Tony D's New York Rangers fan blog

the general assumption is that brendan shanahan will not return to the rangers.  in light of sather's push to get younger and faster and his desire to play a more up-tempo game, it seems shanny doesn't fit.  but...

i'm not sure i'd be so quick to dismiss shanny has being unable to "keep up." He was a point-a-game guy for the rangers in 06-07 until the nasty collision with knuble. he (like jagr, but to a lesser extent) didn't quite mesh with any of the centers this year--not right away anyway. but he stilled scored 23 goals (11 on the powerplay!). both those numbers were second on the team.

had renney not used him so much to kill penalties, shanny would have had more gas down the stretch. he averaged 18:31 per game! that's way too much for a 38 year old guy with 20 seasons under his belt. give him 12-15 minutes a night with heavy PP minutes and no PK and he can be productive and useful on a now very young team.

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In light of the recent Ranger overhaul, many have been asking and wondering what is in store for the 2008-2009 season and what fans can reasonably expect from this "new" team.  Predictions can often be a waste of time--particularly with the summer only half over.  Rosters are not nearly finalized, deals are not finished, and training camp and pre-season are still a month and more away.  Still, one things is certain in Rangerland: a transition has been made.  It's been out with the "old" (old not just a reference to age)--Jagr, Straka, Avery, Malik, Shanahan (likely), Tutin--and in with the "new" (again, not just a reference to age)--Naslund, Redden, Zherdev, Kalinin, Voros, Fritsche, and Rissmiller.  The Rangers have turned a corner from generation Jagr and officially become Gomez and Drury's team.  All I can say is, it's about time.

Continue reading "Expectations for New York Rangers in 2008-2009"

It's almost one year since Brian Cashman pulled the trigger on a deal that sent right-handed reliever Scott Proctor to the Dodgers for utility man Wilson Betemit.  In parts of two seasons as a Yankee, Betemit has done nothing of note.  Proctor went to LA and threw 32 more innings in 2007, allowing just 25 hits and 12 earned runs.  His record of durability ended this year with a right elbow ailment that landed him on the DL after a rocky first half of the season.  Now, maybe Cashman saw that elbow or other arm problems were inevitable for Proctor--especially considering how frequently Torre went to him in NY (and again in LA).  What's more likely is that Cashman expected more from Wilson Betemit.  He expected an upgrade over Miguel Cairo.  He expected a guy that could very adequately spell Jeter, Cano, A-Rod, or the first basemen of the month for the Yankees.  He probably--in his wildest dreams--expected Betemit to be insurance in case A-Rod left via free agency after 2007 (which he did, then didn't).  Needless to say, Cashman got none of these things.  He got an average bench player, and all he gave up was a reliable, tough, seventh or eighth inning reliever who he has since tried to replace with Kyle Farnsworth, Luis Vizcaino, and now LaTroy Hawkins.  None of those three has been as consistently effective (or effective at all in Hawkins' case) as Proctor.

Continue reading "Proctor for Betemit: Yankees and Dodgers Trade, July 31, 2007"

Sunday night, Joba Chamberlain faced the Red Sox as a starter for the first time.  He threw behind Kevin Yukilis for the third time.  Granted, last night's behind-the-knees pitch was not as clearly intentional as the back to back behind-the-head pitches Joba hurled at Yukilis last year, but it's still notworthy precisely because of last year's "slips."  Is there a personal battle brewing?  No.  It's already in full gear and has the potential to get even more heated.  Yukilis is a young 27 (even younger since he's a first baseman), and Joba is, despite all the hype around him already, just beginning a long career.  If both stay with their respective teams, fans could be treated to ten years worth of matchups between the two.  Advantage: Yankees.

Continue reading "Joba Chamberlain and Kevin Yukilis: Heating up the Yanks BoSox Rivalry"

I know what you're thinking: why waste a blog post on this seeming insignificant piece of NHL news?  Here's why: this is the perfect place for Bertuzzi to finally return to form.  By "return to form," I mean get back on a 25 goal, 60 point pace (that's all that can and should be expected of Bertuzzi at this stage of his career.  In fact, he's only been really better than that three times--all pre-Moore). 

Bertuzzi returns to Canada--which he wanted.  He also returns to Mike Keenan--something I think both are particularly happy about.  Ranger fans know how Keenan plays favorites (Stephan Matteau and Brian Noonan practically followed him around the NHL in the 90s), and his tough-love approach along with a strong supporting cast in Calgary (led by none other than non-nonsense GM Darryl Sutter and captain Jarome Iginla) should help get Bertuzzi back on track.  Superstar numbers?  No way.  Respectable 2nd/3rd line minutes and numbers?  Bet on it.  And remember that you heard it hear first!

Continue reading "Bertuzzi to Flames..."

Easily the most criticized Glen Sather move of the off-season was letting Sean Avery walk.  We've all seen the numbers of how good the Rangers were with Avery in the lineup as opposed to without him.  We all saw the difference in the team's play when Avery was doing his thing.  We all read and heard Avery talk about his love for New York.  But, there is one thing we didn't see--as mere fans we never see: locker room/behind the scenes Avery.  Sather could not be dumb enough to just let this guy walk unless there was more to his locker room antics than we heard.  There's a reason that Avery has played for 3 teams in 4 years, despite obvious talent and on-ice value. 

What's obvious going forward is that the Rangers' room is much less a collection of veterans mixed with young kids and much more of a collection of young kids mixed with veterans.  The last thing the Rangers need seeping into their dressing room is a guy with a brash, in your face personality like Avery.  These kids need to develop in a healthy, peaceful locker room environment in which Renney can work his player development magic (yes, he's one of the best at that).  Avery's departure--and the months of speculation leading up to it--makes me believe Sather never intended to bring back any of his over-32 veterans.  If he had, Avery would have been locked up with no fear of his personality becoming more distraction than value. 

Continue reading "Sean Avery: the ex-New York Ranger and new Dallas Star"

The UFA season has largely been completed--aside from a few big names hanging around--and the NHL standings may look very different next season.

This year's make over awards go to the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning.  First, the 'ning--as runners up.  For Florida's only relevant franchise, the makeover began weeks ago with the firing of John Tortorella and the hiring of Barry Melrose (aside: here's hoping Pat Burns makes it back to the NHL and squares off against Melrose.  Was there anything better than the barbs the two exchanged in the 93 playoffs?).  They then selected highly touted Steven Stamkos--a likely second line center behind Vinny the Becoming Great.  Those changes alone would make headlines.  But Tampa didn't stop.  They have since added Vaclav Prospal, Gary Roberts, Ryan Malone, Radim Vrbata, Olaf Kolzig, Ryan Hall and Wyatt Smith.  New look, yes.  The result, however, will be determined.  They've certainly added some size up front, but just how well that translates into success is anybody's guess.  If Kolzig has another super year in him, they have solved their constant goaltending woes and may be ready to take another run at a playoff birth and beyond.

Continue reading "New Look Rangers in better position for Cup and Future"

Every so often, I'll include a post that is not all (or maybe at all) about sports.  Just a reminder of the bigger world that also deserves our attention--even though it can be infinitely more depressing than knowing Kei Igawa is only a an injury, a Ponson failure, or a Rasner melt down away from being back on the Yankee Stadium mound...

-why, at a time when humans are living longer than ever, are we in a hurry to do everything?

-why do we so quickly diagnose senior citizens with "chronic complain-itis" whenever they start a sentence with "i remember when..." or "in the old days..."? maybe it's time we start listening to them...minus the racial, ethnic, and gender bigotry!

-when are people going to learn to separate what's expected of them from what they desire?

Continue reading "Random musings...sports, politics, society"

Let me preface this article: it is not meant as an indictment of Ranger management--the Smith and Sather regimes in particular.  It's meant to make clear this point: the Rangers have some nice talent in their system.  But, aside from Lundquist and possibly Staal, they lack a sure-fire superstar.  Even more alarming is that no where in the Rangers' system is there a bona fide blue chip forward that can rival the NHL's best.  (No, Cherepanov cannot be considered this yet, if at all.)

Consider the Stanley Cup finals: the Wings consistently turn out top-flight talent.  Zetterberg and Datsyuk are their most recent draft gems.  These are not just good payers; these are legitimate superstars.  The Penguins drafted Crosby and Malkin in consecutive years.  Again, superstars.  Players who dominate the game.  Go back further in both teams' draft histories and you'll see names like Yzerman, Federov, Lidstrom, Lemiuex, Jagr. 

Continue reading "NHL Draft: Trouble Brewing for New York Rangers"

Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes.  Remember these two guys?  They were expected to win 25-30 games between them during the Yanks' 2008 season before getting hit hard and injured over the first month of the season.  So what happened?  Are these temporary setbacks or an example of two over-hyped prospects?  Didn't Cashman nix a deal for Johan Santana to keep these two guys in our stable of young pitchers? 

Well, Yankees fans, there's good news and there's bad news.  First, the good.  Hughes is still one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball--let alone in the Yankees system.  Two quirky injuries in two years may be cause for concern, but I think it's just that: quirky, flukey, nothing to worry about.  Don't forget, at the start of this season Hughes was the second youngest player in MLB (behind Homer Bailey).  That's player, not just pitcher.  By the time he hits the age of 24 or 25, Yankee fans will have long forgotten about a pulled hamstring and a ribcage injury--and all those ugly starts he had this season.

Continue reading "Hughes and Kennedy: New York Yankees, MLB"