B R O A D W A Y***B L U E S H I R T S

stickboy

Bathgate66 wrote:

i liked jagrs & strakas comments on nylander

thats the thing, chemistry. You dont want a situation like Aaron Ward vs. Jagr last yr. If they play well they'll be ok.

NY PJ1

full interview
How did you guys find out that you were both in this (negotiating with the Rangers) and did you have any inkling?

Gomez: Well, I signed and it wasn't announced yet, so I figured that something was going on. We have a mutual friend, and I called Chris and I found out that he was thinking about New York and wow! And he signed, and I forget everything else that happened. I think was most excited to have Chris Drury on your team. I want to come here to win, and by the end of the day to come here and he's on your team your chances go up tremendously. That's what I was most excited about yesterday.

Question: Do you think the Rangers will be viewed as a (Stanley Cup) favorite with both you guys now?

Drury:: I don't know. I don't put too much thought into saying who's favorites and not. We just got to go play.

Question: There's been a big shakeup in the Eastern Conference now. How do you think that'll affect the standings?

Gomez: Well, like Chris said, we'll see what happens. Things have got to jell. Things have to mix well. I think this team's just got the common goal. We want to win the Stanley Cup. I think when you think that, it doesn't really matter where you're standing now, as long as that's the common goal. I know I've been talking to a lot of the guys in the locker room and that's one of the reasons we came.

Question for Gomez: The Devils have an extra hurdle to jump with big money and Ranger fans. Are you ready for that?

Gomez: Yeah definitely. There's only one stage, and that's New York. That's the biggest stage there is in the world, Madison Square Garden. There's pressure, but that's what makes it fun when you go to work everyday. The fans are great. They expect it. They want to see you do it again. It's not just one night you got to be good. It has to be constant. It's kind of like Jersey fans too. Maybe a little smaller, but I'm ready for it. I'm ready for the challenge and I'm looking forward to it.

Question for Gomez: Was there possibility that you were going back to New Jersey?

Gomez: I think it's more that New Jersey and I didn't really talk much. Both sides were ready to move on. They're a tremendous organization. So many memories, what can I say? Everything I have and everything I've done is because of them. But I think at the end of the day, it was time.

Question for Drury: I'm guessing that you wanted to wear that uniform for a long time. Can you talk about that growing up?

Drury: Yeah, I mean, as a kid this was the team, where I'm from there's definitely nothing better than the Rangers. Watching them win the Cup, I was a little bit older, but Madison Square Garden, Brian Leetch, the Rangers, this is just the place.

Question: Was it difficult decision for both of you in terms of other offers?

Gomez: I mean it was more of what is the other guy going to do. Everyone was waiting, but towards the end New York offered everything -- the city, the atmosphere, everything you would want. But most of all, I think this team is ready to win, you can just feel the buzz around them and that starts with the goaltending, I think. Playing against them they just have so much confidence. Out of the other teams, I felt like this was the place I could win in.

Drury:: After playing them in the playoffs I saw how good (Henrik) Lundqvist is, and now we're ready to take the next step

Question for Drury: How much of this was an emotional decision?

Drury: I tried not to let that be a factor and just tried to make the best decision possible

Question for Drury: Do you think you can handle all this pressure? It's a different town than, say, Colorado.

Drury: I feel I can handle the pressure. I'll just come to the rink everyday and just work hard. Just focus on that and I'll be in good shape.

Question for Drury: How was playing at the Garden in the playoffs?

Drury: Obviously, it was just such a thrill to see it first-hand, to see how loud it was and how crazy it can get. Those two games where they beat us definitely had an impact.

Question: When did it pop into your head that the Garden could be your home?

Gomez: Well for me just realizing which teams were interested and I love the area, and I love all of you guys (local media). Also, the team can really win, and let's face it, there's one New York City, there is nothing like it. Talking to the guys, even Bobby Holik, who didn't do great but only had great things to say about the organization, you want the challenge. You're a hockey player, it's what it's all about. It is the biggest stage.

Question for Gomez: What about Chris makes you so excited to sign?

Gomez: Well, it's Chris Drury for one. His track record speaks for itself. Everything worked out perfect yesterday, but he is such a winner, he is a great guy, being in the locker room with him, just the presence around him means so much. He took a Stanley Cup from me. He is a playoff guy. To come to New York with him and try to be a piece of the puzzle, it just doesn't get any better than this.

Question for Gomez: Who else on the Rangers have you spoken to?

Gomez: I've spoken to (Sean) Avery, Shanny (Brendan Shanahan). (Brian) Leetch texted me. Especially last year, you could feel the buzz coming into the city. It's a great group of guys, players and coaches.

Question for Gomez: You played in a very defensively oriented team for a while, how do you look at this team?

Gomez: It's really a misconception that the Devils are only about the defense. Maybe I can be a little more offensive here. I think I really get the feeling here that we can win every game and achieve our ultimate goal.

Question for Drury: You've been labeled a winner. What does that mean?

Drury: It's really nice, I've been pretty fortunate to be around some great players. Hockey is a team sport, though.

Question for Drury: Chris, do you get the sense in the last day that there was any sense in betrayal in Buffalo?

Drury: It's a business, and it really comes down to that. I enjoyed my time there, but it's a business.

Songburst

I still don't get where Drury got this reputation of being a winner from. He won a Cup in Denver, but he had a very limited role on that team. What else has he won other than the Little League World Series?

Bathgate66

Songburst wrote:

I still don't get where Drury got this reputation of being a winner from. He won a Cup in Denver, but he had a very limited role on that team. What else has he won other than the Little League World Series?

7.7

NY PJ1

ok here's the situation

13 mil left on the cap

5 mil henrik
3 mil sahnny
2 mil avery
3 mil left for prucha and hossa

which leaves nothing left for defense ,,,,,

however i say .. GO FOR IT NOW
TRADE MONTOYA FOR A STUD DEFENSEMAN
with herik and the new draft pick LAfluer
we are ok there

might as well take a shot w/ this team,, i think its possible

xavier mcdaniel

so i assume you're not confident with the following defensemen:

Marek Malik
Daniel Girardi
Fedor Tyutin
Marc Staal
Michal Rozsival
Paul Mara
Jason Strudwick

NY PJ1

xavier mcdaniel wrote:

so i assume you're not confident with the following defensemen:

Marek Malik
Daniel Girardi
Fedor Tyutin
Marc Staal
Michal Rozsival
Paul Mara
Jason Strudwick

plus pock and liffiton
no i like emm i just think that we need 1 more stud to really getus over the top
i mean montoya seems to be odd man out anyway ,,so he will prob. get traded eventually,, might as well go for it now i say

FnCircus

NY PJ1 wrote:

might as well go for it now i say

they're doing a fine damn job............

NY PJ1

F'n_Circus wrote:

they're doing a fine damn job............

one more stud defenseman and i think we have a real legit shot

as of now we have a chance

Bathgate66

i think we are fine with the D we have and on the farm.

I also believe we will see Kevin Weekes traded away, before we will see Montoya traded away.

I think Valliquette will be ready this season, as Henriuks backup, and they will coddle Montoya along for 1 more season , perhaps getting him his first start this season, maybe a few more games .

Weekes is a good guy and all, but i would see him as a more prominant role elsehwere, as opposed to backjing up Henrik, who we all know has solidified his # 1 status. ( rightfully so )


Lets Go Rangers.

stickboy

I agree in trading Weekes b4 Montoya. You can still get quality in return esp. b4 the deadline if a team needs serious goaltending like the Flyers usually do, or maybe the Kings now that they got a pretty sick team.

Bathgate66

stickboy wrote:

I agree in trading Weekes b4 Montoya. You can still get quality in return esp. b4 the deadline if a team needs serious goaltending like the Flyers usually do, or maybe the Kings now that they got a pretty sick team.

F the flyboys.

absolutely no deals with them , or anyone else in the east that we may face up to 6-8 times a schedule.

F that .

Gary Carter

i gotta say congrats on the signings, but that defense isnt something to look and say wow there good. there good players but not good enough to make it the cup finals and win. no im not bashing the rangers, just that i watched alot of there games.i think gomez will be a star on broadway, dury not so much.


rangers will get beat in the conference finals

stickboy

Bathgate66 wrote:

F the flyboys.

absolutely no deals with them , or anyone else in the east that we may face up to 6-8 times a schedule.

F that .

oh yea I know..I just used the Flyers as an example of teams looking for dependable goaltending down the stretch. I think if he gets a lil more playing time he might be a good trading chip to have come deadline, esp if we need that big Beukeboom type of defenseman.

stickboy

metsfan531941 wrote:

i gotta say congrats on the signings, but that defense isnt something to look and say wow there good. there good players but not good enough to make it the cup finals and win. no im not bashing the rangers, just that i watched alot of there games.i think gomez will be a star on broadway, dury not so much.


rangers will get beat in the conference finals

Our D can use a lil upgrade sure, but what other team in the East has 6 quality d-men like we do. I know Malik got a bad rap lst yr but it doesnt make him a bad defenseman and I think he'll have another solid +/- season. AND we got Strudwick back who I like and the future in Hartord is loaded....so we'll be ok.

Bathgate66

darius kasparaitis


just kidding

no really :


david liffiton

this guys good.

Gary Carter

stickboy wrote:

Our D can use a lil upgrade sure, but what other team in the East has 6 quality d-men like we do. I know Malik got a bad rap lst yr but it doesnt make him a bad defenseman and I think he'll have another solid +/- season. AND we got Strudwick back who I like and the future in Hartord is loaded....so we'll be ok.

guys like Gervais, Campoli , Martinek, Bergeron are much better then the rangers d. plus we just drafted alot of good d-man. not being bias

Bathgate66

metsfan531941 wrote:

guys like Gervais, Campoli , Martinek, Bergeron are much better then the rangers d. plus we just drafted alot of good d-man. not being bias

the penultimate defenseman is the goaltender.

ours is better then yours

and i cheer for DiP when its Olympics and all, but c'mon henrik has got the edge on him buddy.

Gary Carter

Bathgate66 wrote:

the penultimate defenseman is the goaltender.

ours is better then yours

and i cheer for DiP when its Olympics and all, but c'mon henrik has got the edge on him buddy.

i wasnt talking bout goalies, but since u mention it. ill give king henrik a slight edge but not by much. henrik is more of a goalie, DP is more of 3rd defenseman. when its all said and done they both will be legends of hockey here in ny. DP is too good of a talent to be wasted, he needs to get the mental part down, i think this will be the year for that.

Bathgate66

Stupid Sather !

Stupid! Sather takes risk with signings
The Hockey Rodent
FOXSports.com, Updated 20 hours ago STORY TOOLS:

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It's one of those "You bet your job" gambles.

FOX Bite
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Gomez joins rank of Rangers
Former New Jersey Devil Scott Gomez talks about signing a 7-year deal worth 51.5 million dollar contract to play with the Rangers.


Evidently, Ranger boss Glen Sather does not care how risky Sunday's transactions are. Remember what he said the day he announced the trade for Eric Lindros? The words went something like, "If you don't make this deal, you're a mouse for life."
That gives you some insight into Sunday's machinations.

Well, if this crap shoot pays off with a slice of Stanley Pie within the next 24 months, Glen is the hero. However, if it doesn't pay off, he won't care because he won't be here to suffer the consequences of having committed $7 million of the Blueshirts' annual salary-capped payroll to former Devil Scott Gomez...

... who scored all of thirteen goals last season...

... for the next seven years!

... rendering him untradeable — dis-ir-regardless the fact his contract is heavily front-loaded.

Folks. This is like a marriage from which there is no divorce possible.

Oh, Glen will be gone. But we will remain.

Now to be fair to Slats, my guess is that a deal with Gomez was driving toward more reasonable figures and terms. But Paul Holmgren's eight-season commitment to Daniel Briere earlier Sunday set off a feeding frenzy among the agents of the remaining UFAs.

Taking Jarome Iginla and Joe Thornton off the market didn't help New York's negotiating leverage with the unrestricted free agents, either. Those re-ups took away just about any incentive our GM had to preserve cap margin for next summer.

My speculation is that all these occurrences converged into a single perfect brainstorm to remove any last remnant of sanity and prudence in Gotham's appoach. These figures to Gomez and similar numbers to Chris Drury reflect a pre-emptive strike by Slats in an all-out push for the championship this season and next, while Jaromir Jagr's influence remains significant.

---

Former helmsman Neil Smith won a Stanley Cup in 1994 and we all know how the sacrifices he made crippled Gotham's fortunes for years afterwards. And those mistakes occurred under a CBA that permitted unlimited budgets and a commissioner who allowed cash exchanges between franchises to defray the bad paper Smith had written.

Keep in mind that emerging victorious in '94 was no certainty. Despite winning the President's Trophy and dominating the league during the regular season, the Rangers barely got past New Jersey and came close to losing the finals to Vancouver. Numerically speaking, your heroes had no more than a one-in-four chance of winning it all once they breezed into the conference finals.

As much as we suffered from 1995 through 2000 &151; the sting was dulled by the intoxication of having won the Cup. But what if we hadn't?

Imagine suffering for six more seasons if Stephane Matteau hadn't beaten Martin Brodeur and Mike Richter had been first goalie of the two to break?

Under the current CBA, you live with your decisions. With Gomez earning Joe Thornton money, you'd better pray the back of his trading card reflects the defense-first handicap of the New Jersey Devils' system and that his 2005-06 figures are more representative of how he'll do on Broadway.

---

Don't get me wrong(ly) people.

The 2007-08 season will surely be dramatic. But I have a custodial responsibility to this club. I've been here long before Sather even played for New York. I'll be here long after he has retired. You and I will be the ones living with the consequences of today's inkings in 2011 and beyond.

---

About the only good thing to say for this is that Petr Prucha's tenure with Gotham is assured because he's willing to play for peanuts.

The point is that if Slats spends the remaining cap margin on Sheldon Souray or some other expensive defenseman, he won't be able to trade Petr Puck anywhere else. He couldn't afford to absorb the salary coming back.

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OK, OK. Yes. PP could conceivably be banished for draft picks or as part of a package deal with some expensive Ranger for someone else's hefty billet. But you get the point.

---

The Bottom Line: Is the Gomez deal an illustration of Glen's cajones or his recklessness?

The answer is inconsequential. All that matters is how Gomez performs during the life of this commitment.

:8=

http://www.hockeyrodent.com

HailHailVitalogy

Did Kaspar sign with anyone?

stickboy

metsfan531941 wrote:

guys like Gervais, Campoli , Martinek, Bergeron are much better then the rangers d. plus we just drafted alot of good d-man. not being bias

I dunno, I think our D might be a lil better cause guys like Rozsival, Malik, Mara have proven more on an NHL level. I think u guys got a good pick up in Bergeron but the others have to still prove themselves.

Bathgate66

HailHailVitalogy wrote:

Did Kaspar sign with anyone?

not sure but isnt he stiull under contract with heartford ?

he's on their roster at their website

http://www.hartfordwolfpack.com/

check out the farmhands

HailHailVitalogy

Then they should call him up (if he's in shape :-\)

Seriously though, we did call him KasparMINUS but he was a rough player, and a good defensemen when he was on.

If you look at our defense it can be shakey but it can be strong...Pock is another player that needs more time on the ice. Rosival proved to us that he's the best D man they got when his game is strong. Girardi was an AMAZING call up last year, and hopefully he can continue, plus Mara has SOME SHOT, but that seems to be the only thing he has :-|

Like I said, our team on D is better now with Rozsival, Girardi, Tyutin, etc etc as opposed to Dale Puriton, Malakhov, and Poti...haha

This team looks to be as strong as the 93-94 team on paper, lets see how it holds up.

We need Gravey on the bench

stickboy

HailHailVitalogy wrote:

Then they should call him up (if he's in shape :-\)

Seriously though, we did call him KasparMINUS but he was a rough player, and a good defensemen when he was on.

If you look at our defense it can be shakey but it can be strong...Pock is another player that needs more time on the ice. Rosival proved to us that he's the best D man they got when his game is strong. Girardi was an AMAZING call up last year, and hopefully he can continue, plus Mara has SOME SHOT, but that seems to be the only thing he has :-|

Like I said, our team on D is better now with Rozsival, Girardi, Tyutin, etc etc as opposed to Dale Puriton, Malakhov, and Poti...haha

This team looks to be as strong as the 93-94 team on paper, lets see how it holds up.

We need Gravey on the bench

Mara was one of our most reliable D men last yr and probably the best acquisition at the trade deadline according to many nhl people too!

Bathgate66

devils signed karel rachunek

and now, theres a lawasuit being talked about concerning nylander- the oilers claim they had an agreement with nylander before he signed with the capitals.



wow

Bathgate66

onm the msg network- extensive coverage of the new signings for anyone who may have missed it all yesterday.

xavier mcdaniel

Bathgate66 wrote:

devils signed karel rachunek

and now, theres a lawasuit being talked about concerning nylander- the oilers claim they had an agreement with nylander before he signed with the capitals.



wow

that's a great trade, gomez for rachunek straight up..

even flow?

Two defensive centermen????? Wasn't Holik enough to show you that you can't win with those types of players?

Bathgate66

even flow? wrote:

Two defensive centermen????? Wasn't Holik enough to show you that you can't win with those types of players?

and no offensive defensemen?


i think we'll be okay tho ,...