US Olympic Team...

The US Olympic team should re-name themselves Team Ryan: Ryan Suter, Ryan Miller, Ryan Callahan, Ryan Kessler, Ryan Malone, and Bobby Ryan.

* * *

Why the big deal over Doug Weight, Bill Guerin, and Keith Tkachuk not making the 2010 US Olympic team? The US wants to win, right?

Weight had no goals in 11 games before being injured... again. His first game back was the night before the Olympic selections were announced. Guerin is actually scoring around the same pace he was in 2002 when the team won the Silver Medal, but he's 39 and the chances that he'll have anything left for 8 games in 11 days is very slim. Tkachuk hasn't been a force on any team since before the lockout, and he would just be taking space for a young power forward - say, Ryan Callahan (or Ryan Malone).

Scott Gomez was an interesting name left off. He just turned 30 last week and he played well in the 2006 Olympics in Italy, but those of us who watched him the past 2 years (and anyone following him in Montreal this year) know that he just isn't as good in another system as he was with the Devils.

I would also venture to guess that it came down to Gomez and Chris Drury fighting for a spot, and with John Tortorella as an assistant coach, Drury got the nod.

I like Callahan and Drury being on the team. I'm very excited for Callahan and I think the experience can only help him. As for Drury, he won't play 20 minutes a night for them so he won't come back burnt out. Plus, being there could inspire him to play better - he said so himself after being selected to the team.

As for Henrik Lundqvist and Marian Gaborik? Awful.

Remember how good the Rangers were playing in 2005-06 before the Olympic break? They were 20 games over .500, then ended the season 9-11-4 after the break. Lundqvist came back grinding his teeth and with migraines and was utterly awful in the playoffs against New Jersey (he'll admit it). Jaromir Jagr came back hurt from a Jarrko Ruutu check; on top of that, a nagging hip injury was made worse by the lack of off-days in the compressed Olympic schedule.

Without Jagr and Lundqvist, that team was just a bunch of role players who played great together and had a dream season.

Without Gaborik and Lundqvist, this team is a bunch of young players who haven't really meshed yet (and a few overpriced veterans who are just waiting for their careers to end).

What happens if Lundqvist gets hurt? The season is officially over. What if Gaborik gets hurt? So far, he hasn't injured anything that was hurt in previous seasons, but you shouldn't press the matter. An injury to him in Vancouver could have negative effects on him - and this team - for the next 4 years.

Plus, Hank could use the rest for 3 weeks before the stretch-drive.

Four reasons I am very against NHL players playing in the Olympics...

1) It should be an amateur competition.
2) You're stopping an exciting NHL season for 3 weeks and expecting people to pick off where it left off 21 days later.
3) The chance for injury is too great. (Ask the Ottawa Senators how the rest of their season was when Dominik Hasek was injured in the Czech Republic's first game in '06.)
4) It can be a career-maker for a young kid. Paul Kariya and Peter Forsberg in the 1992 Olympics in the shootout was an instant classic. I'd much rather have that than see Chris Pronger snuff out Evgeni Malkin in the bronze medal game because they're division rivals.

Two Teams in Black and White...

(I would've posted this earlier, but I had work. Sorry to steal Bryan's spotlight.)

Pittsburgh is a tough team to beat. It's harder to beat the refs though. Today's game was atrocious. I was fine with Atlanta's disaster in refereeing, in which the first 7 minutes of the game took 30 to play, because the officiating was bad on both sides. But today's game reminded me of Game 5 of last year's 2nd round series between these two teams.

You remember.

Don't you?

Ryan Malone high-sticks Chris Drury. Drury has a blade-shaped slice on his cheek. The game pauses for 5 minutes so they can clean the blood up. No penalty. Later, Drury nicks Malone. 4-minute penalty.

I'm not saying there is an anti-Ranger bias, no way. I am saying there is a pro-Penguin bias in the league, and it's been there for quite some time now.

But boy, the Rangers made them look silly with all of those flawless penalty kills.

If only they could've scored on their own power plays, but that would involve Wade Redden being off the ice, but he was out there, comically, for every single man-"advantage". (For all of John Tortorella's benching of Mike Sauer, who played 1:59 in the first and nothing else, he let Redden play a lot. Redden was directly responsible for 2 Penguin goals, Paul Mara the other two.)

A bad ending to a good back-and-forth game (once the Rangers realized, about 14 minutes into the 1st, that it was late-March and not early-November). A 5-minute interference call? I've never seen that before.

But hey. It was an important game for the Penguins. Time to bring out the obscure penalties.

Montreal Canadiens...

From the All-Star break until the start of Free Agency on July 1, the Montreal Canadiens have a big task ahead of them. The following players become unrestricted free agents at midnight on July 1...

Forwards: Alex Tanguay, Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev, Robert Lang, Tom Kostopoulos, Steve Begin

Defensemen: Mike Komisarek, Francois Bouillion, Patrice Brisebois, Mathieu Dandenault

That doesn't include restricted free agents Tomas Plekanec, Chris Higgins, and Guillaume Latrendresse.

That's 10 UFAs and 3 big-time RFAs. 

How does this affect the Rangers and Islanders?

Notice on that list the two Long Island-born players, Komisarek and Higgins. I can't speculate on what the Habs will do, but there won't be room or money for all of these players. 

Higgins had 52 points last year and was on pace for around 40 this season, but he has been out of the lineup since early December with a shoulder injury. He isn't a great player and probably never will be first-line material, but he is a real solid third-line player who can float through the lineup (he can be a banger on the 4th line or a scorer on the 2nd). He's technically a left wing, but he played center at times last year. A comparison to Higgins would be Ryan Malone.

Komisarek is the type of defender you build your team around, the type of player that every team covets. You know the type of d-man the Rangers are missing? The kind they overpaid for and hoped Wade Redden would be? This is him. He is the real deal. He doesn't play the power play a lot, but he kills penalties and he shuts down the opponents' top lines, night after night. He crushed Jaromir Jagr every time they met last year, which at the time made me angry because a) I didn't want him to injure Jagr and b) the Rangers were sorely missing a player like him.

If the Canadiens don't re-sign Komisarek, they would be making a huge mistake. Obviously, they won't deal him at the trade deadline because they'll need a warrior like him in the playoffs, so they one way to get him would be through the checkbook in the summer. Whenever you hear someone say they need a "top 2 defenseman" who can "log minutes" and "play shut-down hockey," they are talking about him. 

Now, let's just hope he grew up a Rangers fan.

Rangers 3, Officials 2...

This post will NOT be about the "officiating" in tonight's Rangers game in Chicago, where Chicago had five 5-on-3 power plays. 

But, let's get it out of the way first. The NHL say there is no bias against the Rangers, and I agree. However, I think there IS a bias FOR certain teams, namely Pittsburgh and Chicago. The NHL (and former NBA shill Gary Bettman) love young teams in cities that had awful attendance in the early part of the decade, we know that. 

Let me take you to the final game of the Rangers-Penguins series last year. Ryan Malone's stick gave Chris Drury a blade-shaped cut on his face. He gushed blood. The game was stopped for a few minutes to clean the ice. No penalty called. At the end of the same period, Drury's stick hits Malone. Four-minute penalty going into overtime with the series on the line.

Let me take you to the Winter Classic this year, when Detroit was called for 4 penalties in the first period on what the NHL wants to be their biggest stage. Chicago scores 2 power play goals (and another even-strength).

So it should be no surprise when playing the Blackhawks or Penguins that your team is unfairly penalized while the opposition skates punishment-free.

What I want to write about is Tom Renney. A few games ago - to be honest, I forget after which game - he said that he should be more vocal in arguing with the referees in hopes to get some calls go his way. Makes sense, no? Remember how vocal Devils' GM Lou Lamoriello was to the referees? Then, magically, Michal Rozsival gets called for a high-sticking penalty. Not only was his stick on the ice, it never touched an opposing player. But apparently, referees make up calls when a playoff game is tied 2-2 after the GM rips you apart.

Well, after Chicago tied the score at 2 in tonight's contest, Renney got madder than I had ever seen him. Sure, we've seen him yell, and even question a referee before. But never had he John Tortorella-ed and completely flipped out on the refs. Okay, okay, he didn't do that today, but when he ran to the bench door and opened it, I thought he was going to go out and physically attack one of the referees. What Renney said was not fit for TV, and I'm surprised MSG wasn't ready with a pixelating device to cover his mouth up. 

What happens soon after he throws a hissy fit? Chicago is called for a penalty, which can definitely be seen as a make-up call.

And in overtime, a Ranger had their stick broken. The referees obviously missed it (after all, why would they be watching the puck carrier?), but the players reaction - stick thrown down, hands up while looking at the ref - made the referee blow the whistle even if he didn't see it. 

So, class, let's recap. Renney stays quiet, Drury gets his face cut open in the playoffs. No penalty. Renney attacks the refs verbally, a Rangers' stick gets slashed, 2 minute penalty. In overtime, no less.

Let's hope that Renney keeps this newfound passion. I'm not looking for make-up calls, all I'm looking for is fairness to both teams. But since that is few and far between, and since the refs genuinely blow a lot of calls on accident, it's nice to see him getting worked up about it. I hate watching him casually shake his head time after time on a bad call. It's nice to see him get angry.

Two Players Our Teams Won't Be Signing...

1) News yesterday broke that Wade Dubielewicz won't be playing in the NHL next season broke, rending my "What to Du?" and other such titled posts irrelevant. 

He will be playing in Russia, and count me in as a surprised party of one. The new Russian league, while it will not nearly be on par as the NHL (Jamie Heward, who spent last season there, said it would be 50 years before the talent level equals the NHL), might steal a few borderline NHL players this year.

If Dubie could have gotten $700,000 this year from an NHL club, it would translate to around $380,000 because the NHL pays players in shares, first of all, not money. Then, minus agent fees and taxes, and that's what he's left with. A nice chunk of change, absolutely, especially for the 25-30 games he would have played at most, but nothing compared to what the Russians are offering, especially if the tax-free rumors are correct.

2) Ryan Malone will not be a Ranger next season. Not that he was ever close (as far as we know). Rumors have him already being signed in Tampa Bay. Huge gain for the Lightning; huge loss for the Rangers. 

Malone, 28, could have given the Rangers a gritty winger who could put the puck in the net, especially on the power play, for the next 6 years. He would be better suited for Chris Dr

ury, but would also seamlessly play with Scott Gomez. 

No doubt the Rangers would have contacted his agent on July 1, but Tampa Bay received his rights for a 3rd round pick (4th round if he didn't sign with them). I believe the Rangers do have their 3rd round pick in 2009, and if not, what about a 2nd round pick if you think you can sign him?

Now, they will no doubt overpay for someone on the free agent market come Tuesday. God help us all if Marian Hossa comes to town.

Like Natalie Imbruglia, I'm Torn...

Quickly, before someone scores to make this post a moot point.

The reason I want Henrik Zetterberg to score in the third overtime...

Because I hate many of the Penguins. I hate young neck-breaking punk Brooks Orpik, young behind-hitting Jarrko Ruutu, and old, old run-taking Gary Roberts. I know Sidney Crosby is talented, but everytime I see his dirt-beard I wish Gilette would put him in a commercial with Tiger Woods so he would shave it. I can't stand Hal Gill or Adam Hall, although Hall isn't good enough to actually dislike. I don't like Marian Hossa because I don't like Marcel, and I don't want to see Georges Laraque drink from the Cup.

In fact, the only Penguins I like make a short list. I like the Ryans - Malone (because I want him in blue next year) and Whitney (because he went to BU). I also like Rob Scuderi because his mom taught in my high school and I saw her going to a Ranger/Penguin game in November. I like Petr Sykora, he's one of my favorite NHLers and someone the Rangers never should have let go (he waited for a call from them until August of 2006 before signing with Edmonton). I like Pascal Dupuis and Maxime Talbot also (nice guy, used to have a great 'stache). I also think Ty Conklin deserves the Cup that he didn't win as a back-up goaltender in 2006 with the Oilers.

The reason I want Sykora to score in the third overtime...

So the NHL can have a game seven.

(P.S. The only reason I would want the Penguins to win the Cup is so a second Staal brother gets his name on it, meaning Marc will have his on it in 2010.)