1 ) I hope The Ranger coaching staff and the goaltending coach in particular have a long, serious sitdown with Henrik, utilizing all the video from these 2 series and especially the series with the Sabres.
He sholuld remain inside of the crease area and no further then 6 inches outside of it from here on out. No more going behind the net, no more trying to be like martin brodeur of 5 years ago , no more puck handling --other then stopping the shootarounds by the opponents for your Blueshirt teammates--- stay the fuck inside your crease area and stay put . You are absolutely phenomenal in the net- outisde the net- not so much .
2 ) Please make sure Shanny returns, or at the very least , let him know that The New York Rangers want him back in the mix-- if he should decide to play another season .
3 ) Same thing with Sean Avery - this guy might not have overwhelming statistics, but there is absolutely no question or doubt in my mind that this team was lacking something previous to his pickup, and since his arrival our record was pretty impressive. Like Jagr said, he's one of the most underrated players in the league, and he wasnt so much of a liability that he put us at any disadvantages. ( * yet )
4 ) Please , send Karel Rachunek far away from Rangerland and MSG . Start training and excercising the farmhands now so that when the camp opens in August , they will be vying for a roster spot on this team. Staal and Liffiton come to mind right off the top of my head and without checking the Wolfpack Roster, but surely one of these younger guys can match if not exceed the hot and cold play of Rachunek all year long, IMO . ( some may want to add malik to this list, as well )
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For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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As usual, the National Hockey League can't catch a break. I know that nobody will shed a tear over the New York Rangers getting eliminated on Sunday in six games by the Buffalo Sabres, but if you care about the sport ever getting more exposure for the brilliance that it is, you should.
Before we get into the business at hand, I'm not a Rangers fan. Never have been; never will be. I'm the polar opposite. However, the Rangers team of the past two years is not a typical mega-market conglomerate of talent and bloated payroll.
Sure, they have talent like Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan, but they also have hard-working, under-appreciated talent like defenseman Michael Rozsival and feisty agitator Sean Avery.
They have no inherent financial advantage (thankfully) on anybody else -- at least in terms of payroll -- and they are better off for it. Glen Sather actually has shown that he can still be brilliant without flashing around his fancy credit card.
The Rangers are and have been a fun, likeable, mostly blue-collar unit that overachieved last season, underachieved for the first part of this season and then hit their stride and really should have beaten the Sabres to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. Sadly, they did not.
Don't get me wrong. I love watching the Buffalo Sabres. I covered that franchise for a number of years, and there are not many more passionalte, loyal and supportive fan bases in sports right now than the fine folks of western New York.
That's the problem. It's western New York and not the New York that the NHL wanted, craves and really needs.
The NHL was dealt a psychological blow on Sunday afternoon because the Rangers and New York City could finally deliver the exposure, ratings and casual interest that every sport needs and every show or form of entertainment needs.
Ottawa and Buffalo will put on a fantastic conference finals and for the NHL's sake, here's hoping that the Sabres can advance because if Ottawa and say Anaheim are in the Cup Finals, you will have a complete ratings disaster.
To show what big markets can do for a sports league, all you have to see was what happened when the San Antonio Spurs beat the New Jersey Nets a few years back in the NBA Finals. Ratings for that series in comparison to what they were with, say, the Lakers and anybody with a pulse were non-existant.
I don't really care about the actual pure ratings themselves, because they are a complete, unadulterated fraud -- however, the misguided, uninformed and clueless bulk of the media that bases almost everything that they will cover, focus and hype up does.
The bottom line is, even with the New York Rangers in the conference or Stanley Cup Finals, the NHL would be dealing from a disadvantaged hand. Without them, they almost have no chance dealing with the ridiculous lack of coverage on sports talk radio, sports-based television shows and other forms of entertainment programming.
The NHL needs the Rangers. When it happens in New York, it just is bigger, brighter and better in every way, shape and form.
It is the main reason why the NHL lacks casual popularity that every other major sport enjoys. The NHL combined a deadly cocktail of not having a mega star like Wayne Gretzky or Sidney Crosby in his prime, along with having most of its big market teams like the Rangers, Blackhawks and Kings stink for an extended period of time.
Besides all of these very valid reasons, let's talk pure hockey for a moment. In the Rangers, I watched a team that was just as fun to watch as Buffalo, Ottawa, Detroit and Anaheim -- not to mention a team that had just as much heart, mixed in with a good helping of balanced talent across the board.
There was great goaltending by Henrik Lundqvist, the slick play of Jagr and Michael Nylander and a pretty decent defensive unit.
The Garden was rocking on Sunday as the Rangers' season ended, as it was for the first round and earlier second round games. The Rangers gave their patented center-ice salute to the fans even after defeat to an ear-blowing roar. The only thing that would have been more neat to see, would be if Lord Stanley's Cup was in the middle of that salute.
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ok let's get down to buisness and begin our off season talks
scott gomez 5- 6 mil a year........... hmnnn this is interesting
is it worth it w/ this guy? he can play but is he worth that much ??
for some reason i keep thinking of holik ... i know they're different players and different ages ,,but it scares me abit
we will save 6 mil between kaspar and ozolinsh plus another 4 with shanny
thats 10 mil plus the cap is expected to rise 4 mil or so
thats 14 mil to play with right their
malik has 1 year at 2 1/2 mil left so we cant trade him
rachenuk makes 1.3 mil or so ,, he will prob be back
were gonna have to pay nylander abit more
plus sign avery
and ALL HAIL THE KING is getting ready for his payday
ok let's get down to buisness and begin our off season talks
scott gomez 5- 6 mil a year........... hmnnn this is interesting
is it worth it w/ this guy? he can play but is he worth that much ??
for some reason i keep thinking of holik ... i know they're different players and different ages ,,but it scares me abit
we will save 6 mil between kaspar and ozolinsh plus another 4 with shanny
thats 10 mil plus the cap is expected to rise 4 mil or so
thats 14 mil to play with right their
malik has 1 year at 2 1/2 mil left so we cant trade him
rachenuk makes 1.3 mil or so ,, he will prob be back
were gonna have to pay nylander abit more
plus sign avery
and ALL HAIL THE KING is getting ready for his payday
I WISH I WAS A GM i could do this job everyday
LET'S GO RANGER'S!!
I like Gomez as much as anyone, but I think Chris Drury is a better fit it he wants to come here. But in all honesty, how much roster turnover will there be? Maybe Ortmeyer doesn't get re-signed but for the most part, I see the same group coming back next year.
Reading 2004
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016 Fenway 2, 2018 MSG 2022 St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023 MSG 2024, MSG 2024 Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
I like Gomez as much as anyone, but I think Chris Drury is a better fit it he wants to come here. But in all honesty, how much roster turnover will there be? Maybe Ortmeyer doesn't get re-signed but for the most part, I see the same group coming back next year.
and I just read Shanny is leaning towards coming back.......
“My instincts are that I will probably play but it’s something that I’m going to think over and you know, as far as playing and coming here this year and being part of the Rangers, there’s nowhere else I’d rather play."
Reading 2004
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016 Fenway 2, 2018 MSG 2022 St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023 MSG 2024, MSG 2024 Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
I like Gomez as much as anyone, but I think Chris Drury is a better fit it he wants to come here. But in all honesty, how much roster turnover will there be? Maybe Ortmeyer doesn't get re-signed but for the most part, I see the same group coming back next year.
ya gotta think buffalo will try to resign drury over briere
based on past history ??
then again the rest of the playoffs may determine this
you'd think they'd decide on him over briere. but they are close in age and briere is becoming somewhat clutch, not at the level of drury but still clutch.
Reading 2004
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016 Fenway 2, 2018 MSG 2022 St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023 MSG 2024, MSG 2024 Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
Bye- Lander
\ BYE-LANDER
RANGERS MAY NOT RE-SIGN CENTER
By LARRY BROOKS
MICHAEL IN THE MIDDLE: Michael Nylander, the Rangers' leading playoff scorer, heads into the offseason as a free agent and may test the market rather than return to the Blueshirts.May 9, 2007 -- When those Rangers whose opinions were solicited at yesterday's break-up day, including Tom Renney, agreed that management's offseason focus should be trained on adding an upper-echelon center, the unspoken implication was that this pivot would naturally slide in behind first-liner Michael Nylander.
But a brief conversation with Nylander planted at least seeds of doubt about the impending-free-agent center's return being a slam dunk. It's impossible to tell whether this will grow into an issue, but it's clear Nylander's agent, Paul Theofanous, has thus far gauged his client's worth differently than Glen Sather has.
"They had been talking, but it was dragging a little bit, so I told my agent to drop it until the end of the season," Nylander said. "My preference, of course, is to get something done because I like it here and this is where I want to be, but we'll see."
The Rangers are believed to be offering Nylander, who will turn 35 Oct. 3, a two-year deal that would keep him on Broadway through the remaining term of Jaromir Jagr's contract. The team would like to tie up Nylander for approximately the same $3.5 million Martin Straka will earn next year.
But Nylander, who led the Blueshirts in playoff scoring (6-7-13) and was second to Jagr during the regular season (26-57-83), probably could command more on the open market.
The questions are, a) whether Theofanous, notoriously close to Sather, will be able to use free-agent leverage to gain a better deal for Nylander; and, b) whether Nylander would leave what's been a perfect situation for a better contract?
"You don't really know what will happen on the open market," said Nylander, who expects negotiations to resume in a week or so. "I like it here a lot, but I don't know what they're going to say."
*
If Brendan Shanahan returns for a 20th NHL season, it's all but certain it will be as a Ranger. Yesterday, Shanahan, who will turn 39 in January, said he's leaning toward playing.
"I'll take some time and talk to my family, but my instincts are that I'll probably play," he said. "When you've played so long, you just want to make sure you're making the right decision, and not just for yourself and your family, but for the team.
"I want to make sure I can be an effective player for the New York Rangers. If I play, this is where I want to play."
*
Jed Ortmeyer, also an impending unrestricted free agent, also wants to continue his career in New York, but it's not at all clear the feeling is mutual. Even though the Rangers signed Straka, Blair Betts, Thomas Pock, Ryan Hollweg and Colton Orr to extensions during the season, management never broached the subject with Ortmeyer or agent Mark Witken.
"I try not to read into things too much; maybe they had more important things to do, but it does make me a little nervous," said Ortmeyer, who missed the first three months recovering from a pulmonary embolism. "This is where I want to play, but it's not necessarily up to me."
Ortmeyer has a pending grievance against the Rangers for their failure to pay him a $150,000 signing bonus due while the NHL lockout was in effect. Presumably that has nothing to do with Sather's refusal to engage him in contract talks.
*
Straka, whose left-shoulder separation somehow healed itself as he played with it the last two months, will not require surgery. Sean Avery (left wrist), Karel Rachunek (left knee) and Michal Rozsival (left knee and shoulder) may need operations.
i think the Rangers should do all they can to insure that Nylander, Avery , and Shanny all return to the Blue Red and White on Broadway .
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That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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May 09, 2007 Renney Stalls on Staal [Links & Prospects Added]
The Rangers were not happy with the way their season ended. They thought they could have done better, gone farther. And they vow to a man to take the final step toward being a top Stanley Cup contender next season. On one hand, that's the goal of every rebuilding program, so if the team thinks they are there now, then they have to go for it. On the other hand, the young talent accumulated during the past three years is beginning to mature, beginning of course with Henrik Lundqvist and going through key regulars like Fedor Tyutin and Petr Prucha, several role players, and the late-season infusion brought by Dan Girardi, Ryan Callahan, and to a lesser extent others like Brandon Dubinsky. So where does the team go from here in preparing for a long playoff run next season?
"When you're playing in a city like New York, for a team like Rangers, it's about who performs, that day, that night," said Brendan Shanahan. "I wouldn't want to buy season tickets and say that we'll be good in three years, we'll be good in four years -- we'll get them soon. We're definitely a team right now with some of the key pieces in place, a mixture between youth and experience, goaltending obviously is huge. We're a team that should be challenging for the Stanley Cup right now. We were closer this year than maybe some of the younger players realize. You can't always say, 'Next year.'"
"As long as we maintain a balance, I'm content with that," said coach Tom Renney about going for it now vs. continuing to build for the future. "We have to operate with an eye on the future. But we also have to realize -- we want to win a Stanley Cup as soon as we can." "No job is anyone's right, whether you're an older guy or a younger guy," said Shanahan. "So if a guy is available through free agency who is going to make our team better, the team is going to do that. We're in the winning business. We've got a very demanding fan base, a very supporting fan base, and if I was buying a season ticket, I'd want to know that the team is doing everything they could -- without compromising the future. That's kind of in place right now."
With obvious needs at second line center and on the top defensive pair, Renney wasn't sure whether Hartford could fill those needs or whether players would have to be acquired from outside the organization. "We've shown enough growth with our young guys in Hartford to consider them in that position," he said. "Those that came in and spent more than a cup off coffee with us have demonstrated that the coaching there was such that they could elevate their game and jump in. Is there more dormant talent there to come in and fill that role? Only time will tell in training camp. We'll identify what we believe might be there and where other solutions lie, whether solutions lie outside of us."
While most agree that the best options in the middle of the second line are in the free agent market, with Chris Drury, Daniel Briere, and Scott Gomez among those headed to the open market, the Rangers appear to have the answer on defense within their organization. "We've got this kid Staal who is tearing up the junior leagues right now," said Shanahan. "[He] obviously is ready and needs the next level for his development. We're all excited to see what he is going to do in the NHL. If he's as good as everyone says he is, he can really help this organization."
"We're all optimistic naturally and pretty excited about what we have in front of us here," said Renney about Marc, the third Staal brother headed to th NHL. But then he sounded a more cautious note about his development. "He is still a work in progress," he said. "And he will be next September when he comes in here for training camp. We all have to remember that. Whether it manifests him as part of our team in September or January or the following year remains to be seen. We've got to allow a natural maturation of this player -- physically as well. Strength is a big issue. When Marc plays in the NHL -- it's the adult game. He has to show an ability to cope with playing against big strong men who have speed and talent and experience. His forte is more on the defensive side of the puck, so he's going to have to handle big strong men. At the same time, he's a very good passer, he'll help our transition game. But for me it's just making sure that he's mentally and physically mature enough."
Renney wasn't ready to assume that Staal can step right in just because his brothers Eric and Jordan did. "We'll keep an open mind there, but we won't force feed the NHL to Marc," he said. "His brothers are forwards. You can camouflage [their] inadequacies amongst twelve people [up front], you can't camouflage them amongst six [defensemen]. They get that much more exposed on the back end, there's much more decision making to be done there. You're talking about apples and oranges with his brothers primarily because of the positions they play. What I don't want to do is make so much of this kid before he's come back to us. I'm sure not ruling out the fact that he won't be here next year -- there's a good chance he can play here. But he has to go through what's required to show us that he can do that. Time will tell. We're going to bring him along intelligently so that when he does step into our line-up, it's for a long, long time, not for a cup of coffee or four five minutes a game."
Even young players that are already here are no lock to keep their roles when next season starts. "I don't know what a Ryan Callahan NHL season looks like if it's 82 games long," said Renney. "I don't know if there's diminishing return or if he's able to sustain a certain level of play. Same thing with Danny Girardi or anyone else who comes in from Hartford. That's why you have to have that blend of people, so the younger guys can have success because of who they're around. Winners allow you to do that."
"To me it's about performance," said Shanahan. "If you perform, you play, regardless of who you are and what you get paid, how many years you've been in the league, any player younger or older. If I were running things, I'd say a tie goes to the young guy. It still always comes down to performance. That doesn't hurt anyone in this organization. That competitiveness is something we have to have throughout. This is a competitive business. Part of being better than other teams is constantly pushing your teammates at each other. The challenge is for a player like me to remain good and the challenge is for younger players to get better."
Shanahan has nothing but praise for Girardi. "You can't underestimate how important it was for a guy like Dan Girardi to come in here and do what he did," he said. "Dan Girardi was amazing. A lot of guys like Avery, Mara get a lot of credit for what they did. But I don't think Dan Girardi gets a lot of credit for what he did. He was a force, just a steady force throughout."
News reports out of break-up day are about the status of free agents Shanahan and Nylander, the need for a second line center, Sean Avery, Jaromir Jagr, and injuries -- see the Daily News, Journal News, Newsday, Times, Post, Star-Ledger, AP, SNY, and NY Sports Day. More from Blueshirts Blog, Rangers Report, and NY Sports Day. Hockey Rodent counters Martin Straka's statement on whether he needs surgical repairs on his damaged shoulder -- "If they do the surgery, they don't think it's going to make any difference," Straka said yesterday. "They said it wasn't necessary to do the surgery." Jess Rubenstein reports on yesterday's CHL playoffs (for news reports, see here, here, here, here, here, and here):
Ranger fans can identify with the feeling that close to 6,000 Sudbury fans had when their Wolves took to the ice in Game 3 of the OHL final last night. In 35 years, they have never won a championship or Memorial Cup. They greeted their team with a huge ovation and a salute to Staal for his winning OHL Defenseman of the Year. But the Plymouth Whalers were not going to just roll over and hand them the championship. They came out looking to take the Sudbury crowd out of the game, but Sudbury got on the board first. That lead lasted just 42 seconds, a bad bounce allowing the Whalers to tie the game. After that, the Wolves tightened up their defense and choked off the Whaler attack.
Staal had a typical game -- he was everywhere, hitting, breaking up plays, starting the Sudbury offense. He assisted on the goal that gave Sudbury a 2-1 lead, his 14th playoff assist and 19th point overall. After the Whalers tied the game again early in the third, the Wolves scored twice to take a 4-2 lead, with Staal on the ice for both goals. The Whalers rallied to tie again and send the game into OT, where Staal helped set up the game winner that sent the hometown crowd happy, the Wolves taking a 2-1 series lead. With two assists and an impressive +4, Staal is now 5-15-20, good for 11th overall in OHL playoff scoring, first among defenseman. He is +22.
Game 4 is tonight at 7:30 EDT -- spend the $6.95 to get a good look at not only a future Ranger but very likely a future Ranger captain. One has to wonder if the Rangers might want to sign Jonathan D’Aversa, Staal's defensive partner who also assisted on the same two goals Staal assisted on. D’Aversa, an undrafted 20 year old, has great chemistry with Staal, has better numbers than the recently signed Mike Busto, and is bigger as well.
Meanwhile, Michael Sauer and Medicine Hat traveled to Vancouver, where the bad blood from Game 2 broke out 1:48 in with the game’s first fight. Once things settled down, Vancouver took a bad penalty, and Sauer got his first goal of the playoffs on the resulting power play to give the Tigers the early lead. The goal appeared to energize Sauer -- he was everywhere in the first period at both ends of the ice. The game wound up in overtime, the Tigers winning 3-2 to take a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 is tonight, starting at 10:00 PM EDT.
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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we coulda been startin our next series tonight. :rolleyes:
:mad:
instead we get to watch sabres and ottawa go at it .
oh well.
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That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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New York Ranger Michael Stipe denies that his veganism had any effect on his performance during the Ranger’s failed bid to overcome a 4 goal deficit against the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in New York. “You’re thinking of Moby,” Stipe told reporters.
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Brodie Dupont completed his major-junior career in style by scoring 37 goals for Calgary of the Western Hockey League .
5/21/2007
New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms on a professional contract with forward Brodie Dupont.
Dupont, 20, skated in 70 games with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL) this season, registering 37 goals and 33 assists for 70 points, along with 90 penalty minutes and a plus-23 rating.
While serving as one of Calgary's alternate captains for the second consecutive season, Dupont led the Hitmen with 37 goals and ranked second on the team in scoring with 70 points. His 37 goals tied for ninth in the league. He also shared the team-lead with 11 power play goals and tied for second on the club with a plus-23 rating.
In addition, Dupont recorded an 11-game point scoring streak from October 8 to October 30, collecting eight goals and eight assists over that span. In the postseason, Dupont led the Hitmen in goals (nine) and points (16), and helped his team reach the WHL's Eastern Conference Finals. His nine goals tied for sixth among all WHL players in the playoffs.
The 6-2, 210-pound forward has skated in 214 career games with Calgary (WHL), registering 81 goals and 68 assists for 149 points, along with 324 penalty minutes. His 81 career goals currently rank ninth among Calgary's all-time leaders. In 43 career playoff games, he has collected 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points, along with 78 penalty minutes.
Born in Russell, Manitoba, Dupont was originally a third round selection of the Rangers, 66th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.
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That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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RANGERS CATCH CAP BREAK
By LARRY BROOKS
PrintEmailDigg ItStory Bottom
May 22, 2007 -- The NHL legal department informed the Rangers yesterday that any payments they might owe Bobby Holik under his signing-bonus grievance will not be applied against their 2007-08 cap, The Post has learned.
The league has ruled that the disputed 2006 signing bonus of $2 million - $1.52M after the 24 percent rollback - would have been part of the Rangers' July 29, 2005 Compliance Buyout of Holik and thus would not have originally counted against the cap.
Though Article 50 of the CBA provides for cap charges against a team in the event of owed, future payments to a player, and though a source familiar with the case had told The Post that the Blueshirts would face a penalty if found liable in the grievance hearing scheduled for June 26, the league informed the Rangers the clause would not be interpreted to cover disputed Compliance Buyouts made in the one-time amnesty period in the labor agreement.
Holik also is challenging the non-payment of a $2M bonus payment due during the lockout on July 1, 2005. Darius Kasparaitis and Jed Ortmeyer also have filed grievances for withheld bonuses due on that date for $1M and $150,000, respectively. As those payments were due before CBA, they would not be applied against the cap.
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RANGERS CATCH CAP BREAK
By LARRY BROOKS
PrintEmailDigg ItStory Bottom
May 22, 2007 -- The NHL legal department informed the Rangers yesterday that any payments they might owe Bobby Holik under his signing-bonus grievance will not be applied against their 2007-08 cap, The Post has learned.
The league has ruled that the disputed 2006 signing bonus of $2 million - $1.52M after the 24 percent rollback - would have been part of the Rangers' July 29, 2005 Compliance Buyout of Holik and thus would not have originally counted against the cap.
Though Article 50 of the CBA provides for cap charges against a team in the event of owed, future payments to a player, and though a source familiar with the case had told The Post that the Blueshirts would face a penalty if found liable in the grievance hearing scheduled for June 26, the league informed the Rangers the clause would not be interpreted to cover disputed Compliance Buyouts made in the one-time amnesty period in the labor agreement.
Holik also is challenging the non-payment of a $2M bonus payment due during the lockout on July 1, 2005. Darius Kasparaitis and Jed Ortmeyer also have filed grievances for withheld bonuses due on that date for $1M and $150,000, respectively. As those payments were due before CBA, they would not be applied against the cap.
i read this yesterday,,thank god,, this is big for us
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# 2 Retired .
( wondering if there will be a #2 retriement next season at msg - being that out of respect noone wears that # anymore )
even tho hes been long gone for sometime now,
theres a bit of saddness in this news , and that the NYR werent able to work things out with him and let him go out in style , and in NY , and wearing the red white and blue . The last time i saw him plasy was 2 seasons ago when the NYR played Boston , and he was so well received by the Garden faithful .
He was without question one of the more popluar and most liked guys on the Rangers , ever, and not to even mention he was our Con Smythe winner for our cup winning team in 94.
i was fortunate enough to meet him , and briefly talk with him.
Hes one of the most down to earth, nicest guys out there , anywhere .
Theres something very cordial and polite with that guy, i wish him all the best.
He married into the O ' Neil family - and they own that big bar in manhattan.
maybe we can go there and catch a glimpse of brian.
good luck # 2
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2 time norris trophy winner and 1 time con smythe winner , as well as our former captain.
wishing him all the best.
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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# 2 Retired .
( wondering if there will be a #2 retriement next season at msg - being that out of respect noone wears that # anymore )
even tho hes been long gone for sometime now,
theres a bit of saddness in this news , and that the NYR werent able to work things out with him and let him go out in style , and in NY , and wearing the red white and blue . The last time i saw him plasy was 2 seasons ago when the NYR played Boston , and he was so well received by the Garden faithful .
He was without question one of the more popluar and most liked guys on the Rangers , ever, and not to even mention he was our Con Smythe winner for our cup winning team in 94.
i was fortunate enough to meet him , and briefly talk with him.
Hes one of the most down to earth, nicest guys out there , anywhere .
Theres something very cordial and polite with that guy, i wish him all the best.
He married into the O ' Neil family - and they own that big bar in manhattan.
maybe we can go there and catch a glimpse of brian.
good luck # 2
sounds like a good idea for a meet-up one night during hockey season, maybe a rags/isles game .thats cool u met him. leetch was the only ranger i ever liked and ever will like. his shot was deadly from the blueline. it was a honor to boo him over the years and cheer for him when he was on team USA.
Ron: I just don't feel like going out tonight
Sammi: Wanna just break up?
he will be missed. it would have been very cool to see him playing with Jagr and Shanahan and all the others from this year's team. It'd be interesting to see what game they decide on a retirement night because it's not like the Messier one where Edmonton was the appropriate opponent since Messier won so much there before coming to the Rangers in 1991.
Reading 2004
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016 Fenway 2, 2018 MSG 2022 St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023 MSG 2024, MSG 2024 Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
he will be missed. it would have been very cool to see him playing with Jagr and Shanahan and all the others from this year's team. It'd be interesting to see what game they decide on a retirement night because it's not like the Messier one where Edmonton was the appropriate opponent since Messier won so much there before coming to the Rangers in 1991.
our powerplay wouldv3 been better, thats for sure. Maybe he couldve taught some of these younger guys , helped them along ( like Girardi- already great- and Liffiton,Staal ect ,.. )
i would only venture to guess
but it'd probably be best against Boston.
Leetchie grew up there, and his Dad was a bigtime Bruin fan while Brian grew up.
Regardless of what team they play for # 2 up-to-the-rafters night, i'll be there.
i was there for richter and mess, couldnt pass up on Leetchie.
Brian Leetch is calling it a career.
Click to see Brian Leetch photo gallery.
In the end, no longer able to bring himself to play in another uniform and unable to live up to his own lofty standard for wearing a Rangers sweater, Brian Leetch couldn't find a way back.
So yesterday morning, he officially acknowledged the decision that virtually every one of his friends, relatives, former teammates and dozens of NHL executives implored him not to make. Leetch announced his retirement after arguably the finest career an American-born hockey player has ever had.
By doing so, Leetch found a different way back to the Garden ice he commanded for 17 incomparable years, as the Rangers began discussions yesterday to determine when and how they will retire Leetch's No. 2 to the Garden rafters next season.
When they do so, they will honor a man for whom wearing a Blueshirt was more important than any of his countless awards and statistical achievements.
Leetch, 39, won the 1988-89 Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year. He won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman in 1991-92 and 1996-97. He was a 10-time NHL All-Star. He ranks a narrow second on the Rangers' all-time scoring and games played lists and is the franchise's all-time leading playoff scorer.
He captained Team USA to the 1996 World Cup title and played in three Olympics. And in 1994, he became the only American ever to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP as the Rangers won their only Stanley Cup in the last 67 years.
Still, asked yesterday about his legacy, Leetch said: "If they remember me as a Ranger, that's good enough. If my name pops up in a conversation and somebody says: ‘Oh yeah, he was a Ranger,' that's good enough for me."
Fact is, Leetch never wanted to be anything other than a Ranger. And though he was crushed by the March 3, 2004, trade that sent him to Toronto and drained after a disappointing 2005-06 season with Boston, Leetch was contemplating a career-completing return to the Rangers last season.
"I didn't want to run and chase teams, try to predict who would be good and move the family around," Leetch said, referring to wife Marybeth and their three small children. "It wasn't until (Rangers coach) Tom Renney called me personally about a week into free agency that I got that little shot of adrenaline again and started getting myself back into it.
"But then I had a tough time the next six weeks getting myself physically to where I wanted to be. I didn't want to go back to New York - especially New York - and not be 100% or at a level I was comfortable with. I didn't want to not be good right from the start there - though I'm sure people there would have given me time and the benefit of the doubt."
Envisioning Leetch quarterbacking his sputtering power play and bringing order to a chaotic defense, Renney continued to press the issue through Christmas. But by then, Leetch was finding life as a stay-at-home dad too rewarding and the prospect of making a comeback too daunting.
"When training camp was about to start, I didn't feel ready to make a commitment," Leetch said. "Still, I felt I could get settled and keep in shape and be ready to go. But more and more, I found it harder to feel I could come back and help the team and not embarrass myself.
"And it slowly started to sink in that this was the end."
When the announcement came yesterday, the former teammate who has been like a brother to Leetch for nearly two decades attempted to provide perspective.
"Nobody who saw Brian didn't appreciate the talent," Mike Richter said. "But nobody who played with him didn't appreciate that dedication and effort and preparation and professionalism.
"He was an absolute warrior - just a great commander on the ice. Anybody who has played with him, owes a lot of their success to him. And I can say that with absolute authority, because I know I do.
"It is sad to see that type of talent put on a shelf. I already miss watching him play."
Red, white, & Blueshirt
Brian Leetch is one of the greatest American-born hockey players in history. Here is a look at some of his NHL highlights:
1988-89: After finishing with two goals and 12 assists in 17-game cameo the previous season, Leetch records 71 points (23 goals, 48 assists) to win Calder Trophy as NHL's rookie of the year. He tallies five more points in playoffs, but Rangers are swept by Penguins in four games.
1991-92: Scores 102 points, including 22 goals, to lead Rangers to Presidents' Trophy with NHL's best record. Leetch is the first American-born defenseman to reach triple digits in points. Wins his first of two Norris Trophies as the league's top defenseman.
1993-94: Ties career high in goals with 23, finishing with 79 points, as Rangers again finish with league's best record. Records 11 goals and 23 assists in the playoffs to help lead Rangers to first Stanley Cup since 1940, becoming first (and still only) American to win Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs.
1996-97: Wins second Norris Trophy after scoring 20 goals with 58 assists. Posts 10 points in 15 playoff games, but Rangers fall in Eastern Conference finals to Flyers, their last playoff appearance until last season.
1997-98: Becomes captain of the Rangers after Mark Messier (beow l.) leaves for three-season stint in Vancouver.
March 3, 2004: Traded to Maple Leafs for Maxim Kondratiev, Jarkko Immonen and two draft picks. Ends Ranger career with 981 points (240 goals, 741 assists) in 1129 games.
Oct. 18, 2005: After signing with the Bruins, Leetch becomes the 69th player in NHL history to score 1,000 points when he assists on Nick Boynton's goal in a 4-3 loss to the Canadiens in Montreal. March 20, 2006: In Leetch's only appearance at the Garden as an opponent, the Rangers give him a video tribute, and the crowd gives him a standing ovation.
It is important to remember - in an era where athletes gain their notoriety with dogfights, gun possession, drug-test positives, drunk driving, bar brawls and self-promotion - that a guy named Brian Leetch once lived at the corner of Eighth Avenue and 33rd Street.
He made it his home, and it was a home, because unlike the mercenary hordes that have stampeded through his old stomping grounds, Leetch was a home-grown Ranger, a first-round draft pick in an era when the Blueshirts actually placed prime focus on scouting and developing their own talent.
Leetch retired yesterday after a full non-active season as he held his internal debate about whether he could still play at an elite level. The announcement didn't have the same dramatic punch that his trade to Toronto did on March 3, 2004. What it has done is open up a floodgate of memories.
Leetch at once represents what was best about the Rangers and - because of unceremonious dismissal at the hands of GM Glen Sather - what was worst. He was the Most Valuable Player of the 1994 playoffs, when the Rangers broke that decades-long jinx and won their first (and so far, only) Cup since 1940. The Rangers couldn't have won that Cup without Mark Messier's guarantee and Mike Richter's phenomenal goaltending. But they also couldn't have won it without Leetch.
Trying to explain Leetch to someone who didn't see him play in his prime is, to steal a line, like trying to tell a stranger about rock and roll. Start with the skating - smooth and effortless, especially his lateral movement along the blue line in the attacking zone. It was what made him so incredibly efficient on the power play (it sure wasn't his shot, which never approached Al MacInnis-like velocity). It also made it nearly impossible to try to chip the puck out off the boards. Leetch had an uncanny ability to read plays and keep the puck in, keep the pressure on.
Defensively, there were better defensemen, but the physical part of Leetch's play was always underrated. His skating helped him break up plays and he could quickly mount a counterattack. In the words of his friend Richter, Leetch was "an absolute warrior," one who would sacrifice his body, play hurt and block shots without a murmur of complaint.
Quietly proud, Leetch never ratted out his coaches or teammates to the media, never griped out loud when things got sour, as they did not long after that rosy glow of the Cup win had faded. Leetch was there through all of the tough years, too, those six non-playoff seasons until, just before the Rangers were about to miss for the seventh straight spring, Leetch was traded to Toronto in Sather's great Rangers yard sale.
Leetch, stunned despite the prevalent rumors that he would be dealt, finished out the playoffs with the Maple Leafs. It was the last time Leetch would play for the Cup. After the lockout, he signed with the Boston Bruins - essentially his hometown team, two hours from Cheshire, Conn. - and missed the playoffs again after the 2005-06 season. His last appearance at the Garden came on March 20, 2006, in a Bruins uniform.
Leetch continued to stay in shape, and fended off offers from teams like the Devils, since he could never see himself playing against the Rangers in the same division. The door was opened a crack after a reconciliation talk with coach Tom Renney, and while on so many nights it seemed that even a half-speed Leetch would be of more help on the power play than Karel Rachunek, he declined a comeback.
Leetch, after all, had witnessed up close and personally the decline of two of the immortals, Messier and Wayne Gretzky. Cognizant of how it might play out, faced with the image of becoming an aging athlete too stubborn to forgo one last grab at youth, Leetch instead decided to call it quits.
He will get his retirement night at Madison Square Garden sometime next season. His No. 2 will hang on the ceiling - by rights, next to Richter's and Messier's. Was he the best all-time Ranger? The best home-grown Ranger? The best U.S.-born defenseman? The best American player ever? That's fodder for bar arguments and sports talk radio (assuming you live somewhere where they actually talk about hockey on the radio).
"If they remember me as a Ranger, that's good enough for me," Leetch said yesterday.
They'll do more than that. They will remember him as the Ranger.
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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Leetch: Remember me as a Ranger
John McGourty | NHL.com Staff Writer May 25, 2007, 12:53 PM EDT
Brian Leetch, one of the NHL's top defensemen who helped the New York Rangers win the Stanley Cup in 1994, retired Thursday, May 24, 2007, after an 18-year career.
Brian Leetch helped fill the six-day gap between the end of the conference championships and the start of the Stanley Cup Finals with his retirement announcement Thursday. It's been a year since Leetch last played and, after entertaining offers from nearly every NHL team over the past year, Leetch told the rest of the world what he has come to accept: "He's had enough."
Leetch explained that he'd returned to the gym on several occasions to get to the required fitness level and discovered that the necessary competitive element was missing.
Leetch's career from 1988-2006 took him through several eras of hockey, from the nearly wide-open game of the late 1980s to the tight-checking defensive schemes of the mid-90s to mid-2000s and this current return to a more free-flowing game.
"I feel so fortunate to have come into the game when I did, Leetch said. "For me, it was the right time. They had just changed the bench-clearing rules and there was a renewed emphasis on the offensive part of the game. It fit me perfectly."
Never a big banger, Leetch is best remembered as a powerful offensive force from the blueline, one of the best puck rushers in the history of the NHL. But his longtime goalie pal, Mike Richter, sprung to Leetch's defense about his defensive skill. Richter explained that Leetch's skating ability enabled him to position himself perfectly for breaking up rushes and slowing oncoming opponents. His puckhandling along the boards and outlet passes were among the best you'll see.
Leetch: The Greatest Ranger
Brian Leetch wore No. 2 during his 17 seasons as a New York Ranger. He’s No. 2 on the Rangers’ all-time scoring list as well. But when it comes to the question of who’s the greatest Ranger of all time, he’s unquestionably No. 1.
Leetch didn’t have Bobby Orr’s brilliance, Denis Potvin’s ruggedness or Paul Coffey’s speed. He wasn’t big (listed at 6 feet and 190 pounds), was quick rather than fast and didn’t have the cannon shot teams love to see from their defensemen.
What he did have was that little something that makes a player special — the vision to see the play a couple seconds ahead of everyone else on the ice. Few defensemen have ever been better at breaking up a play and making the transition from defense to offense. He also had the ability to control the tempo of a game the way no Ranger defenseman had shown since Doug Harvey a generation earlier.
But the thing that endeared Leetch most to New York fans was simpler: He bled Ranger blue. A lot of fans thought the Rangers under GM and president Glen Sather never appreciated Leetch the way the franchise did when Neil Smith was in charge — and were irate when Sather dealt him to Toronto at the trading deadline in 2004.
Ironically, Leetch had most of his best individual seasons before he played his best hockey. He won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in 1988-89 and the Norris Trophy as the top defenseman in 1991-92, when he became the only Ranger defenseman to break the 100-point mark.
That was also his first season playing with Mark Messier. Two years later, they keyed the Rangers’ run to their first Stanley Cup since 1940, with Leetch becoming the first American to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
On the ice, Leetch and Messier were made for each other. Leetch transition skills and passing abilities meshed perfectly with Messier’s speed and offensive abilities. But just as important is what Messier taught him off the ice.
“I think I learned a more businesslike approach on the ice from Mark,” Leetch said years later. “I learned not to get too high when you win a game and that when you lose, hey, you’re still a good player.”
For his part, Messier recognized that Leetch had ascended to a place among the NHL’s elite.
“He took his game to another level,” Messier said of Leetch’s play. “He can control the game like the greats of the past.”
The Rangers didn’t win any more titles, but Leetch remained among the NHL’s best. He won another Norris Trophy in 1997, helping the Rangers advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. As the careers of Messier and fellow 1994 heroes Adam Graves and Mike Richter wound down due to age and injuries, Leetch was the last of the pillars of the Cup-winning team to continue to perform at a high level, even when his team didn’t.
But even though Leetch continued to put up good numbers well into the new century, the Rangers — even after the return of Messier in 2000 — couldn’t find the winning touch. As they continued to miss the playoffs, the memories of Leetch’s accomplishments began to fade.
“When you have a good team, it’s easier for an individual to get noticed,” Leetch says. “I had personal success before and after 1994. But with a team that good, I got more notice.”
With the Rangers struggling, Sather sent Leetch to Toronto at the trade deadline in 2004. When the Rangers didn’t pursue him after the lockout, he played with Boston in 2005-06. Leetch got a warm welcome in what turned out to be his one and only game as a visiting player at Madison Square Garden, though he told the media before the game that if he’d had his choice, he’d have spent his whole career as a Ranger.
"I didn't want to leave here," Leetch said. "I was proud to be a Ranger for my entire career from when I got drafted, and I wanted to be here when things turned around. So I was disappointed — and still am."
Leetch got a standing ovation from the Garden crowd that night, and there was talk that he might come back to New York for 2006-07. But he didn’t sign with anyone last summer and stayed home all season, though he didn’t officially announce his retirement until Thursday. The final act of his career should be induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
A former No. 2 on the Rangers will be glad to welcome him.
“Brian is a wonderful player,” said Brad Park, who wore No. 2 in the 1970s when he began his Hall of Fame career in New York before being dealt to Boston in 1975. “I kidded him — I told him, ‘Brian, you’ve got to stop following me around and taking my number.’ When I got here, No. 2 had been retired for Eddie Shore. I took No. 22. Brian came and wore the same number, and I said, ‘Not only are you following me, you took my number.’ That’s all in good fun, of course. He’s a great player and I’ll be proud when they raise his number to the rafters at the Garden.”
-- John Kreiser, NHL.com columnist
"Brian Leetch is the example I'd use to teach youngsters how to play the position," said retired NHL referee Paul Stewart. "He didn't make mistakes, didn't cough up the puck and like Scott Niedermayer, he always found the outlet. I never saw him get mad. When calls went against his team, he never really got angry; he went about his business. He took a thrashing sometimes because he wasn't a guy who fought but I've always said the true measure of toughness isn't always the ability to fight, there's also an element of being able to take it while continuing to play your game."
Leetch was generally wary of the media and some took him to be standoffish. Those who know him best say he's basically shy and the last thing he ever wanted was to have to explain a published criticism to a teammate so he didn't do it. He loved the camaraderie of a good hockey team and the respect of his peers. This past year has given him the opportunity to reflect on those things that are really important.
"Every organization I played for treated me with respect as well as everybody I played with," Leetch said. "They valued my opinion, right down to the fans who have always been great to me. I played for three of the Original Six franchises where passions run from the kids to the dads, their granddads and even those who have passed away. That was a special thing to be a part of."
Leetch was so good and so well liked, he had different constituencies claiming him as their own. His dad, Jack, a good player for Boston College grew up Braintree, Mass. Brian grew up skating at the rink his father managed in Cheshire, Conn., played for Boston College and later the Bruins, so New England claims him. His dad was in the military, stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas, when Brian was born, so he will be for a long, long time the best hockey player Texas has produced.
And, he was an American who represented his country in three Olympics and helped lead them to the gold medal in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. The 1989 Calder Memorial Trophy winner, Leetch also twice won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman. He is as celebrated a player as any American to play the game.
"In hockey, he ranks up there with Guy Lapointe, Slava Fetisov and Serge Savard," Stewart explained. "He may not have the same cache as Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque or Denis Potvin but he ranks in the upper, upper echelon. His track record is a landmark and an inspiration for kids. This is a guy who elevated the reputation of Americans and American defensemen in the NHL."
New Jersey Devils CEO/President/GM Lou Lamoriello was a player, coach, athletic director at Providence College and one of the founders of Hockey East, the conference that Leetch played in while at Boston College. He was also the GM of the 1996 World Cup team and the 1998 US Olympic team. So, he has the experience of managing teams with Leetch and against Leetch.
"There's no question that no matter what I said about Brian Leetch that it would underestimate what he has done for college hockey, the NHL and for American-born hockey players," said Lamoriello, who played four years for Providence College against Brian's dad. "Jack and I were in the same graduating class. I've watched Brian come through Hockey East and the NHL, his whole career. He is an icon and must be congratulated on a great career."
Leetch was the Conn Smythe winner, the Stanley Cup Playoff MVP, when the New York Rangers broke their 54-year Stanley Cup drought in 1994. But it wasn't just that one team that made being a Ranger great for Leetch, it was playing over the years with Richter, Adam Graves, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Marcel Dionne. Mike Gartner and Guy Lafleur, among so many others.
"I'd be happy to be remembered as a Ranger. That's good enough for me," Leetch said. "I didn't know a lot about New York City before I went there. I really embraced the city and the people treated me so well. I didn't know how long I'd be there so I thought I'd move in my second year and I wound up staying 15 years, right in the city, and I loved it."
Leetch has great memories of the Stanley Cup season but it's the people he focuses on. He was asked what it meant to him to hoist the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe at the end.
"Truthfully, you're so mentally and physically tired by the end of it, it's a relief and a sense of satisfaction we had as a team.
"My biggest memory was watching the city celebrate and embrace the team for three days. We knew it was 54 years and to see how much it meant to so many people who followed the organization through parents and grandparents. Anytime, I go back its inevitable that someone says thanks for 1994. It was a great run and it meant a lot to a lot of people."
When asked about the year he spent at Boston College, Leetch explained that he wasn't ready for the NHL that season and probably not the next year, either, but his enduring memory was helping coach Len Ceglarski set the wins record for college coaches. It really was all about the people and the hockey.
Two important attributes seem common to great athletes: They are determined to be great and they dismiss fawning admiration of their skills because they know better.
One of the great benefits of this job is the opportunities to "stay after school," that is, after morning practice to watch individual players work on aspects of their game. Brian Leetch was a player you could bank on to wait out his teammates to have the ice to himself to work on his skating, which he never believed was as good as other people said it was.
Of course, the other people were correct that Leetch was a fine-skating defenseman but he knew he could be better. Even as he approached age 40, Leetch would be working on top-speed crossovers, forward-to-backward-to-forward turns, etc, often spending an extra 30 minutes after the grueling hour practice.
"I always played with a very deep hollow," Leetch explained. "When you do that, if the blade isn't straight, you'll have the 'speed wobbles' all the time. So, one reason I was out there was to make sure the blade was straight. I really didn't think I was a good skater before playing for the 1988 U.S. Olympic team for coach Dave Peterson and skating, strength and conditioning coach Jack Blatherwick. Jack would skate us a couple of times a week in weighted vests, doing crossovers at top speed. If you fell, he was happy because you were pushing past your comfort zone and getting better. We all hated it but it made Kevin Stevens a much better skater as well as me and Craig Janney, who already was a good skater."
The enduring memory of Leetch will be his rink-long rushes, usually near the end of games, to take a shot that could, and often did, decide a game. Three generations of NHL players fell for his head, hand and hip fakes while fans of opponents would be screaming "hit him, he never passes in this situation." Too late, red light.
That compliment did elicit a chuckle from Leetch. He wondered why they kept falling for it, too.
"Usually, it was a matter of timing. At that time of the game, we were either tied or behind and if I saw an opportunity, often where there was a line change, I would look forward to it," Leetch said. "I'd get in my mind as I was turning the corner of the net, 'I'm going.' They don't all work but there's things you can do to get things in your favor by putting defenders in vulnerable positions. It was harder to do playing against good defensive systems and teams with better skaters. As time went on, it got harder to beat one guy at your net, another at your blue line, and another and another. In time, they just started backing up on me."
There have been very few NHL players who had the ability to skate through an entire opposing team and score a deciding goal.
One of them was Brian Leetch.
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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Comments
He sholuld remain inside of the crease area and no further then 6 inches outside of it from here on out. No more going behind the net, no more trying to be like martin brodeur of 5 years ago , no more puck handling --other then stopping the shootarounds by the opponents for your Blueshirt teammates--- stay the fuck inside your crease area and stay put . You are absolutely phenomenal in the net- outisde the net- not so much .
2 ) Please make sure Shanny returns, or at the very least , let him know that The New York Rangers want him back in the mix-- if he should decide to play another season .
3 ) Same thing with Sean Avery - this guy might not have overwhelming statistics, but there is absolutely no question or doubt in my mind that this team was lacking something previous to his pickup, and since his arrival our record was pretty impressive. Like Jagr said, he's one of the most underrated players in the league, and he wasnt so much of a liability that he put us at any disadvantages. ( * yet )
4 ) Please , send Karel Rachunek far away from Rangerland and MSG . Start training and excercising the farmhands now so that when the camp opens in August , they will be vying for a roster spot on this team. Staal and Liffiton come to mind right off the top of my head and without checking the Wolfpack Roster, but surely one of these younger guys can match if not exceed the hot and cold play of Rachunek all year long, IMO . ( some may want to add malik to this list, as well )
I will add more as I recall them.
again , thanks for the great ride boys.
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in case you fellas wanted to send a kind word to the team .
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No Rangers, no ratings
May 8, 2007
As usual, the National Hockey League can't catch a break. I know that nobody will shed a tear over the New York Rangers getting eliminated on Sunday in six games by the Buffalo Sabres, but if you care about the sport ever getting more exposure for the brilliance that it is, you should.
Before we get into the business at hand, I'm not a Rangers fan. Never have been; never will be. I'm the polar opposite. However, the Rangers team of the past two years is not a typical mega-market conglomerate of talent and bloated payroll.
Sure, they have talent like Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan, but they also have hard-working, under-appreciated talent like defenseman Michael Rozsival and feisty agitator Sean Avery.
They have no inherent financial advantage (thankfully) on anybody else -- at least in terms of payroll -- and they are better off for it. Glen Sather actually has shown that he can still be brilliant without flashing around his fancy credit card.
The Rangers are and have been a fun, likeable, mostly blue-collar unit that overachieved last season, underachieved for the first part of this season and then hit their stride and really should have beaten the Sabres to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. Sadly, they did not.
Don't get me wrong. I love watching the Buffalo Sabres. I covered that franchise for a number of years, and there are not many more passionalte, loyal and supportive fan bases in sports right now than the fine folks of western New York.
That's the problem. It's western New York and not the New York that the NHL wanted, craves and really needs.
The NHL was dealt a psychological blow on Sunday afternoon because the Rangers and New York City could finally deliver the exposure, ratings and casual interest that every sport needs and every show or form of entertainment needs.
Ottawa and Buffalo will put on a fantastic conference finals and for the NHL's sake, here's hoping that the Sabres can advance because if Ottawa and say Anaheim are in the Cup Finals, you will have a complete ratings disaster.
To show what big markets can do for a sports league, all you have to see was what happened when the San Antonio Spurs beat the New Jersey Nets a few years back in the NBA Finals. Ratings for that series in comparison to what they were with, say, the Lakers and anybody with a pulse were non-existant.
I don't really care about the actual pure ratings themselves, because they are a complete, unadulterated fraud -- however, the misguided, uninformed and clueless bulk of the media that bases almost everything that they will cover, focus and hype up does.
The bottom line is, even with the New York Rangers in the conference or Stanley Cup Finals, the NHL would be dealing from a disadvantaged hand. Without them, they almost have no chance dealing with the ridiculous lack of coverage on sports talk radio, sports-based television shows and other forms of entertainment programming.
The NHL needs the Rangers. When it happens in New York, it just is bigger, brighter and better in every way, shape and form.
It is the main reason why the NHL lacks casual popularity that every other major sport enjoys. The NHL combined a deadly cocktail of not having a mega star like Wayne Gretzky or Sidney Crosby in his prime, along with having most of its big market teams like the Rangers, Blackhawks and Kings stink for an extended period of time.
Besides all of these very valid reasons, let's talk pure hockey for a moment. In the Rangers, I watched a team that was just as fun to watch as Buffalo, Ottawa, Detroit and Anaheim -- not to mention a team that had just as much heart, mixed in with a good helping of balanced talent across the board.
There was great goaltending by Henrik Lundqvist, the slick play of Jagr and Michael Nylander and a pretty decent defensive unit.
The Garden was rocking on Sunday as the Rangers' season ended, as it was for the first round and earlier second round games. The Rangers gave their patented center-ice salute to the fans even after defeat to an ear-blowing roar. The only thing that would have been more neat to see, would be if Lord Stanley's Cup was in the middle of that salute.
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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scott gomez 5- 6 mil a year........... hmnnn this is interesting
is it worth it w/ this guy? he can play but is he worth that much ??
for some reason i keep thinking of holik ... i know they're different players and different ages ,,but it scares me abit
we will save 6 mil between kaspar and ozolinsh plus another 4 with shanny
thats 10 mil plus the cap is expected to rise 4 mil or so
thats 14 mil to play with right their
malik has 1 year at 2 1/2 mil left so we cant trade him
rachenuk makes 1.3 mil or so ,, he will prob be back
were gonna have to pay nylander abit more
plus sign avery
and ALL HAIL THE KING is getting ready for his payday
I WISH I WAS A GM i could do this job everyday
LET'S GO RANGER'S!!
I like Gomez as much as anyone, but I think Chris Drury is a better fit it he wants to come here. But in all honesty, how much roster turnover will there be? Maybe Ortmeyer doesn't get re-signed but for the most part, I see the same group coming back next year.
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016
Fenway 2, 2018
MSG 2022
St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
MSG 2024, MSG 2024
Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
“My instincts are that I will probably play but it’s something that I’m going to think over and you know, as far as playing and coming here this year and being part of the Rangers, there’s nowhere else I’d rather play."
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016
Fenway 2, 2018
MSG 2022
St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
MSG 2024, MSG 2024
Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
ya gotta think buffalo will try to resign drury over briere
based on past history ??
then again the rest of the playoffs may determine this
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016
Fenway 2, 2018
MSG 2022
St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
MSG 2024, MSG 2024
Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
\
BYE-LANDER
RANGERS MAY NOT RE-SIGN CENTER
By LARRY BROOKS
MICHAEL IN THE MIDDLE: Michael Nylander, the Rangers' leading playoff scorer, heads into the offseason as a free agent and may test the market rather than return to the Blueshirts.May 9, 2007 -- When those Rangers whose opinions were solicited at yesterday's break-up day, including Tom Renney, agreed that management's offseason focus should be trained on adding an upper-echelon center, the unspoken implication was that this pivot would naturally slide in behind first-liner Michael Nylander.
But a brief conversation with Nylander planted at least seeds of doubt about the impending-free-agent center's return being a slam dunk. It's impossible to tell whether this will grow into an issue, but it's clear Nylander's agent, Paul Theofanous, has thus far gauged his client's worth differently than Glen Sather has.
"They had been talking, but it was dragging a little bit, so I told my agent to drop it until the end of the season," Nylander said. "My preference, of course, is to get something done because I like it here and this is where I want to be, but we'll see."
The Rangers are believed to be offering Nylander, who will turn 35 Oct. 3, a two-year deal that would keep him on Broadway through the remaining term of Jaromir Jagr's contract. The team would like to tie up Nylander for approximately the same $3.5 million Martin Straka will earn next year.
But Nylander, who led the Blueshirts in playoff scoring (6-7-13) and was second to Jagr during the regular season (26-57-83), probably could command more on the open market.
The questions are, a) whether Theofanous, notoriously close to Sather, will be able to use free-agent leverage to gain a better deal for Nylander; and, b) whether Nylander would leave what's been a perfect situation for a better contract?
"You don't really know what will happen on the open market," said Nylander, who expects negotiations to resume in a week or so. "I like it here a lot, but I don't know what they're going to say."
*
If Brendan Shanahan returns for a 20th NHL season, it's all but certain it will be as a Ranger. Yesterday, Shanahan, who will turn 39 in January, said he's leaning toward playing.
"I'll take some time and talk to my family, but my instincts are that I'll probably play," he said. "When you've played so long, you just want to make sure you're making the right decision, and not just for yourself and your family, but for the team.
"I want to make sure I can be an effective player for the New York Rangers. If I play, this is where I want to play."
*
Jed Ortmeyer, also an impending unrestricted free agent, also wants to continue his career in New York, but it's not at all clear the feeling is mutual. Even though the Rangers signed Straka, Blair Betts, Thomas Pock, Ryan Hollweg and Colton Orr to extensions during the season, management never broached the subject with Ortmeyer or agent Mark Witken.
"I try not to read into things too much; maybe they had more important things to do, but it does make me a little nervous," said Ortmeyer, who missed the first three months recovering from a pulmonary embolism. "This is where I want to play, but it's not necessarily up to me."
Ortmeyer has a pending grievance against the Rangers for their failure to pay him a $150,000 signing bonus due while the NHL lockout was in effect. Presumably that has nothing to do with Sather's refusal to engage him in contract talks.
*
Straka, whose left-shoulder separation somehow healed itself as he played with it the last two months, will not require surgery. Sean Avery (left wrist), Karel Rachunek (left knee) and Michal Rozsival (left knee and shoulder) may need operations.
larry.brooks@nypost.com
i think the Rangers should do all they can to insure that Nylander, Avery , and Shanny all return to the Blue Red and White on Broadway .
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May 09, 2007
Renney Stalls on Staal [Links & Prospects Added]
The Rangers were not happy with the way their season ended. They thought they could have done better, gone farther. And they vow to a man to take the final step toward being a top Stanley Cup contender next season. On one hand, that's the goal of every rebuilding program, so if the team thinks they are there now, then they have to go for it. On the other hand, the young talent accumulated during the past three years is beginning to mature, beginning of course with Henrik Lundqvist and going through key regulars like Fedor Tyutin and Petr Prucha, several role players, and the late-season infusion brought by Dan Girardi, Ryan Callahan, and to a lesser extent others like Brandon Dubinsky. So where does the team go from here in preparing for a long playoff run next season?
"When you're playing in a city like New York, for a team like Rangers, it's about who performs, that day, that night," said Brendan Shanahan. "I wouldn't want to buy season tickets and say that we'll be good in three years, we'll be good in four years -- we'll get them soon. We're definitely a team right now with some of the key pieces in place, a mixture between youth and experience, goaltending obviously is huge. We're a team that should be challenging for the Stanley Cup right now. We were closer this year than maybe some of the younger players realize. You can't always say, 'Next year.'"
"As long as we maintain a balance, I'm content with that," said coach Tom Renney about going for it now vs. continuing to build for the future. "We have to operate with an eye on the future. But we also have to realize -- we want to win a Stanley Cup as soon as we can." "No job is anyone's right, whether you're an older guy or a younger guy," said Shanahan. "So if a guy is available through free agency who is going to make our team better, the team is going to do that. We're in the winning business. We've got a very demanding fan base, a very supporting fan base, and if I was buying a season ticket, I'd want to know that the team is doing everything they could -- without compromising the future. That's kind of in place right now."
With obvious needs at second line center and on the top defensive pair, Renney wasn't sure whether Hartford could fill those needs or whether players would have to be acquired from outside the organization. "We've shown enough growth with our young guys in Hartford to consider them in that position," he said. "Those that came in and spent more than a cup off coffee with us have demonstrated that the coaching there was such that they could elevate their game and jump in. Is there more dormant talent there to come in and fill that role? Only time will tell in training camp. We'll identify what we believe might be there and where other solutions lie, whether solutions lie outside of us."
While most agree that the best options in the middle of the second line are in the free agent market, with Chris Drury, Daniel Briere, and Scott Gomez among those headed to the open market, the Rangers appear to have the answer on defense within their organization. "We've got this kid Staal who is tearing up the junior leagues right now," said Shanahan. "[He] obviously is ready and needs the next level for his development. We're all excited to see what he is going to do in the NHL. If he's as good as everyone says he is, he can really help this organization."
"We're all optimistic naturally and pretty excited about what we have in front of us here," said Renney about Marc, the third Staal brother headed to th NHL. But then he sounded a more cautious note about his development. "He is still a work in progress," he said. "And he will be next September when he comes in here for training camp. We all have to remember that. Whether it manifests him as part of our team in September or January or the following year remains to be seen. We've got to allow a natural maturation of this player -- physically as well. Strength is a big issue. When Marc plays in the NHL -- it's the adult game. He has to show an ability to cope with playing against big strong men who have speed and talent and experience. His forte is more on the defensive side of the puck, so he's going to have to handle big strong men. At the same time, he's a very good passer, he'll help our transition game. But for me it's just making sure that he's mentally and physically mature enough."
Renney wasn't ready to assume that Staal can step right in just because his brothers Eric and Jordan did. "We'll keep an open mind there, but we won't force feed the NHL to Marc," he said. "His brothers are forwards. You can camouflage [their] inadequacies amongst twelve people [up front], you can't camouflage them amongst six [defensemen]. They get that much more exposed on the back end, there's much more decision making to be done there. You're talking about apples and oranges with his brothers primarily because of the positions they play. What I don't want to do is make so much of this kid before he's come back to us. I'm sure not ruling out the fact that he won't be here next year -- there's a good chance he can play here. But he has to go through what's required to show us that he can do that. Time will tell. We're going to bring him along intelligently so that when he does step into our line-up, it's for a long, long time, not for a cup of coffee or four five minutes a game."
Even young players that are already here are no lock to keep their roles when next season starts. "I don't know what a Ryan Callahan NHL season looks like if it's 82 games long," said Renney. "I don't know if there's diminishing return or if he's able to sustain a certain level of play. Same thing with Danny Girardi or anyone else who comes in from Hartford. That's why you have to have that blend of people, so the younger guys can have success because of who they're around. Winners allow you to do that."
"To me it's about performance," said Shanahan. "If you perform, you play, regardless of who you are and what you get paid, how many years you've been in the league, any player younger or older. If I were running things, I'd say a tie goes to the young guy. It still always comes down to performance. That doesn't hurt anyone in this organization. That competitiveness is something we have to have throughout. This is a competitive business. Part of being better than other teams is constantly pushing your teammates at each other. The challenge is for a player like me to remain good and the challenge is for younger players to get better."
Shanahan has nothing but praise for Girardi. "You can't underestimate how important it was for a guy like Dan Girardi to come in here and do what he did," he said. "Dan Girardi was amazing. A lot of guys like Avery, Mara get a lot of credit for what they did. But I don't think Dan Girardi gets a lot of credit for what he did. He was a force, just a steady force throughout."
News reports out of break-up day are about the status of free agents Shanahan and Nylander, the need for a second line center, Sean Avery, Jaromir Jagr, and injuries -- see the Daily News, Journal News, Newsday, Times, Post, Star-Ledger, AP, SNY, and NY Sports Day. More from Blueshirts Blog, Rangers Report, and NY Sports Day. Hockey Rodent counters Martin Straka's statement on whether he needs surgical repairs on his damaged shoulder -- "If they do the surgery, they don't think it's going to make any difference," Straka said yesterday. "They said it wasn't necessary to do the surgery." Jess Rubenstein reports on yesterday's CHL playoffs (for news reports, see here, here, here, here, here, and here):
Ranger fans can identify with the feeling that close to 6,000 Sudbury fans had when their Wolves took to the ice in Game 3 of the OHL final last night. In 35 years, they have never won a championship or Memorial Cup. They greeted their team with a huge ovation and a salute to Staal for his winning OHL Defenseman of the Year. But the Plymouth Whalers were not going to just roll over and hand them the championship. They came out looking to take the Sudbury crowd out of the game, but Sudbury got on the board first. That lead lasted just 42 seconds, a bad bounce allowing the Whalers to tie the game. After that, the Wolves tightened up their defense and choked off the Whaler attack.
Staal had a typical game -- he was everywhere, hitting, breaking up plays, starting the Sudbury offense. He assisted on the goal that gave Sudbury a 2-1 lead, his 14th playoff assist and 19th point overall. After the Whalers tied the game again early in the third, the Wolves scored twice to take a 4-2 lead, with Staal on the ice for both goals. The Whalers rallied to tie again and send the game into OT, where Staal helped set up the game winner that sent the hometown crowd happy, the Wolves taking a 2-1 series lead. With two assists and an impressive +4, Staal is now 5-15-20, good for 11th overall in OHL playoff scoring, first among defenseman. He is +22.
Game 4 is tonight at 7:30 EDT -- spend the $6.95 to get a good look at not only a future Ranger but very likely a future Ranger captain. One has to wonder if the Rangers might want to sign Jonathan D’Aversa, Staal's defensive partner who also assisted on the same two goals Staal assisted on. D’Aversa, an undrafted 20 year old, has great chemistry with Staal, has better numbers than the recently signed Mike Busto, and is bigger as well.
Meanwhile, Michael Sauer and Medicine Hat traveled to Vancouver, where the bad blood from Game 2 broke out 1:48 in with the game’s first fight. Once things settled down, Vancouver took a bad penalty, and Sauer got his first goal of the playoffs on the resulting power play to give the Tigers the early lead. The goal appeared to energize Sauer -- he was everywhere in the first period at both ends of the ice. The game wound up in overtime, the Tigers winning 3-2 to take a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 is tonight, starting at 10:00 PM EDT.
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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:mad:
instead we get to watch sabres and ottawa go at it .
oh well.
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http://www.newyorkrangers.com/pressbox/pressreleases.asp?id=2906
saw that the other day.
i think i even saw a bit on the TV ( msg )
they better fucking sign nylander and shanny,
& get rid of rachunek.
henrik = no more outta' the net/crease.
thats all
have a nice summer.
from the beach
bathgate
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look
michael stipe ( from REM ) plays for the rangers now.
Michael Stipe from REM - on the New York Rangers [size=-2] <<<click me [/size]
from http://rangerland.net/
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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counting down till july and the free agent signings.
New Ranger Blood
BLUESHIRTS, DUPONT AGREE TO TERMS ON CONTRACT
Brodie Dupont completed his major-junior career in style by scoring 37 goals for Calgary of the Western Hockey League .
5/21/2007
New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms on a professional contract with forward Brodie Dupont.
Dupont, 20, skated in 70 games with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL) this season, registering 37 goals and 33 assists for 70 points, along with 90 penalty minutes and a plus-23 rating.
While serving as one of Calgary's alternate captains for the second consecutive season, Dupont led the Hitmen with 37 goals and ranked second on the team in scoring with 70 points. His 37 goals tied for ninth in the league. He also shared the team-lead with 11 power play goals and tied for second on the club with a plus-23 rating.
In addition, Dupont recorded an 11-game point scoring streak from October 8 to October 30, collecting eight goals and eight assists over that span. In the postseason, Dupont led the Hitmen in goals (nine) and points (16), and helped his team reach the WHL's Eastern Conference Finals. His nine goals tied for sixth among all WHL players in the playoffs.
The 6-2, 210-pound forward has skated in 214 career games with Calgary (WHL), registering 81 goals and 68 assists for 149 points, along with 324 penalty minutes. His 81 career goals currently rank ninth among Calgary's all-time leaders. In 43 career playoff games, he has collected 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points, along with 78 penalty minutes.
Born in Russell, Manitoba, Dupont was originally a third round selection of the Rangers, 66th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.
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thats good news to hear before the july free agent singings.
NY Post
RANGERS CATCH CAP BREAK
By LARRY BROOKS
PrintEmailDigg ItStory Bottom
May 22, 2007 -- The NHL legal department informed the Rangers yesterday that any payments they might owe Bobby Holik under his signing-bonus grievance will not be applied against their 2007-08 cap, The Post has learned.
The league has ruled that the disputed 2006 signing bonus of $2 million - $1.52M after the 24 percent rollback - would have been part of the Rangers' July 29, 2005 Compliance Buyout of Holik and thus would not have originally counted against the cap.
Though Article 50 of the CBA provides for cap charges against a team in the event of owed, future payments to a player, and though a source familiar with the case had told The Post that the Blueshirts would face a penalty if found liable in the grievance hearing scheduled for June 26, the league informed the Rangers the clause would not be interpreted to cover disputed Compliance Buyouts made in the one-time amnesty period in the labor agreement.
Holik also is challenging the non-payment of a $2M bonus payment due during the lockout on July 1, 2005. Darius Kasparaitis and Jed Ortmeyer also have filed grievances for withheld bonuses due on that date for $1M and $150,000, respectively. As those payments were due before CBA, they would not be applied against the cap.
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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i read this yesterday,,thank god,, this is big for us
a duh
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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Sammi: Wanna just break up?
yes, Brian finally called it a career today .
# 2 Retired .
( wondering if there will be a #2 retriement next season at msg - being that out of respect noone wears that # anymore )
even tho hes been long gone for sometime now,
theres a bit of saddness in this news , and that the NYR werent able to work things out with him and let him go out in style , and in NY , and wearing the red white and blue . The last time i saw him plasy was 2 seasons ago when the NYR played Boston , and he was so well received by the Garden faithful .
He was without question one of the more popluar and most liked guys on the Rangers , ever, and not to even mention he was our Con Smythe winner for our cup winning team in 94.
i was fortunate enough to meet him , and briefly talk with him.
Hes one of the most down to earth, nicest guys out there , anywhere .
Theres something very cordial and polite with that guy, i wish him all the best.
He married into the O ' Neil family - and they own that big bar in manhattan.
maybe we can go there and catch a glimpse of brian.
good luck # 2
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2 time norris trophy winner and 1 time con smythe winner , as well as our former captain.
wishing him all the best.
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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Sammi: Wanna just break up?
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016
Fenway 2, 2018
MSG 2022
St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
MSG 2024, MSG 2024
Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
you will always be missed
and will be a blueshirt 4ever
our powerplay wouldv3 been better, thats for sure. Maybe he couldve taught some of these younger guys , helped them along ( like Girardi- already great- and Liffiton,Staal ect ,.. )
i would only venture to guess
but it'd probably be best against Boston.
Leetchie grew up there, and his Dad was a bigtime Bruin fan while Brian grew up.
Regardless of what team they play for # 2 up-to-the-rafters night, i'll be there.
i was there for richter and mess, couldnt pass up on Leetchie.
he was / is the man .
todays papers filled with tributes:
NY Daily News :
Leetch Skates Away
Leetch skates away
Brian ends career after 18 seasons
BY JOHN DELLAPINA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Friday, May 25th 2007, 4:00 AM
Print Email Suggest a Story
Brian Leetch is calling it a career.
Click to see Brian Leetch photo gallery.
In the end, no longer able to bring himself to play in another uniform and unable to live up to his own lofty standard for wearing a Rangers sweater, Brian Leetch couldn't find a way back.
So yesterday morning, he officially acknowledged the decision that virtually every one of his friends, relatives, former teammates and dozens of NHL executives implored him not to make. Leetch announced his retirement after arguably the finest career an American-born hockey player has ever had.
By doing so, Leetch found a different way back to the Garden ice he commanded for 17 incomparable years, as the Rangers began discussions yesterday to determine when and how they will retire Leetch's No. 2 to the Garden rafters next season.
When they do so, they will honor a man for whom wearing a Blueshirt was more important than any of his countless awards and statistical achievements.
Leetch, 39, won the 1988-89 Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year. He won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman in 1991-92 and 1996-97. He was a 10-time NHL All-Star. He ranks a narrow second on the Rangers' all-time scoring and games played lists and is the franchise's all-time leading playoff scorer.
He captained Team USA to the 1996 World Cup title and played in three Olympics. And in 1994, he became the only American ever to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP as the Rangers won their only Stanley Cup in the last 67 years.
Still, asked yesterday about his legacy, Leetch said: "If they remember me as a Ranger, that's good enough. If my name pops up in a conversation and somebody says: ‘Oh yeah, he was a Ranger,' that's good enough for me."
Fact is, Leetch never wanted to be anything other than a Ranger. And though he was crushed by the March 3, 2004, trade that sent him to Toronto and drained after a disappointing 2005-06 season with Boston, Leetch was contemplating a career-completing return to the Rangers last season.
"I didn't want to run and chase teams, try to predict who would be good and move the family around," Leetch said, referring to wife Marybeth and their three small children. "It wasn't until (Rangers coach) Tom Renney called me personally about a week into free agency that I got that little shot of adrenaline again and started getting myself back into it.
"But then I had a tough time the next six weeks getting myself physically to where I wanted to be. I didn't want to go back to New York - especially New York - and not be 100% or at a level I was comfortable with. I didn't want to not be good right from the start there - though I'm sure people there would have given me time and the benefit of the doubt."
Envisioning Leetch quarterbacking his sputtering power play and bringing order to a chaotic defense, Renney continued to press the issue through Christmas. But by then, Leetch was finding life as a stay-at-home dad too rewarding and the prospect of making a comeback too daunting.
"When training camp was about to start, I didn't feel ready to make a commitment," Leetch said. "Still, I felt I could get settled and keep in shape and be ready to go. But more and more, I found it harder to feel I could come back and help the team and not embarrass myself.
"And it slowly started to sink in that this was the end."
When the announcement came yesterday, the former teammate who has been like a brother to Leetch for nearly two decades attempted to provide perspective.
"Nobody who saw Brian didn't appreciate the talent," Mike Richter said. "But nobody who played with him didn't appreciate that dedication and effort and preparation and professionalism.
"He was an absolute warrior - just a great commander on the ice. Anybody who has played with him, owes a lot of their success to him. And I can say that with absolute authority, because I know I do.
"It is sad to see that type of talent put on a shelf. I already miss watching him play."
Red, white, & Blueshirt
Brian Leetch is one of the greatest American-born hockey players in history. Here is a look at some of his NHL highlights:
1988-89: After finishing with two goals and 12 assists in 17-game cameo the previous season, Leetch records 71 points (23 goals, 48 assists) to win Calder Trophy as NHL's rookie of the year. He tallies five more points in playoffs, but Rangers are swept by Penguins in four games.
1991-92: Scores 102 points, including 22 goals, to lead Rangers to Presidents' Trophy with NHL's best record. Leetch is the first American-born defenseman to reach triple digits in points. Wins his first of two Norris Trophies as the league's top defenseman.
1993-94: Ties career high in goals with 23, finishing with 79 points, as Rangers again finish with league's best record. Records 11 goals and 23 assists in the playoffs to help lead Rangers to first Stanley Cup since 1940, becoming first (and still only) American to win Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs.
1996-97: Wins second Norris Trophy after scoring 20 goals with 58 assists. Posts 10 points in 15 playoff games, but Rangers fall in Eastern Conference finals to Flyers, their last playoff appearance until last season.
1997-98: Becomes captain of the Rangers after Mark Messier (beow l.) leaves for three-season stint in Vancouver.
March 3, 2004: Traded to Maple Leafs for Maxim Kondratiev, Jarkko Immonen and two draft picks. Ends Ranger career with 981 points (240 goals, 741 assists) in 1129 games.
Oct. 18, 2005: After signing with the Bruins, Leetch becomes the 69th player in NHL history to score 1,000 points when he assists on Nick Boynton's goal in a 4-3 loss to the Canadiens in Montreal. March 20, 2006: In Leetch's only appearance at the Garden as an opponent, the Rangers give him a video tribute, and the crowd gives him a standing ovation.
Related Articles No. 2 is always No. 1
No. 2 is always No. 1
By SHERRY ROSS
DAILY NEWS SPORTS COLUMNIST
Friday, May 25th 2007, 4:00 AM
It is important to remember - in an era where athletes gain their notoriety with dogfights, gun possession, drug-test positives, drunk driving, bar brawls and self-promotion - that a guy named Brian Leetch once lived at the corner of Eighth Avenue and 33rd Street.
He made it his home, and it was a home, because unlike the mercenary hordes that have stampeded through his old stomping grounds, Leetch was a home-grown Ranger, a first-round draft pick in an era when the Blueshirts actually placed prime focus on scouting and developing their own talent.
Leetch retired yesterday after a full non-active season as he held his internal debate about whether he could still play at an elite level. The announcement didn't have the same dramatic punch that his trade to Toronto did on March 3, 2004. What it has done is open up a floodgate of memories.
Leetch at once represents what was best about the Rangers and - because of unceremonious dismissal at the hands of GM Glen Sather - what was worst. He was the Most Valuable Player of the 1994 playoffs, when the Rangers broke that decades-long jinx and won their first (and so far, only) Cup since 1940. The Rangers couldn't have won that Cup without Mark Messier's guarantee and Mike Richter's phenomenal goaltending. But they also couldn't have won it without Leetch.
Trying to explain Leetch to someone who didn't see him play in his prime is, to steal a line, like trying to tell a stranger about rock and roll. Start with the skating - smooth and effortless, especially his lateral movement along the blue line in the attacking zone. It was what made him so incredibly efficient on the power play (it sure wasn't his shot, which never approached Al MacInnis-like velocity). It also made it nearly impossible to try to chip the puck out off the boards. Leetch had an uncanny ability to read plays and keep the puck in, keep the pressure on.
Defensively, there were better defensemen, but the physical part of Leetch's play was always underrated. His skating helped him break up plays and he could quickly mount a counterattack. In the words of his friend Richter, Leetch was "an absolute warrior," one who would sacrifice his body, play hurt and block shots without a murmur of complaint.
Quietly proud, Leetch never ratted out his coaches or teammates to the media, never griped out loud when things got sour, as they did not long after that rosy glow of the Cup win had faded. Leetch was there through all of the tough years, too, those six non-playoff seasons until, just before the Rangers were about to miss for the seventh straight spring, Leetch was traded to Toronto in Sather's great Rangers yard sale.
Leetch, stunned despite the prevalent rumors that he would be dealt, finished out the playoffs with the Maple Leafs. It was the last time Leetch would play for the Cup. After the lockout, he signed with the Boston Bruins - essentially his hometown team, two hours from Cheshire, Conn. - and missed the playoffs again after the 2005-06 season. His last appearance at the Garden came on March 20, 2006, in a Bruins uniform.
Leetch continued to stay in shape, and fended off offers from teams like the Devils, since he could never see himself playing against the Rangers in the same division. The door was opened a crack after a reconciliation talk with coach Tom Renney, and while on so many nights it seemed that even a half-speed Leetch would be of more help on the power play than Karel Rachunek, he declined a comeback.
Leetch, after all, had witnessed up close and personally the decline of two of the immortals, Messier and Wayne Gretzky. Cognizant of how it might play out, faced with the image of becoming an aging athlete too stubborn to forgo one last grab at youth, Leetch instead decided to call it quits.
He will get his retirement night at Madison Square Garden sometime next season. His No. 2 will hang on the ceiling - by rights, next to Richter's and Messier's. Was he the best all-time Ranger? The best home-grown Ranger? The best U.S.-born defenseman? The best American player ever? That's fodder for bar arguments and sports talk radio (assuming you live somewhere where they actually talk about hockey on the radio).
"If they remember me as a Ranger, that's good enough for me," Leetch said yesterday.
They'll do more than that. They will remember him as the Ranger.
sross@nydailynews.com
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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Leetch: Remember me as a Ranger
John McGourty | NHL.com Staff Writer May 25, 2007, 12:53 PM EDT
Brian Leetch, one of the NHL's top defensemen who helped the New York Rangers win the Stanley Cup in 1994, retired Thursday, May 24, 2007, after an 18-year career.
Brian Leetch helped fill the six-day gap between the end of the conference championships and the start of the Stanley Cup Finals with his retirement announcement Thursday. It's been a year since Leetch last played and, after entertaining offers from nearly every NHL team over the past year, Leetch told the rest of the world what he has come to accept: "He's had enough."
Leetch explained that he'd returned to the gym on several occasions to get to the required fitness level and discovered that the necessary competitive element was missing.
Leetch's career from 1988-2006 took him through several eras of hockey, from the nearly wide-open game of the late 1980s to the tight-checking defensive schemes of the mid-90s to mid-2000s and this current return to a more free-flowing game.
"I feel so fortunate to have come into the game when I did, Leetch said. "For me, it was the right time. They had just changed the bench-clearing rules and there was a renewed emphasis on the offensive part of the game. It fit me perfectly."
Never a big banger, Leetch is best remembered as a powerful offensive force from the blueline, one of the best puck rushers in the history of the NHL. But his longtime goalie pal, Mike Richter, sprung to Leetch's defense about his defensive skill. Richter explained that Leetch's skating ability enabled him to position himself perfectly for breaking up rushes and slowing oncoming opponents. His puckhandling along the boards and outlet passes were among the best you'll see.
Leetch: The Greatest Ranger
Brian Leetch wore No. 2 during his 17 seasons as a New York Ranger. He’s No. 2 on the Rangers’ all-time scoring list as well. But when it comes to the question of who’s the greatest Ranger of all time, he’s unquestionably No. 1.
Leetch didn’t have Bobby Orr’s brilliance, Denis Potvin’s ruggedness or Paul Coffey’s speed. He wasn’t big (listed at 6 feet and 190 pounds), was quick rather than fast and didn’t have the cannon shot teams love to see from their defensemen.
What he did have was that little something that makes a player special — the vision to see the play a couple seconds ahead of everyone else on the ice. Few defensemen have ever been better at breaking up a play and making the transition from defense to offense. He also had the ability to control the tempo of a game the way no Ranger defenseman had shown since Doug Harvey a generation earlier.
But the thing that endeared Leetch most to New York fans was simpler: He bled Ranger blue. A lot of fans thought the Rangers under GM and president Glen Sather never appreciated Leetch the way the franchise did when Neil Smith was in charge — and were irate when Sather dealt him to Toronto at the trading deadline in 2004.
Ironically, Leetch had most of his best individual seasons before he played his best hockey. He won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in 1988-89 and the Norris Trophy as the top defenseman in 1991-92, when he became the only Ranger defenseman to break the 100-point mark.
That was also his first season playing with Mark Messier. Two years later, they keyed the Rangers’ run to their first Stanley Cup since 1940, with Leetch becoming the first American to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
On the ice, Leetch and Messier were made for each other. Leetch transition skills and passing abilities meshed perfectly with Messier’s speed and offensive abilities. But just as important is what Messier taught him off the ice.
“I think I learned a more businesslike approach on the ice from Mark,” Leetch said years later. “I learned not to get too high when you win a game and that when you lose, hey, you’re still a good player.”
For his part, Messier recognized that Leetch had ascended to a place among the NHL’s elite.
“He took his game to another level,” Messier said of Leetch’s play. “He can control the game like the greats of the past.”
The Rangers didn’t win any more titles, but Leetch remained among the NHL’s best. He won another Norris Trophy in 1997, helping the Rangers advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. As the careers of Messier and fellow 1994 heroes Adam Graves and Mike Richter wound down due to age and injuries, Leetch was the last of the pillars of the Cup-winning team to continue to perform at a high level, even when his team didn’t.
But even though Leetch continued to put up good numbers well into the new century, the Rangers — even after the return of Messier in 2000 — couldn’t find the winning touch. As they continued to miss the playoffs, the memories of Leetch’s accomplishments began to fade.
“When you have a good team, it’s easier for an individual to get noticed,” Leetch says. “I had personal success before and after 1994. But with a team that good, I got more notice.”
With the Rangers struggling, Sather sent Leetch to Toronto at the trade deadline in 2004. When the Rangers didn’t pursue him after the lockout, he played with Boston in 2005-06. Leetch got a warm welcome in what turned out to be his one and only game as a visiting player at Madison Square Garden, though he told the media before the game that if he’d had his choice, he’d have spent his whole career as a Ranger.
"I didn't want to leave here," Leetch said. "I was proud to be a Ranger for my entire career from when I got drafted, and I wanted to be here when things turned around. So I was disappointed — and still am."
Leetch got a standing ovation from the Garden crowd that night, and there was talk that he might come back to New York for 2006-07. But he didn’t sign with anyone last summer and stayed home all season, though he didn’t officially announce his retirement until Thursday. The final act of his career should be induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
A former No. 2 on the Rangers will be glad to welcome him.
“Brian is a wonderful player,” said Brad Park, who wore No. 2 in the 1970s when he began his Hall of Fame career in New York before being dealt to Boston in 1975. “I kidded him — I told him, ‘Brian, you’ve got to stop following me around and taking my number.’ When I got here, No. 2 had been retired for Eddie Shore. I took No. 22. Brian came and wore the same number, and I said, ‘Not only are you following me, you took my number.’ That’s all in good fun, of course. He’s a great player and I’ll be proud when they raise his number to the rafters at the Garden.”
-- John Kreiser, NHL.com columnist
"Brian Leetch is the example I'd use to teach youngsters how to play the position," said retired NHL referee Paul Stewart. "He didn't make mistakes, didn't cough up the puck and like Scott Niedermayer, he always found the outlet. I never saw him get mad. When calls went against his team, he never really got angry; he went about his business. He took a thrashing sometimes because he wasn't a guy who fought but I've always said the true measure of toughness isn't always the ability to fight, there's also an element of being able to take it while continuing to play your game."
Leetch was generally wary of the media and some took him to be standoffish. Those who know him best say he's basically shy and the last thing he ever wanted was to have to explain a published criticism to a teammate so he didn't do it. He loved the camaraderie of a good hockey team and the respect of his peers. This past year has given him the opportunity to reflect on those things that are really important.
"Every organization I played for treated me with respect as well as everybody I played with," Leetch said. "They valued my opinion, right down to the fans who have always been great to me. I played for three of the Original Six franchises where passions run from the kids to the dads, their granddads and even those who have passed away. That was a special thing to be a part of."
Leetch was so good and so well liked, he had different constituencies claiming him as their own. His dad, Jack, a good player for Boston College grew up Braintree, Mass. Brian grew up skating at the rink his father managed in Cheshire, Conn., played for Boston College and later the Bruins, so New England claims him. His dad was in the military, stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas, when Brian was born, so he will be for a long, long time the best hockey player Texas has produced.
And, he was an American who represented his country in three Olympics and helped lead them to the gold medal in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. The 1989 Calder Memorial Trophy winner, Leetch also twice won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman. He is as celebrated a player as any American to play the game.
"In hockey, he ranks up there with Guy Lapointe, Slava Fetisov and Serge Savard," Stewart explained. "He may not have the same cache as Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque or Denis Potvin but he ranks in the upper, upper echelon. His track record is a landmark and an inspiration for kids. This is a guy who elevated the reputation of Americans and American defensemen in the NHL."
New Jersey Devils CEO/President/GM Lou Lamoriello was a player, coach, athletic director at Providence College and one of the founders of Hockey East, the conference that Leetch played in while at Boston College. He was also the GM of the 1996 World Cup team and the 1998 US Olympic team. So, he has the experience of managing teams with Leetch and against Leetch.
"There's no question that no matter what I said about Brian Leetch that it would underestimate what he has done for college hockey, the NHL and for American-born hockey players," said Lamoriello, who played four years for Providence College against Brian's dad. "Jack and I were in the same graduating class. I've watched Brian come through Hockey East and the NHL, his whole career. He is an icon and must be congratulated on a great career."
Leetch was the Conn Smythe winner, the Stanley Cup Playoff MVP, when the New York Rangers broke their 54-year Stanley Cup drought in 1994. But it wasn't just that one team that made being a Ranger great for Leetch, it was playing over the years with Richter, Adam Graves, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Marcel Dionne. Mike Gartner and Guy Lafleur, among so many others.
"I'd be happy to be remembered as a Ranger. That's good enough for me," Leetch said. "I didn't know a lot about New York City before I went there. I really embraced the city and the people treated me so well. I didn't know how long I'd be there so I thought I'd move in my second year and I wound up staying 15 years, right in the city, and I loved it."
Leetch has great memories of the Stanley Cup season but it's the people he focuses on. He was asked what it meant to him to hoist the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe at the end.
"Truthfully, you're so mentally and physically tired by the end of it, it's a relief and a sense of satisfaction we had as a team.
"My biggest memory was watching the city celebrate and embrace the team for three days. We knew it was 54 years and to see how much it meant to so many people who followed the organization through parents and grandparents. Anytime, I go back its inevitable that someone says thanks for 1994. It was a great run and it meant a lot to a lot of people."
When asked about the year he spent at Boston College, Leetch explained that he wasn't ready for the NHL that season and probably not the next year, either, but his enduring memory was helping coach Len Ceglarski set the wins record for college coaches. It really was all about the people and the hockey.
Two important attributes seem common to great athletes: They are determined to be great and they dismiss fawning admiration of their skills because they know better.
One of the great benefits of this job is the opportunities to "stay after school," that is, after morning practice to watch individual players work on aspects of their game. Brian Leetch was a player you could bank on to wait out his teammates to have the ice to himself to work on his skating, which he never believed was as good as other people said it was.
Of course, the other people were correct that Leetch was a fine-skating defenseman but he knew he could be better. Even as he approached age 40, Leetch would be working on top-speed crossovers, forward-to-backward-to-forward turns, etc, often spending an extra 30 minutes after the grueling hour practice.
"I always played with a very deep hollow," Leetch explained. "When you do that, if the blade isn't straight, you'll have the 'speed wobbles' all the time. So, one reason I was out there was to make sure the blade was straight. I really didn't think I was a good skater before playing for the 1988 U.S. Olympic team for coach Dave Peterson and skating, strength and conditioning coach Jack Blatherwick. Jack would skate us a couple of times a week in weighted vests, doing crossovers at top speed. If you fell, he was happy because you were pushing past your comfort zone and getting better. We all hated it but it made Kevin Stevens a much better skater as well as me and Craig Janney, who already was a good skater."
The enduring memory of Leetch will be his rink-long rushes, usually near the end of games, to take a shot that could, and often did, decide a game. Three generations of NHL players fell for his head, hand and hip fakes while fans of opponents would be screaming "hit him, he never passes in this situation." Too late, red light.
That compliment did elicit a chuckle from Leetch. He wondered why they kept falling for it, too.
"Usually, it was a matter of timing. At that time of the game, we were either tied or behind and if I saw an opportunity, often where there was a line change, I would look forward to it," Leetch said. "I'd get in my mind as I was turning the corner of the net, 'I'm going.' They don't all work but there's things you can do to get things in your favor by putting defenders in vulnerable positions. It was harder to do playing against good defensive systems and teams with better skaters. As time went on, it got harder to beat one guy at your net, another at your blue line, and another and another. In time, they just started backing up on me."
There have been very few NHL players who had the ability to skate through an entire opposing team and score a deciding goal.
One of them was Brian Leetch.
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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& the famous howie rose call :
" Matteau , ...Matteau,...Matteau ,...."
cant believe its already been 13 years.
fuck im getting old .
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
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