Former Rangers Killed In Crash
Reports out of Russia today that a plane carrying the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv hockey team has crashed, killing at least 43 people. Reportedly on the plane were former Ranger defensemen Karel Rachunek and Alexander Karpovtsev, as well as former Ranger draft pick Jan Marek. The team were flying to Minsk, in Belarus for their KHL season opener and reportedly clipped a […]
Artie Facts
It’s getting that time of year again, when the players get back on the ice and the pucks begin to drop. Already some Ranger prospects are in action and so we feel it’s time to get the party started with a new series this year. With just under seven weeks to go until the October […]
Grass Isn’t Always Greener
As of March 3rd, 2009, the Rangers sat in eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, six points out of home ice advantage for at least one round, and just one point ahead of the ninth placed Hurricanes. With just eighteen games remaining, the Rangers are not focused on building momentum for the playoffs, but are […]
Rangers Must Dump Malik NOW
by Mark Owens The Rangers had every reason to get rid of Malik before he disrespected one of his biggest allies, who just happens to be the team’s head coach and bench leader. Malik’s play has rapidly deteriorated, with the home fans’ relentless abuse playing a role in his demise. But now that Renney’s already […]
Training Camp – Defense
Going into camp this year, the Rangers blueline corps are largely unchanged from the same unit that finished out the season. Karel Rachunek (free agency) and Bryce Lampman (trade) were the only two blueliners with NHL experience who won’t return, while the addition of Andrew Hutchinson (trade) appears to be for depth rather than impact. Of the six starting spots, five […]
A Trip Across The Atlantic
The July 1st free agency frenzy is past and camp is still almost two months away. Yep, this is definitely the doldrums of the NHL season, and it only takes a look at the number of discussions about potential lines and the relative value of those players that filed for arbitration to know that we’re […]
All Aboard!
Back on January 31st I made the proclamation that the Rangers season was over and they should now become sellers at the trade deadline. The team had just lost 2-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs and had fallen to 10th place in the East. It wasn’t so much that they were out of the race […]
For Sale
In my last column I approached the impending trade deadline (February 27th) as if the Rangers would be buyers. Given their fortunes since, and taking the position that recent comments by General Manager Glen Sather to the New York Post are indeed trustworthy, then it is perhaps not so far out of the question that […]
Balance Of Trade
The NHL trade deadline (February 27th – 3pm Eastern) is just over a month away and there’s been only limited movement to date. Of course the NHL salary cap has been largely singled out as the culprit for the lack of player movement, after all there are a number of General Managers in the league […]
The Story So Far…
With the benefit of reflection (and a good deal of hindsight) I have come to the conclusion that last year indeed was a fluke. The planets aligned, it was a perfect storm…call it what you will, but the Rangers finally had fortune on their side and that, more than anything else, enabled them to have […]