Blue Notes

I believe this was already discussed and I am replacing him.

I think Brendan Shanahan would be perfect.

I think he is a future head coach and this would be perfect for him, I don't think he wants to leave NY and this is the best transition.

I think Theoren Fleury would be a good assistant coach for this group

Ho about Adam Graves? I think he would be perfect.

I think Gernander has certainly earned a chance given the great job he’s done the past three years in Hartford. I would still think though that Schoney and Renney would want him there. I think Kenny will be the next Rangers Head Coach after Renney’s time is up…whenever that is. They may really want him down there to work with the new crop of guys coming in.

But one name that you didn’t throw in there that this would be great for would be either Adam Graves or how about even Brian Leetch who has said that he wanted to get into coaching on a smaller scale before going after something like a Head job. I think he might be ideal both from a coaching standpoint and also from a marquee as well…

Mitch Beck hit the nail on the head perfect.

I wouldn't mind Shanny

Graves is a good choice also.

How about the current Rangers GM relinquishes his post to become a bench assistant coach. Of course he would still be over-matched.

as long as there's someone on the bench who can really help the young players and help renney with some minor things like creating a top ten power play with the talent they have (or will get from free agency)

I think Strudwick would be good, everyone loves him and he seems to have a really good eye and feel for the game.

richter for gm

Pearn was responsible for the PP, as this was one of his coaching responsibilities. May not be a coincidence that he is looking for another job. Who ever is the repalcement needs to have a PP pedigree. Shanny is a good choice as is Graves. Too bad Mess doesn't want to get into coaching, he and Renney wouldn't be on the same staff however.

Hey everyone
i know its a little off topic but Kolzig says hes done in Washington
what would you think (hypothetically) if he signed as backup to the rangers if Vally decided to persue elsewhere

just to try and open a discussion

jon, makes no sense at all.

Pearn, if you are truly the one in charge of the PP then good, leave, I wish all 4 of them gone. But I am 90% sure it was Pelino responsible for the PP.

And if we are to sign a new assistant coach then I want somebody with a clue and experience so maybe some ex coach like Bob Francis, Ftorek, Hartley, etc.

whomever was responsible for the PP can go wherever they like, so long as it is far, far away from the rangers bench.

SHANNY FOR COACH

Quinneville for coach

Thoughts about Pens gm 1, the ice in Pitt is really a joke. Rarely did the puck sit down all night, it is truly laughable to watch the puck bounce and roll around like these guys are playing on an outdoor pond. The Ice in Buffalo for the outside gm was far superior to any ice that Pitt has during any home game. Secondly, Pitt must lead the league in offsides goals, it seems they score at least one per game. Do the linesmen even watch the Pens? Maybe its the ice, ha! Of course I know both teams have to play on the poor ice, yet if you do it 41 times per year it becomes an advantage, as you know the puck is going to bounce, stick and roll and you make the necessary adjustments.

Jon - actually Kolzig makes a ton of sense.

I am not confident when Valiquette is in goal. Every shot feels like it could go in no matter how routine the save should be.

Kolzig is a solid vet, a 'good soldier' from everything I've ever heard about him and I think Lundqvist could use the challenge of knowing the other guy is good enough to start every night if he has to.

Plus it in insurance against Lundqvist getting hurt.

If he goes down for any lenght of time, the season is done.

Kolzig makes absolutely no sense unless he wants to lose about 4 million in salary. He has been making almost $5.5 mill per year and I don't think he is interested in playing ten games a season for $750,000.

Now for my roster and the possibility of getting it under the cap. My #'s are pretty rough as I really just wasn't interested in spending the time to get all the salaries absolutely accurate. Maybe somebody with more time can tweak the #'s a bit but I am at least close to be under the cap...and here we go.

Drury $7
Gomez $7
Hossa $7.5

Avery $3.5
Dubinsky $.5
Callahan $.5

Dawes $.5
Anisimov $.5
Prucha $1.5

Shanahan $2
Korpikowski $.5
Orr/ Moore $.5

Redden $5.5
Staal $1

Orpik $3.5
Baranka $.5

Tyutin $2
Girardi $1.5

Lundqvist $7
Valiquette $.5
........................
Total Cap Hit $53 million

I believe the ceiling is to be about $55-56 this year. So I know some #'s are off but I am closer than I even thought when I initially posted that roster. And you could lower it more by having another "kid" instead of shanny or maybe doing something like sign Ryder and Malone for less then what Hossa would cost. And then hopefully go all out for Malkin as an RFA after next season.

Thoughts?

I'm assuming Kolzig sees that he's been around 17 years and is not a number 1 anymore... unless he goes to Toronto

Your name says it best!
I don't know about any of you but i can't root for the flyers. As much as I dislike Pit I hate the flyers. In fact i hate them so much I rooted for the russians when they played and made the NHL look bad.
Pern was in charge of the non pp. He should be gone whether he gets the coachs job or not!!!!

Kolzig couldn't stop the puck in Washington, why do you think they went out at the deadline to get someone who could give them a chance. Vally is as good a back up option as the Rangers could ever find. Why exactly would you want to change a good thing? He is inexpensive and he gets the job done, and you want to bring in an over priced washed up vet, exactly why? Kolzig is not only a no1 anymore he is no longer an NHL goaltender period.PS even he feels it is time to retire, so again why are you thinking he could help the Rangers? Joke,I like the thought of Malkin in 2yrs, yet your roster has left off Jags and you can bet that Sather is going to sign him for at least 1 yr, possibly 2, it is Shanny that is gone and many of your 500K guys will get a little bump. I also beleive that Sather is NOT going to resign Avery, this will be a painful surprise for many fans, yet I think they are going to let him walk unless he gets in for 2.5 or less. SO, if he really wants to be in the Apple, Sean is going to have to give a hometown discount. Otherwise he gets his 3.5 or more in some other city and the Rangers use the money in FA. PS if they can get Malone and a Ryder then Avery is gone anyway. He is not a Power forward and he is not a 30 goal scorer, he is however an injury liability at present. The last injury cost him some serious change in the market place. It would have been better to have the spleen removed than to have the potential of the same injury recurring. The guy is an injury waiting to happen, and you can't put big money in that. Sather learned this lesson with Eric.

PS joke, you are missing Betts and the Rangers signed him to an extension this past season. He is not going anywhere. Betts is a lock to be 4th line center. Also Prucha is wasted money so you can probably remove his hit as Rangers will move him one way or another. I also do not think the Rangers will go after Hossa, I beleive that they will focus on power forward and big time offensive D men. This along with maybe a character addition in the forwards. The 3 center locks are Drury, Gomez and Betts, the other slot is open for comp and possibly wit hthe right center addition in FA, Drury moves to the wing. The bet is that Sather resigns Jags and goes for the power forward and D solutions with FA's.

HABS INSIDE/OUT want to invite all Yank cute boys to their site for a wekend of fun. Trivia show, with games and prizes. When you visit, touch yourselves first. Ahhh.

this lineup is well under the cap and gives flexibility to pick up a good vet closer to the deadline:

Dawes-Dubinsky-Malone (~~6.5 mil)
Drury-Gomez-Avery (~~17.8 mil)
Fedotenko-Anisimov-Callahan (~~4.5 mil)
Byers-Moore-Korpikoski (~~2.3 mil)

Sjostrom
Orr
(~~1.3 mil)

Staal-Girardi (~~2.3 mil)
Orpik/Commodore/Redden-Sanguinetti (~~6.5 mil)
Tyutin-Baranka (~~3.2 mil)
Potter (~~.5mil)

Lundqvist
Valiquette
(~~7.5 mil)

total is ~~52.4
if some extra bonuses of Shanahan got carried over then add extra 2-3 million.

MSG,

I like some of your ideas, but not the Jagr anymore. After the playoffs I was pretty high on Jagr but I have had time to rethink that. A few articles I read say that it's a strong possibility that Jagr tanked throughout the year to guarantee that he wouldn't have the contract kick in. Then he shows what he is capable of in the playoffs to guarantee a bigger FA contract. I hate the fact that I can't say that isn't the truth. So many times throughout the season I was screaming at the TV for some stupid thing Jagr was doing. Like a bad blind pass or a lazy long line-change. Or more than anything, when he would basically glue himself to the half boards for 1:30 of a PP. So the Hossa idea was purely to get a legit 1st line scorer.

I totally see your points on Ryder and Malone leading to not needing Avery, and I actually like the looks of that line-up. It's just that I am partial to what Avery brought to the team. And I would hate to see him go to a team that we then face all year.

I did leave Betts out, didn't know about the contract extension. So let's say he goes to 4th line center and Anisimov and Korpikowski fight it out for 3rd line, or one of them lands on a wing. Which then means you are probably even more right about prucha going down to Hartford or out of town completely.

Bob,

You know my thoughts on Fedentanko and the fact that islanders505 wants him off the islanders should say a lot. Other than that I like your line-up except I don't think Sanguenetti will get a look much longer than training camp.

so I say lets find a good mix between our three suggestions and we should have a solid team.

why does everyone want drury to play the wing he had a top face off percentage. if u have the puck u can score if the other team doesnt have the puck they cant score

Matt,

I believe he had his better offensive seasons on the wing, I could be wrong and I do agree with you about his face-off ability. But Rangers are stocked at center so you are asking either Drury or Dubinsky to be limited to 3rd line minutes at center.

how's this?

Drury Gomez Ryder
Malone Dubinsky Callahan
Dawes Anisimov Korpikowski
Byers (or FA?) Betts Moore/ Orr

Redden Staal
Orpik Baranka
Tyutin Girardi

Lundqvist
Valiquette

I think this might be too young and inexperienced of a line up. I still don't see a problem with Shanny at 4th line LW but I would give to a kid who shows they want it at camp.

o.k....put sjostrom in at 4th line LW and we go big for Malkin after next season.

and Backman in for Baranka if it makes Lundqvist happier.

Shanny would be a great choice although I would love to see him play another year...!

islanders505 is just 1 fan, and I did shut him up with the facts--he was saying that Rolston hits and Fedotenko doesn't, I proved him wrong, so he could be wrong. But in any case Fedotenko would be here for just 1 or 2 year deal. And look at most of Fedotenko's goals he goes to the net pretty hard, can score garbage goals and can score pretty ones and not bad at deflections.

I don't know if Sanguinetti is ready or not. If he isn't then play Potter in his place and Liffiton or Pock in Potter's place.

Betts has to be traded, or we are not going anywhere, we cannot afford to have zero offense from the 4th line. And whoever plays with him will not score, will lose his confidence and will lose his value. I cannot believe you people think Betts is a great player. Even Drury and Shanahan can kill penalties, no need to have a guy who can't do anything except killing penalties.

"why does everyone want drury to play the wing he had a top face off percentage. if u have the puck u can score if the other team doesnt have the puck they cant score"

Because wingers can take faceoffs. Because Centers have to be great playmakers/passers.

"and Backman in for Baranka if it makes Lundqvist happier."

Screw Lundqvist's happyness. If you want to make him happy trade for his twin.

"Shanny would be a great choice although I would love to see him play another year...!"

go away, troll.

And don't tell me Betts is a tom shot blocker. in 05-06 he only had 58 shotblocks in 66 games and this season only had 49 in 75 games.

His faceoff was only 50.3 and has been dropping with each season.

*top shot blocker

Buh Bye Pern. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. Nice tie!

Kocur, why do you blog at Habs inside/out and Dykes on Bikes.com then come here and Rag Fag with us.

The GMHL, Gay mens hockey league is having a tourney at CHelsea Piers from Jun 8th-July 15th. All fans interested, let us know , just post a comment here and leave us your E-Mail address forapplications.

bob,

what im saying is why not leave dubi gomez and drury at the center position. having three very guys who ca win face offs is an advantage.

Matt, I see what you are saying, but you don't really know if Anisimov, Moore, and Korpikoski are good at faceoffs, and really 2% difference isn't going to make as much difference as having all 4 centers that are good playmakers.

Whos the troll?

Who's the troll??

Thanks for the E-Mail Koc, I already enrolled for the GMHL.

let me rephrase that. We don't really know yet how Anisimov, Moore, or Korpikoski are at faceoffs. They might turn out to be very good.

The 4th line hasn't done any scoring in 3 yrs, nor by the way does many other teams 4th lines. So the scoring issue is really a moot point. The 4th line is a defensive and energy issue. Any scoring is simply a plus. Betts is a totally responsible centerman. This along with his PK duties more than makes up for his lack of offense. Also as Renney loves the guy he is going no where. The 4th line center is a lock with Betts. 4 centers pretty much in place, so the newbies will have to really impress to find a center role. Drury's flexibility is only possible opening.

Fourth lines dont score, knucklehead, they are for CHecking the other teams top line. Learn some hockey before you post.Betts and Hollweg are terrible players that simply take up space. We had something going against the Pens until he took that stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid penalty. Renney has gay issues too.

3rd lines are for checking other teams' top lines. 4th lines are for energy and for developing rookies and some scoring. Renney aka the Clueless One has it all assbackwards.

And the checking line still has to be good offensively or else it is pointless. If team A plays their scoring line 20 minutes a game and team B tries to shut them down with a line that cannot score then team B will lose

"This along with his PK duties more than makes up for his lack of offense."

almost anybody can kill penalties as good or better or slightly worse than Betts, sorry but that doesn't justify this turd taking up a roster spot.

"Also as Renney loves the guy he is going no where."

wow great logic. If an idiot coach loves a garbage ECHL player then we should all shut up and not criticize either of the two.

Betts is beyond useless: he hits like a girl, doesn't hit enough, has no toughness or mean streak, average on faceoffs, can't pass at all, no offensive awareness, makes his linemates worse than they are, a minus player every season, not bad PKer, but almost anybody could do it with some practice. And on top of that this zero is standing in the way of development of good promising young players like Anisimov, Moore, Korpikoski, and Byers.

If you thing Betts is a shutdown center then you are nuts because he is -10 in 22 playoff games. He is a failure. He is one of the reasons I wish Renney dead.

Betts and his line allowed at least 12 even strength goals in 22 playoffs games and probably close to that amout on the PK. This pretender is the main reason other than Renney that we suck in the playoffs.

Bob, we appreciate your ideas in improving a team, and want you to visit Habs inside/out on trivia night and give the fans there, as well as myself a list on how Montreal can improve for next year, which is the Habitants 100th anniversary year. I may have to move Kovalev or Koivu and sign a free agent. What do you suggest? Bring your friends too.

Whose using my name. I still dont understand why people say the 4th line is used for energy and checking the other teams top line. If you have the ability to throw out 4 lines that can score why not. This game is all about speed and putting the other teams d on their heels. Instead of throwing out a 4th line who can only play decent d , by using a line that can score he wears down the other teams d.

Betts had a whopping 7 points in 75 games!

lets look at it this way centers that averaged LESS icetime per game than Betts:

Andrew Murray 10 points in 39 games
McAmmond 22 points in 68 games
Perrault 14 points in 53 games
Beech 11 points in 25 games
Chipchura 11 points in 36 games
Linden 12 points in 59 games
Grabovsky 9 points in 24 games
Primeau 10 in 43 games
Tlusty 16 points in 58 games
Craig MacDonald 11 points in 65 games
Lundqvist 14 points in 55 games
Curtis Brown 9 points in 33 games
Goc 8 points in 51 games
Sheppard 19 points in 78 games
Ryan Carter 8 points in 34 games
Slater 13 points in 69 games
Pouliot 7 points in 24 games
Peverley 10 points in 33 games
Brule 9 points in 61 games
Michael Ryan 8 points in 46 games
Boyd 12 points in 48 games
Kopecky 12 points in 77 games
Lindstrom 7 points in 25 games
Mair 17 points in 72 games
Sobotka 7 points in 48 games
Dowd 10 points in 73 games
Nokelaineen 10 points in 57 games
Tarnasky 10 points in 80 games
Rupp 9 points in 64 games
Bass 4 points in 21 games

Where is Terry Schonefeld now? Figured he or Gernander would do it. Can't just throw a Shanahan or Strudwick in without having them in the AHL first!

Good. Let him f up the power play somewhere else!

Bob...your stat regarding Betts and shot blocks is misleading. Keep in mind that most of those blocks are on the PK, so when you look at it in that respect it is pretty impressive.

A centre's job during 5 on 5 is support down low in the zone...the wingers are the ones that are on the points blocking the shots.

I agree that Shanny would be a great coach someday, however I think his aspirations may be a little different. There is a school of thought among the media in Canada that Shanny would be a great candidate for a front office position in the NHL, and after his participation during the lockout on the rule changes etc. there was a lot of talk among some big media players that he could be a future commissioner of the league.

As far as Kolzig goes, I think he still has something to offer however if he wanted to be a backup, he would still be in Washington.

Lastly for those who think that Jags tanked in the regular season so that he could be a free agent, I think you are way off. He struggled at the start of the year, and was probably frustrated knowing that he had to hit a point total this year to extend his deal. Then he knew that winning a Conn Smythe in the playoffs was his only ticket to extending his contract, so he put everything into that. I am sure that he would rather have a guaranteed $8+ million in his jeans right now as although he can probably get that in Russia, he wants to play in the NHL and I could be wrong but I don't think anyone is going to pay him that.

Sadly, when Jags ends up wearing a Red Wings jersey next season many Ranger fans will be eating crow. The Cup is probably getting ready to be lifted by Detroit this season and they have no problems pulling the trigger on making their team better. They seem to be able to play with defensive discipline and push the puck up ice, a very novel strategy wouldn't you say. Renney has modeled the Rangers after his love affair with the Devils. Tom would be better served by mirroring Detroit. Hopefully he is watching. How is it that every season Detroit can keep the puck out of the net and also fill the other net? How is it that they can have a #1 or 2 PP and also lead the league in Goals against? Because they pull the trigger and improve the team constantly. They also seem to develop core role players who consistently know and play their role. Renney should be using this as a model. Hell, Shanny is right in the locker room, clearly he knows how the Red Wings do it. Jags will produce quite well in Det and could have done the same in NY had Renney simply let him push the puck. The reason I don't think Jags will stay is because he knows Renney is not going to change his philosophy that the Rangers must win every game 2-1. It is this philosophy that has slowed this teams development. If this continues then the Rangers will consistently be fighting for a playoff berth late in the season and then relying on winning 1 goal games to a Stanley Cup. As Detroit clearly proves you need to be able to win the 2-1 game but you can't rely on doing it every night. You need to push the puck and go on the offensive, and have a defensive discipline based upon hard diligent work every night. I can only hope that Staher signs the Offensive D man to QB the power play and the power forward to create havoc in front of the net. Also would be nice to pick up some new role players who are willing to pay the price every night.

"Bob...your stat regarding Betts and shot blocks is misleading. Keep in mind that most of those blocks are on the PK, so when you look at it in that respect it is pretty impressive."

no, 49 blocked shots are not impressive, 31 forwards in NHL have more. Betts is one of the worst player in NHL, he is worthless and useless.

The Rangers and Canadiens are talking a big trade, according to CBC, and TSN Jagr and Drury would go and we would get Kovalev back along with defenseman Streit and somone named Chipchura. Supposedely, an exchange of two draft picks is also being discussed.

The reason Detroit is good is They barely have or develop any prospects, instead they draft European players in their early/mid 20's who are already developed and mature. They also sign or trade for vets who never won a Cup and are hungry to win it before their career ends.

Hi Bob
I would like to play in the GMHL tournament. I think my spleen should be better by then and I’ve been playing on a GMHT for almost two years now.

When Betts was hurt the Rangers killed 23 / 24 penalties.

Whoever said they should've removed Avery's spleen...that's a parody of stupidity, right?

"When Betts was hurt the Rangers killed 23 / 24 penalties."

Tell it to these idiots: http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=515340

They are in love with the guy, they think he is the best 4th liner, the best PKer, is irreplaceable and should be resigned for many many years.

Detroit plays like the Soviets from 20 years ago, five men playing as one, and they get the puck moving out of their zone in a flash, and get to the offense quickly.

How's the golf game coming guys?

I PLya flog withs Tigre Woulds and me like seen aveey he cute and cuttly

black n gold,

i am going to pittsburgh in august. any restaurant recommendations and nightlife suggestions for 23 yr old guys. thanks

So Steve tells how you are going to feel working for Mr Dolan???
Maybe you can ask for a multi-million dollar contract....

For a player in a collision sport the spleen injury is better to have a ruptured and removed spleen then it is to have an injured spleen and the future renewal of this injury. PS you can live quite successfully without your spleen. However once your spleen is lacerated or injured it is quite likely that more physical abuse, ie: collisions will damage your spleen once again. So, for an athlete once you face this type of injury ot would be better to have the spleen removed. A lacerated spleen is a prescription for a revisiting of the injury in this type of sport. Get used to it, it is a rare injury, yet in a collision sport it is the type of injury that can and probably will reoccur. Thus it is better to have the Chris Simms full removal, if you plan to play full contact sports. Bottom line is this injury is NEVER a good thing and probably will lead to further difficulty regardless of the surgical outcome. It is just one good reason not to invest major dollars into Avery. PS for the moron who posted the trade for Jags, maybe he doesn't realize Jags is a FA in several weeks, why would a club actually give up a player to get someone they could sign as a FA? Great for the Rangers yet stupid for any other club. Also the Rangers have no intention of trading Drury, that is just real guesswork there. The whole rumor is STUPID! It is not even a reasonable rumor.

You guys better enjoy this blog while you can. Once Cablevision completes the purchase on Newsday, I kinda doubt Dolan would allow critics. So, for Steve Zipay and the rest of the writers, I suggest polishing up your resumes, or face the future of writing vanilla-laden articles. If you want a look at your future, take a look at what's become of MSG Network. Btw, if there are any woman at Newsday.... ah, the punchline is too easy.

Kocur,this is the real vincea and I am sorry someone used my name to insult you. This is getting rediculous that these no balls people have to use someone else's name to insult someone. Any off the wall comments aren't comming from me just some a-hole who doesn't have the balls to do it under his real name.
Some of the names being bantered around that the Rangers should sign or will sign are scary. Thats all we need more soft players on this already soft team. Grit,sandpaper and nastiness is what we need not soft eruo's that aren't worth crap. But again we are at the mercy of cigarpuss so who knows what we will get. Hopefully Shoney will have some say on who we get,thats our only hope.

Zippy, how about some updates on the Worlds or other playoff action ???? There is other hockey going on outside of NY.

Sorry, but the Pens and Flyers appear to be playing in SLo mo in comparison to Det and Dallas. The Pens are getting ready to get whipped by Detroit. Don't think it will be much of a series. The West is still obviously better than the East. I also agree that it is idoitic to post under others names and insult people. At least put your insults out there under your own identity. Opionions are great and obviously everyone has one, yet the ISLES fans are usually the immature group who comes onto other blogs (as their team has none) uses other peoples identities and thinks they will create havoc. Simply idiots being idiotic.

No sweat Vincea. I figured it wasn't you, thats why I didn't respond. Let the trolls talk to themselves.

"And Joel Quennevillle got the ax today in Colorado "

Holy crap, I just noticed this. We need to fire Renney and hire Quenneville ASAP before somebody else does.