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

Blueshirt Bulletin



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.

forgot to share this


look

michael stipe ( from REM ) plays for the rangers now.




Michael Stipe from REM - on the New York Rangers [size=-2] <<<click me [/size]

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.

from http://rangerland.net/

so wee arent getting fucked for the Bobby Holik bonuses held against our cap space and spending.


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.

i typed " singing "


a duh

Remember Me As A Ranger

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.