My birthday was on Sunday but I got my best gift today. Scott Gomez, the ringleader of the Skating Judases, is no longer a New York Ranger. And, while that in and of itself should be enough, it’s sooo much better then that. Not only is his smirking face gone, so is his ponderous contract. And, best of all, we get Christopher Higgins and their 2007 first round draft pick, Ryan McDonagh, back the other way from Montreal.

What the ramifications may be of having $7 million dollars more in cap space for tomorrow’s free agent free for all is anyone’s guess. Apparently, Ottawa isn’t going to move Dany Heatley before midnight to the Rangers. Sather, upon announcing the Gomez to Montreal deal, said he was done for the day. Time for a well deserved cigar.

All the qualifying offers Sather intended to make seem to have been made. How much money he’s spent is not known. How much cap space remains to sign a Gaborik or a Hossa or any other available free agents is also not known. What I do know is that Sather probably isn’t finished yet with the wheeling and the dealing.

Don’t get me wrong. I still think Sather needs to retire. But today, you done a good thing Glen, a real good thing. You wished Gomer into the cornfield and now he’s gone. 

Maybe Sather still has something left in the GM tank after all. Perhaps, after this deal, it’s Bob Gainey who is suffering from GM senile dementia. Say what you want about him but Sather is never boring. I can’t wait for noon tomorrow.

Posted under New York Rangers

Updated 6/30/09

Eric and Vlad from HockeyRodent’s messageboard have rightly corrected me. Player contracts in Hartford are two way. The numbers shown below are only paid should those players perform at Madison Square Garden. In actual fact, these players make a fraction of the salaries shown below whilst playing in Hartford.

Still, it’s not the actual pay out, it’s the thought that counts. The idea that Corey Potter’s check was close to Cally’s when he was called up to play on Broadway is the point. The idea that Pyatt would make more money per diem then Dubinsky is the point.

We learned to today from Steve Zipay that Glen Sather extended qualifying offers to Dubinsky, Callahan, Korpikoski, Potter and Boyle.  The minimum offer tendered has to be a ten percent increase to keep some of these players over the $660,000 minimum. 

Brandon Dubinsky ($633,333), Ryan Callahan ($575,000) and Potter ($535,000) all earned less than $660,000. The minimum raise they are due to receive is 10 percent. Boyle, obtained Saturday from Los Angeles, earned $750,000 and is due a five percent hike. Lauri Korpikoski, at $1.017 million, had to be matched.

Their numbers have yet to be revealed but  offering 10 percent over the pittance Dubinsky and Callahan made last year would be an insult. They have the right to reject Sather’s qualifying offer, rendering them free agents. If Sather dissed me and offered the minimum, fersure I would tell Sather to take his offer and stuff it.

To put this into perspective let’s look at the salaries of some of the players in Hartford this past season:

Anisimov 821,667
Sanguinetti 855,000
Potter 542,000
Zaborsky 653,333
Sauer 846,667
Pyatt 850,000
Dupont 850,000
Hiller 750,000

With the exception of Zaborsky and Potter, the Hartford players all earned more this season then heart and soul players like Dubi and Cally. Giving them a qualifying offer is meaningless. Sather would have to have offered each of these players in excess of a million to keep them sweet, maybe more.  If he doesn’t keep them, the fan base will place his balls in a vice from which I hope he cannot wriggle out.

If Sather’s is doling out the dollars to keep the fan’s favorite kids, where’s the money going to come from to get a goal scorer and a first pair D man? Will we get the numbers before Wednesday? Or,  do we just assume because of Sather’s cap constraints and bad contracts the Rangers won’t be players in the free agent action come Wednesday?

To add insult to potential injury, apparently Colton Orr is not going to be resigned. If I had any scoring talent, I wouldn’t want ot play for the Rangers without a resident enforcer. Every single skill player in the Atlantic Division is quaking in their skates since the Flyers dealt for Pronger. I guess Sather thinks Wade Redden is going to stand up to Pronger.

Sather has treated the Rangers like a Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. It’s just too bad the Ranger fans can’t sentence Sather to 150 years in retirement.

Posted under New York Rangers

Updated - June 23 at 6:05pm

Congratulations to Brian Leetch upon his election to the Hall of Fame. 

Tomorrow the NHL will announce the players it has chosen to enter the Hall of Fame Class of 2009. Three of the four players that are in their first year of eligibility are almost shoe-ins to make it on the first ballot. Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille, in my mind, are a lock. Brian Leetch is a question mark.

What can you say about Steve Yzerman? Fans in Detroit would have you believe that Yzerman is the all time greatest Captain and leader in NHL history. Ranger fans might beg to differ but Yzerman was a career long Red Wing who never left his team and town for more money. Yzerman played on one leg for the entire Stanley Cup series in 2002.  There is no question that No. 19 would make it in on the first ballot.

Love him or hate him, Brett Hull is in that elite group of  +700 goal scorers and is a hockey legacy. He’ll take his rightful place along side the Golden Jet in the Hall. Thank goodness he’ll make it in as a player because, after suggesting Dallas sign Avery, he won’t get in for his executive skills.

What can you say about Lucky Luc? He’s the highest scoring left wing of all time and the reason Brendan Shanahan was still in the game and chasing that elusive 668 this season. While Robitaille may never have been a powerforward, a winner of three Cup rings and the ringleader of the New Rules Summit, Luc is the face of the LA franchise in a way that Marcel Dionne and Wayne Gretzsky weren’t.  I will be shocked if his name isn’t announced tomorrow.

That leaves Brian Leetch as the fourth name that might get the nod tomorrow. Leetch, a two time Norris winner, the 1994 Conn Smythe recipient (first American) and the greatest American defenseman of his era has to duke it out with a host of others still waiting for their call to the hall, including friend and teammate Mike Richter. 

Among other eligibles still waiting are Eric Desjardins, Andrew Cassels, Scott Young, Shawn McEachern, Trevor Kidd, Doug Gilmour, Pavel Bure, Adam Oates, Dino Ciccarelli, Phil Housley, Dave Andreychuk and Tom Barrasso. Doug Gilmour, just honored by the Leafs might get the nod before Rangers Richter or Leetch.

John Davidson will be given the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a broadcaster. Having watched and listened to hockey for in excess of 50 years, I can honestly say that JD was the best. I’m happy he has found a less stressful job and taken his place with the younger breed of GM’s in their 50’s like Donny Maloney. Some older general managers just don’t know when it’s time to go…  

This year’s induction ceremony will be held on Nov. 9.  I would like to see all these handsome men dressed formally and with a sense of occassion.  Let’s hope they have a dignified ceremony in Toronto, not Las Vegas and that Chaka Khan isn’t the guest entertainer.

Posted under New York Rangers

I heard that the Pittsburgh Penguins are the new Stanley Cup Champions. I didn’t personally watch any of the Stanley Cup final games when they were broadcast.  I was so incensed by Gary Bettman and the NHL kowtowing to the NBC schedulers (putting all of the players at a disadvantage by making them unnecessarily play back to back games) that I vowed not to watch. After hearing about Crosby’s breach of Stanley Cup etiquette, I am glad I remained true to my boycott. 

Apparently Crosby was too busy celebrating to shake the hand of Nicklas Lidstrom when the line formed. Nick Lidstrom waited around awhile but Crosby wasn’t forthcoming. Being the gentleman he is, Lidstrom did not complain in the press. But his teammate of over 15 years, Kris Draper, another gentleman and fellow four time Stanley Cup Champion refused to remain silent. Now Draper is being castigated in the media for taking a shot at hockey’s Poster Boy, Sidney Crosby. How dare Draper?

Lidstrom and the rest of the Red Wings formed the line, as did most other Penguins, and went through the time honored ritual which makes hockey the greatest sport. The self-absorbed Sidney was nowhere to be found. Crosby can’t plead innocent by lack of inexperience. He was in the same line last year on the losing side.  Traditionally, Coaches and Captains seek each other out immediately to congratulate each other as soon as the lines form. Crosby may have captained his team to the Stanley Cup but that doesn’t mean he can flout tradition because he’s God’s newest gift to hockey.

I am very happy for Long Island’s own Rob Scuderi, a St. Anthony HS alum, who came up through the hockey programs out here in Suffolk County and later at Boston College. I am also happy that  another Staal brother gets his name on the Stanley Cup. I only hope that our Staal will have the same good fortune with the Rangers some day soon. 

In fact, I congratulate all the Pittsburgh Penguins, except Sidney Crosby. Bettman has chosen his Poster Boy well. Both have a lot of class, all of it low.

Posted under New York Rangers

In the past four seasons since the lockout, I have had mostly nice things to say about how the organization has treated the subscribers. That ended today. I just found the renewal information in my mail box and to say I am angry would be an understatement.

It’s not so much the increase in the ticket prices that has me pissed off.  I do think they have a colossal nerve to ask us for more money to watch a team that barely made the playoffs (and yet again failed to make it past the second round). What really irks me is that fact that they want a commitment before June 22.  They want the subscribers to re-up before free agency on July 1. For a subscriber to commit before July 1 is like buying a pig in a poke.

They are asking the fans that support this team to pony up a lot cash on blind faith. How can the subscribers make a decision about renewing if we are unable to see what the Sather BrainTrust intends to do to rectify the piss poor product we watched last season? Yeah, that’s right. Piss poor. Drury and Gomez tank on Renney and get the rest of the team to buy into it. Now Sather and Dolan expect the fans to buy in to next season without finding out if we will still have to endure both these Skating Judases for another season.

Getting Avery on the cheap and hiring Tortorella are not the whole solution. In fact, it remains to be seen if they may yet become part of the problem, ie the Tortorella bottle throwing incident.  And then, there is the issue of Wade Redden. Like Ranger season ticketholders really want to shell out over 8% more to watch that inept excuse of an NHL defensemen get paid on average $7 million for the next 4 years.  Yeah, Glen, that’s what we want to spend our money on. Not.

And, to add insult to injury, we get a sweet little letter from Sather asking for our continued patience and support. For your reading enjoyment:

“Rangers Subscribers,

Five years ago, we made it our priority to build the New York Rangers team for long-term success by developing a core foundation of young players and adding key veterans as our youngsters matured. Our philosophy remains steadfast, and this past season, six young players whose NHL careers began here in New York played major roles in taking us to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.

Although we were not satisfied with this past season’s results, we believe we are on the right track. We continue to focus on the development of players and are excited about several talented prospects in our system. At the same time, we still have work to do as we strive toward our ultimate goal — to compete for the Stanley Cup each and every season.

Under the direction of our new Head Coach, John Tortorella, you will see a retooled Rangers team in 2009-10 that will feature a system that emphasizes aggressive forechecking and puck possession. This up-tempo approach has made John an accomplished winner in the NHL, earning a Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year and delivering a Stanley Cup to Tampa Bay in 2004.

The key objective for this off-season is to complement our strong defensive play and league-leading penalty-kill with more goal-scoring, stemming from this aggressive system. We are determined to add players who make significant contributions in 2009-10, enabling us to dictate the pace of the game on a regular basis.

With an All-Star goaltender, and a mix of accomplished veterans and hungry youngsters, we expect to make our fans especially proud this season. Your loyalty and enthusiasm has always made The Garden a very intimidating place for visiting teams, and you will see a team whose style of play makes it even tougher.

We remain humbled and thankful for your energetic support and look forward to seeing you at The Garden for a great season of Rangers hockey.

Sincerely,

Glen Sather, President and General Manager, New York Rangers”

And, if that weren’t enough to make you sick, Dolan is rattling his sabre again about the renovations to the Garden. I’ll believe it when I see it. Many subscribers and fans know how little Dolan cares about the Rangers. The Rangers are  just a cash cow to keep his building and his programming schedule filled and to pay off the Knick lawsuits. 

The renovations are calling for a 5000 sq ft Super Suite that can hold 300 people. Obviously, Dolan hasn’t realized that this city and country are in the depths of a deep recession. MSG had a hard time selling the Luxury Suites this season, constantly bombarding the audience with in arena advertisements for them. Witness how the overpriced Yankee tickets went unsold. Hey Jim,  put the renovations on hold and stop sticking it to the subscribers. 

Many people have lost their jobs as companies have tightened their bottom lines. How has Sather retained his job after underperforming for the last 9 years? How does Jim Dolan keep his job? Oops. I forgot.  His Daddy owns the company!!!

The unkindest cut of all is that even if  subscribers renew, they will have a harder time getting rid of the games they can’t attend. Last season, many subscribers had a hard time selling their tickets for face value. And, Ranger TicketExchange still gets their cut regardless of the selling price.  

So, thanks Jim and Glen, for making the decision to renew harder then it has to be. You may not hear from this subscriber until 11:59 pm on June 21, the longest day of the year.

Posted under New York Rangers

As if we haven’t had enough of the NHL making up new rules to punish the unworthy, ie the Avery Rule, last night Evgeni Malkin got an instigator penalty during the last five minutes of  the game but he will not get the requisite one day suspension that goes along with it.

Is it because he’s Evgeni Malkin? (Rhetorical question) Some rules don’t apply to players like Malkin, Crosby and Ovechkin. Rules are only invented or “interpreted” to punish the unworthy, the goons, the fourth line pariahs of the league. But. you can bet you sweet assets if Niklas Kronwall or Tomas Holmstrom had been the instigator last night they wouldn’t see the white of the ice at the Igloo on Tuesday. They’re not worthy.

What with the Penguins being down 2-0 in the series, suspending Malkin would put the Penguins at a potentially insurmountable disadvantage for game 3. Gary and Colie couldn’t let that happen, now could they? They cant’ let the Ice Chickens and the Poster Boy go down in flames. They must have this series go on as long as possible to put that extra playoff money in Mario’s pocket.

I did not watch the game on Saturday or last night in protest of the NBC BullSh*t scheduling. I saw the play in question on NHL on the Fly. Malkin got 5 for fighting, 2 for instigating and a 10 minute misconduct. According to the NHL rules, Malkin should be suspended for one game. What happens if Malkin commits another suspendable offense? Because he was not suspend for the one game yesterday, will he get a pass on his next offense? 

Malkin was stymied all game by the Red Wings and by the end of the game was extremely frustrated and vented that frustration. So far, Makin has 41 minutes in penalties during the playoffs.  That’s about half the penalty minutes he’d had all season. While Malkin may not be a fourth line goon, judging by his performance last night he’s a powder keg waiting to explode.

47.22 Fines and Suspensions – Instigator in Final Five Minutes of Regulation Time (or Anytime in Overtime) - A player or goalkeeper who is deemed to be the instigator of an altercation in the final five (5) minutes of regulation time or at anytime in overtime, shall automatically be suspended for one game. The Director of Hockey Operations will review every such incident and may rescind the suspension based on a number of criteria. The criteria for the review shall include, but not limited to, the score, previous incidents, etc. The length of suspension will double for each subsequent offense. This suspension shall be served in addition to any other automatic suspensions a player may incur for an accumulation of three or more instigator penalties.

Following Campbell’s review of the situation, he determined Malkin should have been assessed a game misconduct for not having his jersey tied down during the fight but not suspended as an instigator. Now isn’t that conveeeeenient. (Church Lady font)

Way to go Colin!  Make the NHL more of a joke.

Posted under New York Rangers