And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We’re captive on the carousel of time
We can’t return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game 

-Joni Mitchell

The Rangers may have won their first two regular season games in Prague but the season really starts for the Garden Faithful at the Home Opener. A few of the regulars, the die hards,  go to the preseason games but the opener is where you see who is back for the start of another season, full of hope and promise. Sadly, you also find out who is not coming back.

Tomorrow, I will find out who is sitting next to me this season now that my surrogate sons, Bobby and Ronny are gone. Ron got married. It’s too hard for Bob to go solo to games. The economy is bad. Ticket prices are higher. Priorities are different. I know that once I moved to out to Long Island and had my children, my game going days were over for the better part of 20 years. It’s all part of the life cycle of a Ranger Fan.

I do not mean to minimize the worth of the other people I sit around. Nick, John, Kevin, Tim and George are all great section mates and I love them dearly. But, Bob and Ron put up with all my craziness and made every game a party. I will cherish the two seasons I did get to sit with them and learn more about the sport of hockey from the brothers.

People and players come and go but some will always have a special place in the hearts of their friends and their fans. Tomorrow, many will see the new faces among the Rangers. There will be new people sitting in your section. Embrace them both.  

We are all Rangers.

I’m not sure how many of you might remember the old Tonight Show skit Carnac the Magnificent. Carnac ( Johnny Carson) would read the answer to a question that had sat in a mayonnaise jar on Funk and Wagnell’s porch since noon that day. 

Carnac (holds the envelope up to his head and says):

Broad Shoulders and a Thick Skin.

Ed McMahon (repeats in a loud and staccato voice):

Broad Shoulders and a Thick Skin!

Carnac (rips open the top of the envelope, blows on it and pulls out the index card, reads the question):

What do Tom Renney, Chris Drury and Petr Prucha need to get through this season?

After all the shoes were dropped by the Rangers today regarding cuts and captains, the most controversial decision by the Rangers is the apparent decision to scratch Petr Prucha for tomorrow’s opening game in Prague against Tampa. Yes. that’s right. Quite unbelievably, Prucha has been scratched in the first ever NHL game to be played in his home country. This decision has many Ranger fans perplexed, to say the least. Many more are just angry and are using this decision as another opportunity to bash Tom Renney.

Sometimes I think many fans enjoy the sport of Renney bashing more then they enjoy the sport of ice hockey. My advise to these “fans” would be to step back and take a deep breathe. I have a couple of questions for you. How the hell do you know that this is solely a “Renney” decision? Could it  be possible that there are several explanations for Prucha being scratched? Has Prucha’s preseason play distinguished him over and above those who will be playing tomorrow? These are all rhetorical questions. The answers are:

You don’t know. Yes. And, No.

I’m reading blogs where people are saying, Renney hates Prucha, Renney is a ********* for benching Prucha in front of his home crowd, Renney sucks, fire Renney, yadda, yadda, yadda. 

STOP THE INSANITY!

Not one regular season game has been played but now is the time to fire the third most winning coach in Ranger history? Now is the time to fire the coach that has gotten the Rangers to the playoffs for three seasons in a row after the lockout? Why? Is it because of a perceived act of disrespect toward a player who, though well liked, has recently proved marginal after a phenomenal start?

Most of the time I am proud to be a Ranger fan. But, after reading some of the lunatic ravings of the lynch mob among us, I question my faith in some of the Garden Faithful.

I am glad that we have a Coach and now a Captain who have broad shoulders and skin thick enough to weather the storms of controversy that lie ahead of them. My advise to young Petr Prucha is to man up and not pout or display his displeasure to the press about decisions that are not in his control. Players who have lowered the curtain and publicly displayed their negative emotions are not around anymore (ie, Ward, Malik, Avery and Pock, to name a few). In addition to becoming a better two way player, Petr Prucha needs to develop a thicker skin and broader shoulders.

(Updated 8am 10/5/08 - Turns out Prucha will play in the Prague opener. All the indignation and anger directed by some fans at Renney has been a tempest in a teapot. We shall see!)

Today I received a card from the New York Rangers postmarked from Prague. Okay, so my name and address were preprinted on the card. But, the card had a real cancelled Czech postage stamp and greetings for the new season on it.

“We can’t wait to come home and see you on Friday, October 10th for our Opening Night at the Garden.  Ahojte”

Whoever thinks these things up in the Rangers Public Relations department is very creative and does a great job. They seem to always get it right. Whether it’s a viewing party at Bohemian Hall or Bryant Park, the Playoff Buses or a simple postcard, the Rangers have a staff that keep the fan base informed and feeling included.

I am not a subscriber to any other NHL team. I have no frame of reference as to what other teams do. I only know that since I became a subscriber, the materials I have received with regard to season tickets, playoff tickets and subscriber events have been made of the finest quality materials while displaying enormous creativity and imagination.

Děkujeme vám

Do Teho Rangers!

Don’t hold your breathe until Referees Stephane Auger and Dean Morton apologize to the entire Ranger organization for the bogus boarding penalty and game misconduct they assessed to Lauri Korpikoski this afternoon. Even though the league rescinded the misconduct, neither official will be sanctioned for their incompetence. That is not Colin Campbell’s way. In Campbell’s world, the teams, the players and their fans take it on the chin while his officials get away without so much as a slap on the wrist.

The league is always tinkering with the rules every season to improve the game. They want to increase scoring chances on the powerplay. This year faceoffs after penalties take place are now in the penalized team’s zone. They want to cut down on injuries by penalizing players who board the player closer to the puck during icing touch ups.  

Today, fans at the Garden had to sit and watch the life be sucked out of this game by the officials. Here’s an idea. How about suspending officials who screw up the games? If indeed they are disciplined by Head of Officials, why not make it public record. Maybe they’ll learn something by their mistakes. I know it would make me feel better to know some remedial action has been taken. Before five minutes had elapsed, these two refs destroyed any enjoyment I may have had in this game. They owe me $70.   

As if it weren’t bad enough that Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers were sucking big time and down two goals when the phantom offense was called, the bogus penalty and the loss of Korpedo threw the game plan into a tailspin from which it would not recover. The whole point of this last preseason game here and the two  ”exhibition games”  in Switzerland is to determine the final three cuts.  Thanks to these two overzealous and incompetent zebras, the Ranger brass have had the”evaluation” water muddied unnecessarily. That is the result of today’s fiasco. The outcome of today’s game is inconsequential.

Here are some observations about this game and the players:

James Dolan should indenture Bobby Holik after his playing days are over and make him sell hot dogs to work off all the money he stole from the Rangers.  

Kevin Weekes was a wall and Henrik Lundqvist was a cheese clothe. Maybe Henrik was contemplating whether or not to bring his velvet collared jacket to Europe. His head certainly wasn’t in the game.

Someone should send Wade Redden a telegram with the address of Madison Square Garden. Maybe he’ll show up to the game next time.  

Nice to see the shorthanded goal by Zherdev. Maybe some fans will get off his case and stop trying to perpetuate the notion that he is a “problem”.

Rissmuller and Sjostrom should go. Voros and Fritsche are better. Someone remind me again why Mara is here. Potter and Fahey have looked better then both Mara and Redden. Hell, Del Zotto looked better then Redden and Mara.

Lastly, the fast and furious play we saw in earlier preseason games didn’t happen today. It took until the end of the third period for the kids to sort themselves and get their legs under them. These boys are tired. This should be a lesson to the “braintrust” never to schedule four games in four nights. Now these players have to fly overnight in an airplane seat to Switzerland and play on a bigger ice surface at a higher altitude on Tuesday. What are the powers that be thinking about? They are putting the team behind the eight ball before the regular season has even started.   

I hope the boys come home in one piece and with four points in the win column. But, like the apology that is due from the NHL Office of Officiating, I’m not holding my breathe.

If you cast your eyes downward and re-read my entry of September 7th, “The Magnificent Seventy”, you can see my predictions as to which players invited to camp might be around after the last preseason game was played. I wasn’t too far off the mark:

Left Wing

Naslund, Dawes, Prucha, Korpikoski, Voros, Nahanahs

Center

Gomez, Drury, Dubinsky, Betts, Anisimov, Fritsche, Rissmiller, Nedved

Right Wing

Zherdev, Sjostrom, Callahan, Orr, Jamtin, Moore, Parenteau

Defense

Redden, Staal, Roszival, Mara, Girardi, Kalinin, Kondratiev, Pock, Sanguinetti, Sauer

Goal

Lundqvist, Valiquette, Wiikman, Brodeur, Zaba

Here is Tom Renney’s line up as the Rangers prepare to play the New Jersey Devils tomorrow before departing for Europe:

Naslund-Gomez-Drury

Dawes-Dubinsky-Zherdev

Callahan-Korpikoski-Voros

Rissmiller-Betts-Orr

Sjostrom-Prucha-Fritsche

Mara, Kalinin, Fahey, Staal, Girardi, Redden, Potter, and Rozsival 

Lundqvist, Valiquette, and Wiikman

Save for my omission of Potter and Fahey, my prediction about which of the 36 out of 69 players invited to camp would still be around this Friday was close. Of those 36, 11 more were cut today. Subtract those cuts and my roster is Renney’s remaining roster.

At this juncture, the conclusions we can draw from the Cuts and the Keepers are  these:

Michael Del Zotto is going to be one of the best NHL Defenseman of his generation. I wouldn’t be surprised if he made the team out of camp next season and the Rangers put him right in the 2009 Opening Night line up. Please God keep this kid healthy in juniors. He showed more natural talent and hockey sense then the seasoned veterans he was playing with.

Petr Nedved got a career revitalizing showcase courtesy of Glen Sather. If the Rangers weren’t so deep at center, Nedved surely would have been signed.

Anisimov, Parenteau and Moore may not make it to the Garden this year but they were soooo close. What a comfort it is to know we have such depth in Hartford to draw upon if need be.

Pock and Jessiman will never play with the Rangers.

Sanguinetti is at least a year away.

Here are my evaluations about the preseason play of the Europe bound  Roster:

We all know what Gomez, Drury, Dubinsky, Callahan, Staal, Girardi, Betts, Orr and Lundqvist bring to the Rangers. They are the core of the team. High priced newbies like Redden, Naslund and Zherdev need time to fit in to this core. It is the seeming overpriced players and the unknown entities that are the big line up question marks.

Are Dawes, Sjostrom, Prucha, Mara and Kalinin still worth our time and their paychecks? Will Voros, Fritsche, Potter and Fahey prove to be better players and better bargains?  

My prediction is that the final four cuts are likely to be: Fritsche, Rissmiller, Potter and Wiikman. Again, It is comforting to know we have these caliber players in Hartford. Hold on a minute there Hurley. 26-4=22. Where is the extra player? 

Only Glen Sather has the answer to that question.

PS. After last night, is there anyone out there that remains unconvinced of the value of Colton Orr to the New York Rangers? That was one of the fairest and most entertaining hockey fights I have ever seen. Colton Orr cemented his spot on the roster in the minds of the coaching staff and in the hearts of the fans. Who needs Sean Avery?

Resigned - to give (oneself) over without resistance <resigned himself to his fate>

Re-signed - to sign again ; especially : to rehire (as an athlete) by means of a signed contract

The start of training camp has come and gone and, by his own words, Glen Sather should have eliminated Mats Sundin from consideration. But Glen’s presumed dismissal of Mats Sundin wearing Ranger Blue did not trigger the immediate re-signing of Ranger Alum Brendan Shanahan.  Just because a deal between Shanahan and the Rangers has yet to be struck, it doesn’t mean that it won’t happen. It also doesn’t mean it will.

Unlike some Ranger bloggers and messageboard denizens, I do not view Shanahan’s remaining unsigned as a sign of disrespect to the first ballot Hall of Famer. Nor do I view Shanahan as some over the hill veteran left to twist in the wind by the great and powerful Oz, Glen Sather. Unfortunately, none of us have a little black dog to pull back the curtain and enlighten us.

If one examines the Rangers situation realistically with regard to Shanny, one must acknowledge that there is much more here then meets the eye. First and foremost, to sign Shanny the Rangers have to fit him under the salary cap. In order to do that, Ranger management has to evaluate the talent they currently have under contract. Those players and the other invitees at training camp number close to seventy. That’s a  whole lot of evaluating and salary shifting to do in the next two weeks before the regular season starts in Prague.

If any of us were a fly on the wall, we might be privy to a wink and a handshake or a whispered conversation. Last time I looked in the mirror, I didn’t see Jeff Goldblum with wings. And as much as some people consider themselves insiders with access to privileged information, at the end of the day those that need to know will.

So, rather then dabble in speculation and vilify Sather for mistreating one of the all time greats of the NHL or conversely berate Shanahan for allowing himself to be mistreated, we should put aside our opinions until the situation is resolved. It might even take until opening night at the Garden before there is some resolution either way. We must be resigned to be patient until such time as the Rangers choose to disclose their intentions.

All good things come to those who wait.

According to Steve Zipay’s blog today, rumor has it that if Mats Sundin doesn’t declare his intention to Ranger management by Tuesday, Brendan Shanahan will most assuredly be back for another year. He will more then like be Captain of the Rangers. He was the de facto Captain regardless of Jagr having worn the C. While the HockeyRodent may have cajoled his readers  “Don’t You Leadership Me” regarding the comeback of Brendan Shanahan, it seems (based on the leadership he brings), Shanny’s return is a fait accompli.

Some fans are wholeheartedly in favor of bringing back Brendan. They feel Shanny brings experience, skill and the leadership needed to move past the second round of the playoffs. They attribute Shanny’s lack of production in the second half of last season and in the playoffs to injury. When healthy last season Brendan did score 23 goals. With Jagr and Straka gone, Shanny’s goal scoring capability takes on more importance.

Others, considering Brendan’s age and slowness, are dead set against Shanny taking a roster spot away from up and coming youngsters like Prucha and Korpikoski at left wing. They feel there is no place for the future first ballot Hall of Famer on the Rangers anymore.  They want to move on with the youth movement and leave the leading to Drury, Gomez or Redden.

Where and how Tom Renney deploys Brendan is the key to Shanahan’s success. If Shanny is lightly used for the lionshare of the regular season, he should have something left for the playoff run and beyond. “If” he is lightly used. “If”. If Shanny is going to play, it shouldn’t be on the checking line with Betts and Orr. He’d be fried by November. If Renney reserves Shanny for the powerplay and shootouts and gives him the occasional game off, he’ll be in better shape and more effective in March.

There is a little wiggle room on the left side if the Rangers go with six defenseman. They look much more solid on D then last season so it’s possible they’ll go with six. They are overloaded at center and right wing. Gomez, Drury and Dubinsky are basically a lock at center. Betts is fighting with Anisimov and Fritsche for fourth spot. We may not see either Anisimov or Fritsche season. They’ll be headed to Hartford. That’s too bad. Anisimov looked so good in preseason last year. On the right side, Parenteau and Jamtin will probably stay in Hartford, leaving Moore and Orr to fight for the fourth spot.

Naslund Gomez Zherdev
Prucha Dubinsky Callahan
Shanahan Drury Sjostrom
Dawes Betts Orr

Orr and Sjostrom will have to stay up or clear waivers to come back. Of all the other forwards looking for the last spot, I would say Korpedo and Anisimov have the best shot. Korpikowski or Dawes can replace Shanny on third line and can be flipped with each other on the fourth line. Betts is really going to have to fight for his job. He is a good defensive fourth line center for face offs and penalty kill. Anisimov is a much more skilled player who can bring scoring to the fourth line. The question is, how is Anisimov defensively? Will he be as good as Blair on face offs? Will he block shots? I have no doubt of Artem’s desire but his effectiveness as a fourth line grinder and checker is what counts.

So, I’ve drawn my lines. Now let’s see how close I’ve come come October.

According to the New York Rangers website, seventy players have been invited to training camp. That might be a record. Last year there were forty players at camp. It’s a good thing they don’t hold training camp at the University of Vermont anymore. There probably aren’t enough hotels rooms to accommodate such a mass gathering in Burlington. Imagine the dent that hotel bill would put in MSG’s pocket.

In addition to all the signed Ranger players, those trying out run the gamut from veteran Ranger retread Petr Nedved to the undrafted 21 year old son of Mark Messier, Lyon.  It begs the question as to why they call it a training camp. Evaluation Camp would be a more suitable moniker. 

While a few of the players have started trickling in, training camp doesn’t officially open until September 16. The Rangers play their first preseason game in Ottawa five days later the 20th. That would mean that they have to pare down the roster to a more manageable number. Pick a number. 50? 40?  Forty would seem more likely since that was what they had last year at the start of camp. 

Let’s say they do pare it down to forty by September 20. They have to evaluate 30 players in just four days.  Okay, say ten, maybe 15 of those players didn’t have a hope in hell of making the team anyway. This means 15 players will have their fates decided in four days. Considering that the Rangers have to set a 23 player roster before the season starts in Prague, the odds for these 15 players are pretty long. It makes the discovery of a player of the caliber of Dan Girardi seem like a miracle.

Let’s cut to the chase here. By my reckoning, 34 of the 70 players are only here for a look see. They are bound for Hartford, Charlotte, Juniors, College or oblivion. That leaves 36 players over which some hard decision making has to be made. While there are a dearth of left wings, there is a plethora of centers, right wings and defensmen to consider. Here, in no particular order and by position, are those players.

Left Wing

Naslund, Dawes, Prucha, Korpikoski, Voros, Nahanahs

Center

Gomez, Drury, Dubinsky, Betts, Anisimov, Fritsche, Rissmiller, Nedved

Right Wing

Zherdev, Sjostrom, Callahan, Orr, Jamtin, Moore, Parenteau

Defense

Redden, Staal, Roszival, Mara, Girardi, Kalinin, Kondratiev, Pock, Sanguinetti, Sauer

Goal

Lundqvist, Valiquette, Wiikman, Brodeur, Zaba

You have my permission to get out your graph paper, pencils and rulers and doodle with your line combinations and defensive pairings until October 4th. The long wait is almost over.

This is the unanswered question regarding Brendan Shanahan’s bid to play a 22nd and final? season in the NHL. Shanahan will turn 40 on January 23, 2009.  What is behind his desire to continue to play? It can’t be the money. Shanahan has already stated he would take a much lower salary and play a reduced role if he is given the opportunity to come back and play next season for the Rangers. 

Initially, after the Rangers were eliminated from the playoffs by Pittsburgh, Shanny was adamant that he only wanted to play another season if it was with the New York Rangers. This week, TSN reports that Shanahan has opened up his search for a new team. While Shanahan said he is still hoping that Glen Sather will sign him for next season, he will now consider offers from other teams. This is causing much speculation and the rumor mongers are having a field day.

Thinking that Shanny might hang up his skates, some media outlets have reportedly made Brendan offers. Wouldn’t it be nice to see Brendan’s handsome face on your TV screen rather then Engblom, Jones, Olcyzk, Milbury or McGuire on Versus or NBC?  Brendan has the Irish gift of the gab and would certainly excel as a color commentator with his vast knowledge of hockey and sense of humour. Apparently, Brendan isn’t interested in working in front of the cameras yet.

Many would someday like to see Brendan become the Commissioner of the NHL. God knows it is more than time for Gary Bettman to go. A friend and blogging colleague shot down  my idea of “Brendan for Commissioner”  because Shanny isn’t a lawyer. I think that’s short sighted. Brendan can hire a team of great lawyers to help him. Having a respected and recognizable face to present the Stanley Cup every year would avoid the unpleasantness the fans have to endure in seeing Bettman booed off the ice at the end of every season.

Many Ranger fans feel that the concussion that resulted from Brendan’s collision with Mike Knuble in February of 2007 on the ice at Madison Square Garden started the downside of his storied career. Brendan was on a roll up until then. He had 29 goals. He was still hitting and he had even fought Donald Brashear. Brendan was still a power forward in every sense of the word. Last season Brendan looked slow and gun shy, both in hitting and shooting. Even though he scored a respectable 23 goals, he was not the same Shanny we saw the year before.

Brendan has had a charmed career. He has won three Stanley Cups. He won the Olympic Gold medal with Team Canada in 2002. He’s been an NHL All Star eight times. He was the founder and driving force behind the “Shanahan Summit” during the 2004 lockout that examined the state of the game and changed the rules to improve the game. His accolades go on and on.  Brendan is a first ballot Hall of Famer. Why does he still want to play hockey when he is clearly past his best?

There is only one reason I can think of as to why Brendan Shanahan wants to continue to play in the NHL. He has 650 goals. He is 19 goals shy of breaking Luc Robitaille’s record of 668 goals by a left wing.

Apparently, the powers that be in the NHL front office don’t think we do. This fact was made abundantly clear to me when I perused the freshly released NHL schedule and sadly found that The Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings would not be coming to Madison Square Garden this season.

I quickly checked the Islanders and Devils home schedules and found that they too had been passed over and weren’t going to see the Champs play in their buildings. In fact, the closest the Red Wings will come to New York is Washington, DC and Boston. It begs the question, what genius in the NHL Scheduling Office passes over the biggest media market in the free world? What empty suit on Sixth Avenue decided that the Rangers should play Dallas, Anaheim and Chicago twice and Detroit once (in Hockeytown).

If I am an executive at NBC, I am scratching my head and wondering how such incompetence in high places in the NHL continues to exist. After seeing their highest ratings in years for the Stanley Cup finals, the league has shot themselves in the foot again by failing to capitalize on selling a Rangers/Wings Sunday afternoon game to NBC for broadcast in February (when NFL Football is over).

All this considered, it is reasonable to understand why MSG didn’t want the league to interfere with their website and, thusly, the marketing of the New York Rangers. Say what you want about the Dolans but they know how to put on a show and to broadcast it. I wouldn’t want the NHL within a country mile of my team’s promotional agenda.

So, we have Gary Bettman and his ace staff on Sixth Avenue running this league into the ground, media wise. Maybe Gary and his staff should go work for the KHL. What does it matter if they don’t speak Russian? They speak English here and what they say and, more importantly, what they do is still a mystery to most hockey fans in North America.

Hey Gary, what are Ranger, Islander and Devils fans, chopped liver?