Blue Notes

It's true, as fans, we kind of would like everything to be settled in the offseason, but there is no reason to believe we can't go into the season with what we have and make a trade during the season as we see what we really need and how different players progress and how other players in the league become available.

That being said, if I read the story tomorrow that Souray signed with us and we have a poweplay of Jagr, Gomez, Drury, Rosizval with Souray's cannon of a shot, why yes, I would get out of my chair and do the funky chicken.

lol...funky chicken, i've seen ppl do it, it aint purty.

i've wanted souray from the git, but im realistic and dont expect him to be here.

alternatives are a salo or a visnovsky. the PP needs help from the pernt. these gentleman have "laser beams in there freaking sticks".

if nothing else, i want sharks, "with laser beams on the freaking heads"?...lmao!!!

I think its obvious that we overreacted to Garth snow and the Islanders. Obviously, in hindsight, the waiting game paid off. Sather is spending his way to retirement, but, I dont really care. MSG is free, all tickets are corporate, and the blue seats dont exist. If it werent a traffic nightmare, I'd consider going to Isles games. They play the way the game should be played.

LOL

Obvious imposter, must have really gotten to him with the Billy Guerin stats.

yea fake jim,

if u call playin in front of 8000 ppl (on a good day), the way it should be played.

I keep going to the isles website because I have no friends. So, bear with me while I talk about why the Rangers rule like a 12 year old. If you know...

Hey imposter--the Rangers are going to try and buy the cup again....and nothing u can do about it.

Obviously coming from an Islander fan pissed off that the Rangers got the best items in the store and left the Isles with the crap nobody wanted!!!

Looks like the Rangers are losing Shanahan. May announce Sunday AM.

If that's true, gotta thank Brendan for everything. I really don't recall there ever being a Ranger impacting the team as much in just one season as he did.

Jim - do the numbers. we'll have to trade someone like Malik or Mara even w/o Souray to fit the cap. Then run the numbers for the following year. We'll let guys like Rozy or Tyutin go to fit the cap for Souray. Souray will get 4 yrs somewhere it would be the gift that keeps on giving in a negative way. Who would you want on your team Rozy or Souray? I just want him to sign with someone else so we can stop with this discussion. You're looking at it from a fantasy league perspective not real hockey with real budgets (ie cap) and not just for this yr but beyond. I can see Islander fans doing the funky chicken if we sign Souray as we would officially be in salary cap hell. I can only hope Sather is not that foolish.

I gotta admit, I actually like Souray.

Do the numbers? Do you think I haven't done the numbers? I have been doing this crap all day, I got absolutely no work done and you are telling me to do the numbers? LOL

Get rid of Malik and Cullen, in deals, saves 6 million, make Avery your 3rd line center, centering Dawes and Callahan.

Hossa-Gomez-Jagr
Straka-Drury-Prucha
Dawes-Avery-Callahan
Hollweg-Betts-Orr/Dubinsky

Rozsival-Staal
Souray-Tyutin
Mara-Girardi

Strudwick-Pock

That team would fit under the cap.

Hey Steve,

Is Sauer going to be good? Is Sanguenetti really that close?

Real Jim,

I usually agree with your opinions and ideas...but you're losing me on two things...

#1 - I don't think Souray would benefit us as much as the cap hit would hurt us. As fun as an idea as it is to picture him on the PP, it really just doesn't make sense.

#2 - Avery as a center on any line is not a good idea. His personality and effectiveness take a big downturn when he is at center. Not that he is a liability at center, but no where near the effective pest/ role-player he becomes running up and down the wing.

I really like Avery and hope we can keep him, but I just never liked the way he played the game while at center.

Here are my ideas to pick apart...absolutely need to trade Malik and combo of Prucha/ Hossa/ Straka or maybe a farm player to chicago for Seabrook or Florida for Boumeester. Jovo is getting too old/ brittle and comes at too high of a salary...Everybody wants to get rid of Cullen?? I think it's safer to at least wait until training camp to see how either Dubinsky or Asinimov (spelling?) have progressed before getting rid of a solid 3rd line center like Cullen. I really think he found his game again at the end of last year. Prucha and Hossa become a lot more expendable if Cherapanov is NHL ready this season...I think the two key players to sign are Lundqvuist (Obvious) and then Avery...and then see if Shanny can make it in under the cap. Then look into the trade ideas until training camp and go from there to get under the cap and ready for the season!!! I do agree with Jim about not needing every single piece in place on opening night. It is a long season after it starts. My hopes are that Staal is ready to step in and that all the Cheraponov hype is for real and our $7 million centers stay healthy!!

Gotta agree Jim, not a huge fan of souray. As for Lundqvist, steve do you have any idea when hell be signed. After what the oilers did, im not to happy with the fact that he hasent been signed yet.

USRF
Trade for Bouwmeister or Seabrook? For Prucha and Malik?? Why don't you just take Phaneuf off Calgary's hands? It's gonna take more than cast-offs to bring in those guys.

It would take a boat load of players/prospects to acquire Bouwmeester. I agree with that.

It would absolutely not take much more than Petr Prucha, who is not a "castoff" to get Brent Seabrook.

It would certainly not include Malik, Chicago doesn't want to add salary, but Prucha's numers in his first 2 seasons speak for themselves and he is only getting better.

Shanahan's arrival last season was arguably the biggest reason for Prucha's numbers going down. It took away from Prucha's powerplay time. If Shanahan is indeed not coming back, look for Petr Prucha to get back to the 30 goal mark again.

We need male cheerleaders at Ranger games. I'd go every night!

Jim - clearly you don't value what Cullen brings to the table nor do you really want to take into effect the cap hit in $ that Souray would cause not just the first yr but the life of the contract. do the numbers for the 2nd yr and see a guy like Rozy leaving on top of Cullen this yr for your boy Souray. It would be a mistake of epic proportions under the cap to sign Souray.

it certainly would take more than Prucha to yield Seabrook...he's 6'3 220...Prucha is built like a flagpole, he'll shatter after a few more years in this league. No GM in their right mind would make that deal.

TJ and Jim - you two are the two biggest losers ever. Commenting to each other on a Rangers blog at midnight on a Friday July night. Go out and do something you losers. Why are you home and at your computer at that time?

LI Joe,

don't be afraid of the youth.

Yes, Souray would be a bad fit financially, I grant you that.

But, lets not exaggerate Matt Cullen's importance now.

He is expendable with the additions of Gomez and Drury and he makes some nice bank himself.

We have two guys, who absolutely could handle playing third line center in both Avery and Straka. We have Dubinsky as well as a gang of other young forwards waiting for their chance.

I concede on Souray, it is a bad idea, but Matt Cullen is expendable, there is no doubt in my mind.

I like MSG, they have a play room with lots n lots n lots of toys. my uncle tommy lets me play there during shootouts. shootouts give me really really bad tummy aches. I'm the super duper blue power ranger, yay!

Some people here really are trying to buy themselves a fantasy team...People, for all of Souray's skills, there are draw backs. Our defesne isn't stellar as it is, why should we add a guy who was -28 last year? If Renney would wake up and play Cullen on the point (instead of Straka, Mara and Pock on the other unit), we've already upgraded.

Also, look at the moves Florida has made. They're gearing up, they aren't going to trade their best defenseman. Chicagos isn't going to give Seabrook up, either. Get real.

No one is taking Malik or Cullen. This is Malik's last year, here anyway. As for Prucha...Only an idiot would trade this guy. Unless we get bowled over, he has to stay. He scored 52 goals in his first 2 seasons, something no Ranger had done in about 15 years. Of all NHL player who averaged 13 minutes per game or less, Prucha has the most goals. If Renney would use him more wisely (instead of benching him and putting him on the 4th line), he's an easy perennial 30 goal guy. Why trade him?

Think people. Think.

Pete
Before you propose to Prucha, realize that the guy had 1 point in the playoffs this year...out of 30 Ranger goals, 1 point...the guy is expendable. One point in the playoffs the season before. That's why Sather is dangling him.

Agreed it would take more to get Bouwmeester, but I remember quite clearly Chicago wanting to do a Prucha for Seabrook deal all last year but they wanted us to take Cullenmore from them. Similar situation to us now needing to boot Malik.

I love Prucha as much as anyone...but if he is what the other team wants and we get to lose a big contract and get the good d-man in return, then you gotta use your head and not your heart. I think all this trade for a d-man talk is just until we see how good Staal is going to be. I only got to see him in one preseason game last year and I remember him obliterating someone into the side boards but got called for interference (a very border line call!!)

For people asking about Montoya's readiness...I live in Albany and went to quite a few Hartford vs. Albany games. Montoya got off to a bad start in about every game before going into shut down mode around the start of the 2nd period - He absolutely has the NHL skills, but seems to have trouble getting out of the locker room ready to stop the puck. I would in no way want him to be the starter anytime soon, which then probably leads me to think he is maybe more valuable in a trade instead of sitting on the bench all year or playing in Hartford the next five years.

I think its funny the fake jim from woodbury makes the joke about the rangers needing male cheerleaders when it is his team that needed to bring in the teen whore icegirls to bring in an extra ten or twenty drunk pigs to the game to yell stuff at the girls before littering the ice with their empty beer cups...and then to top it all off his team sends the little whores out to distract the pro-talent on the other team (Real classy move there Islanders)...Imagine turning on a basketball game and seeing the Knick city dancers telling Allen Iverson to get out of their way or whatever the icewhores were doing.

Well that's my rant for now...so enjoy the completely unfunny and repetitive "Jagr" comments to come for the rest of the day (and "get a life" says that Jim and tj need to get a life??)...I'm trying to think exactly what grade it was back in elementary school when I lost interest in poopy and pee-pee jokes.

this just in....

TSN and ESPN are reporting the Islanders have signed two more Icewhores to try and stop their 200 male season ticket holders from cancelling their subscriptions!!!!!!

too old for poopy and peepee jokes,huh? But those whore jokes are cool?? Now thats classy!

I post at midnight due to the fact that I work all day on weekends at Taco Bell. Say what ya want, I get free tacos(which, incidentally Steve Zipay shares with me). This is a Ranger blog and we should keep it that way. Lets stop the nonsense. My Mom read some of the comments and grounded me for the weekend.

The rags got 2 extreme forwards in Drury and Gomez. Trust me... these guys aren't Pavel and Lindros. They will play hard and actually make a difference... for years... no matter what they are saying on they NYI blog. I would love to have either one on the Isles, especially Gomez (my man works real hard along the boards). But in my opinion Henrik is the true MVP of the team, and should have been 1st priority to be locked up. It should be interesting to see how they work Avery and and Shanny. These 2 and Henrik need to be locked up. Maybe they should have went after just 1 mega-UFA and kept the good chemistry they had. Well, at least you're in better shape than the Isles TODAY. Its cool... we'll compete with you guys again this year... IN TED WE TRUST... I don't care who he's f***ing!

Ps- what up Jim... come over to the isles blog... the rest of your fans are embarrassing you bro.

I was the worst hockey player in the history of the sport, so now i post comments about the rangers. Because I have nothing better to do. What a loser!

I love the Rangers, that's why i hang out on their blog.

I guess this isn't the forum to have intelligent hockey talk... I can see why you come to our side jimmy

Peter,
I hear where your coming from pal. I personally wouldnt trade Prucha eaither. BUT if we could get Bouwmeester i would deffinityl trade prucha. Unfortunettly with our team right now Pruchas place is unceartin, and franklu Bouwmeester does his job very good and we can use a younger D man for years to come.
P.S: To whoever keeps posting on my name thanks. Ill take it as compliment

unfortunatly fellow true blue fans, i am sad to report that shanny is GONE. he felt disrespected by the lack of communication and signed a 1yr 3million contract after being called by guerin to skate with the isles. i hate the isles more than you'll ever know, but this just says dont f with a guy who played hurt for us most of last season.

i heard that 2 blue, it is breaking on tsn in canada, just got call from a buddy up there

unfortunately, it is accurate and just said the isles are trying to re-aquire mccabe for draft picks so the leafs can sign souray. very close i hear

im going to say thats an islanders fan. Checked tsn dont see anything.

now the isles got shanny and maybe mccabe, they are better than last year, and remember they had the 6th seed b4 all their injuries and would have steamrolled atlanta as we did. we could have easily played buff in the 1st round but thank god it happened the way it did. comparing now the 2 teams:

goalies=equal starters, isles better backup.

d-men-isles (as of now)

up front-if this is all true(close but isles are deeper)

sorry joe, are you watching in canada or the website. website is always 50-60 minutes behind. oh it happened. on my couch in TO watching now

deal was just a report, official announcment monday at isles presser. i am sooooo pisses at how shanny could do that to us

I find the reports of Shanny to the Isles hard to believe. And where is this nonsense that they get McCabe, too?

Also, Prucha having point in the playoffs doesn't bother me, sorry. ANd we aren't getting Bouwmeester out of Florida, you're all smoking crack.

Yeah you all who said that shanny was defecting were lying, good try though. And Peter did you think it possible for us to get Drury and Gomez? Nothings impossible my friend. But im pleased eaither way.

I knew it was BS.

I didn't think we'd get Drury and Gomez, but Shanny actually said he'd only play for the Rangers. I DOUBT he'd go to the Isles after saying that.

visnovsky is the guy we should get, he's unrestricted next season. he had 18 goals and 50 assists or something last year. they signed (L.A.) 2 offensive d-men so far (priessing and stuart), so lubomir is expendable. prucha and malik for visnovsky!! (if need be throw in a pick/prospect)..he's makin under 2 mill. maybe we can even sign him to a long term extension, so we dont lose him next year...HOP ON THE LUBOMIR BAND WAGON!!..TOOT TOOT!!

TJ i agree with you more because we wont have to give up the farm for him and his salary is less than 2 for the enxt two years. Plus hes pretty young too.

my god, why dosent any1 realize. shanny is waiting for the free agency period to run its course. he will be the last 1 signed, by the "rags". he stated he'll take an incentive laden deal, for the betterment of the club. he wants to be a ranger, thats why he is willing to do that. it also says alot about the mans character, if he's willing to do that. shanny isnt going anywhere, sry isle pukes.

joe,

u got glens number?...i wonder if he even looked into this guy. he's ozolinsh when he was in his prime..which aint bad by the way

i thought lubomir was UFA after next season, i may be wrong...som1 will tell us :)

TJ,
haha i wish i did because i have a few guys we should try to grab. My idea is this, give the kings mara and someone else for Visnovki, Vis is 1 million dollars cheaper, puts up MUCH better numbers and we would lose some salary cap. And im betting if we gave them montoya they would give alot back. EVen if they had to take some salary guys with him.

yeah TJ your right he is, nhlnumbers.com (which by the way is an amazing salary numbers sight) just updated, my bad

L.A defensemen

rob blake, jack johnson, tom priessing, jaroslav modry, brad stuart and lubomir.

malik would fit into them nicely, they could use a tall, lanky, ugly, who cant pass the puck, slow azz d-man, lol. seriously tho, the got alot of offensive d-men.

woodbury jim said that LA has a top goalie prospect, so i doubt they would want montoya

Jim - glad you saw the light on Souray hopefully Glen does as well. re Cullen - remember he can play the pt on pp, does the pk well with his speed, has a cup he was a solid contributor on his resume, offers us a very speedy 3rd line, is insurance if Drury is out a while with another concussion or Gomez with another groin injury. I'm not afraid of the youth except to start the season at a critical position of 3rd line center. I want Staal this yr and Sauer next year. other forwards to replace Shanny at the least next year. And injuries will happen - the youth will get plenty of chances. AND btw I really want the cup this year and if we play it smart and right we should be in the hunt. But not by using a rookie who's not ready as 3rd center or moving over Avery or Straka except in event of injury to another center.

Gord,

Guess what? I'm not an NHL franchise so I don't really need to be all that classy - I am more or less just responding to the insane amount of Islanders fans in here who are at this point just a nuisance.

I look forward to coming here and reading some trade rumors or fantasy trade ideas from fellow rangers fans and/ or knowledgeable & respectable fans of other teams...but every time I come back I have to go through 20 different ridiculous postings about how Gomez sucks and had 13 goals or how Shannahan just signed w/ Toronto or how Jagr is a super duper power ranger...If these people would leave then there would be no need for the proverbial "spitting" contest that inevitably happens when Rangers and Islanders fans disagree.

So was it rude to call the girls whores? Probably, but also not that far from reality when you take the meaning of the word and apply it to a female who is being paid to primp herself up and go out and parade herself around when she really is nothing more than a part of the janitorial/ maintenance staff. Then when these lower level employees actual begin to interfere with the game, it is beyond justifiable.

Back to actual hockey talk...I agree with those who have their eye on Visnovsky. Also agree that there is no need for concern when it comes to Shannahan. I am sure he and Slats have a verbal agreement that the Rangers will do what they can to fit him into the cap after all other ducks have been lined up...namely signing Lundqvuist and what do do about dumping some contracts.

At this point, Id rather the Rangers took care of their own (unrestricted) free agents, than go after Souray.

Bouwmeister isnt leaving Florida, by the way.

USRF
I believe it is within MSG that there are sexual harassment suits galore, so clean your own house before you spout off. As for Visnovsky, I don't know if your thinking of Vishnevsky but Visnovsky is not a UFA and going nowhere. You dig the Rangers, i don't...all cool. Lets just keep it intelligent.

Another Sat nite of pointless bickering among the Tri State buffoons. Look, Isles fans stick with their site, we stick with ours. There is no point to this drivel. Zipay is a great writer with large love handles...its all part of the beat. Lets all cuddle and pass gas on each other.

I think after this post I am done responding to any negative back & forth...

I do not live at MSG nor do I hire/ fire any MSG employee's. So why in the world would you transfer responsibility for that whole mess to me??? I believe one of the harassment charges is completely limited to Isaiah Thomas and one of his assistants (not even related to hockey, correct?) The other lawsuit is between the rangers dance squad/ cheerleaders and MSG management and I believe some sports writers (Nothing to do with the actual Rangers team nor the Cheerleaders having any contact with players on any other team) - so how does your comment about cleaning my house matter what so ever?? I was making reference to the islanders as an organization making an effort to draw attendance by putting young girls out on the ice in situations they don't need to be in. Intermission entertainment is one thing (Knick city dancers etc). Girls in skimpy outfits skating around the ice and attempting to distract players and therefor effecting the outcome of the game is quite another.

As for your last question...I was talking about Lubamir Visnovsky who is the d-man in LA - maybe I am spelling his name wrong and I know he is not a UFA - we Ranger fans were simply batting around ideas for possible trade options to upgrade our D and lose some salary at the same time. That's why we were discussing Malik and a young forward being shipped to different teams for young D-men we would like to see on our team. We realize 100% that a lot of the ideas/ wishes are just that and not likely to happen. But it is the beginning of July and we just had a very exciting start to a very long off season...so forgive us if we get a bit carried away with trade talks on a blog.

No hard feelings on this end...and like I said before, if the posters who are here to just cause trouble were to leave, I think you would find that there about four or five serious minded folks here who are just looking to kill some time and have a little fun playing GM for the summer - agreed?

Jim- are you insane? Yes, Zipay is a marshmellow, but, I dont want to smell your gas.

Other than DLR and VH reuniting, the greatest news from today would be if Zipster and company sat on my face---whew, what a load. Stay off our site.

USRF
No need to beat a dead horse with more back and forth...let's move on. I think you are doing Malik a diservice...the guy is not that bad and exactly the defensive presence needed on the backline (his +/- is evidence of that) but if everyone keeps getting on him he will be as ineffectual as Poti was.

As for you Jim...not an islander fan, a flames fan in NY. I'm entitled to be here as much as you, even though you may feel Glen Sather is going to ring your phone one day for your input on his next roster move.

Upstate-you are pathetic.

Why don't you guys leave Zip alone already. If you don't like what he writes don't come here. Most of you don't make any sence anyway. Are all Islander fans stoned?

I shouldn't even have to say this...that last post under "my" name was not me...not the first or last time I am sure.

Gord,

I was actually just thinking about how well Malik and Rosi paired two seasons ago...but I think our main point in discussing the Malik trade was because of the need to shave $$$ of total cap. Malik and Mara I believe are the two D making over $3mil. and I think Mara is the better player to hold onto for offensive upside. I really wouldn't mind if Malik stays and plays up to his potential, I really like the guy - but by the end of last season we had all tired of the give aways and lazy penalties he took. I think his +/- is a bit skewed if for no other reason but he played on a set unit of five players (jagr/ Nlys/ Straka/ Rosi) that played amazingly that whole year until Jagr decided to take a swipe at (ironically enough) Gomez.

I am watching SportsNetNY and they are teasing an upcoming story on the Rangers by saying, "The Rangers may be on the verge of losing Henrik Lundqvist." Does anyone here know what they're talking about? I have not seen any other media cover the decision to go to arbitration that way...

Never mind... SNY had no real news to add to the report about Lundqvist going to arbitration.

"Jim- are you insane? Yes, Zipay is a marshmellow, but, I dont want to smell your gas"

I wasn't on last night, as usual, someone posting under my name.

I take it as a tribute, if I never said anything that rattled people, no one would ever think to use my name.

Eventually, Newsday is going to have to do something so where we all sign in or something to post on these blogs.

Or call an internet exterminator, maybe that would help.

Today, Larry Brooks discusses Lundqvist arbitration as well as Rangers cap situation:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07082007/sports/rangers/rangers_cap_pinches_lundqvist_rangers_larry_brooks.htm

why does my tummy OUCH? it OUCHes here cause it OUCHed over there first. please make it stop. i dont like it here, but Michael says it feels better this way. I'm the super duper blue power ranger, and will always be until the OUCH stops, yay!

I have 3 guppies that Michael gave me. I really really really miss Michael. msg4ever, it makes me ouch during shootouts. I'm the super duper blue power ranger, yay!

LUNDQVIST AND AVERY TO ENTER REHAB.

I really think that there are a few players we can drop in order to make cap space. IF Staal works out Mara can be and should be dropped because hes not work 3 Million against the cap. This should probably be maliks last year if he stays because we should have annother defenseman on the way after this seaon. If neither of them (malik and mara) come back or depart during the season that opens up areoung 5.50 of salary cap space.

CORRECTION...

PRIOR REPORT MAY BE PREMATURE

I don't think you can drop Mara even if Staal works out. Your top three Defensemen appear to be Rosival, Mara and Malik.

Adding Stall and plugging him in as a top 4 still doesn't make those guys expendable. I think if the Rangers did nothing but shore up their blue line they'd be better of next year.

I'm not certain that adding Drury and Gomez was nothing than a move to appese the season ticket holders. Winners are built from the goal on out. Not from the forwards, Skip the D and then the goal.

The Rangers are going to be giving up a ton of oddman rushes this year. Not to mention possibly an average of 7 extra shots a game.

There are plenty of Dmen available. I'm surprised the Rangers are making any moves for any of them.

I disagree firmly. Gomez and Drury take care of their own zone. As a result its almost like having two extra defenseman. Its not like we got two Jagrs, (hey i love the guy to death and hes amazing but defensivly he lacks) we got two guys that can be offensive powerhouses and play good defensivley. And to anyone whos going to say offensive powerhouse?? He had 13 goals! That was on the devils, hell score 30 this year on a line with Jagr and Straka. As for Drury there really isnt any knock on him so ...

I haven't looked up Gomez's stats yet. Drury finished last year as a +1 player. He was a -11 the year before.

His first season in Buffalo he was a +8 following a -9 in Calgary.

Drury is not a guy that takes care of his own end. He is not going to fix any defensive lapses on this team. I'cve watched this guy from when he played here at BU.

Backchecking is not his forte.

wow we signed gomez and drury now all we need is a d man

Druey was a monster penalty killer last year. You cant exaclty count on some of his plus minus numbers because the team may have sucked. Ill give you he had a rough year last year. But its not like this guy is compleatly unaware of his own end. Overall he is a + 13

Let me go---I'm scared of Aron.

Let me go---I'm scared of Arron.

Let me go---I'm scared of Arron.

your retart