As promised, here are the top five. If you liked yesterday's list, I guarantee you'll like these even more. You even get a bonus video (there are two No. 3 videos!)
And if you tuned in late and want to see yesterday's list of fights 6-10, click here.
Continue reading "This year's Top 10 Hockey Fights (No. 1-5)" »
The NHL is really, really gonna hate me for this. A while back I had a job interview with them and they told me that one condition was if I worked for them, I could not promote hockey fights in any way. They can consider this my response.
For the true fan, fighting is one of the most entertaining and enjoyable aspects of the game. It brings the crowd to its feet, and other than ridiculous saves and eye-popping goals, it's the only part of any hockey game you'll ever see on SportsCenter.
As long as it's done fairly by two willing participants, I think it will always have a place in the game. (I'm not talking about cases where a goon grabs the other team's best player and beats the crap out of him, because there's no place for that in any sport.)
With that in mind, and with major thank-yous to YouTube and HockeyFights.com, I researched the top 10 hockey fights of the 2007-08 season so far.
I'll post the Top 10 in two installments, starting with numbers 6 through 10. I'll post the rest tomorrow afternoon at around 1 p.m. Enjoy!
10) December 6, 2007 Andrew Ladd vs. Shane O'Brien -- This is an impressive bout in terms of the fury and the number of punches thrown, but you don't get the sense a lot of them landed. Still a great watch.
9) February 16, 2008 Curtis Glencross vs. Mike Weaver -- The Oilers trail by two with less than 10 seconds to play. Since they can't tie it up conventionally, they decide to even the score the old-fashioned way. Canucks defenseman Mike Weaver pays the price, although he does land an impressive rabbit punch on Glencross.
8) February 2, 2008 George Parros vs. Riley Cote -- The two heavyweights exchange punches before Anaheim's George Parros shakes free and delivers the best KO punch of the season.
7) March 2, 2008 Jesse Boulerice vs. Colton Orr -- It's a late-season divisional matchup and enforcers from both teams decide to throw fisticuffs. Not one for the faint of heart.
6) November 25, 2007 Eric Godard vs. D.J. King -- Islanders fans will fondly recall Godard's days patrolling the ice in Uniondale. Now he's a Flame, and he gets involved in an energetic bout with the Blues' D.J. King. Unfortunately, it turns into a hugfest in the end.
If you enjoyed this blog, please send me an e-mail to let me know. And check out some cool hockey fights photos.
By Mark La Monica
Last week, I wrote about the experience of throwing out free T-shirts with the Ice Girls at an Islanders game for an upcoming episode of my Web show, ExploreTV.
Well, it's showtime!
It's been a long wait, but the Rangers are back. After last year's shattering playoff defeat -- which felt less shattering when put in perspective (i.e., after realizing they are still a team on the rise) -- they loaded up with free agents Scott Gomez and Chris Drury and re-signed all of their key players except Michael Nylander.
I'm not going to spend a lot of time analyzing the offseason comings and goings; instead I want to dive straight into the preview. First, some introductory comments:
OVERVIEW
The Rangers are a talented team with lots of stars up front, a burgeoing superstar in net and a bunch of no-names on defense.
The first mistake lots of people will make with this team is to assume that they'll be a high-flying, high-scoring unit this year, based on the additions of Gomez and Drury. Not true. Tom Renney coaches this team to play defense first, and he won't let them get engaged in a run-and-gun style -- frankly, because they are ill-suited for it.
While Gomez, Marty Straka and Sean Avery bring some speed, the team lacks a true transition defender, and all of their top goal scorers are not blindingly fast. That means they'll tend more towards the puck control offense they've utilized the past few years -- less so than in the days of Michael Nylander -- but more so than, say, the speedy Ottawa Senators.
The Rangers' defense is solid and their goaltending nearly impeccable (we'll see how close to perfect Henrik Lundqvist can be this year), and they should put together a season in which they are comfortably among the top four teams in the conference from start to finish.
Let's go in-depth with some breakdowns of the forwards.
Dear Islanders,
In light of the recent revelations by Garth Snow that the Coliseum is so bad that many of the league’s best players do not want to come there, I was wondering if you will be offering discounted ticket packages this year?
I was so excited when you decided to buy out Yashin’s contract that I renewed the ticket package I share with some friends. We even agreed that this is the season we’d move down a section. Now it seems as if there will not be much to see.
Plus, if players don’t want to go there, imagine how the fans feel. At least the players get star treatment. I’m still waiting for the spackle hanging off the ceiling in 307 to be fixed.
I would suggest that this year, when marketing the team, you highlight who is coming to town. “Come see Daniel Briere battle tonight at the Nassau Coliseum. Oh, and the Islanders will be there too.”
Far be it from me to knock the Coliseum. It is all I’ve ever known as a hockey fan and I have some great memories from there, but if that is the only reason players won’t come I guess it has to go.
It has to be the only reason, right? Garth said he “knows the league,” so that can’t be it. I’m just amazed at how many other teams don’t know the league. Colorado, Philadelphia, St. Louis and the Rangers must not have any idea what they are doing. Who signs free agents these days anyway?
Anyway, good luck with the rest of the off-season. Let me know if there will be a discount. I’ll still be there when the puck drops. Hopefully the roof won’t cave in on us.
Best,
Formerly of Section 307
This week's edition of our NHL Free Agency Preview covers the biggest free agents from the Rangers and Islanders, including Ryan Smyth, Jason Blake and Brendan Shanahan.
I'm posting the abridged version for now, but later tonight I'll add commentary for Scott Hannan and Gary Roberts.
Next week, I'll comment on Rivet, Guerin, Sundin, Antropov, Peca, plus a few other players I may have skipped over. Click below to start reading this week's entry.
We're back with Part II of our NHL free agency preview. This week, we cover free agents out of Detroit, Minnesota, Montreal, Nashville and New Jersey. Some of the biggest names -- like Forsberg, Gomez and Souray -- are in this 10-pack, including lots of players who the Islanders and Rangers are targeting... enjoy!
Some might say I'm jumping the gun, considering the season isn't over and free agency doesn't begin until July 1, but it's never early to have a little speculative fun.
This past season was one of the most exciting in the past 20 years for New York hockey, so in the interest of keeping the excitement alive, I thought I'd take a look at some of this summer's top free agents and assess where they might be headed and why.
For some local flavor, I've noted whether or the Rangers or Islanders might be interested in each player. Since it takes some time to research these things, I've broken this blog into several parts for safe and easy digestion.
Also, bear in mind I don't have a whole lot of inside info on this stuff. What I know, I know from research and my very few contacts in the hockey world. So don't go too crazy -- have some fun with it.
Last thing before we get started: I have to tip my cap to a great NHL salary cap web site, www.nhlnumbers.com, which was the basis of a lot of my research and conclusions.
Here are the first 10 free agent reviews, starting alphabetically by current team:
J.S. Giguere, 30 (on May 16), G, Anaheim Ducks
2006-07 Stats: 36-10-8, 2.26 GAA, .918 save percentage
Who might be interested: Ducks, Wings, Bruins, Panthers, Lightning, Coyotes
Giguere's stock is rising again, as he's helping to lead his team on a serious Stanley Cup run. He's posted a 1.28 GAA and a ridiculous .952 save percentage in the playoffs so far. This means someone is going to have to pay a premium for his services, and Giguere will likely want at least a four-year contract at around $5 or $5.5 million/year.
From a hockey standpoint, the Ducks are the favorites to sign him, because Giguere is the centerpiece of that team -- despite all-star defensemen Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer. But things get interesting from a financial standpoint.
Giguere will demand a raise from the $3.99 million he made last year, which could be a problem for the Ducks. The Ducks have only three defensemen -- Pronger, Niedermayer and Francois Beauchemin -- under contract for next season. Granted, they are the Ducks' top three defensemen, but players cost money, and as much as Randy Carlyle would love to play those three for 40-plus minutes per game, Anaheim will need to spend some to fill out the depth on the blueline. How much attention the blueline gets, and the Ducks' ability or inability to fill those final three spots with effective, but cheap players will dictate to a large extent how much money they can afford to keep Giguere.
The Giguere decision will also be influenced by what Anaheim has in store for fan-favorite Teemu Selanne (see below). If the Ducks make a big commitment to Selanne, they'll be hard-pressed to bring back Giguere. Anaheim might also feel they can find more value in backup goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, who filled in well for Giguere at times this season, or free agent Niklas Backstrom, who was superb for Minnesota after Manny Fernandez went down in 2006-07.
The door could be open for Detroit -- which could lose Dominik Hasek to free agency or retirement -- or Boston, which is desperate for quality goaltending, to step up and steal Giguere from the Ducks. Florida has cap room and needs a goaltender after the Roberto Luongo disaster. With an improvement in net, they would become a contender for an Eastern Conference playoff spot.
The Lightning were doomed by lousy goaltending all year long, but Marc Denis is under contract for three more seasons. If they can find a way to dump Denis, Tampa would become a major player for Giguere.
Phoenix needs a centerpiece and some life breathed into their team, and could woo Giguere with a big offer.
Islanders? Two words: Rick DiPietro
Rangers? Two more: Henrik Lundqvist
Prediction: Giguere won't be able to resist the big money from other teams and the Ducks won't be able to match it. He'll end up in Detroit, which has big expectations and lots of expiring contracts this summer.
Being a ref is a thankless job. There is no denying it. Here are people who strive to not be noticed. The reason is, if you’re noticed you probably did a bad job. The best compliment a ref can get is for “letting them play.” Which essentially means they didn’t do anything. Good or bad.
What you saw last night was refs getting noticed. They were involved in every Sabre goal. First was the non-call on Trent Hunter getting crosschecked that led to Mair’s goal. Then the disputed wrap-around by Vanek. And finally, the ridiculous six minutes of penalties doled out to Bergeron and Poti that led to the Sabres’ final goal.
That brings us to the bad call on Zednik and they unfathomable call on Robitaille in the last 94 seconds. That was the last straw for the fans, who promptly peppered the ice with debris.
And this is where I will disagree with my friend Mike Casey’s post below. Now, I’m not going to argue that fans should throw things on the ice or at refs or at the Sabres, but their reaction last night was justified.
Fans pay to see the game decided on the ice by the players. I don’t think anyone would argue that is what happened tonight. There is a reason they only sell plastic bottles these days.
If this game was in Philly or Pittsburgh and that happened the arena would be on fire.
NHL refs are graded after each round of the playoffs. I will guarantee that the team of Dennis LaRue, Kevin Pollock, Brad Lazarowich and Derek Nansen don’t advance. They may be the reason the Islanders don’t advance either.
That being said, there is no excuse for being outshot 17-2 in the third period of a one-goal game in your building, which is what happened last night. Nolan practically played one line in the third period (Symth, Sillinger and Hunter). That’s not going to cut it against a team that has Buffalo’s speed.
Some other observations:
What happened to Jason Blake? Maybe it is that playing against the speed of the Sabres' he looks average, but the jump hasn’t been there this series.
Everyone who spent money on anything with Yashin’s name or number should get a refund. As a fan in section 307 pointed out last night “every time he gets hit money falls out.”
Oh where, oh where has Richard Park gone? We need some grit and while Zednik has the experience, he has hardly made a difference
The coliseum atmosphere is as good as any arena when it comes to big time events.
DP is back. Now if they can only find a second line on offense.
By Mark La Monica
After writing how I felt the atmosphere at the Garden for the Islanders-Rangers game on Monday night was flat except for the key moments in the game, blog reader "shuskky" was the first to suggest I attend the Islanders-Rangers game at the Coliseum on Thursday. A few others followed suit. (And a few others suggested I do other things, none of which sounded pleasant. Amusing, but not pleasant.)
So I did. (Attend the game, that is.)
The Coliseum felt a bit more energized throughout the game Thursday night, a 2-1 win for the Rangers.
To be clear, I'm not talking about the moments of the game that elicit screams of excitement or anguish, such as goals scored, great saves, skirmishes, extra skaters, pucks trickling along or across the goal line or terrible cheap shots such as the one Chris Simon inflicted on Ryan Hollweg. These moments are supposed to cause great emotional responses from fans.
Rather, I was attempting to gauge the energy in the Coliseum throughout the game, much as I did at the Garden.
From the pregame warmups right through the third period, there seemed to be more general buzz in the Coliseum for the game. My guess is that much of that has to do with Rangers fans as a whole being more vocal at the Coliseum than Islanders fans are at the Garden. While that may not always be true in this rivalry, this week it was. The Isles-Rangers atmosphere at the Coliseum this week, moreso than at the Garden, could make a hockey fan out of just about anyone.
The final minute of Thursday night's game, which lasted about 10 minutes, was as intense an atmosphere I've seen at a sporting event. That excitement was more than just a byproduct of what took place: an apparent goal waved off by the referees, then reviewed for close to eight minutes and not overturned. The crowd cheered. The crowd booed. It all depended on the color of the jersey you were wearing. Again, an intense moment regardless of the teams and place, but greatly magnified because of the teams and place.
About 50 or so Rangers fans had gathered along the glass during the pregame skate and began chanting "Let's go Rangers!"
There were plenty of "Let's go Eye-lan-ders" chants throughout the game. In the space of time typically reserved for clapping to match the rhythm of that chant, Rangers fans drowned out much of it with their "Let's go Rangers" chant.
Some of the additional energy had to do with it being the second rivalry game of the week, along with the fact that it was a Thursday and not a Monday. The day of the week makes a difference in people's minds, albeit a very slight difference. Thursday night, mentally, is the unofficial start to the weekend.
Blog reader Hendry posted a comment on my previous piece about the acoustics at the Garden not being as good as at the Coliseum. An interesting theory, but I don't buy it. While each arena has different acoustics, in a rivalry game such as Islanders-Rangers, that should never be a concern. It should be loud, regardless.
Again, remove yourself from focusing just on the crucial moments of the games and look at the entire picture. That's what I'm talking about.
In terms of atmosphere, the Coliseum won.
Of course, Islanders fans shouldn't get too excited about that since this blog offers no points in the NHL standings. The Rangers won both games and picked up three points on the Isles this week in a race for the final two playoff spots.
• Poll: How should Simon be punished?
• See photos from last night's game
• See photos from Isles-Rangers game dating back to 2001
I frolicked in Shea Stadium during Game 5 of the 2000 World Series when the Yankees beat the Mets.
I roared for the Miami Hurricanes while surrounded by 75,000 Florida State fans at Doak Campbell Stadium for a season opener.
I even brought a Jets fan into Oakland for Monday Night Football, sat next to him and lived to tell about it.
I've been to Army-Navy football, Yankees-Red Sox and Yankees-Mets games in the regular season and dozens of Yankees playoff games. So I know a little something about energetic, frenzied crowds at big-time rivalry games.
On the train heading toward Madison Square Garden on Monday for my first foray into the Islanders-Rangers rivalry, I figured it would be somewhat comparable, especially since both teams are chasing the playoffs.
What I experienced at the Garden was unlike anything I could have expected.
The atmosphere was flatter than a cake with no yeast. Flatter than an uncapped bottle of soda after a day. It was dead. Boring. Blech. A microcosm of the energy crisis facing our country.
Islanders-Rangers at the Garden is supposed to be crazy. Fans screaming and yelling the whole time. Not on this night.
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the Rangers are in 12th place in the eight-team playoff race. Maybe it's a bigger-picture statement about the state of hockey in this country. Maybe people just stayed home to watch the latest episode of "The Hills" on MTV. I don't know the answer, but I do know the performance was worse than anything Keanu Reeves ever offered on film.
There was very little excitement leading up to the start of the game. Usually fans don't need any type of alcohol to get fired up for the start of a rivalry game. Just knowing that the opposing team and its fans are in the building should be enough to get things going. This easily could have been Rangers-Kings or Rangers-Canucks. I saw more enthusiasm at the Islanders-Canadiens game two Saturdays ago. And that was a 1 p.m. start.
As the game progressed, there were the customary "Ohhhs!" on near-goals and big hits. There were a small handful of "Potvin sucks!" chants, which I welcomed at least for the emotional display but laughed at since the guy hasn't played professional hockey in 19 years. Some traditions in sports are good. This one, not so much.
Overall, it seemed like a pretty weak display from Rangers fans. I understand the history behind the chant, but "Nineteen-Eighty-Three" is much more derisive. Didn't hear so much as a "Nineteen" from the crowd.
Islanders fans disappointed, too. Very few "Let's go I-lan-ders!" chants were audible.
When the Rangers scored to tie it at 1 just 26 seconds into the third period, the Garden crowd erupted, just as you would expect from the home team after a quick goal in the final period to tie the score.
There were one or two edge-of-your-seat moments late in third, which if a home crowd can't get fired up for that in a tied game with a few minutes left, then the league should just step in and disband the franchise on principle.
This game will be remembered fondly among Rangers fans on Tuesday morning because we as a people tend to fcous on what happened most recently.
The shootout brought the necessary excitement that is a natural byproduct of the format used to determine the winner of a game after overtime. Again, if a home crowd can't stand up for that, put your hockey sweater in a bag under the sink and pray for the pipes to burst.
4:56 p.m. -- More deals
A few more trades have happened in the past hour. You can find all the info here.
4:20 p.m. -- Norstrom to Stars
We finally got wind of where Matty Norstrom is headed. Reportedly, the Dallas Stars. A couple more deals have been made, I'll get to them shortly.
4:14 p.m. -- Ryan Smyth trade analysis
At last check, the league was still approving the Islanders' trade for Edmonton captain Ryan Smyth. Let's just assume this thing gets through. Isles fans should be doing backflips right now, because the have just transformed from pretender to contender.
With good coaching (Ted Nolan), solid goaltending (Rick DiPietro), a much-improved offense (Smyth and Richard Zednik), the Islanders now have the firepower to move up in the standings and maybe win a couple of rounds in the playoffs.
Don't forget, Jason Blake is staying put. I chided Garth Snow earlier for hanging onto him -- but once he found out Smyth was available, I don't blame him for keeping Blake. When you have a chance to acquire a 31-goal winger, you don't offset that gain by dealing away your team's leading scorer.
Smyth has been one of the league's best pure goal scorers during his 12-year career. He's scored 30 goals or more four times. He's on the small side at 6-1, 190, and has had some injury problems because he doesn't shy away from contact in front of the net. But since the debut of the "new NHL," with more room for skating and smaller players, Smyth has posted 30 goals twice, including this year.
Have to move on to cover a few other deals, but I'll get back to this later. . .
4:03 p.m. -- Quickly, on Norstrom
Sorry I disappeared, but I had to update the rest of Newsday.com with the Ryan Smyth news. I'll provide some commentary on that deal in a sec, but first:
We've heard zippo on the Matty Norstrom front in the last hour or so. I'm still trying to find out what's going on with that.
3:33 p.m. -- Wow! Ryan Smyth to Islanders
Newsday's Greg Logan reports the Islanders have traded prospects Robert Nilsson and Ryan O'Marra, plus a first round draft pick to Edmonton for 31-goal scorer Ryan Smyth. Read Greg's blog for the details.
3:30 p.m. -- Bertuzzi trade official
This is from NHL.com:
Detroit will send a conditional pick – either a first-, second- or third-round selection – in this year’s draft and a conditional second-round pick in next year’s draft to obtain the services of Bertuzzi, who is just a year removed from being one of the most coveted players in the League.
Notably, there is no mention of Detroit including prospect Shawn Matthias in the deal, which had been reported earlier.
3:25 p.m. -- Scott Parker traded
Try not get too excited, but the Sharks have traded goon Scott Parker to Colorado for a draft pick. No offense, Scott! Moving on. . .
3:19 p.m. -- Norstrom traded?
TSN is now saying that Kings captain Matty Norstrom has been traded. I'm trying to find out to whom and for whom.
3:16 p.m. -- More Bertuzzi details
Reports linking Tood Bertuzzi to Detroit seem stronger than ever as more unconfirmed details of a trade emerge.
TSN says the prospect Detroit will give Florida in return for Bertuzzi is center Shawn Matthias, a second-round draft pick in 2006.
3:03 p.m. -- Deadline passes, looks like Blake is staying
Newsday's Greg Logan checks in with another blog on Jason Blake. Here's an excerpt:
"When St. Louis traded Bill Guerin to San Jose earlier this afternoon, that was the strongest indication that the Islanders’ leading scorer wouldn’t be going anywhere. The Sharks were said to be the leading bidder for Blake last night, and they obviously have spent their ammunition, dealing both first-round picks they had in this year’s draft in deals for Guerin and Montreal defenseman Craig Rivet, as well as young defenseman Josh Gorges to the Canadiens."
It's hard to know whether or not the Islanders really intended to trade Blake or not, but if they did (and they should have), this is a misstep by general manager Garth Snow. San Jose's first choice may have been Bill Guerin all along, and maybe Bertuzzi was Detroit's first choice.
But now the Islanders will have to take their chances with a player who probably won't be back in the offseason, is mired in a bad scoring slump and just spent the past 24 hours in limbo since no one from Islanders apparently told him what was going on.
Not good. It will be interesting to see how the team reacts. Will they bond together now that Blake seems to be staying put? In the short term, it's nothing but a good thing for the Isles, who will certainly need Blake down the stretch run in the Eastern Conference. But saving him just for 20 more games plus maybe five or six in the playoffs? It doesn't make sense to me.
2:57 p.m. -- Vital Timo Helbling news
A little comic relief here: Defenseman Timo Helbling, just so you know, is the minor-leaguer headed to Buffalo in the Dainius Zubrus deal we blogged on earlier.
2:55 p.m. -- Yanic Perrault to Toronto
Phoenix has reportedly traded face-off wizard Yanic Perrault to the Maple Leafs for young defenseman Brendan Bell and a second-round draft pick.
Perrault, 35, has made a career out of his extraordinary prowess at winning draws, which certainly comes in handy for a team needing an extra boost in the playoffs. Since the league began keeping faceoff statistics in 1998-999, he's won 60 percent or more of his faceoffs in every season but one. This year, he's 62.6 percent on draws.
2:47 p.m. -- Zubrus to Buffalo
They deals are pouring in now, about as hard as the rain outside. The Washington Capitals have reportedly traded RW Dainius Zubrus and a minor-leaguer to Buffalo for forward Jiri Novotny and a first-round draft pick.
Buffalo is going for broke. They made a brilliant move earlier in the day, freeing up cap space by trading Martin Biron to the Flyers and replacing him with Columbus' Ty Conklin, who makes about $1.7 million less.
Then they went out and used the cap space, acquiring Zubrus, who has 20 goals this year and makes $1.85 million. That's absolutely brilliant management by Sabres GM Darcy Regier.
Buffalo has been the class of the East all year long, but recently they've had injuries to top forwards Maxim Afinogenov and Chris Drury (Tim Connolly is already done for the year).
We don't know how well Zubrus will play in Buffalo, but you have to like it when your general manager is creative and aggressive to help patch a hole.
2:39 p.m. -- Rangers dump Dupuis
It looks the Pascal Dupuis' tenure in New York is over after just six games. Several web sites have reported that the Rangers have dealt him to Atlanta.
This is not entirely suprising, as Dupuis had been mostly invisible on the ice since scoring a goal in his first game.
The Rangers will get back a prospect, whose name I do not yet know. I'll try to find out and get back to you.
2:30 p.m. -- Bertuzzi update
TSN reports that Detroit will trade a conditional draft pick (probably based on how many games Bertuzzi plays the rest of the year) and a prospect to Florida for Todd Bertuzzi. Details still emerging. . .
Bertuzzi, 31, is in the final season of a four-year, $27.8 million contract that he originally signed with Vancouver.
2:24 p.m. -- Nothing yet from Isles
Newsday's Greg Logan checks in on his blog. Read it to find out what's up with Jason Blake.
My feeling? If Detroit got Bertuzzi, and San Jose got Guerin, the market for Blake took a big hit. Dallas, Nashville and Vancouver may still be in the bidding.
2:23 p.m. -- TSN: Bertuzzi to Wings
Though it's not confirmed, TSN reports that Detroit has acquired injured winger Todd Bertuzzi from Florida. Details were not immediately available. I'll let you know once I find out more.
2:22 p.m. -- Two more deals
A couple of depth deals reported in Canada: Fourth-liner Brad May was shipped from Colorado to Anaheim and Phoenix sent Oleg Saprykin and a late-round pick to Ottawa for a second-round pick. Big news coming down now . . .
2:19 p.m. -- Quickly. . .
That earlier Ty Conklin-to-Buffalo trade was for a 5th round draft pick. Just making sure you have all that info.
2:17 p.m. -- Great deal for Rangers
Whether or not Paul Mara can be a reliable power play quarterback is open for discussion. But the simple fact that the Rangers were able to unload the ineffective Aaron Ward for him makes this a good move on their part.
The fact that they were able to acquire someone who is 27 years old, makes roughly the same money as Ward, and has the potential to contribute to their power play makes it a great move.
Mara was having a rough year in Boston, where fell out of favor with head coach Dave Lewis and was on pace (3-15-18) for his worst offseason season in six years (he was also an awful minus-22).
But Ward had worn out his welcome in New York after confronting Jaromir Jagr on the Rangers' bench during a Feb. 3 game against Tampa. He reportedly questioned the captain's leadership and the two had not gotten along well ever since.
And Mara provides an element that the Rangers haven't had since they traded Brian Leetch: A legitimate offensive talent on the blueline. Don't make the mistake of thinking he's anywhere near as good as Leetch; it may be fairer to say that he's a notch above Michal Rozsival, talent-wise.
It should be interesting to see how he looks on the Rangers power play if he plays tonight.
1:35 p.m. -- Confirmed: Rangers get Ward for Mara
Newsday's Steve Zipay has confirmed that the Rangers acquired defenseman Paul Mara from the Boston Bruins in return for defenseman Aaron Ward.
Mara had fallen out of favor in Boston, but has the talent to be the power play quarterback the Rangers need.
I couldn't find out much about Mara's contract situation, except that he is making $3 million this year. Ward is signed through next season. He is making $2.75 million this year and $3 million next year.
1:30 p.m. -- Bill Guerin trade & details confirmed
Just saw that NHL.com had posted that the Bill Guerin trade to San Jose is official. Here are the details:
The Sharks get Guerin, 36, from St. Louis in exchange for LW Ville Nieminen, a 2007 1st-round pick, and prospect Jay Barriball.
1:28 p.m. -- TSN: Rangers trade Aaron Ward to Boston
Click here to read Steve Zipay's blog about a reported trade of Rangers defenseman Aaron Ward to Boston.
Ward and Jaromir Jagr had a shouting match on the Rangers' bench in early February which had become the subject of much media discussion. Ward had also played terribly for most of this season, so the move is not entirely surprising.
1:23 p.m. -- Waiver claims
A few minor moves here. Montreal has claimed G Michael Leighton off waivers from Philadelphia. Rangers forward Jason Krog is on his way back to Atlanta. Denis Hamel is on his way to Philly. Niko Kapanen to Phoenix and G Brian Boucher to Columbus.
12:53 p.m. -- Pittsburgh trades Dominic Moore to Wild
TSN reports are saying the Penguins have traded the checking line center (and former Ranger) to Minnesota for a 3rd round draft pick.
I guess Moore became expendable with the Pens acquiring Georges Laraque and Gary Roberts today, and getting a 3rd rounder back for him seems reasonable. After watching Moore play a lot last year and a bit this year, I can tell you that he will definitely help Minnesota.
He's a smart, hustling player and a good penalty killer. He has some playmaking ability, too. A solid third or fourth line guy. Wild coach Jacques Lemaire will probably love him.
12:25 p.m. -- Report: Rangers check Bertuzzi's medical records
According to Montreal radio station Team 990, the Rangers have asked to see the medical records of injured Panthers forward Todd Bertuzzi.
Bertuzzi, a former 40-goal scorer, has only played seven games this season while sitting out with a back injury. He's in the last year of a contract that pays him roughly $5.27 this season.
12:22 p.m. -- Zubrus on the move?
We're now hearing that Dainius Zubrus was not dressed for practice this morning, meaning a trade is likely on the way. According to Newsday's Steve Zipay, the Rangers were looking into Zubrus' availability, but there are a number of other teams who were also reportedly trying to acquire him.
12:18 p.m. -- Guerin details emerging
It looks like Bill Guerin is headed to the Sharks as part of a three-way trade involving the Blues and an unknown team. Early reports are that the Sharks will surrender a first round pick previously acquired from New Jersey and a top prospect in the deal. More to follow. . .
12:12 p.m. -- Biron update
Hold the phone on the Martin Biron trade. It looks like a done deal, but not for a first round pick. We'll let you know when we find out for sure.
I still don't like the move. The point isn't what Philly gave up for him, it's that Philly already has two goalies of similar ability (Robert Esche and Antero Niittymaki).
12:10 p.m. -- Laraque trade details
TSN reports that enforcer Georges Laraque is headed from Phoenix to Pittsburgh. Phoenix gets Daniel Carcillo and an eighth-round pick.
For some reason, Laraque had a no-trade clause, which he had to waive in order for the trade to go through. Figure that one out.
In any event, the Penguins clearly felt they had to get tougher, and with the additions of Laraque and Gary Roberts, they have.
12:02 p.m. -- Guerin a Shark?
TSN is now saying they believe Bill Guerin is headed to the Sharks. We'll wait a few more minutes for the smoke to clear and trade details to emerge, and then provide some analysis.
11:59 a.m. -- More Guerin
TSN is saying that Guerin has definitely been traded, but we don't know where yet. Anaheim, San Jose and Detroit have all expressed interest. Don't be surprised if he ends up in one of those cities.
11:55 a.m. -- Bill Guerin news
TSN has reported that Bill Guerin was not on the ice for the Blues' morning skate. That means a trade is almost certain to be announced. We'll keep you posted.
11:54 a.m. -- Conklin to Buffalo
New reports on TSN say Columbus has traded backup goalie Ty Conklin to Buffalo for an undisclosed draft pick. If that's true, it's a good move for the Sabres.
Not only did they replace Martin Biron, who they have apparently traded to Philadelphia, they also saved a nice chunk of money under the cap. Biron was still owed about $530,000 this year, while Conklin will only make around $128,000 the rest of the way. That extra wiggle room could help the Sabres add a depth player this afternoon.
Buffalo is currently without six regular players, including Maxim Afinogenov, Chris Drury, Jaroslav Spacek and Tim Connolly, who is out for the season.
They have been stuck in cap hell all season, unable to improve their team because they've been right at the $44 million limit. Now they've got a little flexibility.
11:42 a.m. -- Phoenix will trade Laraque
It looks like the Coyotes' firesale has begun. They've told tough guy Georges Laraque that he's going to be traded, but according to Rogers Sportsnet in Canada, they're giving him two choices: Calgary or Pittsburgh.
Check out the link for more info on that deal.
11:07 a.m. -- Sabres to trade Biron?
Reports out of Canada have the Flyers acquiring Sabres backup Martin Biron for one of the first round picks they acquired from Nashville in the Peter Forsberg trade.
If that's true, I don't like the move. Here's why:
Even though the pick Philadelphia is giving up will likely be in the 26th-30th overall range, I don't know if Biron solves the Flyers' ever-present goaltending problems.
Ever since the death of Pelle Lindbergh in 1985, it seems like the Flyers have been searching for the goalie who would take them back to the top. They've tried an endless list of netminders: Ron Hextall, Sean Burke, John Vanbeisbrouck, Antero Niittymaki, Robert Esche, Roman Cechmanek, Garth Snow, Tommy Soderstrom, and Brian Boucher to name a few. And yet in the past 20 years, none of them has led the Flyers to a Stanley Cup title.
And Biron isn't going to do it either. If you look at his career numbers, with a 2.49 GAA and a .910 save percentage coming into this year, you might think the Flyers got a great No. 1 starter.
In fact, they got an average one. Over the past seven seasons, Biron, a former 16th overall pick, has had numerous chances to lock down the No. 1 spot in Buffalo. But for one reason or another, he's never been able to do it.
He's been great the last two years on a very good Sabres team, but he isn't the type of goaltender who can carry a team to the Cup.
Even worse, he's an unrestricted free agent after the season, meaning Philly will probably have to spend big to keep him (definitely more than the $2.2 million he makes now.)
Maybe he'll prove me wrong and play extremely well in Philadelphia. But I wouldn't bet on it. I think in a few years, he'll just be another name in the list I provided above.
10:45 a.m. -- A chat with Steve Zipay
I spoke to our Rangers beat writer for about 20 minutes earlier. He obviously feels today's Jagr reports are totally overblown, and I agree. If the Rangers make a move, it's likely to be relatively minor.
Steve did indicate that the Rangers have shown a bit of interest in Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook (4-11-15), but didn't provide many details.
He also said the Rangers were checking into the availability of Washington's Dainius Zubrus (20-32-52), who will be a free agent after the season.
Based on my impression of our conversation, I'd say there's about about 25 percent chance the Rangers might get Zubrus, and about a 10 percent chance they'd get Seabrook.
And a 0.01 percent chance they'll trade Jagr.
10:27 a.m. -- Quick note on Roberts
It's all but confirmed now that Gary Roberts will be a Pittsburgh Penguins. This a good move for the Pens, who could scare some teams with their talented offense and potentially hot goaltending. Roberts, 40, will provide a veteran presence alongside Mark Recchi, who last year was a key contributor to Carolina's Stanley Cup run.
9:58 a.m. -- More on Jagr from Steve Zipay
Newsday's Rangers beat man, Steve Zipay, has this to say on the Jagr report in his blog:
"I just seriously doubt that Jagr, the team captain, whose contract has great value and is the face of the franchise, is being "shopped" with any aggressiveness -- or that he'll be traded today."
9:40 a.m. -- Ryan Smyth rumors put to bed?
A report out of Edmonton casts doubt on rumors that the Oilers will trade 31-goal scorer and UFA-to-be Ryan Smyth.
The bottom line is that if the Oilers can hammer out a contract with Smyth -- which they'd clearly prefer to do -- Smyth isn't going anywhere. He's been a mainstay of their team for 12 years.
9:20 a.m. -- First, on Jagr
Wow, lots to talk about this morning.
First, I wanted to discuss the reports this morning that the Rangers are offering Jaromir Jagr around the NHL. Before I saying anything else, two points need to be made:
1) Trading Jagr is not as terrible an idea as it seems.
2) Jagr almost certainly will not be traded today.
By offering Jagr around, Glen Sather is doing -- to use a sports cliche -- his "due diligence." Which is to say that trading Jagr is not so unheard of -- so ridiculous -- that it wouldn't be worth Sather's time to see what he could get in return for him.
That said, I am a little surprised that the Rangers would even consider it. The fact they would even consider dealing him proves to me that, deep down, they know their team has no legitimate chance to win the Stanley Cup this year.
Whether or not they will be willing or able to act on that knowledge remains to be seen.
I know what Jagr has meant to the team, I know he sells lots of jerseys and tickets, and I actually think he's a pretty good guy. But he's 35, he's got a bad shoulder and a recurring groin problem and it's hard to believe he has another 50-goal season in him. His best days are behind him now.
He only counts for about $4.9 million against the salary cap (thank you Washington Capitals), but clearing out that space would open the door for the Rangers to find a new, younger centerpiece for the team this summer. Don't forget, Brendan Shanahan's $4 million and Sandis Ozolinsh's $2.75 million come off the books, too. That's at least $11 million in cap space that Sather would be free to spend on a terrific crop of free agents that will include Buffalo's Chris Drury, Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk, Montreal's Sheldon Souray, and New Jersey's Scott Gomez and Bryan Rafalski.
I'm not saying I'd like to see Jagr go, nor do I think they'll be able to move his bulky $8.36 million contract, but just think about what the Rangers could get for him -- and what they could do with the money they'd save. Now you can understand why Sather might consider it.
Ahhh, the bitter pang of nostalgia.
It’s February, and once again the Rangers are plummeting in the standings faster than Matt Cullen can trip himself up on a breakaway.
Seated below nine other teams in a playoff race that only advances eight, a Rangers team that began the season with promise is now facing the prospect of missing the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 years.
But never fear. According to widespread reports, the Rangers are interested in acquiring just about every quick-fix veteran under the sun.
Hide your prospects. Bury your draft picks. High-risk, average-reward players abound, and if history has taught us anything, it's that Rangers GM Glen Sather will gamble his future on one of them -- and in the process, he'll be taken for a ride by another team's general manager.
Peter Forsberg. Keith Tkachuk. Bryan Smolinski. Jozef Stumpel. Martin Rucinsky. Ten years ago, acquiring any of these guys would have been a pretty safe bet.
But now, it's more like a lottery, where the one holding the winning ticket to New York gets to help transform the Rangers from underachiers to laughingstock once again.
Maybe the gimpy-ankled Forsberg can be coaxed into playing in sneakers. (It worked for the 1934 Giants.)
Maybe the Rangers can introduce Tkachuk to Jenny Craig, who can help the not-so-svelte power forward tone down after showing up to camp last year grossly overweight. (Incidentally, this spawned one of the funniest nicknames in hockey history: Keith Tka-chunky.)
Maybe Rucinsky can help recreate the magic he and his buddies produced in last year's first-round playoff flop.
Maybe Smolinski and Stumpel can generate the kind of consistent scoring they've produced. . . well, never.
Fortunately, we found out yesterday that Sather is one step ahead of the game.
The Rangers traded former second round draft pick Marc-Andre Cliche, a member of the gold medal-winning Canadian team in last month’s World Junior tournament, to the Los Angeles Kings, for forward Sean Avery, the NHL’s most penalized player in the last two years.
It gets even better. Not only will Avery be able to contribute to the Rangers’ apparent goal of setting the record for most minor penalties in an NHL season, but he apparently gets along great with everyone -- it’s just he doesn’t like members of the NHL’s competition committee. And he doesn’t exactly have a great reputation among black players. Or French guys. Or the media. Or John Cusack.
But don’t for one second think he's a bad guy, just because he was accused of calling Georges Laraque a "monkey" (Laraque is black) or that he ripped new teammate Brendan Shanahan, who is a member of the aforementioned committee. Sure he's had some problems with diving, but how can anyone who is dating Elisha Cuthbert (right) be that bad -- really?
And don't think that old Glen didn’t get the Rangers something more in return for Cliche, hustling forward Jason Ward and prospect Jan Marek – Oh no.
He also landed highly-touted left wing John Seymour, a former 226th overall pick, who's enjoying a career year with Brampton of the OHL. Yep. He set a new personal best with five assists this year, and if things break right, he may even score more than one goal this season (his career high is three.)
That oughta jump start the rebuilding movement!
Sather's motto must be: "Give me your tired, your overpriced, your malcontent." Bring them to New York, the land of the free and the home of the exasperated fan.
Fans of opposing teams might enjoy the next few weeks of the season, as the playoff race intensifies and trade rumors abound. But Rangers fans won't.
They'll just be holding their breath, hoping they slip into a gentle coma until the Stanley Cup finals are over and this season has faded from the rear view mirror.
