Hello 2008-09

It's been awhile - a summer filled with post graduate job searching (to little avail) has kept me from the blog page. I have been keeping a watchful, and sometimes critical, eye on the Ranger's off season acquisitions and departures. The last time I checked in I talked a little about my wishes to retain the rights to Jamir Jagr, well, that didn't happen. What also didn't happen was any attempt at restructuring Avery's deal, instead the Rangers foolishly let him slip out the door and into the Dallas Stars locker room. I don't know why - the Rangers are above .500 with Avery in the line up and below .500 without him - you do the math. For what it is worth, keep your eye on the Stars. The last few seasons have seen them make early exits but Avery brings the perfect amount of tenacity to put Modano and Co. over the top in the West. I'm not saying Finals I'm just saying watch them.

Back to the Blueshirts -

 Losing Jagr is going to be either a huge positive or a huge negative. The optimist will say that the departure of Jagr will allow young forwards like Callahan and Dubinsky to come into their own offense. Without the need to defer to Jagr, confidence can be built and the Rangers could look to a wealth of new options to maintain the goal scoring. Similarly, the Power Play may show huge improvements because defensemen, namely Rozival, will be more open to drive the puck to the net creating more scoring chances and limiting the Garden Faithful's chants of "SHOOT THE PUCK!" Conversly howerver, and what I am most worried about heading into the 08-09 season, is the possibility that the Rangers and the league grossly underestimated the 36 year old Jagr. The Rangers may see a decline in the offensive production due to Jagr's absence. Now, their is no one player that commands the type of on-ice attention that Jagr does. Say what you want about his age he was the strongest, most dominant force on and off the puck in the NHL last season. His size and strength opened the lanes for players like Dubinsky to shine around the net. While I am typing this column I am watching the second period of Rangers/Lightening - no score, with limited chances deep in the offensive zone.

So far, much the same as last season. No dominant scoring threat and too many stupid penalties and neutral zone turnovers. On the positive side, Wade Redden will add the experience to the opposite side of young Staahl and the newly arrived Zherdev is making huge runs into the offensive zone and creating mass havoc. I'll break down the game a little later in the week after I have seen the weekends slate of games and had more time to get used to Tom Renney's new line pairings.

Until then, lets hope King Henrik continues his dominant performance and again keeps slow offensive games close enough to manage - Jamir Jagr isn't going to be coming out of the locker room.