New York Rangers 2014 Offseason Plan

I was wrong, I'm sorry I really thought the Rangers were the team of destiny and they would end their 20 year drought and win the cup; I really did. From the outside looking in a 4-1 series win looks like the series was not even close especially when the series was 3-0; however that was not the case; 3 out of the 5 games went to OT and 2 of them went to double OT. If the Rangers got a bounce here or there and a call here or there, I could be writing about how happy I am that the Rangers lifted the cup etc.. But, That is not the reality of the situation, the reality is the Rangers did not get the bounces or the calls, and lost the series to frankly, a better team. The Rangers hit the post more times than I care to count in the total 6 overtimes, in 3 games, but that is life. I will stop dwelling on that and actually talk about what this article is about, which you know from the title. For certain stretches in the postseason the Rangers could have changed their name to the Henrik Lundqvist's because he played brilliantly, while other players cough cough Rick Nash did not show up. The Rangers will buyout Center Brad Richards, because of the retirement cap penalty and the lack of the quality of play in comparison to the amount of money he is making.

Free Agent Situation: 

The Rangers have five restricted free agents and another seven unrestricted free agents, some of which I think they should resign and some of which I do not think they should resign. The UFA's are Brian Boyle, Benoit Pouliot, Dominic Moore, Daniel Carcillo, Anton Stralman and Raphael Diaz. Out of that crop I would resign Dom Moore to a three year deal worth 1.5 million dollars and Brian Boyle to a one year deal worth 1 million dollars. Now to the RFA's, Derick Brassard, Chris Kreider, Mats Zuccarello, Justin Falk, and John Moore. I think it would be very very unwise of Rangers GM Glen Sather to let Mats Zuccarello walk. I would resign Zuccarello to a 5 year deal worth 6 million dollars because of his improvement from a player only to be used in a shootout to one of the Rangers best players, far and away. I would also resign Kreider, Brassard and John Moore because I think Chris Kreider will only improve with time, and Brassard is also a good center man. John Moore is also a good 3rd D-Line pairing. The Rangers also should sign former captain Ryan Callahan to a 4 year 3 million dollar deal, they also should sign Paul Stastny from the Colorado Avalanche using the money from the buyout of Brad Richards for a 3 year, $1,250,000.00 deal.

Possible Trades:

If the Rangers want to be back where they were this year in the Stanley Cup finals they need to find a trade partner for Rick Nash, who had a terrible postseason scoring two goals in 26 games, needless to say that is not going to cut it. I would trade a first round pick and Rick Nash to the Ottawa Senators for Jason Spezza. However, Spezza has said he has 16 teams he does not want to go to but did not release the list, if the Rangers are one of those 16 i would call up the San Jose Sharks inquiring about center big bad Joe Thornton. A possible trade scenario would be Rick Nash and John Moore for Joe Thornton. I think this would be mutually beneficial to both teams because I think Rick Nash would be on the west coast and re find his game with Joe Pavelski and I think Joe Thornton could center the Rangers 3rd line, and checking line with Derek Dorsett at Left Wing and Dominic Moore at right wing. I say that because Joe Thornton is skilled but he would not fit on a speedy line like a line with the likes of Carl Hagelin, Marty St.Louis and Mats Zuccarello.


Possible Draft Picks:

The 2014 NHL Draft is on June 27th and 28th, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Rangers do not have a 2014 First round pick because it is in the possession of the Tampa Bay Lightning from the Callahan-St.Louis trade. The Rangers do however have the 59th overall pick, a second round pick. As a result, big name, big impact in 2014-15, and probably 2015-16 players will be off the board. So, the Rangers can pick a center out of Dexter School in Massachusetts, who has committed to Harvard for the 2015-16 season, named Ryan Donato, whose father was a Ranger, and is now the Head Coach at Harvard University. They could also get a defenseman named Alex Peters, out of the Plymouth Whalers. He had three goals this year.  The last person they could possibly get is Luke Phillip a center out of the Kootenay Ice in the WHL. He had 31 goals and 77 points this year for the Ice. 

Hartford WolfPack and who will be called up in 2014-15:

The Hartford WolfPack had a bad year, not making the playoffs. I think the Rangers could once they get rid of Daniel Carcillo call up Dylan Mcilrath, who is basically the same player, a fighter. They could also call up J.T. Miller, who I enjoy watching very much and is a good player, and Ryan Bourque. 

I believe the Rangers can and will get back to the cup next year if they do all these things mentioned in the article. 

Rangers vs. Kings Stanley Cup Final Preview and Predictions

The New York Rangers have made it to the Stanley cup finals for the first time in 20 years, 1994, where they beat the Vancouver Canucks, ending their 54 year drought. They will play the Los Angeles Kings. The last time the Rangers and Kings met in the postseason was 1981, when the Rangers won the series 3-1.The Kings had more points than the Rangers so Games 1 and 2 will be at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Which means, Games 3 and 4 will be at MSG, and 5(if necessary) will be back in LA, 6 (if necessary) in NY, 7 (if necessary) in LA.

Rangers Road to the Final:

The Rangers started the season in terrible fashion, getting blown out in San Jose and Anaheim part of a Garden Renovation road trip, which saw them start 3-6, and eventually 6-7, before they came home, goalie Henrik Lundqvist became himself again, finishing with a record of 45-31-6. Which was good for 96 points. They also finished with the best road record in Rangers history, 25-14-2. The Rangers finished 2nd in the Metropolitan Division behind the Pittsburgh Penguins. At the trade deadline, GM Glen Sather and Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman pulled off the first ever captain for captain swap in NHL history, sending Ryan Callahan to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Martin St.Louis, who was upset with Steve Yzerman about being left off the Team Canada Sochi Olympic team.  The Rangers played the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the 2014 playoffs winning in 7 games. The next series they played the Pittsburgh Penguins, who took a 3-1 series lead after the Rangers had an abysmal 25 turnover performance in a 4-2 loss, bringing it back to Pittsburgh with a chance for the Pens to close out the series. Then, on the flight to Pittsburgh, tragically Rangers winger Martin St.Louis got a message on his phone that his mother France had died at age 63, so he immediately went back to Montreal to be with his family, he decided that she would have wanted him to play, so he played, and the Rangers rallied around that, winning the next 3 games, including game 7 to win, the series. Next up was the Montreal Canadiens who beat the Boston Bruins, in 7 games; Game 1 of that series was eventful because the Rangers won 7-2 and Chris Kreider accidentally hurt Canadiens starting goalie Carey Price. That led to the Canadiens Brandon Prust, a former New York Ranger, hitting Derek Stepan up high, and breaking his jaw in game 3, which the Canadiens won.  The next day Brandon Prust would get suspended for 2 games, with the Rangers up 2-1 in the series. That same game, after the hit, Derek Dorsett fought Brandon Prust standing up for Stepan, and when the referee was escorting Daniel Carcillo who was also in the melee to the penalty box, Carcillo gave the ref a little shove, and  was thrown out of the game. As a result of the NHL Rule against touching officials, he was suspended 10 games.  The Rangers went on to win game 4, to go back to Montreal with a chance to close it out. In game 5, the Rangers took an early penalty which set the tone for the rest of the game, in which the Rangers lost 7-4, even tying it up at 4-4 at one point in the game. Game 6 was back at the Garden where the New York Rangers, from a beautiful feed from Brian Boyle to Dominic Moore and a typical great game from Henrik Lundqvist won 1-0 to be crowned the Eastern Conference champions for the first time since 1994.

LA Kings Road to the Final:

The Los Angeles Kings came into the 2014 playoffs, with a 46-28-8 record, good for 100 points. The Los Angeles Kings like the New York Rangers pulled off a deadline deal, with the Columbus Blue Jackets for Marian Gaborik, a noted goal scorer, who some thought was over the hill. In the playoffs the Kings,looked as if they were dead in the first round, being down 3-0 to the San Jose Sharks before they pulled off the comeback. In the 2nd round the Los Angeles Kings played the Anaheim Ducks, in a tight back and forth series that went the distance, and was NHL legend Teemu Selanne's (RW, Ducks); last game. The Kings then had to play the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks, in a really tight, really back and forth, and mostly really physical series, that went the distance, with two great teams, and two great goalies. In Game 7 Alec Martinez, put one past Corey Crawford in OT to send the Kings to the Cup, to try to win their 2nd cup in 3 years.

What the New York Rangers Have to do to win the cup:

The New York Rangers have to keep playing their game, keep the pressure on the Kings. The Rangers key is their speed if they can just outrun the Kings, if they can outrun the Kings they can get breakaways, if they get breakaways, they can score. The New York Rangers have Carl Hagelin, and Chris Kreider, two very fast skaters, that can tear up the Kings defense. The Rangers also can not just rest on Henrik Lundqvist, he is human too, if they just rest on him, they are toast. They also need to not make extra passes when they have shots, the more shots they get the better. Henrik Lundqvist also has to be Henrik Lundqvist, not a shadow of himself, if he can do that the Rangers have a legitimate shot at winning the Stanley Cup. 

What the LA Kings have to do to win the cup:

The Los Angeles Kings have to keep the pressure on the Rangers and try to wear them out physically. The Kings have to get bodies in front of Henrik Lundqvist, and grab every rebound he gives up and put them back in. The Kings can not be in the mindset of we have a cup already, we just beat the champs, job is done, let's just relax, if they do that the Rangers will jump all over them and this will quickly turn into a quick series, no pun intended. The Kings have to just wear down the Rangers physically, every time the Rangers get the puck they have to be looking to protect themselves from a hit. The Kings also need the line of Marian Gaborik- Anze Kopitar- Dustin Brown, to continue to be their best line and Gaborik to continue to step up. 

The Rangers will win the cup if.... the 4th line continues to be the Rangers best line and if Rick Nash breaks out of his slump and catches fire. 

The Kings will win the cup if....... They continue to get production from all the lines, and they just continue to physically wear down the Rangers. 

Predictions:

In this section I will predict every game winning goal scorer, how long the series will go, and what the scores will be, so here we go!

Game 1: 3-2 Kings win in OT, Justin Williams, 1-0

Game 2: 4-2 Rangers win, Dan Girardi, 1-1

Game 3: 2-1 Rangers win 2OT, Martin St.Louis 2-1

Game 4: 5-1 Kings win, Marian Gaborik, 2-2

Game 5: 2-1 Kings win OT, Anze Kopitar, 3-2

Game 6: 2-0 Rangers win, Ryan Mcdonagh, 3-3

Game 7: 1-0 Rangers win 3OT, Brian Boyle 4-3

The Rangers will capture their first Stanley Cup since 1994 and second since 1940. Henrik Lundqvist will add a Stanley cup to his trophy collection at home, which includes a 2006 Olympic gold medal from Torino, where he won it with Team Sweden, and a Vesina trophy from 2012

The season is over, and the offseason plan

The Rangers have been eliminated from the 2013 playoffs by the Boston Bruins in game 5 of their series. After the expectations were cup, there will be major changes, the Rangers will most likely fire head coach John Tortorella and buyout Brad Richards, who they signed in the 2011 offseason on a 9 year, $60 million contract,he is currently in year 2 of that deal. Needless to say he has not been living up to that deal. In my opinion, the Rangers should sign Ryan Clowe to a 2 or 3 year deal, for about 10,000,000 per year. They should also sign Jaromir Jagr to a 1 year deal worth $52,000  or the veterans minimum, and Jarome Inginla, to a $20,000,000 contract, for 3 years. In the draft they should try to pick up Max Domi son of former NHL enforcer Tie Domi. Instead of buying him out the Rangers should trade Brad Richards to (in my crazy completely not true wishful thinking mind) the Colorado Avalanche for Seth Jones, but in reality they should maybe trade him for a 2nd or 3rd round pick and maybe a prospect from somewhere. However, I have now realized the entire article I have been neglecting the salary cap, the Rangers only have $13,555,833 in salary cap space, and after playing around with capgeek’s salary cap calculator the salary cap space is only 7,826,131. That is after I resigned, Carl Hagelin, Mats Zucarello, Ryan Clowe, Derek Stepan, and Ryan Mcdonaugh. I also signed Bobby Ryan, called up JT Miller, Dylan Mcilrath and Ryan Bourque, who is the son of Hall of Famer Ray Bourque. I also traded Aaron Asham and demoted Michael Del Zotto. So after all of that the Rangers would have $9,751,131 in salary cap space. The Rangers NEED to free up more than 9,751,131 in cap space because Henrik Lundqvist, Brian Boyle, Ryan Callahan, Darrell Powe, Michael Del Zotto, Marty Biron, Ryan Bourque, Stu Bickel, Anton Stralman and Dan Girardi are all free agents, and they will all demand top dollar. I think the Rangers can get Lundqvist and Callahan cheap, because they like being rangers and for the better of the team will sign cheap, but Del Zotto is probably going to demand top 5 defensmen money, and so is Dan Girardi, I would be fine with letting Bickel go, but we need Biron. Marty Biron, is a starting NHL goaltender who is just behind one of the best goalies in the NHL. They should resign Bourque too, who will probably ask for a few million dollars, depending on how he plays next year and if he is called up or not etc… As well, Malkin is a free agent and he is going to demand lots of money and the Sedins’ will as well, and Stasny will probably demand upwards of $15,000,000.  I truly believe the Rangers will not win a cup unless something serious happens aka James Dolan sells the team, I understand that will not happen but I would love for it to happen.

Bobby Holik Takes the Time to talk Favorite Moments On and Off the Ice

Bobby Holik Takes the Time to Talk Favorite Moments On and Off the Ice

By Max O’Neill

                  A wish came true when Bobby Holik answered my tweet a while back and agreed to an interview; unfortunately, things came up and we had to wait till April 6^th, 2013. It is safe to say it was well worth the wait. We talked about a range of things for over half an hour, including concussions, stadiums, movies, his favorite memories and players in the league.

            Mr. Holik told me something that was very surprising - he stated that his favorite memory was not winning the Stanley Cup - it was in fact just lacing up the skates with his teammates, grabbing his stick, and jumping on the ice while surrounded by the crowds cheers or jeers.  Since the end of the lockout he has been working with young players in various leagues, such as the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He told me one player from every team that were the nicest players he had the opportunity to work with: Marian Hossa from the Atlanta Thrashers now Winnipeg Jets, Brian Leetch from the New York Rangers, Patrick Elias, Martin Brodeur and Bruce Driver from the New Jersey Devils, and Ron Francis from the Hartford Whalers. His favorite arenas to play in were both the Montreal Forum and the Bell Centre and Madison Square Garden. He also said he did not like the atmosphere in the Nassau Memorial Coliseum, but who can blame him?

Holik said something that drove home the differences between injury diagnosis while playing back in the 80’s and 90’s and even the early 2000s and playing now; it was that he probably sustained a concussion but did not want to lose his job. So, even if he felt dizzy, he would just man up and keep playing. Thankfully, he did not mention that he still has residual effects from suffering head trauma. However, there are many players in all sports who still do. For me this brings up memories from the summer of 2011 when three enforcers died: Derek “Boogeyman” Boogard, Wade Belak and Rick Rypien. Those three players had a combined 2078 penalty minutes.  Mr. Holik and I both do not like the staged fighting where players ask other players, “Dude you wanna go?” or “Yo, you want to dance?” when they are not actually mad at each other, they just know that it will ignite their teams for a possible comeback and fire up the crowd. He does not believe this kind of staged fighting adds anything to the game.

Playing for the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils on both sides of the Hudson River Rivalry was something Holik enjoyed immensely. Probably because of the hatred between the two side’s fans and that sometimes the games have playoff implications. He thought that all of the trades at the 2013 trade deadline added veteran depth and he liked the Jaromir Jagr to Boston trade. He also said it is too early to know which trade was the best and helped out the teams the most.

He is a big war history buff, so his favorite movies are military history movies. He has seen Argo and Zero Dark Thirty recently. He also said that becoming an American citizen was a great experience. He said that at first when he was retired he still looked at the game as a player, but he has developed his view into looking at it like a broadcaster. Overall, I think he is a very nice man and I am thankful that he let me interview him to get some experience under my belt.

Sports matter little

There are certain times in life when sports are trumped by things in the outside world whether they be natural disaster or an act of terror like yesterday. It is ironic then that a horrible act of terror occured at a sporting event, a celebrated one at that too. So, when i heard about the bombings I, to be honest did not understand the severity of it and just sort of said whatever, I have homework to do, I will pay attention to it later. Well, it is later and i thank g-d do not know anybody in Boston, and the stories are just gruesomer by the minute! I have been to Boston once with my camp, Camp Mah Kee Nack and it was a lot of fun, very nice city and to think that, it will forever be changed is crazy.  We as a nation have to come together and find out all the facts, rebuild and TRY to live normally again. It was the first time in my life that i turned on ESPN and Mike and Mike were talking about that rather than anything else. I was very young when 9/11 happened but i believe is similar in the fact that there was a ton of injuries and (knock on wood) only a few deaths. One of the people who died was named Martin Richard, this kid was 8 years old, in third grade, as a 9th grader i realize that was a long time ago, this kid could've been the greatest baseball player of all time or find a cure for cancer!!! He was doing the most innocent thing imaginable eating an ice cream cone!!!!!!!! This was a senseless act of violence on for many the happiest days in their lives conquering 26 miles, it is defintely something i cant do!! But instead because some Anti-American decided to drop bombs everywhere is ruined and it is a fact that you never get over the death of a child, so i hope that haunts whoever did this' dreams forever! We all have our speculations about who did it, neo-nazi, muslims, etc.. but right now we know nothing so unless you are family/friends with the person who did it or is the person who did it please do not speculate!! It will just make things worse. If you have any info please call 1-800-CALLFBI (225-5324) or for the police department 617.343.4200.

Rangers 0-2-0 Start to the 2013 NHL season

By: Max O'Neill

The Rangers have started the 2013 shortened season 0-2-0. The Rangers did not fare well during the last lockout shortned season; in that season the Rangers lost in the second round. That statistic does not mean anything, however, this team is a cup favorite, but right now they look like they need work. Starting goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has given up seven goals in two games. He gave up three in the first game and four in the second, before getting subbed out for backup goalie, Marty Biron. During the offseason the Rangers aquired Rick Nash from the Columbus Blue Jackets. After that aquisition the Rangers were imediatly crowned cup favorites because experts thought he was the scoring prowess the Rangers needed. The team looks discombobulated at times and awkward. The one bright light in the last two games is that the team looked better in the third period of  Sunday's game. Rangers fans  hope that the Rangers, who play next on Wensday, will end January on a five game winning streak, which would mean they ended January 5-2-0. The boys in blue will be fine if they do that. There are 47 games left, and as any sports fan knows, anything can happen once playoffs start. In order for the Rangers, to live up to expectations Henrik Lundqvist needs to return to his Vesnia form, not the form he currently is in. The Kings proved last year that a team does not need to be the number one seed to win the cup; so if the Rangers do not get it, they will be fine. The Rangers will, hopefully, finish the year as the three seed and  have a 28-15-5 record.

The NHL Lockout is a very complex and upsetting thing. The major players are Gary Bettman, Bill Daly, Donald Fehr and the players. This lockout is the leagues third under Gary Bettman. Donald Fehr is known for being the MLB PA, players association, head when the MLB lost an entire season in 1994-95. There has been much uproar with social media sites blowing up over this lockout. There is a ton of memes and parody's of songs on YouTube about the lockout. I think somebody, a fan should some how get into the negotiations and  tell the two sides the truth, that they are fighting over  money when they already make a ton of money while some fans can't even make ends meet. I think the players are also in the wrong because they are supposed to be playing for the love of the game not the money. This lockout is tremendously hurting the buisness that get a lot of buisness on game nights near the arenas. This is just adding to the bigger problem in sports today, last year, the NBA and NFL both locked out it's players. In 2004, the last NHL lockout, the entire season was canceled. The 2004 lockout was a major step back for the league because the NHL was at it's peak the New York Rangers were a good team, so they generated a lot of money in a big market and then when the lockout happened a lot of fans lost interest. As well, after the lockout the NY Rangers were a terrible team. Last year, the NY Rangers were also a very good team, the Rangers got within two games of the Stanley Cup Finals, the championship. This season also might end some legends careers, it might end Teemu Selanne of the Anaheim Ducks, Jaromir Jagr of the Dallas Stars and Martin Brodeur ( I would be happy about this) of the New Jersey Devils' careers. I do not understand why the NHL is not urging to get a deal done because one of their superstars, money makers, Alex Ovechkin said that he would stay in his home country Russia if the NHL does not get a deal done. One parody on YouTube  that i like suggested a "Fan Lockout:"  meaning when they get a deal done, for two weeks after the deal is done not wear any NHL paraphernalia, and not buy tickets or anything. The reasoning is if they don't have any money to fight over they cant fight. The link for that will be provided at the bottom of the article. A recent devlopment was that Gary Bettman suggested a two week moratorium, or break from negotiations, that was ripped tremendously by players. Brad Richards of the New York Rangers even going as far as to say "(I'm) very frustrated. I didn't expect for it to go this long. I don't think there's any need for it to be this long. We've been going for a while and then for Gary to come up with a comment about another two weeks off, is mind-boggling, to be honest with you". He also said, "I don't know what good that's going to do, I don't know what the tactic is. We want to get to the table; we feel we're close. ... We've indicated to them in the last meeting and ... it seems like they don't want to listen to that. They want to create this other view that we're so far apart." Players are keeping busy in a plethora of ways. For example, Alex Ovechkin is playing for Dynamo Moscow of the KHL. The KHL is getting a majority of the NHL players because, it is Russia's version of the NHL. Brad Richards and a lot of other players kept busy a few weeks ago by playing in "Operation Hat Trick." "Operation Hat Trick" was a special charity game benifiting victims of Hurricane Sandy. The likes of Brad Richards, Henrik Lundqvist, Aaron Asham, Martin Brodeur, Scott Hartnell, Steven Stamkos and more played in this game in Atlantic City. Overall, I am very sceptical of the likelyhood of a season happening.