Rozsival To Have Surgery
Michal Rozsival will have surgery on his hip to repair a torn labrum. The surgery is being described as “clean-up” work and is expected to have no lasting impact on his play. Rozsival is set to become a UFA on July 1st, with no word on what the Rangers’ strategy might be with their leading scorer from the […]
Rangers More Playoff-Ready This Time
by Mark Owens Since last season, the Rangers have improved more than 25% of their roster: 1. Chris Drury and his incomparable playoff resume is clearly a better option than Matt Cullen, despite Cullen’s excellent performance in the 2006 playoffs with the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes. Ranger fans await Drury’s first pressure goal. 2. Marc Staal is a huge […]
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 […]
You Passed The Quiz, Now Here’s The Test
by James DeBerardine Hey All, thanks for stopping by. This week From the Pulpit will be analyzing the Rangers camp decisions and discuss the early part of the season’s calendar. The final cuts at the end of camp are always especially hard to make; this year Nigel Dawes became the latest victim. I found this surprising because […]
You Got A Cannon, I Got A Tank
by James DeBerardine Hey again, this week I’d thought I would give you a rundown of teams in the East we should watch out for this season, some are constants, while others are new threats. Pittsburgh Penguins: During the off season they certainly got older, adding Petr Sykora and resigning Roberts and Recchi, while all of their […]
Hard Roster Decisions Remain
by Mark Owens With three preseason games remaining, Tom Renney and staff face some difficult roster decisions. There are still 33 players in camp vying for 23 roster spots. Which 11 players will be cut? To answer this question, start by looking at which players are most likely to make the team. The following veterans […]
Training Camp – Center
Going into July 1st, there were nothing but questions as to who would play center for the Rangers. Negotiations with Michael Nylander had gone nowhere, Matt Cullen had proved to be only a minimal improvement over Steve Rucchin and the Rangers had finished the season using Sean Avery as a stop gap second line center. Less than 24 hours later and the situation […]
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 […]
Petr Prucha and the Scorers of the Red Arc
by Matt Waxman In his first season in the NHL, Petr Prucha opened a lot of eyes with 30 goals in only 68 games. This past season, as a result of his great performance, expectations were very high, but with only 22 goals and 40 points Prucha’s most recent campaign was a bit of a let down. […]
Avery Arbitration Ruling Accepted
After an apparent acrimonious arbitration hearing on Monday, the Rangers have elected to accept today’s ruling for a $1.9 million one year contract to bring Sean Avery back into the fold. The signing means the Rangers have only one restricted free agent left unsigned, and it appears at this stage that Jarkko Immonen will not return to North America. […]