If the statements by both parties in this arbitration were to remain confidential until the process is completed, then one party here is completely in the wrong. Sean Avery was the media darling last spring. He, who was allegedly the spark that took the Rangers to the playoffs, is in the media spotlight again but for the wrong reasons.

Because bottomfeeders like Larry Brooks will latch on to any scoop to sell newspapers and Avery’s agent will stoop to exposing confidential information to get a bigger salary for Avery and thusly a bigger commission for himself, Ranger fans have had to endure this unnecessary drama. And, it ain’t over yet.

In the middle of all this sits the not too bright Sean Avery. If Sean were a smart lad, he would never have forced Sather into arbitration. Sean would have taken a page out of Henrik and Marcel’s book and negotiated and settled out of court. Apparently Sean doesn’t read the papers. He is not a student of recent Ranger history. 

You don’t cross Glen Sather. Sather let fan favorite, two time Steven McDonald Award winner and the Captain of the Ranger’s penalty kill walk in vidication of a signing bonus dispute. Dominick Moore is gone because he crossed Sather by electing to go the arbitration with Sather. Yoo-hoo Sean, how do you think Glen’s going to feel about you tainting the whole arbitration process by leaking the depositions to Brooksie.

Think back to Detroit, Sean. Fan favorite Darren McCarty received a $2.5 million a year contract and Holland had to buy it out before the start of the 2005 season. D-Mac landed in Calgary after their Stanley Cup run and played with Jerome Iginla. Mac was twice the player you are now and brought exactly what you bring to the table, only much more.  Mac was shipped! If Mac wasn’t worth $2.5 in 2005, you’ve got cojones to think you are now!

Wake up Sean! As much as the fans have taken a shine to you, most of us can see that with your track record, the organization shouldn’t give you a big pay day until we see you play a full season. If the Rangers offer you $2 millon you should take it, walk away and keep your mouth shut.

If you do open your mouth again, it should be to apologize to Sather and the fans for being a dick about this whole thing. Contrition wins more fans then a bad attitude. If you don’t like it here, you can go play in some hockey backwater like Sunrise or Nashville. You have been given a second chance to play for one of the premier franchises in the NHL. You already got the bum’s rush in Hockeytown. Don’t blow this gig in the Big Apple.

I think when all is said and done, Glen Sather, the organization and the fans should take Avery’s lack of experience, his arbitration naivete into consideration. Sean needs to learn a little humility and get a new manager.

How many times have the Ranger’s signed players from other teams only to find that they do not fit in? Case in point, Bobby Holik. Everyone had their doubts that one of the most hated Devils could jump ship, crawl out of the swamp and do well for the Rangers. As it turned out, the fans were right.

Holik came to the Rangers and turned up at camp out of shape. He injured his groin as a result and only played 65 games that season. Reportedly, he caused disharmony in the lockeroom. He went to Atlanta after the lockout, after being bought out.

This summer, the Rangers signed another high profile Devil. Like Holik, Gomez is also a center. Unlike Holik, Gomez has shed his Devil skin and has already proved himself a Ranger with one simple gesture.

After losing a puck toss with Chris Drury for the right to wear number 23 for the New York Rangers, Scott Gomez offered Blair Betts $10,000.00 if he would give Gomez his number 19. At first I thought this was a bit presumptuous. Hey Gomer, don’t come to the Rangers and throw your new big contract money around trying to buy the number of a existing Ranger. That’s kind of pushy, eh?

But, Blair Betts said he didn’t want the money and said Gomez could have his number 19. Blair would wear 15. Now that’s a friendly gesture toward a new teammate to make him feel welcome. It isn’t where the story ends. In response to Bett’s generosity, Gomez is going to donate the $10,000. to the Garden of Dreams foundation.

By this simple and generous gesture, Scott Gomez has shed his Devil horns, pitchfork and tail. 

Scott Gomez, welcome! You are a New York Ranger!

Yesterday I received my season subscription renewal packet. When I opened it up, I was surprised to see the photo I consider to be the best taken during the last season. I first saw the photo in the 2006-07 yearbook. It touched me deeply.

The photographer had captured coach Tom Renney and his superstar, Jaromir Jagr, just as Jagr was about to take the ice for the second period. Renney is holding the hem of Jagr’s jersey, offering him one last word of advice, one final word of encouragement before heading off to compete.

This photo is both fatherly and coach-like at the same time. It brought instantly to mind how I would give my girls one final word of encouragement before an Irish Dance competiton. That is perhaps why it struck such a chord for me. As a parent or a coach, when your child/player goes out to compete you hope for three things: that they do their best, that they are dealt with fairly by judges and officials and, that they finish uninjured. The player in the photo is listening attentively to those words of his coach and taking strength from them.

This photo conveyed all those things without any caption. It spoke volumes to me about both men in the picture, the coach and the player. I had been formulating in my mind what words of homage to write about Tom Renney, gentleman, class act, best coach the Rangers have had in decades… Then I saw this picture again and realized that words to describe how I feel about Coach Renney are not necessary. This one photo says it all.

(The photo appears toward the middle of the yearbook. It was taken right before the start of the second period on 11/21/06 8:20:22pm against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Rangers defeated the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes 4-0. Jagr had two goals, one in the second and one in the third period)

Yesterday, New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather went on a free agent shopping spree. To the surprise of just about everyone, Sather landed two of the three best Free Agent Centers on the market. This is quite a coup for the inscrutable deal maker. In an effort to make a more successful run at the Stanley Cup next season, Sather spent a boatload of Jimmy Dolan’s money and came up smelling like a rose.

The only drawback was the length of the Gomez contract. The bar on salary had been set earlier in the day when the Philadelphia Flyers reeled in Daniel Briere. No one could accuse Sather of driving up prices. He paid the fair market value for Gomez and Drury. Sather even went against principle and gave Drury a “no movement ” clause. Indeed, July 1 , 2007 was an historic day.

So, what’s not to like? As if paying a 13 goal scorer $51 million dollars over 7 years is not bad enough, many Ranger fans cannot see with clarity who will be centering whom next season. That’s where our title here comes in. Do the new shoes match the handbags?

No fashion conscious woman would leave the house with a black handbag and brown shoes. It’s gauche. It is a fashion faux pas. Many women will buy two pairs of shoes in different colors when they find shoes that are attractive and comfortable. They will make a mental note of what handbags they have in their closet before they make their purchase. The brown shoes with the Louis Vuitton bag. The black shoes with the Coach bag.

Clearly, Glen Sather is not a woman. Not only did he NOT look in the closet before he went shopping, he (gasp) paid RETAIL. Glen clearly has gone for the trendy fashionable shoe (Gomez) that might be out of style before the Amex bill is paid off.

Chris Drury is clearly the reliable black shoe to Shanahan, the black Coach bag. Drury is the North American (North/South playing) shoe that will complement Shanahan well. But, is Scott Gomez the brown shoe we need to compliment the very European Vuitton bag we have in Jaromir Jagr. Clearly, Jagr is the superstar here who should not have to acquiese to young Gomez, an American North American player.

Losing Nylander as the center of Jagr’s eurocentric East/West style of play might be traumatic for our Superstar and detrimental to his production. Will Renney be trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole come September? Can we dye Gomez Brown?

People have been on tenderhooks all day long waiting for Unrestricted Free Agent shoes to start dropping. For a while, rumors had the “big 3″ free agent centers signing everywhere but Broadway. But, as the sun sets on this Canada Day, the Rangers find themselves, quite unbelievably, with hefty contracts retaining the services of the 2 of those “big 3″ centers, Chris Drury AND Scott Gomez.

While some people are yelling jackpot, others are cursing the length of these contracts and the amounts being paid to both of these players. Before I comment on that, I want to make something abundantly clear. Glen Sather’s hand was forced by the length and amount of the contract Daniel Briere signed with the Flyers earlier this afternoon. Anyone who points to the New York Rangers and Glen Sather as the villians for driving up player prices had better just shut their mouths.

As for Ranger fans who are displeased with these signings, all I have to say to them is be careful what you wish for. You got it! The gloom and doomers in the fan base and in the Ranger media were expecting Glen Sather to come up empty handed. Mock UFA modelers had us signing none of the “Big Three” and losing Nylander to boot. Ding Dong, they couldn’t have been more wrong.

Drury, it seems, did not bend from the supposed pressure by his wife to go West. Gomez had to have his arm twisted for 7 years at $7+ million per year to share the spotlight with Jaromir Jagr. I will grant that these contracts are huge hits but in the grand scheme of things Sather has bought the personnel the Rangers need to make a cup run next year. As a subscriber, I applaud that. 

The lynch mob that is forming to hang Sather should put down the rope. Gomez’ contract isn’t DiPietro-esque. It is half that. Is it too much? Probably. Was it necessary? Apparently. Will it come back to bite us in the ass? Most assuredly.

I wonder how much is left over for the puck moving defensemen? ;)