Some Things Never Change

by Mark Owens Let’s get one thing out of the way: Chris Drury will be the second-best captain the Rangers have had in the past 30 years. He is more than ready to lead this team, especially with seven new players and legends Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan out of the picture. The team’s average age is now 26, down from […]
Turnover, Speed, and Leadership Void

by Mark Owens Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, along with Henrik Lundqvist, take over as the team’s leaders. Jagr’s offensive production ‘ hopefully ‘ will be replaced by the speedy, enigmatic, underachieving, high first-round pick Nikolai Zherdev (sounds a little like Alex Kovalev, doesn’t it?). Replacing Shanahan’s 23 goals, theoretically, will be Markus Naslund, whose production the past two seasons has […]
Pennywise And Pound Foolish

Going into today’s annual free agency period, I was relatively calm. The Rangers had several key players free to sell their services to the highest bidder, but the Rangers appeared in a relatively decent position cap-wise and had some room to make some deals to improve the team. On top of the wish list was […]
No Such Thing As A ‘Free’ Agent

In a way it’s ironic that the NHL and NHLPA use the terms “Free” Agency. Judging by some of the projected offers for the few marquee players on offer, they’re about as far afield from that designator as you can be and still sign a valid contract. Tampa Bay (complete with new ownership) has gotten […]
Be Patient Brendan

Do the Rangers really have interest in Mats Sundin or not? According to the NY Post, Glen Sather is considering bringing him in to center Jaromir Jagr in what would possibly be the oldest first line in the league. By contrast Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that no substantive discussions have taken place, and Leafs interim GM Cliff Fletcher describes the […]
Draft Tonight

Plenty of news today for the Rangers, on account of the NHL entry draft, and of course the counter claim by the NHL that has the potential (albeit unlikely) to take over the Rangers’ franchise from the Dolans. First the Draft. As mentioned yesterday, you catch the first round tonight on Versus in the US […]
Critical Decisions

by Steven Zeltser This offseason is going to be critical for both the organization and Sather himself. There are many decisions to be made. Do they bring back their captain, Jaromir Jagr? If so, who else from the Jagr entourage must be signed? Straka? Rozsival? Malik? Does Shanahan have another year in him and is his […]
Jagr Would Like To Return

Jaromir Jagr wants to extend his tenure on Broadway and has told reproters that the Rangers are his number one choice. Whether he (and Brendan Shanahan) return will be largely up to what Glen Sather wants to do financially and strategically. It’s expected that while Jagr has indicated he’d like to return, there’ll still be competition for Jagr’s services, both in the NHL and […]
Stunned By Ending

Well the season as you know is over, following yesterday’s 3-2 OT defeat by the Penguins in Game 5. Marcel Hossa scored two goals in the game, including the OT winner to send the Penguins onto the Eastern Conference Finals. It was a game effort by the Rangers, who fought back from a 2-0 third period deficit and killed off a late […]
Progress Made, Changes Needed

by Mark Owens Despite bowing out in round two again and perhaps wasting their final season with Hall-of-Famers-to-be Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan, the Rangers’ season was mostly successful, due to the development of rookies Marc Staal, Brandon Dubinsky, Nigel Dawes and Ryan Callahan. Lauri Korpikoski scored a goal in his NHL debut Sunday, and is one of several rookies with a chance to make […]