Weak Night at the Coliseum...

The Rangers played tonight like they played all of last season - tentative, over-thinking hockey. While they had over 30 shots, most of them were bad-angle shots like Chris Drury, Markus Naslund, and Scott Gomez did over 89 games last season.

While I'm all for getting the puck to the net to see what happens (you never know how it will get deflected or where the rebound will land), these soft shots from the boards at awful angles are going to be scooped up by the goalie or easily cleared by a defender.

Nearly everyone tonight passed up shots, most notably Michal Rozsival and yes, Michael Del Zotto. Get the puck to the net! See what happens!

Marc Staal and Dan Girardi played well tonight, regardless of their accountability on the 2nd goal. They were physical and cleared the crease for Henrik Lunqvist a bunch of times. Staal hits nearly everybody who gets near Lundqvist, and Girardi has started to protect him after the whistle, getting between him and an opposition forward who is still skating towards Hank.

Lundqvist had a good game tonight, and for the Rangers to be competitive, he had to have had a good one. Without Marian Gaborik out there, the Rangers often looked lost. With Gaborik, it would've been a whole different story. That 0-for-3 on the power play probably would have changed, and there were a lot of times where you could tell Vinny Prospal needed him out there but had Enver Lisin or P.A. Parenteau on his wing instead. Not that they are bad players - not at all. But there is a world of difference between them and Gaborik, and that was evident in the 3-1 final tonight. (This is not meant as disrespect to Lisin or Parenteau; in fact, Parenteau had a very good game, especially for an NHL debut, and I would love to see him on the ice instead of Voros or Brashear in every single game not against the Flyers, Ducks, or Maple Leafs this season.)

Just look at who replaced Gaborik on the power play to see why they didn't score on it. Rozsival played the point for an entire 2-minute power play in the 2nd period, and he was just as ineffectual as last year during those 2 minutes.

* * *

You can fault Madison Square Garden all you want for being expensive, but a 22 ounce beer there is $9, and that comes in a mug you can keep and with a pretzel. A 16 ounce plastic Bud Light at the Coliseum? $8.50. That's crazy! I know you have to fund Rick DiPietro's salary somehow or another, but that's ridiculous. I'll stick with my overpriced, oversyruped Diet Coke.

Even my pretzel twist was poor tonight. It tasted like hot, salty dough. And the gridlock in those narrow Coliseum hallways must be what Hempstead Turnpike and the Meadowbrook Parkway are going to be if the Lighthouse ever gets built.

Brian Boyle is Like Flash...

Here are 4 reasons I don't like when Ranger games are on Versus:

1) Doc Emerick annoys me. Not just his homer-ism for the Devils - I understand that, and he leaves a lot of it behind when the game is on national TV - but the way he talks, his phrasing, his know-it-all attitude. I know a ton of you will disagree with me, but it's one reason I don't like watching Versus games.

2) It's one big advertisement. I didn't notice it as much tonight, but last year, it seemed like every 10 seconds I was being force-fed a Bud Light or rodeo commercial.

3) My DirecTV doesn't carry Versus anymore, so I have to find watch the game elsewhere.

4) It's one big power play. It always seems that every game on Versus has more penalties called than regular games that are only on local TV. I would imagine that the referees are conditioned to call more penalties than normal for these games so that "fringe fans" can see more power plays and goals, but it really screws over the real fans who are only watching Versus because MSG or MSG+ doesn't show the game. They make those phantom calls all game long, much like when a team is playing the Penguins.

* * *

- I saw someone speed down the ice to make a defense play. As I tried to see the number on the back of the jersey, my mind only had 3 names in mind: Callahan, Dubinsky, or Lisin. magine my surprise tonight when the number read "22" and the name on the jersey was "Boyle." It's looking like Aaron Voros will be the odd man out when Sean Avery returns.

- Speaking of Brandon Dubinsky, he looks like a beast out there. Besides his scoring, his skating looks excellent and he's stronger on the puck this season than last. However, don't get too excited. Remember how awesome he was last year in the beginning? He had 12 points in 13 games in October '08 before dropping off the planet. That probably won't happen as dramatically this year, but it's still something to think about.

- I wanted Alexei Semenov to be a Ranger this year, and I felt bad that he wanted to be a Ranger, Glen Sather wanted him to, and John Tortorella wanted him to, but his wife nixed it. However, I don't think that a 7th defenseman is entirely necessary right now. Matt Gilroy has been playing great and scored his first goal tonight; Marc Staal and Dan Girardi aren't lighting it up, but they haven't been messing up; and Mike Del Zotto has looked great. He scored the past 2 games, and he had two open nets in the Penguins game where he just couldn't get his stick on the puck. Plus, he's manning the point on the power play pretty well considering he's a 19 year old who was thrown into the fire.

- What happens if and when the Rangers do find a 7th defenseman? One would hope that Wade Redden or Michal Rozsival would take a seat, but would Sather let Tortorella do that? One of Tom Renney's big mistakes was not only never sitting either of them, but relying on them for the power play. Tortorella isn't relying on them, per se, but he is using them on the 2nd unit, which is a huge mistake. I know he said he didn't watch many Ranger games before he took over last year, but didn't he hear about why Renney got fired?

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.

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

"All-Star" Game...

I think we all know the All-Star Game is a joke, so I won't dwell on it further. But hey, this year it is on a weekend and not a Wednesday night!

I am, however, happy that Henrik Lundqvist and Mark Streit deservingly made the team. Nik Zherdev probably deserved consideration, but 4 Canadiens on the team when only one belongs (Andrei Markov) leaves out deserving players like Zherdev, Simon Gagne, and Alex Semin. 

The Young Stars game is always fun but is never really taken seriously. This year, it's Rookies vs. Sophomores and I love the idea. 

My one gripe is that I would have liked to have seen Kyle Okposo (13 points, 29 games) represent the rookies instead of Steven Stamkos (14 points, 40 games), but did we really expect the NHL to do that?

* * * 

In other news, Rangers 1st round pick in 2008 Michael del Zotto was just traded along with future #1 overall selection Johnny Tavares in the OHL. They were traded from the Oshawa Generals (Eric Lindros' former team) to the London Knights along with a goalie for a winger, a goalie, a defenseman, and six - yes, 6! - draft picks. London gave up 6 draft picks and 3 roster players for a goalie and then 2 players who might play in the NHL next year (or in del Zotto's case, atleast the AHL).

On Campbell, Hossa, Sundin, and Other, Former Mistakes...

The Rangers would be in a terrible position if they decided to throw $8M a year at Marian Hossa or Brian Campbell (or Mats Sundin, for that matter). Yes, they are all good players, but that's a lot of money. Remember when Eric Lindros made $8M, and Bobby Holik made $9M? The Rangers were a bunch of expensive, overpaid, underachieving, non-performing jokes.

The Salary Cap Era was supposed to change that. Payroll got cut from over 80 million dollars a year in 2003-04 to less than half of that in 2005-06. Ticket prices went down 10%, roughly $4-$16 a ticket depending on how rich you are, but not because of the work stoppage, but because they didn't make the playoffs for the 7th straight season.

I don't need to run this down for you. You know how bad things were in NY. Hockey was off the radar because both teams were ridiculous.

So, the Cap Era is ushered in, the Rangers restock their farm system, build a Czech-centric team around Jaromir Jagr, and have a dream season, followed by 2 more seasons of making the playoffs.

Now, if all the rumor-mongers are to be believed - and by no means am I saying this is true, but you can see it all playing out, can't you? - GM Glen Sather will be making pitches to any of these 3 players.

Hossa has averaged a point per game in his career 4 times (including once when he had 80 points in 80 games). Last season, he had 66 points in 72 games. Jason Arnott and Ales Hemsky were on the same pace. Yet, if someone offered Arnott $8M a year, he would be put in an asylum. Hossa is 29, no doubt looking for atleast 6 years. He will be an expensive cap hit when he's putting up 25 points a year at age 35.

You should also ask Carlos Beltran, Stephon Marbury, Dwayne Wade, and Lindros about how that old adage goes. Something about phoning it in when a player already has his big guaranteed paycheck.

Campbell is a good defenseman with a nice scoring touch. Lucky for him that Dan Boyle re-signed with Tampa Bay in February, so he is the only one of his kind on the free agent market, making him a very rich man automatically. Yes, Buffalo could have had him at $5M/year last summer, but they rejected his offer, and now someone is going to offer him (along with his 8 goals last season) a huge contract in both length and cash.

New York used to overpay for defensemen with marginal-at-best talent, or have we forgotten Stephane Quintal, Bruce Driver, Mathieu Schenider, Ulf Samuelsson, Vladimir Malakhov, and Boris Mironov. It was because of these players like people like Sergei Zubov, Mattias Norstrom, and Marek Zidlicky, all once drafted by the Rangers, were shipped off.

Sign Campbell, have him stick around, and Sather will wind up trading Mike Del Zotto, Mike Sauer, or Bobby Sanguenetti for a 2nd round pick in 2 years.

And yes, Sundin is a good player as well (and in the 90s he was amazing), but when the team is trying to get younger, does it pay to sign an expensive center when we already have 4 solid centers? (Yes, I consider Blair Betts "solid", considering his role as a 4th line center and an exceptional penalty killer at a very reasonable price.)

Need I remind you how bad hockey was in these parts when Oleg Kvasha and Alexandre Daigle were marquee names?

* * *

With Ryan Malone off the market, the Rangers best moves are to send offer sheets to Corey Perry, a young RW, and Jay Bouwmeester, whose name is fun to spell. Brooks Orpik, whose stock rose with one shift in Game 3 of the Finals, wouldn't be bad, although I am still bitter of him breaking Erik Cole's neck. Mark Streit and Ron Hainsey would be good choices if the price is right. Wade Redden was bad at 31. How awful is he going to be at 35?

Worked Through the Draft...

Much like Gary Bettman, I worked throughout the whole draft. However, I'm not (over)paid by the NHL, the people I work with don't hate me, I don't have to wear a tie at work, and I know how to handle a microphone.

Since I worked, I missed most of the draft, but I did get to hear/see the last few picks on XM in my car and on Versus (via TSN) in my house while watching topless, on my bed.

I caught up, don't worry. I read TSN for the trade analysis (RJ Umberger is worth a 1st round pick but Olli Jokinen is not?); I read Bryan's blog below mine for a play-by-play (I didn't plan on reading it, but like a Ben Affleck movie, it just sucked me in); and I checked the Rangers web site and TSN's for a bit about the players.

Oh, I also read Greg Logan's blog and I think Garth Snow did the right move by trading down and acquiring all those picks and still getting their guy at 9th that they would have taken at 5th. But the question is, why take him at 5th? He didn't seem to be the 5th most impressive player in the draft, seems like a poor man's Scott Gomez to me. Luke Schenn or Nikita Filatov seemed like better choices.

Rangers didn't do much, but you can't blame them for drafting an offensive defenseman who by all accounts could have gone as early as 14th or 15th. I guess they didn't want to give up their 3rd rounder to move up to take a guy they got 5 spots later.

The winner of the night was Phoenix, I think. Mikkel Boedker was a strong pick at 8, and Viktor Tikhonov was a great pick as well. He is very excited about playing in America, and I'm pretty sure he can come here next year. He also was named best forward at the World Juniors. Two first round picks, and they still got Olli Jokinen for a bunch of mid-level players. A fantastic night for the Coyotes.

Oh, and if the Dolans actually are forced to give up ownership of the Rangers (not gonna happen), I wonder if I can be on the waiting list for season tickets at their new arena, the Central Park Ice Skating Rink.