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

Since February 23 I have been trying to put on a good face as a Ranger fan. As a season subscriber, I still had games to go to. As a Ranger fan, there were still young men on the Rangers that I wanted to support. But when that day in February came, my commitment to this Ranger team switched off inside my head. Nothing that has transpired since  to turn it back on.

Quite amazingly, the Rangers earned a playoff spot with only two games left on their season. At that time, I predicted the Capitals would defeat the Rangers in five games. You could have knocked me over with a feather if you had told me then that the Rangers would take it to seven. Even more surprising was going up 3-1 in the series. But the final outcome shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.

The same players who failed to show up and play with heart during the regular season reverted back to their true selves. As I predicted, John Tortorella would behave in some way that would bring controversy and ignominy down on this franchise. The only pleasant surprise is that Sean Avery came back  to provide the “Avery Effect”,  that is until he was benched by a man who has even less self-discipline then Avery.

So the Rangers are out of the playoffs and they have the large, unmovable contracts of their “veteran leaders”  to look forward to next season. The Rangers, by not making the second round, have  regressed. Hell, this team is worse off then in 2004. At least Sather was able to hold the Fire Sale that got us picks and prospects and hope for the future.

What hope for the future do we have now? If we can’t move deadbeats like Redden, Gomez, Naslund and Drury, we won’t be able to resign the kids we do want to keep because there’s no space under the salary cap. And, even if we manage to resign them, whose going to nuture the young talent and bring it along? John Tortorella? Jim Schoenfeld? The rebuild ended when Renney was shown the door on February 23. 

In the every cloud has a silver lining department, at least I don’t have to give Dolan anymore of my money for his overpriced playoff tickets. And, re-upping my subscription while Glen Sather is still GM of the Rangers is going to be a serious decision I’ll have to make come August. I am sure in this economy, many fans are in the same boat.

I can’t see anything happening in the off season to turn the switch back on.

Posted under New York Rangers

Unless the Rangers can win eleven of their final fifteen games this season, they will be out of the playoffs. Considering how tight the race is in the Eastern Conference, I feel they’ll need 98 points to secure a playoff spot. Based upon the last game in Carolina and the difficulty of their upcoming schedule, I do not believe in my heart of hearts that they will make it. Frankly, I’m past the point of caring if they do.

I usually dread this time of year. The clocks are moved ahead. St. Patricks Day is upon us. Spring summons the end of winter and thus the regular season. This year is especially more of burden for me because I have been sick with bad cold for the last two weeks. Then to top it all off, the exit of Tom Renney has secured me in the knowledge that the rebuild is over. All the good feeling built up over the last three seasons seems to have slowly drained out of my body.

And while some may accuse me of being melodramatic and negative, the only people I feel badly for  are the die hards and the “Kid Rangers”. I feel sorry for the fans in the Garden and on my favorite messageboards. And even though some of these very same people were among those calling for Renney to be fired, I don’t think they realize the full implication of that request.

Now both of the real architects of the rebuild, Renney and Maloney, are gone. In their wake we have Schoenfeld and Sather and a “leadership” group of players that I have no faith in or respect for. Somehow I can’t see Schoenfeld as the nurturer of young talent. Sather certainly hasn’t done a bang up job in drafting or signing talent, either. Tortorella might work out to be a good coach but that remains to be seen.

So, for those that still care about this season’s outcome, I sincerely hope that the Rangers make it to the Eastern Conference Final. I will be there to support the “kids” on the ice and wish them well. I’ll be there to support my kids in the section and cheer with them. I’m just sorry it can’t be with the same enthusiasm as in the past three seasons.

Posted under New York Rangers

Hopefully, this is the move Sather makes that will finally get him fired.

And, to those disloyal players currently on the Rangers (and they know who they are) who quit on Tom Renney and engineered his firing, enjoy your new head coach.  

Never mind bag skates and benching, Tortorella will call you out in the press and embarrass you publicly.

I can’t wait for the next time Torts tells Larry Brooks to go f*ck himself at a press conference.

Tortorella will throw chairs on the ice, verbally abuse officials, get fined and tossed out of games.

Sather, those players and Tortorella deserve each other. Dignity and respect has walked out the door with Renney.

This franchise is going to devolve into “Desperate Housewives”.

PS. I guess Avery isn’t in the plan after all. If he is, this will really turn into a three ring circus when Torts and his buddy Avery lock horns.

Posted under New York Rangers

There is much scuttlebutt around the blogosphere tonight saying that Tom Renney has coached his last game for the Rangers. If  true, tomorrow will be  a sad day.

Tom Renney has been the second winning-est coach in Ranger history.   He has coached this franchise back to respectability since 2005. The Rangers have reached the playoffs every season since he took over after a drought of 8 years.

The Rangers are currently10 games over .500. They are in 6th place in the Conference  with 29 games remaining.  His record speaks for itself:

Renney’s Coaching Record 2004 to 2009

Games Coached 318, Wins-162, Loses-96, OTL 40, Playoffs-3

Regardless of what anyone thinks of Renney, Sather is the architect of this team. Sather is the one who signed all these bad contracts. He is the one who should take the fall. We all know he won’t. He’s the Isiah of Hockey.

The Penguins lost 9 games in January. Everyone was saying Therrien had lost that team. He has Crosby, Fleury and Malkin among others. Do the Rangers have these caliber players?  The Penguins lost Hossa and Malone in the off season and Gonchar has been out injured. That’s their excuse. Therrien’s still there.

The Stanley Cup Champions just lost 5 games in a row but no one accused Babcock of losing his team. Babcock’s team is 1000% more talented then these Rangers. Babcock still has his job.

Does Renney have cup finalists on his team like Babcock or Therrien do? We all know that answer. The Rangers, as presently constructed, will  be lucky to make the playoffs.

I still say it’s the players. They didn’t give up last night. They never came to play in the first place. Maybe they are riddled with the flu but the fan base is sick of excuses.

Firing Renneywill make some fans feel better but it won’t turn things around this season. Players need to be moved or waived, starting with Gomez and Redden.

I say make Renney GM and get rid of Sather. Nine years of Sather’s malfeasance is enough.

If Renney is fired, I won’t be renewing my season subscription next year or any year until Sather is gone for good.

Posted under New York Rangers