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?

Ryan Hollweg may have hands of stone but his heart was true blue. Even though he was among the smallest in stature, he hit like a much bigger man. He stuck up for his teammates. He was the class clown and an endless source of amusement to his teammates. Ryan Hollweg worked hard as a fourth line grinder and checker. Yes, he was overzealous on occasion but he was a team player.

Good Luck to Ryan Hollweg.

That is the description of what Struddy brought to the Rangers on the ice. But Jason is more then the some of his parts. Off the ice and in the room, Jason Strudwick was the ultimate team player. Whether he walked Henrik Lundqvist’s dog when the team was on the road or mentored the younger players in the lockerroom or on the bench, Struddy always did it with a smile and a positive attitude.

He also took his positive attitude and his incandescent smile to the fans. Whether greeting fans or while involved in the many Ranger charity functions, Jason was a good ambassador for the team and for the game. I can attest to this because I was the beneficiary of his graciousness on several occassions.

Now it is time for me to say a heartfelt farewell to Struddy. Jason is going back to his hometown to play with the Oilers. This has to be the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for him. He’ll be around his family and hopefully he can settle down and raise his own family now.

Jason Strudwick embodied the phrase “Be A Ranger”. I am sure this is not the last we will hear from Struddy. He’ll make a fine coach and maybe he’ll come back to the Rangers organization someday.

mhurley with Jason Strudwick #34 - Skate with the Rangers at Bryant Park November 2005
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Some fans out there may perceive the signing of Nasland as a sign of Sather disrespecting Jagr. I don’t think anything could be further from the truth. Jagr and his agent were playing possum. Sather had to make a business decision in the best interest of the team. We are now hearing that Jagr has signed with Avangard Omsk but the amount has not been disclosed. Going to the RSL seems to have been his plan all along. What did Jagr think Sather was going to do, mortgage the team and it’s future by paying Jagr $8 million dollars a season for two more years?  

If Jagr has signed with Omsk, it begs the question as to whether Jagr may have diliberately failed to make the contract triggers that could have kept him with the Rangers. Perhaps testing the waters and looking for the highest bidder either here or abroad was his intention all along. If this is the case, then I would say Jagr has been the disingenous one. We will never know.

No matter. What’s done is done and I for one am not unhappy with what has transpired so far. By signing Redden, Nasland, and Talinin in particular, Sather has filled some holes while still allowing the youth movement to continue. He has not mortgaged the future and still has space to maneuver later in the season if need be.

After three semi-successful seasons with Jaromir Jagr as leader, this new team now truly belongs to Tom Renney and his coaching staff. It is truly Independence Day for them. Much is expected from those to whom much has been given. Like Michael Rozsival, Renney and the coaching staff will now have their feet to the fire to produce now that the Jagr reign is over.

Thanks and good luck to Jaromir Jagr and Marty Straka. Of all players who are leaving, I think I will miss Stracena the most. Marty was the Walter Tkaczuk of post-lockout Rangers.

Happy 4th of July to everyone.

-Hello, Goodbye, The Beatles

Free Agency day is at once the best of times and the worst of times. It’s a time when we say hello to new faces and goodbye to others.  Everyone has their opinion. Some players and fans are happy. Others are not.

Overall, two days in, I think the Rangers are holding their own. I cannot imagine how difficult it is for Glen Sather in this capped environment. The highest bidder usually wins in most circumstances. Once the bar is set on the price for a particular type of player, there is precious little time to reevaluate the other players left and to determine how best to fill in your gaps. Some folks like to complain about Sather fishing, smoking cigars and eating ice cream cones but at this time of year, I’m sure he earns his keep.

Wade Redden wasn’t even on my radar. I would not have thought he would leave Ottawa after spending 11 seasons there. I would have thought Sather would have targeted a younger player as well. It was rumoured that the Rangers were going after Campbell. Campbell went for a ridiculous amount of money for eight years. Redden is the puckmoving powerplay quarterback the Rangers so desperately need. He has experience. Sather addressed his most pressing need with the best deal for the best player available. $6 million dollars for six years may seem high and long to some. After all, Redden is 31. But, Redden’s deal pales in comparison to Rozsivals.

Heaven help you Michal Rozsival if you do not live up to this contract. If you thought the treatment Malik got was bad, the Garden Faithful will crucify you. You will become the new whipping boy if you don’t produce. Considering Rozsival’s physical state and hometown status, you would think he’d have come a little cheaper. I guess Sather knew he had to give up Tyutin to get Zherdev. Keeping Rozsival makes sense. 

I think most people could see the handwriting on the wall for Sean Avery.  Yes, indeed, Sean will be cutting a swathe through the Southern Belles in Big D with his new boss, Big B. Tony Romo better get a chastity belt for Jessica Simpson because Avery is coming to Dallas and he does blondes.  Brett Hull has a bigger ego then Avery. Let’s see how long this honeymoon will last. At least Sean had the decency to sign with a Western Conference team. I am sure there are many Ranger fans out there who want Sather’s head on a platter for losing “Vogue Boy”. If these fans didn’t see this coming, they are blind.

You don’t cross Glen Sather. Avery cast the die when he bucked Sather by going to arbitration last summer. Then, like it or not, his circus act performance during the playoffs made the Rangers a laughing stock and caused the creation of the “Avery Rule”. Without Shanny to reign in this loose cannon, Avery would have just created more problems then he is worth. Four years at $3.87 million was too much for Glen to  gamble on the “Avery Effect”.

Finally, we learned today that we lost one Russian for another. As much as I hate to see Tyutin go, hockey is a business. There is little room for sentiment. Tyutin was homegrown and one of the original post lockout kids that we all came to love three seasons ago. He showed such promise. Many say his development stalled and they might be right. Still, it is sad to see him go. God speed Fedor. You were a good Ranger.

Tyutin and Backman for Zherdev and Fritsche is a good trade. Zherdev has skill and speed and should compliment Gomez well. He should be exciting to watch. Will he take the place of the fiery Avery or, dare I say it, Jaromir Jagr? That remains to be seen…

Hello Zherdev, Redden, Fritsche, Rissmiller  and Voros.

Goodbye Avery, Backman and Tyutin.

Stay tuned for the next episode of “As the Free Agent Turns”.

Labral Tear(from MayoClinic.com)

The socket of your hip joint (acetabulum) is lined by cartilage called your labrum. This cartilage provides stability and cushioning for your hip joint, allowing the ball of your thighbone (femur) to move smoothly and painlessly in the socket.

A tear in your labrum, known as a hip labral tear or acetabular labral tear, can result from injury, repetitive movements that cause wear-and-tear on your hip joint, or degeneration, such as from osteoarthritis.

In many cases, a hip labral tear causes no signs or symptoms and doesn’t require treatment. Occasionally, however, a hip labral tear may cause pain or a “catching” sensation in the hip joint.

When treatment for a hip labral tear is necessary, it may consist of physical therapy, medications or a combination. Less frequently, surgery is necessary to treat a hip labral tear.

Boy, after lambasting poor Michael Rozsival at the end of the playoffs, do I feel like a jackass right now. Sure, none of us were to know that Rozsival was injured and playing in pain. And yes, I understand that management does not want to disclose the exact nature of player’s injuries lest they be targeted for more punishment by the opposition. (ie, Gary Roberts taking head shots on Johan Franzen).

All that said, it would have been nice if teams disclosed which players were playing injured and the extent of the injury after the season is over, be it the regular season or the playoffs. Then, total loser hockey geeks like myself would tend to be more temperate with our remarks, player evaluations on the season and projected free agent signing.

Does this news about Rozsival change my opinion of him as a player? You’re darn tootin’ it does!Rozsival was the highest scoring defenseman for the Rangers and was 13th overall in the league with 13 goals, 38 points and an even +/-. He played 80 games. Not too shabby.

All things considered, I cannot be angry with Rozsival for not hitting more and taking the body, which was my chief gripe against him during the playoffs. Considering how weak the Ranger defense was, it was better that Rosie be conservative in face of his injury then risk taking himself out of  action permanently.

I no longer think that Rozsival should be jettisoned by the Rangers, out of hand. He has earned my respect because he played through the pain, taking one for the team. I do think that the Rangers must proceed with caution regarding his re-signing. I question why the disclosure and susequent surgery came a full 6 weeks after the Rangers were eliminated. 

Whose position does such a delay in disclosure strengthen? I would say the Rangers. They can decline to re-sign him based upon his health or they can re-sign him for a lot less then Rozsival would have commanded on the open market were he not damaged goods.  Only time will tell. But, if I am Sather I am signing the best puckmoving free agent defenseman out there at 12:01 am on July 1. If there is no more cap space for Rozsival, quel dommage.  

I was only 9 years old when “Wide World of Sports” first aired on ABC. I remember watching it at my friend’s house. Our neighbors, the Nylins, were big winter sports enthusiasts and it was because of them that I came to love skiing, nordic jumping and figure skating.  ABC and Jim McKay brought these and so much more to the American public.

I think back with fondest memories at all the expert commentators at Jim McKay’s side. Bob Beattie for skiing, Dick Button on figure skating and many other great co-hosts that brought you “up close and personal” with the athletes and their sports. Because of  Roone Arlidge and Jim McKay, you not only saw a variety of sports, you learned all about them.

ABC also made huge strides in sports broadcast technology. Remember seeing the Hannenkamn from a camera attached to the ski racer’s helmet? Slow motion showed the physics of ski jumping and the rotations of the triple lutz. Iso-cameras showed the racer’s ski catching the slalom gate. Jim was always there to highlight the nuances of each sport. He was always well prepared. Jim knew his stuff.

Most people recollect the most important broadcast of his career. Jim McKay held the hand of the viewing public worldwide with his calm and steady reporting about what would turn out to be the blackest day in Olympic history, the massacre of the entire Israeli Olympic team in Munich in 1972.

As a long time viewer of WWS,  I understood how hard that telecast was for Jim McKay. It was a loss of innocence for Jim and all of us. As with the assassination of the Kennedy’s and Martin  Luther King , Jim McKay and the world were stunned to think that such evil was possible. The Olympics were meant to bring the youth of the world together in peace to pursue personal excellence in sport. Jim McKay put aside his personal feelings and physical comfort and was there around the clock to keep the world informed.

Jim McKay was a consummate professional.

Despite the NHL’s best effort to forward the fortunes of young Sidney and his team, in the end the real men of the NHL won the Cup. From their coach, Mike Babcock, on down to a rookie like Darren Helm, the Red Wings, led by Captain Niklas Lidstrom, showed the  Pittsburgh Penguins and the world how to win like men. Michel Therrien and all the young Penguins were defeated by the most worthy opponents in the league. It is no shame on the Penguins to have lost to the best team in the NHL in 6 games.  

Congratulations to the Detroit Red Wings on their fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years. There are so many great players on the Red Wings, choosing the Conn Smythe winner couldn’t have been easy. But, they did get it right. Henrik Zetterberg is a great two way hockey player. To have come as far as he has is a testament to Zetterberg and the entire Detroit organization.

Congratulations to Jim Devellano, Ken Holland, Steve Yzerman and the llitch family for treating their players like family. Having faith in these players and offering some a second chance (Osgood, Drake and McCarty) reaped the greatest reward and many blessings.

May all teams and players who pursue the greatest trophy in all sports be as worthy.

The Detroit Red Wings

2008 Central Division Champions

2008 Western Conference Champions

2008 President’s Trophy Winners

2008 Stanley Cup Champions

Here is one answer. The management of the Detroit Red Wings has invested time and patience in their players. The perfect case in point are their two Selke nominees, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Zetterberg and Datsyuk. They go together like a horse and carriage.

Neither Datsyuk or Zetterberg were drafted in the first round. They were diamonds in the ruff found by the man Brenden Shanahan once dubbed the most important person in the Detroit organization, their European scout.

They came over and worked their way on to the team and into the lineup like any other prospect. They were given the golden opportunity to paired with Brett Hull ( Two Kids and A Goat line). While with Hull, D&Z did not take the body, they did not hit much. While their plus/minus numbers were nowhere near the respective +41 and +30 they are today, they weren’t third line grinders either.  How did these players come so far?

Patience.

Time and patience was not only invested in Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Franzen and Hudler have been afforded the same opportunity. Let’s look at these player’s career numbers:

Year/Team/Games Played/Goals/Assists/Points/+- 

Zetterberg

2002-03 Detroit 79 22 22 44 6

2003-04 Detroit 61 15 28 43 15

2005-06 Detroit 77 39 46 85 29

2006-07 Detroit 63 33 35 68 26

2007-08 Detroit 75 43 49 92 30

Datsyuk

2001-02 Detroit 70 11 24 35 4

2002-03 Detroit 64 12 39 51 20

2003-04 Detroit 75 30 38 68 -2

2005-06 Detroit 75 28 59 87 26

2006-07 Detroit 79 27 60 87 36

2007-08 Detroit 82 31 66 97 41

Franzen

2005-06 Detroit 80 12 4 16 4

2006-07 Detroit 69 10 20 30 20

2007-08 Detroit 72 27 11 38 12

Hudler

2003-04 Detroit 12 1 2 3 -1

2005-06 Detroit 4 0 0 0 0

2006-07 Detroit 76 15 10 25 16

2007-08 Detroit 81 13 29 42 11

Each year, each player has gotten better both offensively and defensively.  And, by farming their home grown talent and getting maximum value for their money, the Red Wings are able to judiciously go out and buy the key free agents they needed. Hasek in 2001 and Rafalski in 2007 are but two examples.

Can the Detroit model apply to the New York Rangers? In his first five seasons as general manager, Glen Sather tried to buy a high priced team of free agents. We all know how that worked out. Since just before the lockout, Sather, Maloney and Renney chose to adopt the “homegrown” philosophy. But, knowing the Ranger fan base’s penchant for marquee names and immediate results, Sather is poised on the precipice of sacrificing promising youth for a much needed puck moving defenseman.

The first name that comes to mind as trade bait is Petr Prucha. I think it would be a mistake to  lose any of the following youth to get that puckmoving defenseman. Now is the time for Sather to BUY. These four Rangers are of comparable size and talent to the four aforementioned Red Wings. Their early career numbers are not dissimilar. With time and patience, Prucha, Callahan, Dawes and Dubinsky could well work out to be players of the caliber of Datsyuk, Franzen. Hudler and Zetterberg for the Rangers.

Prucha

2005-06 N.Y. Rangers 68 30 17 47 3

2006-07 N.Y. Rangers 79 22 18 40 -7

2007-08 N.Y. Rangers 62 7 10 17 3

Dubinsky

2006-07 N.Y. Rangers 6 0 0 0 0

2007-08 N.Y. Rangers 82 14 26 40 8

Dawes

2006-07 N.Y. Rangers 8 1 0 1 -4

2007-08 N.Y. Rangers 61 14 15 29 11

Callahan

2006-07 N.Y. Rangers 14 4 2 6 5

2007-08 N.Y. Rangers 52 8 5 13 7

G A PTS +/- 2007-08 Salary

8 54 62 +8 Campbell $1.75

6 26 32 +2 Liles $1.4

13 49 62 -6 Streit $600

2 11 13 +3 Norstrom $4.25

1 10 11 +11 Orpik $1.075

8 15 23 +1 Montador $800

8 11 19 +12 Finger $475

Brian Campbell (29)

Assets- Is an extremely gifted offensive talent. Has plenty of creativity and intelligence with the puck. Owns excellent mobility.

Flaws- Can get easily knocked off the puck at the NHL level. Needs to play a tighter game in the defensive zone, so as to avoid being labeled a specialist.

Career potential - Power play quarterback.

Liles (27)

Assets - Has plenty of offensive acumen. Isn’t afraid of the rough going. Plays with supreme confidence when in possession of the puck.

Flaws - His smallish frame will always be an issue at the NHL level. Needs to prove he can raise his level of play with more ice time.

Career potential - Power play quarterback.

Streit (30)

Assets - Moves the puck swiftly up the ice. Is capable of playing the point on the power play. Owns plenty of international experience.

Flaws - Lacks size for the blueline position at the NHL level. Must play with more confidence in the defensive zone.  

Career potential - Power play specialist

Montador (28)

Assets - Makes the most of his ability and has decent offensive skills. Shoots the puck with aplomb and can also deliver big hits.

Flaws - Must make quicker decisions in order to play a regular role in the NHL. Is prone to making mistakes with the puck.

Career potential - No. 6 or 7 defenseman

Finger (28)

Assests - Plays a steady game from the back end and usually limits his mistakes. Can log plenty of ice time and is a solid team-first player.

Flaws - Has never put up great offensive numbers and probably never will. Isn’t a physical player, despite his 6-1, 205-pound frame.Career potential - Top six defenseman.

Norstrom (36)

Assets - Knows his role as a stay-at-home defender and takes care of business in his own end first and foremost. Loves a rough-and-tumble game. Is a fabulous hitter and solid leader.

Flaws - Is not offensively skilled at all. Has virtually no point shot to speak of. May struggle at times against the speedier forwards in the league. Career potential - Defensive defenseman.