Once again the great SportsHernia brings us another Rangers related post. First time it was Larry Brooks, now it is Rangers defenseman Paul Mara and his great beard.
Here are some quips about Mara’s beard:
Paul Mara……
Check out TheSportsHernia for the rest and a good laugh.
Voice of the Rangers Sam Rosen joined Steve Somers on WFAN at 9:25P ET.
Go to WFAN.com for the audio (once I put it up there — haha)
There is no quick fix to the Rangers problems, obviously.
Here are the pressing issues:
A few ideas (Note — I have heard nothing and I am not making up rumors, I am just playing GM):
More later……
While saying goodbye on breakup day today, Rangers captain Chris Drury said that he will not need surgery on his injured right hand.
“The good news today is I don’t need surgery,” said Drury, who will wear a brace for a couple of weeks.
Drury was also asked twice during the series vs Washington whether he could play by coach John Tortorella
“I wasn’t going to say I can’t play,” Drury said.
Thanks to Rangers Rants for the quote.
These are tough match-ups.
In the East I was right about the Bruins (dead on), Canes and Pens. Wrong about the Rangers….bummer.
In the West, I had the Wings and Blackhawks. Dead wrong about the Blues and missed on the Sharks finally doing something.
Ok — round two:
Bruins/Canes — Being bold, taking the Canes in 6
Pens/Caps — Pens in 7
Wings/Ducks — I’ve learned my lesson, Wings in 6
Canucks/Blackhawks — Canucks in 7
Much like anything else, the show must go on…….
For those of you who missed the OuttaLeftField blog talk show but still want to listen, click play below.
We recapped the first round, previewed the second round and got a little heated in a discussion about the NHL’s TV deal.
We also had the pleasure of interviewing the 23rd best NHL prospect according to Hockey’s Future, Eric Tangradi. Tangradi spoke on his career to this point and the toughest player that he has ever played against….Marc Staal.
John Tortorella met with the press for over a half an hour today and spoke on mnay of the burning issues that faced him and the team.
On the incident that led to his suspension
“My thing … it’s a bad mistake by me. I regret it. I think I put the New York Ranger organization in an embarrassing situation. I’m embarrassed by it. I am an intense person, which is a positive, but it also turns into a negative sometimes, and that turned into a negative for us. And I regret it. I didn’t want to talk about it the other day because I didn’t want it to be more of a distraction than it needed to be. Was it a distraction? Of course it was. How much it played into that next game, I don’t know, because I thought we played a good first period and I know I had capable coaches on that bench in Schoney.
On Sean Avery being benched
“There’s a misperception about Sean and I. We get along great. We’re very honest with each other and we were after (Game 4). I would (sit him) again, for the short term and the long term. It was building up. I know that guy wants to help this team win. He’s not treated fairly in this league, as far as on-the-ice stuff that happens, but he cares. He cares.”
On the younger players on the roster
“The way I look at us right now, I think we’ve got a good group of young guys. And when you have some young guys, there’s a window as far as putting people around them. I look at Cally (Ryan Callahan), I leaned on him, big-time. And he got tired as the series went on. I saw Dubi (Brandon Dubinsky) go this way (points his arm upward) as the series went on. I looked at Marc Staal and Danny Girardi, they fluctuated at times. That’s exciting.
On the team and who he wants back next season
“I have a pretty good idea of what’s here now. I don’t know the minor leagues. Jimmy and Glen have been great explaining to me … I don’t even know how to pronounce his name — I call him Artie (Anisimov). I liked the way he played in Game 7. I don’t think he was nervous. It’s a big body. I’m anxious to see him in camp.
“But as far as the people on the roster, I have a pretty good idea — and remember, I’m the coach, I’m not the manager of this team and I dom’t have all the figures as far as cap and what the contracts are — but as a coach I have a pretty good idea of what people are, who I’d like to keep and who I’d like to change.”
“To be honest, I can go through that roster and say, ‘He’s gone, he’s gone, he’s gone, I want him,’ You can do that as a coach, but it’s not that simple. You have cap problems, you have contracts that are here. Do you have any people that want to trade with you? I’ll go out on a limb and say, ‘Does Glen Sather want to change this team?’ You’re damn right he does. He knows some change needs to be made.”
Quotes courtesy of Newsday and the Journal News.
Larry Brooks of the New York Post has a column today sayin that the Rangers should reunite John Tortorella and Marty St. 
Louis on Broadway.
Understand that St. Louis, regarded as the heart and soul of the Lightning’s 2004 Stanley Cup
championship team, is one of Tortorella’s favorite players ever.
Understand that St. Louis has a no-trade clause that he would all but
certainly waive to join the coach, for theirs is a mutual admiration
society.Understand, too, that St. Louis, even at the age of 34 he’ll reach
in June, is the big-play difference-maker whose absence was bemoaned by
Tortorella following Game 7. Gutsy, too.Recognize as well that Tampa Bay will demand a heavy ransom to free
St. Louis, who has two years remaining at a $5.25M per cap hit. The
Lightning will demand Marc Staal. The Rangers will refuse. If Tampa Bay is unwilling to discuss a counter-proposal, the deal is dead.But it will become more difficult for the Rangers if the Lightning demand three of the following four players: Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Michael Del Zotto and Evgeny Grachev — or even two.
The question — to which we can fairly guarantee Tortorella will
not respond — is whether he believes he needs one of “his guys,” in
the room, who, by the way, only happens to be the elite north-south
finisher on the right side who might give Scott Gomez his best chance to succeed as a Ranger. If so, would he recommend trading the future for the present?There is no indication Tortorella would recommend such a deal. The
ultimate price just might be too expensive. But there is no doubt
Tortorella will get to work on making the winger a St. Louis
Blue(shirt).
Michael Obernauer, of the NY Daily News, writes today of the Rangers need for inexpensive scorers.
The salary cap is not expected to change dramatically next season after three straight years of sharp rises. For argument’s sake, if the ceiling remains at $56.7 million, that would give the Rangers just over $14.5 million to spend on the bare minimum of 10 players – which still would leave no space in case of injuries or emergencies.
So you want Marian Hossa? Marian Gaborik? A Sedin twin? Someone to address the Rangers’ most glaring need – a winger who can score? You’ll be going bargain-basement with everybody else. And then what happens when you commit to another long-term deal and Marc Staal is up for a contract after next season?
The best hope the Rangers have of giving themselves some breathing room is to somehow unload one of their mammoth contracts by draft day in late June. Team foundation Henrik Lundqvist is going nowhere. Wade Redden, at $6.5 million per over the next five years, in untradeable. Teams would need some added incentive to take on contracts such as Scott Gomez‘s ($7.357 million against the cap) or Michal Rozsival‘s ($5 million).
Recent Comments