Tomorrow night at 9:30 on MSG, Hockey Night Live will have its second pre-season special previewing the team.
This week’s show will feature Captain Chris Drury, goalie Henrik Lundqvist and coach John Tortorella.
…I can’t wait to see what Torts has to say.
Read more about the special here.
If you missed last weeks special, click here to see what happened
The Rangers have announced the full roster for the Traverse City Tournament which starts this weekend.
It is the same roster that was announced in July except for these changes, Jason Bast and Kelsey Tessier have been added while Colin Martin and Jason Wilson have been removed from the forward list.
The Traverse City schedule is here. The games are NOT GOING TO BE TELEVISED.
…Its an exciting time with this tournament and then training camp starting next Friday.
I should have full coverage of those games and the stats involved in them
In the Hockey News, writer Adam Proteau makes his own predictions about how the Eastern Conference will play out. He, like the official magazine predictions have placed the Rangers in 13th place.
Besides calling Alexander Frolov a non-difference maker, Proteau writes:
“what isn’t clear at all is whether a team that was softer than melted pudding last year has suddenly grown a heart.”
….Ouch.
He is entitled to his opinion and is probably far from the last person to disrespect the Rangers. I think they will be much better than 13th in the east, and instead finish close to the playoff race. I have gone on record before writing that I believe the team can finish 7th or 8th and their is nothing to stop me from staying with that prediction.
The one thing that I worry about is building them up too much, at least in my mind. Meaning, you read all the positives in their informal practices and we will read about all the positives and improvements in training camp but nothing really matters until the puck is dropped, at first against the Devils on September 23rd and then in Buffalo on October 9th. That is when everything comes back to reality.
The official prediction for the Hockey News is for the Rangers to finish in 13th
At his blog at Newsday, Arthur Staple writes about former Ranger and Smithtown native Christopher Higgins who says that he loved his time with the Rangers.
Staple also writes that the Rangers would have considered bringing Higgins back during the off-season if “the numbers were right.”
Higgins signed for one year with Florida during the off-season for $1.6 million.
….I loved Higgins when he was acquired, local boy, 20 goal scorer and a nice guy when interviewed. He just couldn’t hack it as a Ranger last season in the scoring department but was a good grinder type player but that isn’t is game. His trade was a great one as it rid the team of Ales Kotalik, got them cap space from Olli Jokinen and the very valuable Brandon Prust. I hope Higgins finds some semblance of his game back in Florida
The Rangers re-signed center Erik Christensen to a two year deal after he scored 26 points for the Rangers after being claimed off of waivers in early December. Christensen centered Marian Gaborik during the Rangers stretch run late last season and told Jesse Spector of the NY Daily News that he wants more of the scoring load on himself this season:
“I want that on me. I want to score points. I’ve wanted to do that since I’ve played at this level. I think I’ve shown I can do it on nights, it’s just a matter of continuing to get those opportunities.
…That is some nice talk from Erik Christensen. Talk about someone who is motivated to prove something, and he just got his new deal. Maybe he has found the right coach in John Tortorella, that guy to push him to reach some of the talent that everyone knows that he has. But how do you become more consistent? I guess if we knew the answer, we could have told the Rangers last season and they could have been.
He will certainly get the chance to play a top six role and get those opportunities to put up points. At 26, maybe Christensen is finally starting to put his whole game together.
Update: 3:44PM:
Steve Zipay tweets that the two sides are talking and that “where there is smoke, there is fire”
…That is the one thing to take away, even if it takes another week or so to get done. There is smoke between the two sides and certainly the Rangers want him in camp when that starts next Friday.
Hopefully he doesn’t sign when I am in Temple the next two days. And Shanah Tovah
Update: 3:38PM
Gross tweets that another source has told him that the two sides have made progress, but that nothing is ready to be signed yet.
…Am I the only one who was convinced that if Staal at least didn’t start training camp he would be there soon after? I get the feeling that people think he was gone from the Rangers just because they hit an early snag.
Update: 3:32PM:
Andrew Gross writes at Ranger Rants that an NHL source has told him that the two sides are getting closer on a contract.
…That is a nice to see, someone connected with the team reporting that they are getting close. They should be getting close, training camp starts in nine days.
At his blog for Newsday, Steve Zipay spoke to Rangers Captain Chris Drury who spoke about how the team needs to be better at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers were 18-17-6 at MSG last season.
…I would think that would need to change. The team has such a nice home ice advantage but never really utilized it last season often coming out flat at MSG and then having to battle back late in the game. Home ice needs to be at the top of the Rangers issues to fix for this season.
Update: 1:58PM:
Steve Zipay says that Steve Eminger will wear #44 and Todd White #12
Original Post:
Jim Cerny tweets that according to the numbers placed on their lockers, Alex Frolov will wear #31, Derek Boogaard will wear #94, Tim Kennedy will wear #13 and Martin Biron will wear #43
It had been previously written that Frolov would wear #31
Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
@thenyrangers: Marian Gaborik arrived in NYC yesterday and is on the ice with 25+ of his #NYR teammates this morning for informal workout
Sep 8, 2010 @ 02:13:29 PM, UTC from TweetDeckErik Christensen has also arrived for informal practice.
Alex Frolov, the last player not to arrive besides Marc Staal, is reportedly due in camp on Friday.
Larry Brooks tweets that the Rangers have offered Fedotenko a tryout but he has yet to accept it.
Jesse Spector though, tweets that the team has talked to Fedotenko but there is nothing beyond that.
Original Post: 4:47PM:
According to Andy Strickland the Rangers have shown interest in bringing veteran Ruslan Fedotenko in for a training camp tryout
Fedotenko, 31, is a LW who had 11 goals and 19 assists last season for Pittsburgh.
He played under John Tortorella in Tampa Bay from 2002 to 2007.
In his career he has 150 goals and 158 assists in 677 games
….Well then.
It would seem that on the surface the Rangers have way too many forwards to begin with, and left wings a plenty, so its a little strange but its only a training camp tryout. It’s not even official yet which isn’t to say it won’t happen but how many times do people get crazy to only see something not come of it. The Rangers have interest in him, as other teams probably do also hoping he has a Miro Satan type season but that doesn’t mean for sure that he will be with the Rangers at camp.
If he does come to camp, he comes in as a veteran and one that the team probably hopes will push other players to play better or they could just sign Fedotenko who will surely come cheap.
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