. I did see one though, once, after a game, in Penn Station. The lady was too far away but I wanted to ask if she was related to him. Who gets a jersey of a 7th defenseman with marginal skills even for the AHL?

2) I watched Olympic soccer between Argentina and Nigeria on TV last night, which is the only thing more boring than Islanders hockey. Hey-oh!

Good News, Islander Fans...

...and I don't mean the fact that the Darryl Sittler ad is back in heavy rotation on the NHL Network (as awesome as that is).

It's no secret that the Islanders had planned on putting out a third jersey for the upcoming 2008-09 season. I'd heard through the grapevine that it was going to be similar to the jerseys the Isles wore a few years ago for Throwback Night, but was never able to confirm it.

Until now.

Isles Blogger reports that the Islanders are indeed going to their retro look as a third jersey in 2008-09. This has been confirmed by HockeyBuzz. I know HockeyBuzz is hardly a bastion of journalistic integrity, but this was something I'd heard about from multiple sources before HockeyBuzz "broke" it.

Anyway, here's what we're looking at for next year...

(images taken from an eBay listing for this very jersey)

Ooh.

To me, the lettering makes the jersey. People have said the white sleeves look stupid, but not with everything else going on. Anyway, I'd expect some minor modifications to this look, so as to fit the RBK Edge template, but I'm sure this is pretty close to the real thing.

I've been secretly excited about this jersey for a very long time, but didn't want to post anything about it and then have it fall through. You know, because we break so many stories around here.

So there you have it, Islander fans. You now have the coolest third jersey in franchise history.

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.