What more do the Rangers need to do this offseason aside from resigning their RFAs ?
_______Nothing- they should wait and see how the season starts before deciding what else to do
_______Dump one or two contracts to create capspace for in season maneuverability
________Add a defenseman who can quarterback the powerplay
________Add a hard hitting stay at home defenseman
________Something more drastic / add comments
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wow! Well we got back plenty for him, so it looks like a pretty good deal for now. Hutchinson, a prospect AND a draft pick! nice!
Aah, fuck it, I’m just gonna go home, turn on the fuckin’ TV...
Watch the nightly news and drink a beer...
Like I could even change the world, yeah right...
************************************
plus like the story sayss we cut the the salary to sign avery and hossa
i dont what to make of it yet though
Yea I remember him from the games we played against the canes last yr. He looked alright and probably will give us that much needed offense esp. on the PP unit.
I just didnt expect Cullen to get traded now...I was thinking maybe halfway thru the season, but oh well. Now just sign Avery and who cares about Hossa anyways.... trade him now that he has SOME kinda value after producing on Jags line last yr cause if we wait he might go back to his sucky ways and we'll be lucky to get a bag of pucks for him!
Aah, fuck it, I’m just gonna go home, turn on the fuckin’ TV...
Watch the nightly news and drink a beer...
Like I could even change the world, yeah right...
************************************
July 17, 2007 Cullen Back to Carolina After All
The Rangers today traded Matt Cullen back to Carolina for defenseman Andrew Hutchison, prospect Joe Barnes, and a third round draft pick. In what is primarily a move to shed Cullen's remaining three years at $2.875 million out from under the salary cap, the Rangers also pick up a player in Hutchison projected as a power play quarterback, but who has yet to become an NHL regular at age 27 because of concerns about his defensive zone play and his lack of strength. Barnes, 21, is a center with size and offensive upside, but his first pro season last year was cut short after 15 games due to a major concussion.
It's the middle of the summer. The draft is over. The major free agent signings have been completed, and the salary cap depleted. And with practically no Ranger news to hold fans' interest, the response to our latest poll was in the thousands. The results can be interpreted two ways. With 80% of respondents split between standing pat and adding a defenseman, the remaining 20% want to dump a contract to create cap space. That contract is Marek Malik's. So do we throw those votes over to the "add a defenseman" camp, since dumping Malik would necessitate replacing him as our top defensive defenseman? Or do we throw those votes over to the "nothing" side of the ledger since they want to dump Malik but wait until the season starts to use the spending power freed up as a result?
Well, the question may now be moot with the news of the Cullen-Hutchison trade -- a contract other than Malik's was dumped, and a potential power play QB was added in the process, although the jury is way way out on Hutchison's ability to step right in, especially with Rozsival and Mara ahead of him. He will face stern competition from Marc Staal for a job, given his history.
The majority of the poll participation predictably came from the New York area, as well from expatriate strongholds like Florida and California, major hockey hotbeds in Canada like Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Vancouver, and even high profile cities around the world like London, Hamburg, Zurich, Vienna, Helsinki, Stockholm, and Prague where you'd expect a Ranger fan to hole up. But there were some surprises, from Malta and Morocco, to Israel and Armenia, to Hong Kong and Tokyo, to Oxford, England and Rathcoole, Ireland, to Kiev and Ceska Budejovice and the Italian Alps. Even on this side of the Atlantic, who would expect fans to check in from St-Ambroise, Quebec, Wynyard, Saskatchewan, Leavenworth, Kansas, Bon Air, Alabama, Abilene, Texas, Lake Yale, Florida, Newport, Oregon, Ashland, West Virginia, Franklin, Tennessee, Des Moines, Iowa, and Eau Claire, Wisconsin?
We're pretty sure who visited the site from Kiev, Tokyo, and Franklin, Tennessee -- our loyal subscribers in those hockey outposts. But for all you other Ranger fans in the New York metropolitan area, all across North America, and around the world, if you haven't yet discovered Blueshirt Bulletin, our monthly print publication devoted to the wide wide world of the New York Rangers, there is no better time than now to get with the program, as we head into a season where the Rangers are obviously going for the big prize. For the modest price of $30 a year for ten issues, with discounts for multi-year subscriptions (and additional postage costs outside the U.S.A.), you can get our unparalleled coverage of the Rangers and also help keep this web site going with its free daily updates and features. Click here to get more information -- we guarantee that you'll be beyond satisfied. Thanks!
For some online reading material to keep you going through these lean summer days: Hockey Rodent posted a long rant yesterday in which he remains skeptical about the Drury and Gomez signings and the readiness of our prospects. Leslie Treff reviews the Rangers' draft at Hockey's Future. Jim Schoenfeld goes "Off the Wall" at NHL.com. Even though we lost the game, John Rolfe (writing for SI.com) is on the mark with his choice of Game 5 of the 1984 playoff series between the Rangers and Islanders as the best (or at least one of the best) games ever played. Spector (who may have been the poll respondent from Prince Edward Island) reviewed the Matt Cullen pre-trade situation at FoxSports.com (timing is everything!), and Pierre Lebrun of the CP mentions Mike Peca as a possibility for the Rangers, though we find that hard to fathom.
Stan Fischler has an anecdote about John Ferguson's first day in New York at MSG.com as the centerpiece of his hommage to the recently passed Ranger GM-coach and noted NHL tough guy. "It was obvious that the media were aching for a change -- aren't they always? -- and I came in full of vim, vigor and vitality," Ferguson told Fischler about his first press conference after assuming the Rangers' helm. A mere thirty months later, New York was aching for another change, after Ferguson guided a Ranger team that had recently been a contender (and were quickly restored to contention after his departure) to three last place finishes. He traded away Rick Middleton in one of the worst trades in franchise history, he forced Rod Gilbert to retire because he was too soft, he exiled Billy Fairbairn because he was too soft, he drafted two other players ahead of Mike Bossy because Bossy was too soft, and he threw Ranger tradition out the window by changing the Rangers' uniform. We understand that it's poor form to beat up on a guy on the occasion of him losing his battle with cancer, but with everyone else singing his praises, all we remember is how he wrecked the Rangers as an opposing player and how he wrecked the Rangers as GM.
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this guy was a faceoff winner, and was tricky as hell for opponents on the shootouts.
oh well, they really had it in their heads to shed his salary for some reason, i think they shouldve shed Malik before Cullen, but whatever.
basically a 3-for-1 deal, cant complain about that.
best of luck, matty ( except when you play against NYR )
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July 17, 2007 Cullen Back to Carolina After All
The Rangers today traded Matt Cullen back to Carolina for defenseman Andrew Hutchison, prospect Joe Barnes, and a third round draft pick. In what is primarily a move to shed Cullen's remaining three years at $2.875 million out from under the salary cap, the Rangers also pick up a player in Hutchison projected as a power play quarterback, but who has yet to become an NHL regular at age 27 because of concerns about his defensive zone play and his lack of strength. Barnes, 21, is a center with size and offensive upside, but his first pro season last year was cut short after 15 games due to a major concussion.
It's the middle of the summer. The draft is over. The major free agent signings have been completed, and the salary cap depleted. And with practically no Ranger news to hold fans' interest, the response to our latest poll was in the thousands. The results can be interpreted two ways. With 80% of respondents split between standing pat and adding a defenseman, the remaining 20% want to dump a contract to create cap space. That contract is Marek Malik's. So do we throw those votes over to the "add a defenseman" camp, since dumping Malik would necessitate replacing him as our top defensive defenseman? Or do we throw those votes over to the "nothing" side of the ledger since they want to dump Malik but wait until the season starts to use the spending power freed up as a result?
Well, the question may now be moot with the news of the Cullen-Hutchison trade -- a contract other than Malik's was dumped, and a potential power play QB was added in the process, although the jury is way way out on Hutchison's ability to step right in, especially with Rozsival and Mara ahead of him. He will face stern competition from Marc Staal for a job, given his history.
The majority of the poll participation predictably came from the New York area, as well from expatriate strongholds like Florida and California, major hockey hotbeds in Canada like Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Vancouver, and even high profile cities around the world like London, Hamburg, Zurich, Vienna, Helsinki, Stockholm, and Prague where you'd expect a Ranger fan to hole up. But there were some surprises, from Malta and Morocco, to Israel and Armenia, to Hong Kong and Tokyo, to Oxford, England and Rathcoole, Ireland, to Kiev and Ceska Budejovice and the Italian Alps. Even on this side of the Atlantic, who would expect fans to check in from St-Ambroise, Quebec, Wynyard, Saskatchewan, Leavenworth, Kansas, Bon Air, Alabama, Abilene, Texas, Lake Yale, Florida, Newport, Oregon, Ashland, West Virginia, Franklin, Tennessee, Des Moines, Iowa, and Eau Claire, Wisconsin?
We're pretty sure who visited the site from Kiev, Tokyo, and Franklin, Tennessee -- our loyal subscribers in those hockey outposts. But for all you other Ranger fans in the New York metropolitan area, all across North America, and around the world, if you haven't yet discovered Blueshirt Bulletin, our monthly print publication devoted to the wide wide world of the New York Rangers, there is no better time than now to get with the program, as we head into a season where the Rangers are obviously going for the big prize. For the modest price of $30 a year for ten issues, with discounts for multi-year subscriptions (and additional postage costs outside the U.S.A.), you can get our unparalleled coverage of the Rangers and also help keep this web site going with its free daily updates and features. Click here to get more information -- we guarantee that you'll be beyond satisfied. Thanks!
For some online reading material to keep you going through these lean summer days: Hockey Rodent posted a long rant yesterday in which he remains skeptical about the Drury and Gomez signings and the readiness of our prospects. Leslie Treff reviews the Rangers' draft at Hockey's Future. Jim Schoenfeld goes "Off the Wall" at NHL.com. Even though we lost the game, John Rolfe (writing for SI.com) is on the mark with his choice of Game 5 of the 1984 playoff series between the Rangers and Islanders as the best (or at least one of the best) games ever played. Spector (who may have been the poll respondent from Prince Edward Island) reviewed the Matt Cullen pre-trade situation at FoxSports.com (timing is everything!), and Pierre Lebrun of the CP mentions Mike Peca as a possibility for the Rangers, though we find that hard to fathom.
Stan Fischler has an anecdote about John Ferguson's first day in New York at MSG.com as the centerpiece of his hommage to the recently passed Ranger GM-coach and noted NHL tough guy. "It was obvious that the media were aching for a change -- aren't they always? -- and I came in full of vim, vigor and vitality," Ferguson told Fischler about his first press conference after assuming the Rangers' helm. A mere thirty months later, New York was aching for another change, after Ferguson guided a Ranger team that had recently been a contender (and were quickly restored to contention after his departure) to three last place finishes. He traded away Rick Middleton in one of the worst trades in franchise history, he forced Rod Gilbert to retire because he was too soft, he exiled Billy Fairbairn because he was too soft, he drafted two other players ahead of Mike Bossy because Bossy was too soft, and he threw Ranger tradition out the window by changing the Rangers' uniform. We understand that it's poor form to beat up on a guy on the occasion of him losing his battle with cancer, but with everyone else singing his praises, all we remember is how he wrecked the Rangers as an opposing player and how he wrecked the Rangers as GM.
the new guy has got a really cool name too.
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That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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As a Canes fan I was thrilled about this trade... Cullen is a great powerplay and shootout guy, which was two of our biggest weaknesses last year... plus we know he's got great chemistry with the team already
Looks like a salary dump from the Rangers perspective, they have spent a lot money this summer after all Hutchinson has some offensive ability but is awful defensively. He was a healthy scratch most of the year despite the Canes injury problems.
Somebody said Hutch is a PJ fan... I'm pretty sure I remember from Cullen's days with the Canes that he was also a PJ fan... so fair trade I'd say
As a Canes fan I was thrilled about this trade... Cullen is a great powerplay and shootout guy, which was two of our biggest weaknesses last year... plus we know he's got great chemistry with the team already
Looks like a salary dump from the Rangers perspective, they have spent a lot money this summer after all Hutchinson has some offensive ability but is awful defensively. He was a healthy scratch most of the year despite the Canes injury problems.
Somebody said Hutch is a PJ fan... I'm pretty sure I remember from Cullen's days with the Canes that he was also a PJ fan... so fair trade I'd say
it is a salary dump w/ the hope hutch can find his whole game
As a Canes fan I was thrilled about this trade... Cullen is a great powerplay and shootout guy, which was two of our biggest weaknesses last year... plus we know he's got great chemistry with the team already
Looks like a salary dump from the Rangers perspective, they have spent a lot money this summer after all Hutchinson has some offensive ability but is awful defensively. He was a healthy scratch most of the year despite the Canes injury problems.
Somebody said Hutch is a PJ fan... I'm pretty sure I remember from Cullen's days with the Canes that he was also a PJ fan... so fair trade I'd say
Yeah, I remember reading that Cullen was a PJ fan as well. As a Canes fan I'm ecstatic about the deal. This is a guy who we know fits in with this team and he is exactly what we need. I think this leaves us pretty loaded on our top 3 forward lines. Can't wait for the new season to begin.
As far as Hutchinson goes, I think he is a question mark. Laviolette didn't play him much so he never had the opportunity to learn and improve much. When he did, he was used primarily on the power play where he did some good things, but really didn't end up with any stats of note there. I feel like this trade is a huge win for us because I don't think we gave up much. We end up paying Cullen more than Rutherford would have liked (hence the reason why he didn't resign here last year) but the deal puts us right around the team salary number that they wanted to spend this year. We have to be a little more fiscally responsible than teams in the larger markets and I think Rutherford is as good as anyone in the league.
A public appearance by Jaromir Jagr at an exhibition beach volleyball tournament prompted an interview with the Ranger captain by the Czech newspaper Pravo (online at Novinky.cz) which covered Jagr’s workout schedule and his feelings about the Rangers’ summer roster moves. “The truth is,” Jagr said about the signings of Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, “GM Glen Sather brought Christmas in the middle of the summer. The Rangers had to sign a centerman, so they had to embellish their offers a little, otherwise they would have no one. They hoped for one and they got both Gomez and Drury.”
Having had a couple of weeks to digest the departure of his friend Michael Nylander in favor of the two younger centers, Jagr had a different answer to the inevitable Nylander question than the one we’ve heard from him before. “From the long run perspective, it was the right decision because the additions are six, seven years younger than Nylander,” Jagr said. “The future of the organization will be built around them. Sometimes, one has to deal with things quickly. No one is irreplaceable. I don’t have time to cry about not having my centerman and I would only hurt myself [by doing so].”
Jagr diplomatically (and accurately) ducked the question of whether the Rangers are now favorites to win the Stanley Cup. “What I learned throughout my career is that names don’t win it,” he said. “The relationship [between players] is important to have good chemistry. If it’s bad, you can hardly get anywhere. When players sign such big contracts, there will be pressure. At the same time, they put pressure on themselves because they don’t want to be criticized in the papers that they don’t deserve the money. That was the problem with the Rangers six years ago -- a bunch of stars didn’t translate into points.”
He assessed the moves relative to the salary cap. “We are a team and every part is important,” he said about the Rangers still having to fit Sean Avery and Marcel Hossa under the cap (the interview took place before the Matt Cullen trade). “It’s the same thing as with human body where every organ is important. When you lose one, it’s a problem. The cap is $50 million -- there’s still some room. New deals came for players who aren’t top stars but got huge money. You don’t have to be that good -- you only have to be lucky. Many average players earn $4 million -- nobody expected that after the lockout. If a team signs someone to a long term deal, it can affect the team [as a whole]. You have to be sure that it will work out, because otherwise, you can ruin the team for a good three, four years.”
Jagr has been working out off the ice over the summer. “The workouts in hot weather are ideal for will,” he said. “It’s a good thing [too so] that I don’t put on that much weight -- although, I do have some extra pounds. But that’s normal. I go to my sister’s swimming pool and I work out in the water. It’s not about the length of an exercise, it’s all about the quality. In New York, I’m used to going to the pool prior to the game, stretching myself, it helps me. Other than that, I don’t like water much. I wouldn’t enjoy just coming some place and lying on the beach for a week.” But he is ready to get back onto the ice to prepare for next season. “Probably on Thursday,” he said. “I have a hockey school that started on Sunday. It will be certainly more pleasant than to potter around outside in the heat. Especially with this extreme weather [an unusually hot summer with temperatures around 100°]. Practice with children might not give me much, but maybe I can outplay them!”
That was just one of several of Jagr’s quips during the interview. Analyzing his ability at volleyball, he said, “Someone said I dove [for a ball], but I actually fell down. Anyway, the sun is burning the sand so I have to move even if I don’t want to.” On no longer being the highest paid player in the NHL, he said, “At least I won’t be hearing about it on every single occasion.” And on Nylander agreeing to contracts with both Edmonton and Washington, he said, “He probably wanted to become the best paid player, so he signed two contracts. Maybe he wanted to win the scoring title [by playing for two teams at the same time]. It would be a hassle, though -- he wouldn’t see those kids of his much.”
To see a video clip of Jagr playing volleyball and being interviewed in Czech, click [url=mms://stream4.visual.cz/ct/hokejvize/jagr_beach.wmv]here[/url] [WMV download]. More online versions of Jagr's interview in Czech, if you can read it, can be found at hokej.cz, iDNES.cz, and Denik Sport. Thanks again to DaTeL for a translation of the Pravo interview.
Local area reports today on yesterday’s trade of Cullen back to Carolina can be found in the Daily News, Journal News, Newsday, Post, Blue Notes, Rangers Report, NYR.com, MSG.com here and here, and NY Sports Day. More is available in the Raleigh News-Observer, AP, ESPN, and NHL.com, replete with quotes from Cullen about how happy he is to be returning back to the team he won the Stanley Cup with prior to coming to New York last season, and explaining his year with the Rangers as a learning experience in some areas (the penalty kill and face-off circle) and a disappointment in other areas (scoring).
Cullen, always candid and talkative, was expressing valid feelings about the trade -- a week ago, he shared equally valid feelings about staying in New York. The one thing we’d take issue with is his excuse about his defensive role -- he was Brendan Shanahan’s center for much of the season, failed to put up the requisite points, and had to be relegated to the third line as a result. Ultimately, given the need to clear cap space, the Rangers decided that Cullen, paid to be second line center, was too expensive to fill the role of third line center, and was a more tradable commodity than other Rangers who might be considered overpaid. It's just too bad the Rangers couldn't get players with more NHL upside in return, like the rumored Anton Babchuk.
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It's just too bad the Rangers couldn't get players with more NHL upside in return, like the rumored Anton Babchuk.
Babchuk is certainly more talented than Hutchinson, but I don't think the Rangers or anyone else wanted him. He is a risk and has a bad reputation at this point. He burned bridges with the organization here. He was suspended for failing to report to Albany of the AHL at one point last year. He complained a lot and prior to this season he took off to play in Russia. People inside the organization have said he will never play for the Canes again and they have tried to trade him but haven't found any takers so they will just hang onto his rights for now. Maybe a change of scenery will help him gain some humility. The problem seems to be persuading another team that this is possible.
Cullen out
So I guess those rumors weren't "debunked" after all.
Yesterday Glen Sather dealt Matt Cullen back to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defenseman Andrew Hutchinson, concussed forward Joe Barnes, and a third round pick in next year's draft.
I hated the Cullen signing when it first happened. I thought he was a mediocre center who was being brought in for the second line, a role he clearly wasn't able to fill. On top of that, the price and the duration of the contract were both too much. But with the way this team was shaping up, I am now very nervous about that third line position.
Larry Brooks sums things up nicely: Moving Cullen does create an opportunity for rookies Artem Anisimov and Brandon Dubinsky . . . but Tom Renney's track record at coach suggests that he's far more likely than not to give third-line time to Blair Betts rather than a freshman.
That right there makes me shudder. In two seasons as a NY Ranger, Blair Betts has - ready for this? - SIX assists. SIX. I would like to know how that is humanly possible for a guy that played one whole season as a third line center? Hell, even Ryan Hollweg has five assists in that same time period.
It seems as though Glen Sather felt he had to clear up some cap space, but I wonder whether it would be for another player, or just for safety reasons?
Stay tuned.
HDH
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Yeah, I remember reading that Cullen was a PJ fan as well. As a Canes fan I'm ecstatic about the deal. This is a guy who we know fits in with this team and he is exactly what we need. I think this leaves us pretty loaded on our top 3 forward lines. Can't wait for the new season to begin.
As far as Hutchinson goes, I think he is a question mark. Laviolette didn't play him much so he never had the opportunity to learn and improve much. When he did, he was used primarily on the power play where he did some good things, but really didn't end up with any stats of note there. I feel like this trade is a huge win for us because I don't think we gave up much. We end up paying Cullen more than Rutherford would have liked (hence the reason why he didn't resign here last year) but the deal puts us right around the team salary number that they wanted to spend this year. We have to be a little more fiscally responsible than teams in the larger markets and I think Rutherford is as good as anyone in the league.
Agreed. Rutherford has done a great job making value signings. After what some of these UFAs got paid this summer... can you imagine what a guy like Brind'Amour would be getting if he hadn't passed on free agency?
I'm real excited about the season too... our forwards are as good as any in the league, and if our D can hold up we can make another run for sure
Fears of Petr Nedved's third coming to New York can be laid to rest -- Nedved has signed to play for Sparta in Prague on a one-way one-year contract that he cannot get out of even if he gets an offer from an NHL team (the AP reports the signing, the original Czech report at iDNES.cz mentions the no-out clause). On the other hand, Darius Kasparaitis is plotting his own resurrection, according to Sam Weinman at Rangers Report -- Weinman takes note of the growing glut of NHL defenseman on the Rangers' roster, which stood at eight (including Marc Staal) even before the acquisition of Andrew Hutchison and which would swell even further if Kaspar makes a comeback.
Elsewhere, the Rangers announced their pre-season schedule (NYR.com). More on the Matt Cullen trade from the Canadian Press as well three MSG announcers at MSG.com here, here, and here. At the Hockey News, the Rangers rate higher than the Islanders in fantasy pool potential -- although there are some strange bits in their analysis. Finally, for your viewing pleasure (despite not being Ranger-related), here is a funny video clip sent in by a reader, "Clark, the Canadian Hockey Goalie":
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get this..............rumor has it the Rangers cleared space by trading Cullen to get..........
Michael Peca
is this on / from tsn ?
can you link us ?
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nah, I saw it on a sabres message board. REMEMBER I SAID IT WAS A RUMOR. someone posted a guys blog and tried to say it was his. anyways, here is the original poster (Coach C) link:
now, of course you have to register to view it, but here is what it said.......
Take this for what it is worth.
Let me start this post by saying that if you are going to ask me for a link, or even to reveal my "sources," you can save yourself and stop reading right now. There is no link and I will definitlely not divulge sources. (Try to remember I actually am a part of the media).
But I can promise you I would not take the time to post it, nor put my name on the line, without (at the very least) believing the info to be from a reliable source.
You can read the following then make your own conclusions on what you believe to be fact or fiction....but if nothing I write winds up happening, it still does not make the other parts untrue (you'll understand as you read it). It just means things didn't turn out as hoped and tried for.
There are two items.
Item #1)
I am told the Sabres are very close to signing Michael Peca....but there is a lot more to the story than meets the surface, and because of all of this, it is not a certainty.
First, let's start with Peca. He wants to come back to Buffalo. His wife also wants to come back to Buffalo. So, from that standpoint, it is not an issue. Money should also not be an issue from his end.
Now, as far as Sabres management.
I'm told Lindy Ruff is leading the charge to bring Peca back to Buffalo. He wants him badly. Larry Quinn also wants Peca back.
That leaves one guy - of cource Darcy Regier.
From what I've been told (and I almost can't believe I'm even writing this myself), Regier refuses to sign Peca unless Peca apologizes to Darcy for the way he treated him and the organization when he originally left. (I'm assuming he means a "personal" apology, not a "public" apology, because even Regier has to know that would never happen).
Even though Quinn wants him, he also wants to remain loyal to Regier and let him do his job without interference (esecially since Regier just got the extension), so he will not step on Darcy's toes and force Regier to sign Peca. Money also does not seem to be an issue from the Sabres side.
So, sometime over the past few days, Peca agreed to have a "sit-down" with Darcy and the rest of management (I keep imagining Tony Soprano when I think about this) to talk things over and possibly move forward on a deal. I was actually told it was a "coffee sit-down," which sounds even funnier. Supposedly, this "coffee sit-down" either happened Tuesday or Wednesday morning. And since Peca agreed to do it, my source is connecting dots that he's going to give Darcy the apology (or at least smooth things over some how), knowing that after he signs, he really only has to deal with Lindy anyway, and won't have anything to do with Darcy - especially not on a day-to-day basis.
Now, here's the kicker. Guess who else wants Mike Peca? The New York Rangers! The Carolina Hurricanes also want him. Or at least they did until a couple days ago. See, Peter Laviolette (Hurricanes HC) wanted Peca BAD as a third-line Center. The Rangers knew this, too. So, my source was told the Rangers were trying to trade Matt Cullen in order to free up money and space to sign Peca first.....(he was told this before they actually did trade Cullen! Trading him just confirmed it to be true!)
So, what did the Rangers do? They simply shopped Cullen back to Carolina who gladly took him back since he was such a key to their Cup team. Carolina got their needed 3rd line Center and New York freed up about $2.5 mil to use to sign Peca. Win-Win.
So, the race is now on I'm told between the Rangers and Sabres to sign Michael Peca. And from what I'm told, if Peca signs with Buffalo, Lindy has already decided to give him the "C" on his jersey because he feels the dressing room really needs a leader right now. Not sure if being named Captain will have any impact on Peca's decision.
Bottom line of this info: My source tells me to look for Michael Peca to sign with either Buffalo or the New York Rangers by the end of this weekend or early next week at the latest.
for the very same centerman that he dislocated his shoulder
trying to hit 2 seasons ago in the playoffs.
oh the irony of it all.
[size=+2] - - - _/ Lets Go Rangers \_ --- [/size]
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9/21 vs. New Jersey
9/22 vs. Philadelphia
9/24 at New York Islanders
9/25 at Detroit
9/28 vs. New Islanders
9/29 at Philadelphia
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."
There I was, minding my business this afternoon on a bench in Central Park, early for my dental appointment with my favorite periodontist, Dr. John Varoscak.
In times like these, my favorite hobby is people-watching so I intently gazed at the personality panorama as New Yorkers -- and out-of-towners -- speed-walked, jogged, bird-watched and, of course, bicycled past my temporary resting place.
WHOOPS!
Who was that?
A blond guy was pedaling up toward me -- nothing new! -- but this chap had a familiar look about him.
I did a double-take and said to myself, "Wow! That young man is a thin version of Darius Kasparaitis."
Then, he pedaled 10 yards closer.
HOLEY MOLEY! It IS my man, Darius.
I was about to yell at him, "STOP! DEFENSEMAN! STOP!!
But no screaming was necessary. Kasper, the friendly ghost, flashed a big smile, threw his left arm up in greeting and brought his bike to a less-than-screeching halt.
We had a warm embrace upon which I produced my bike helmet and red warning vest. "Just want you to know, old pal, that you're not the only hockey guy cycling in Central Park."
Darius laughed. "I do it all the time. That's when I'm not working out at Chelsea Piers."
It would be an understatement to tell you that the (still) Rangers defenseman looks fabulous. He told me that he's dropped something like 20 pounds, looks 10 years younger than the last time he skated for the Blueshirts and is determined to make a comeback.
"They (Rangers) didn't buy me out," he chortled. "And I saw Glen (Sather) recently and even he was surprised at how good I looked."
If Kasper performs in training camp as well as he looks now, I believe that he has a good chance of making the New York varsity, no matter who the competition might be.
I only hope he has a fair chance.
My dental appointment was soon arriving and I had to cut out.
"Let's ride sometime," urged Darius and he gave me his number.
As he pedaled off into the park, toward 72nd Street, it dawned on me what a fun guy he always has been and what an effective defenseman he was until his past, unfortunate, season.
If, for whatever reason, he does NOT make the Rangers' varsity, I suspect that a few other clubs might be interested in nabbing the friendly ghost -- and not just for laughs!
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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I'll pass on Peca thanks. Let a youngster try to earn that 3rd line spot. And as far as Darius that'll be some shit if he winds up coming back to be a steady top 6 or 7 d-man..we'll see....maybe the Isles will give him a shot.
Aah, fuck it, I’m just gonna go home, turn on the fuckin’ TV...
Watch the nightly news and drink a beer...
Like I could even change the world, yeah right...
************************************
I'll pass on Peca thanks. Let a youngster try to earn that 3rd line spot. And as far as Darius that'll be some shit if he winds up coming back to be a steady top 6 or 7 d-man..we'll see....maybe the Isles will give him a shot.
lost 20 lbs ?
well, being he wasnt bought out ,
theres always a chance.
this guy threw a wicked hipcheck and stood up the blueline solid when he was atop his game. I hope he makes it back, and not to another team. With the expected debut of Staal, I think he will have a hard time, but as we all know, an injury can occur to anyone at any time.
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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this guy threw a wicked hipcheck and stood up the blueline solid when he was atop his game. I hope he makes it back, and not to another team. With the expected debut of Staal, I think he will have a hard time, but as we all know, an injury can occur to anyone at any time.
hell yea, and we have options back there, being we signed Strudwick too, so the battle for those last 2 or 3 spots on D is gonna be fun in training camp. You know, Rozsival, Tyutin, and either Mara or Malik if he dont get traded will lock the top 3 so.
Im ready for training camp already!
Aah, fuck it, I’m just gonna go home, turn on the fuckin’ TV...
Watch the nightly news and drink a beer...
Like I could even change the world, yeah right...
************************************
ken gernander named head coach of heartford wolfpack.
looks like schoenfeld will move up to fill the vacancy left by maloney bolting out to become a GM.
now news on the roster- i hope michael peca doesnt come to broadway.
Lets Go Rangers.
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
What more do the Rangers need to do this offseason aside from resigning their RFAs ?
_______Nothing- they should wait and see how the season starts before deciding what else to do
_______Dump one or two contracts to create capspace for in season maneuverability
________Add a defenseman who can quarterback the powerplay
________Add a hard hitting stay at home defenseman
________Something more drastic / add comments
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he should have never been brought up during the playoffs...that move made me sick...can wait to see this kid STALL play D next year...
Irving Plaza 5/5/06
Continental 6/1/06 6/3/06
Chicago 8/5/07
Camden2 6/20/08
MSG 6/24/08 6/25/08
Beacon Theatre 7/1/08
Philly 10/28/09, 10/30/09, 10/31/09
Hartford 5/15/10
Newark 5/18/10
MSG 5/20/10, 5/21/10
Alpine Valley 9/3/11, 9/3/12
Wrigley 7/19/13
Brooklyn 10/18/13, 10/19/13
Philly 10/21/13
Hartford 10/25/13
Seattle 12/6/13
Colbert 9/23/15
Central Park 9/26/15
Philly 4/28/16, 4/29/16
MSG 5/1/16, 5/2/16
Fenway 8/5/16, 8/7/16, 8/2/18, 8/4/18
Asbury Park 9/18/21
Apollo 9/10/22
Chicago 9/5/23,9/7/23
Get rid of Matt Cullen and that spaced out Marek Malik please!!
Irving Plaza 5/5/06
Continental 6/1/06 6/3/06
Chicago 8/5/07
Camden2 6/20/08
MSG 6/24/08 6/25/08
Beacon Theatre 7/1/08
Philly 10/28/09, 10/30/09, 10/31/09
Hartford 5/15/10
Newark 5/18/10
MSG 5/20/10, 5/21/10
Alpine Valley 9/3/11, 9/3/12
Wrigley 7/19/13
Brooklyn 10/18/13, 10/19/13
Philly 10/21/13
Hartford 10/25/13
Seattle 12/6/13
Colbert 9/23/15
Central Park 9/26/15
Philly 4/28/16, 4/29/16
MSG 5/1/16, 5/2/16
Fenway 8/5/16, 8/7/16, 8/2/18, 8/4/18
Asbury Park 9/18/21
Apollo 9/10/22
Chicago 9/5/23,9/7/23
TRADED TO CANES
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=334591
Watch the nightly news and drink a beer...
Like I could even change the world, yeah right...
************************************
this hutchinson has alot of upside
we needed a offensive d-man
plus like the story sayss we cut the the salary to sign avery and hossa
i dont what to make of it yet though
I just didnt expect Cullen to get traded now...I was thinking maybe halfway thru the season, but oh well. Now just sign Avery and who cares about Hossa anyways.... trade him now that he has SOME kinda value after producing on Jags line last yr cause if we wait he might go back to his sucky ways and we'll be lucky to get a bag of pucks for him!
Watch the nightly news and drink a beer...
Like I could even change the world, yeah right...
************************************
Cullen Back to Carolina After All
The Rangers today traded Matt Cullen back to Carolina for defenseman Andrew Hutchison, prospect Joe Barnes, and a third round draft pick. In what is primarily a move to shed Cullen's remaining three years at $2.875 million out from under the salary cap, the Rangers also pick up a player in Hutchison projected as a power play quarterback, but who has yet to become an NHL regular at age 27 because of concerns about his defensive zone play and his lack of strength. Barnes, 21, is a center with size and offensive upside, but his first pro season last year was cut short after 15 games due to a major concussion.
It's the middle of the summer. The draft is over. The major free agent signings have been completed, and the salary cap depleted. And with practically no Ranger news to hold fans' interest, the response to our latest poll was in the thousands. The results can be interpreted two ways. With 80% of respondents split between standing pat and adding a defenseman, the remaining 20% want to dump a contract to create cap space. That contract is Marek Malik's. So do we throw those votes over to the "add a defenseman" camp, since dumping Malik would necessitate replacing him as our top defensive defenseman? Or do we throw those votes over to the "nothing" side of the ledger since they want to dump Malik but wait until the season starts to use the spending power freed up as a result?
Well, the question may now be moot with the news of the Cullen-Hutchison trade -- a contract other than Malik's was dumped, and a potential power play QB was added in the process, although the jury is way way out on Hutchison's ability to step right in, especially with Rozsival and Mara ahead of him. He will face stern competition from Marc Staal for a job, given his history.
The majority of the poll participation predictably came from the New York area, as well from expatriate strongholds like Florida and California, major hockey hotbeds in Canada like Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Vancouver, and even high profile cities around the world like London, Hamburg, Zurich, Vienna, Helsinki, Stockholm, and Prague where you'd expect a Ranger fan to hole up. But there were some surprises, from Malta and Morocco, to Israel and Armenia, to Hong Kong and Tokyo, to Oxford, England and Rathcoole, Ireland, to Kiev and Ceska Budejovice and the Italian Alps. Even on this side of the Atlantic, who would expect fans to check in from St-Ambroise, Quebec, Wynyard, Saskatchewan, Leavenworth, Kansas, Bon Air, Alabama, Abilene, Texas, Lake Yale, Florida, Newport, Oregon, Ashland, West Virginia, Franklin, Tennessee, Des Moines, Iowa, and Eau Claire, Wisconsin?
We're pretty sure who visited the site from Kiev, Tokyo, and Franklin, Tennessee -- our loyal subscribers in those hockey outposts. But for all you other Ranger fans in the New York metropolitan area, all across North America, and around the world, if you haven't yet discovered Blueshirt Bulletin, our monthly print publication devoted to the wide wide world of the New York Rangers, there is no better time than now to get with the program, as we head into a season where the Rangers are obviously going for the big prize. For the modest price of $30 a year for ten issues, with discounts for multi-year subscriptions (and additional postage costs outside the U.S.A.), you can get our unparalleled coverage of the Rangers and also help keep this web site going with its free daily updates and features. Click here to get more information -- we guarantee that you'll be beyond satisfied. Thanks!
For some online reading material to keep you going through these lean summer days: Hockey Rodent posted a long rant yesterday in which he remains skeptical about the Drury and Gomez signings and the readiness of our prospects. Leslie Treff reviews the Rangers' draft at Hockey's Future. Jim Schoenfeld goes "Off the Wall" at NHL.com. Even though we lost the game, John Rolfe (writing for SI.com) is on the mark with his choice of Game 5 of the 1984 playoff series between the Rangers and Islanders as the best (or at least one of the best) games ever played. Spector (who may have been the poll respondent from Prince Edward Island) reviewed the Matt Cullen pre-trade situation at FoxSports.com (timing is everything!), and Pierre Lebrun of the CP mentions Mike Peca as a possibility for the Rangers, though we find that hard to fathom.
Stan Fischler has an anecdote about John Ferguson's first day in New York at MSG.com as the centerpiece of his hommage to the recently passed Ranger GM-coach and noted NHL tough guy. "It was obvious that the media were aching for a change -- aren't they always? -- and I came in full of vim, vigor and vitality," Ferguson told Fischler about his first press conference after assuming the Rangers' helm. A mere thirty months later, New York was aching for another change, after Ferguson guided a Ranger team that had recently been a contender (and were quickly restored to contention after his departure) to three last place finishes. He traded away Rick Middleton in one of the worst trades in franchise history, he forced Rod Gilbert to retire because he was too soft, he exiled Billy Fairbairn because he was too soft, he drafted two other players ahead of Mike Bossy because Bossy was too soft, and he threw Ranger tradition out the window by changing the Rangers' uniform. We understand that it's poor form to beat up on a guy on the occasion of him losing his battle with cancer, but with everyone else singing his praises, all we remember is how he wrecked the Rangers as an opposing player and how he wrecked the Rangers as GM.
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why were they so intent on scrapping cullen ?
this guy was a faceoff winner, and was tricky as hell for opponents on the shootouts.
oh well, they really had it in their heads to shed his salary for some reason, i think they shouldve shed Malik before Cullen, but whatever.
basically a 3-for-1 deal, cant complain about that.
best of luck, matty ( except when you play against NYR )
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YEA bath we'll have to see about this
maybe they are looking to rid another contract and go after danny markov??
we'll see
the new guy has got a really cool name too.
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Looks like a salary dump from the Rangers perspective, they have spent a lot money this summer after all
Somebody said Hutch is a PJ fan... I'm pretty sure I remember from Cullen's days with the Canes that he was also a PJ fan... so fair trade I'd say
it is a salary dump w/ the hope hutch can find his whole game
joe barnes is a big center
Yeah, I remember reading that Cullen was a PJ fan as well. As a Canes fan I'm ecstatic about the deal. This is a guy who we know fits in with this team and he is exactly what we need. I think this leaves us pretty loaded on our top 3 forward lines. Can't wait for the new season to begin.
As far as Hutchinson goes, I think he is a question mark. Laviolette didn't play him much so he never had the opportunity to learn and improve much. When he did, he was used primarily on the power play where he did some good things, but really didn't end up with any stats of note there. I feel like this trade is a huge win for us because I don't think we gave up much. We end up paying Cullen more than Rutherford would have liked (hence the reason why he didn't resign here last year) but the deal puts us right around the team salary number that they wanted to spend this year. We have to be a little more fiscally responsible than teams in the larger markets and I think Rutherford is as good as anyone in the league.
Christmas in July
A public appearance by Jaromir Jagr at an exhibition beach volleyball tournament prompted an interview with the Ranger captain by the Czech newspaper Pravo (online at Novinky.cz) which covered Jagr’s workout schedule and his feelings about the Rangers’ summer roster moves. “The truth is,” Jagr said about the signings of Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, “GM Glen Sather brought Christmas in the middle of the summer. The Rangers had to sign a centerman, so they had to embellish their offers a little, otherwise they would have no one. They hoped for one and they got both Gomez and Drury.”
Having had a couple of weeks to digest the departure of his friend Michael Nylander in favor of the two younger centers, Jagr had a different answer to the inevitable Nylander question than the one we’ve heard from him before. “From the long run perspective, it was the right decision because the additions are six, seven years younger than Nylander,” Jagr said. “The future of the organization will be built around them. Sometimes, one has to deal with things quickly. No one is irreplaceable. I don’t have time to cry about not having my centerman and I would only hurt myself [by doing so].”
Jagr diplomatically (and accurately) ducked the question of whether the Rangers are now favorites to win the Stanley Cup. “What I learned throughout my career is that names don’t win it,” he said. “The relationship [between players] is important to have good chemistry. If it’s bad, you can hardly get anywhere. When players sign such big contracts, there will be pressure. At the same time, they put pressure on themselves because they don’t want to be criticized in the papers that they don’t deserve the money. That was the problem with the Rangers six years ago -- a bunch of stars didn’t translate into points.”
He assessed the moves relative to the salary cap. “We are a team and every part is important,” he said about the Rangers still having to fit Sean Avery and Marcel Hossa under the cap (the interview took place before the Matt Cullen trade). “It’s the same thing as with human body where every organ is important. When you lose one, it’s a problem. The cap is $50 million -- there’s still some room. New deals came for players who aren’t top stars but got huge money. You don’t have to be that good -- you only have to be lucky. Many average players earn $4 million -- nobody expected that after the lockout. If a team signs someone to a long term deal, it can affect the team [as a whole]. You have to be sure that it will work out, because otherwise, you can ruin the team for a good three, four years.”
Jagr has been working out off the ice over the summer. “The workouts in hot weather are ideal for will,” he said. “It’s a good thing [too so] that I don’t put on that much weight -- although, I do have some extra pounds. But that’s normal. I go to my sister’s swimming pool and I work out in the water. It’s not about the length of an exercise, it’s all about the quality. In New York, I’m used to going to the pool prior to the game, stretching myself, it helps me. Other than that, I don’t like water much. I wouldn’t enjoy just coming some place and lying on the beach for a week.” But he is ready to get back onto the ice to prepare for next season. “Probably on Thursday,” he said. “I have a hockey school that started on Sunday. It will be certainly more pleasant than to potter around outside in the heat. Especially with this extreme weather [an unusually hot summer with temperatures around 100°]. Practice with children might not give me much, but maybe I can outplay them!”
That was just one of several of Jagr’s quips during the interview. Analyzing his ability at volleyball, he said, “Someone said I dove [for a ball], but I actually fell down. Anyway, the sun is burning the sand so I have to move even if I don’t want to.” On no longer being the highest paid player in the NHL, he said, “At least I won’t be hearing about it on every single occasion.” And on Nylander agreeing to contracts with both Edmonton and Washington, he said, “He probably wanted to become the best paid player, so he signed two contracts. Maybe he wanted to win the scoring title [by playing for two teams at the same time]. It would be a hassle, though -- he wouldn’t see those kids of his much.”
To see a video clip of Jagr playing volleyball and being interviewed in Czech, click [url=mms://stream4.visual.cz/ct/hokejvize/jagr_beach.wmv]here[/url] [WMV download]. More online versions of Jagr's interview in Czech, if you can read it, can be found at hokej.cz, iDNES.cz, and Denik Sport. Thanks again to DaTeL for a translation of the Pravo interview.
Local area reports today on yesterday’s trade of Cullen back to Carolina can be found in the Daily News, Journal News, Newsday, Post, Blue Notes, Rangers Report, NYR.com, MSG.com here and here, and NY Sports Day. More is available in the Raleigh News-Observer, AP, ESPN, and NHL.com, replete with quotes from Cullen about how happy he is to be returning back to the team he won the Stanley Cup with prior to coming to New York last season, and explaining his year with the Rangers as a learning experience in some areas (the penalty kill and face-off circle) and a disappointment in other areas (scoring).
Cullen, always candid and talkative, was expressing valid feelings about the trade -- a week ago, he shared equally valid feelings about staying in New York. The one thing we’d take issue with is his excuse about his defensive role -- he was Brendan Shanahan’s center for much of the season, failed to put up the requisite points, and had to be relegated to the third line as a result. Ultimately, given the need to clear cap space, the Rangers decided that Cullen, paid to be second line center, was too expensive to fill the role of third line center, and was a more tradable commodity than other Rangers who might be considered overpaid. It's just too bad the Rangers couldn't get players with more NHL upside in return, like the rumored Anton Babchuk.
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Babchuk is certainly more talented than Hutchinson, but I don't think the Rangers or anyone else wanted him. He is a risk and has a bad reputation at this point. He burned bridges with the organization here. He was suspended for failing to report to Albany of the AHL at one point last year. He complained a lot and prior to this season he took off to play in Russia. People inside the organization have said he will never play for the Canes again and they have tried to trade him but haven't found any takers so they will just hang onto his rights for now. Maybe a change of scenery will help him gain some humility. The problem seems to be persuading another team that this is possible.
hockeybird isnt too high on betts, huh
Cullen out
So I guess those rumors weren't "debunked" after all.
Yesterday Glen Sather dealt Matt Cullen back to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defenseman Andrew Hutchinson, concussed forward Joe Barnes, and a third round pick in next year's draft.
I hated the Cullen signing when it first happened. I thought he was a mediocre center who was being brought in for the second line, a role he clearly wasn't able to fill. On top of that, the price and the duration of the contract were both too much. But with the way this team was shaping up, I am now very nervous about that third line position.
Larry Brooks sums things up nicely: Moving Cullen does create an opportunity for rookies Artem Anisimov and Brandon Dubinsky . . . but Tom Renney's track record at coach suggests that he's far more likely than not to give third-line time to Blair Betts rather than a freshman.
That right there makes me shudder. In two seasons as a NY Ranger, Blair Betts has - ready for this? - SIX assists. SIX. I would like to know how that is humanly possible for a guy that played one whole season as a third line center? Hell, even Ryan Hollweg has five assists in that same time period.
It seems as though Glen Sather felt he had to clear up some cap space, but I wonder whether it would be for another player, or just for safety reasons?
Stay tuned.
HDH
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prucha there?? betts is all 4th line,, i like him but not on the 3rd line
we cant expect a rookie to be a 3rd line center?? maybe we can
or maybe sometype of trade is in the works with a d-man moving ??
i have alot of faith just anxious about this hole
Agreed. Rutherford has done a great job making value signings. After what some of these UFAs got paid this summer... can you imagine what a guy like Brind'Amour would be getting if he hadn't passed on free agency?
I'm real excited about the season too... our forwards are as good as any in the league, and if our D can hold up we can make another run for sure
[url=
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July 19, 2007
No Nedved, But Is Kaspar Coming Back?
Fears of Petr Nedved's third coming to New York can be laid to rest -- Nedved has signed to play for Sparta in Prague on a one-way one-year contract that he cannot get out of even if he gets an offer from an NHL team (the AP reports the signing, the original Czech report at iDNES.cz mentions the no-out clause). On the other hand, Darius Kasparaitis is plotting his own resurrection, according to Sam Weinman at Rangers Report -- Weinman takes note of the growing glut of NHL defenseman on the Rangers' roster, which stood at eight (including Marc Staal) even before the acquisition of Andrew Hutchison and which would swell even further if Kaspar makes a comeback.
Elsewhere, the Rangers announced their pre-season schedule (NYR.com). More on the Matt Cullen trade from the Canadian Press as well three MSG announcers at MSG.com here, here, and here. At the Hockey News, the Rangers rate higher than the Islanders in fantasy pool potential -- although there are some strange bits in their analysis. Finally, for your viewing pleasure (despite not being Ranger-related), here is a funny video clip sent in by a reader, "Clark, the Canadian Hockey Goalie":
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Michael Peca
is this on / from tsn ?
can you link us ?
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http://www.buffalorange.com/showthread.php?t=116804
now, of course you have to register to view it, but here is what it said.......
Take this for what it is worth.
Let me start this post by saying that if you are going to ask me for a link, or even to reveal my "sources," you can save yourself and stop reading right now. There is no link and I will definitlely not divulge sources. (Try to remember I actually am a part of the media).
But I can promise you I would not take the time to post it, nor put my name on the line, without (at the very least) believing the info to be from a reliable source.
You can read the following then make your own conclusions on what you believe to be fact or fiction....but if nothing I write winds up happening, it still does not make the other parts untrue (you'll understand as you read it). It just means things didn't turn out as hoped and tried for.
There are two items.
Item #1)
I am told the Sabres are very close to signing Michael Peca....but there is a lot more to the story than meets the surface, and because of all of this, it is not a certainty.
First, let's start with Peca. He wants to come back to Buffalo. His wife also wants to come back to Buffalo. So, from that standpoint, it is not an issue. Money should also not be an issue from his end.
Now, as far as Sabres management.
I'm told Lindy Ruff is leading the charge to bring Peca back to Buffalo. He wants him badly. Larry Quinn also wants Peca back.
That leaves one guy - of cource Darcy Regier.
From what I've been told (and I almost can't believe I'm even writing this myself), Regier refuses to sign Peca unless Peca apologizes to Darcy for the way he treated him and the organization when he originally left. (I'm assuming he means a "personal" apology, not a "public" apology, because even Regier has to know that would never happen).
Even though Quinn wants him, he also wants to remain loyal to Regier and let him do his job without interference (esecially since Regier just got the extension), so he will not step on Darcy's toes and force Regier to sign Peca. Money also does not seem to be an issue from the Sabres side.
So, sometime over the past few days, Peca agreed to have a "sit-down" with Darcy and the rest of management (I keep imagining Tony Soprano when I think about this) to talk things over and possibly move forward on a deal. I was actually told it was a "coffee sit-down," which sounds even funnier. Supposedly, this "coffee sit-down" either happened Tuesday or Wednesday morning. And since Peca agreed to do it, my source is connecting dots that he's going to give Darcy the apology (or at least smooth things over some how), knowing that after he signs, he really only has to deal with Lindy anyway, and won't have anything to do with Darcy - especially not on a day-to-day basis.
Now, here's the kicker. Guess who else wants Mike Peca? The New York Rangers! The Carolina Hurricanes also want him. Or at least they did until a couple days ago. See, Peter Laviolette (Hurricanes HC) wanted Peca BAD as a third-line Center. The Rangers knew this, too. So, my source was told the Rangers were trying to trade Matt Cullen in order to free up money and space to sign Peca first.....(he was told this before they actually did trade Cullen! Trading him just confirmed it to be true!)
So, what did the Rangers do? They simply shopped Cullen back to Carolina who gladly took him back since he was such a key to their Cup team. Carolina got their needed 3rd line Center and New York freed up about $2.5 mil to use to sign Peca. Win-Win.
So, the race is now on I'm told between the Rangers and Sabres to sign Michael Peca. And from what I'm told, if Peca signs with Buffalo, Lindy has already decided to give him the "C" on his jersey because he feels the dressing room really needs a leader right now. Not sure if being named Captain will have any impact on Peca's decision.
Bottom line of this info: My source tells me to look for Michael Peca to sign with either Buffalo or the New York Rangers by the end of this weekend or early next week at the latest.
for the very same centerman that he dislocated his shoulder
trying to hit 2 seasons ago in the playoffs.
oh the irony of it all.
[size=+2] - - - _/ Lets Go Rangers \_ --- [/size]
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9/21 vs. New Jersey
9/22 vs. Philadelphia
9/24 at New York Islanders
9/25 at Detroit
9/28 vs. New Islanders
9/29 at Philadelphia
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."
A Chance Meeting With Darius
There I was, minding my business this afternoon on a bench in Central Park, early for my dental appointment with my favorite periodontist, Dr. John Varoscak.
In times like these, my favorite hobby is people-watching so I intently gazed at the personality panorama as New Yorkers -- and out-of-towners -- speed-walked, jogged, bird-watched and, of course, bicycled past my temporary resting place.
WHOOPS!
Who was that?
A blond guy was pedaling up toward me -- nothing new! -- but this chap had a familiar look about him.
I did a double-take and said to myself, "Wow! That young man is a thin version of Darius Kasparaitis."
Then, he pedaled 10 yards closer.
HOLEY MOLEY! It IS my man, Darius.
I was about to yell at him, "STOP! DEFENSEMAN! STOP!!
But no screaming was necessary. Kasper, the friendly ghost, flashed a big smile, threw his left arm up in greeting and brought his bike to a less-than-screeching halt.
We had a warm embrace upon which I produced my bike helmet and red warning vest. "Just want you to know, old pal, that you're not the only hockey guy cycling in Central Park."
Darius laughed. "I do it all the time. That's when I'm not working out at Chelsea Piers."
It would be an understatement to tell you that the (still) Rangers defenseman looks fabulous. He told me that he's dropped something like 20 pounds, looks 10 years younger than the last time he skated for the Blueshirts and is determined to make a comeback.
"They (Rangers) didn't buy me out," he chortled. "And I saw Glen (Sather) recently and even he was surprised at how good I looked."
If Kasper performs in training camp as well as he looks now, I believe that he has a good chance of making the New York varsity, no matter who the competition might be.
I only hope he has a fair chance.
My dental appointment was soon arriving and I had to cut out.
"Let's ride sometime," urged Darius and he gave me his number.
As he pedaled off into the park, toward 72nd Street, it dawned on me what a fun guy he always has been and what an effective defenseman he was until his past, unfortunate, season.
If, for whatever reason, he does NOT make the Rangers' varsity, I suspect that a few other clubs might be interested in nabbing the friendly ghost -- and not just for laughs!
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
Watch the nightly news and drink a beer...
Like I could even change the world, yeah right...
************************************
lost 20 lbs ?
well, being he wasnt bought out ,
theres always a chance.
this guy threw a wicked hipcheck and stood up the blueline solid when he was atop his game. I hope he makes it back, and not to another team. With the expected debut of Staal, I think he will have a hard time, but as we all know, an injury can occur to anyone at any time.
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
Im ready for training camp already!
Watch the nightly news and drink a beer...
Like I could even change the world, yeah right...
************************************
looks like schoenfeld will move up to fill the vacancy left by maloney bolting out to become a GM.
now news on the roster- i hope michael peca doesnt come to broadway.
Lets Go Rangers.
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life