This is one of the best times of the hockey year, that one month period
from the draft through the first 3 or so weeks of free agency. Articles
galore. Everyone is talking, speculating and arguing. News and
information and rumors from a hundred different places. I've got my
radio, my cable modem connection to the internet, a few cartons of
cigarettes bought before the last price hike, and with my lucky
Unrestricted Free Agency hat firmly on my head, I just wish someone
would invent the toilet desk chair and I wouldn't have to move for 3
weeks.
So here are some random thoughts that have been collecting in my head
recently like sock cheese, picked out from between the toes of my brain
and flung at you, the dear reader...
Your next Ranger GM: Tom Renney. This is of course assuming the Rangers
do well enough over the next 3-5 years for Sather to keep his job and
pass it down to Renney when he's ready to step down. Sather seems to
frequently mention "what a good job" Tom Renney is doing, or has done.
Renney was just recently promoted. Renney is in all the pictures. Sather
will step aside at some point and leave Renney in his place. Betcha.
Can someone please tell me how a 9 round draft with 30 teams has 291
draft picks in it?!?!
This season's Zdeno Ciger could be: Martin Gelinas. Played under Sather
for most of 5 seasons. His better days are long behind him and his
career has been on a steady decline for about the last 7 years. Won't
cost much money. Just today declined an offer from the Hurricanes to
become a free agent. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
My thoughts on the draft: I don't know. Beats me. Seems pretty good.
Anyone who excessively criticizes (or praises) the draft based on the
rankings by the CSS or Hockey News needs to take a step back.
Personally, I'm disappointed the Rangers didn't draft Bob Higgenbottom.
You don't know him? CSS says, "Very good skater...good size...works the
corners well...has a mean streak a mile wide...like a young Ogie
Ogelthorpe".
I just made him up. That's my point. Don't get too crazy over a name and
a blurb you read on a tip sheet written by someone you don't know, ABOUT
someone you don't know. I don't think there's any sucessful formula for
making good picks, for if so, everyone would be using it. With that
said, I like where the Rangers went with this draft. Generally big
players, and 6 of the 9 picks from the USA. Seems like the Rangers are
going for a hardy breed. Most of the guys the Rangers picked seem to
have "physical", "competetive" and "two-way" somewhere on their resumes.
Beef eating construction workers instead of salad eating poets. You need
both, but the Rangers have been burned by the poet types in recent
history (Dube, Brendl) - Players whom if their high scoring ways don't
translate from juniors to the NHL, they're otherwise worthless. Most of
the Rangers 2002 draft picks seem to have a larger range of ways to make
it to the NHL, not least of those being size. For a team with no first
round pick, I like this strategy. Very much.
Interesting debate topic recently: On Monday, Larry Brooks had an
article in the Post about how Trottier will get Messier to accept a 4th
line role. If you believe that Larry Brooks often writes loaded
articles, ie., he gets exclusive information now and then (like the
Trottier hiring one day before everyone else) and in return writes
articles that Sather needs to see written, for WHO'S benefit was this
article for, seeing as Messier still hasn't announced his intentions? To
soften the fans up to the idea that Messier will be back and behave as a
4th liner, or was this article from Sather directed towards Messier to
either scare him off, or set the parameters of what his role on the team
will be? Interesting stuff.
Like Hull last season, I think Chris Chelios is a REAL tough call. You
hate to add another ancient superstar on the decline to a team that's
been riddled with such players for the past 20 years. BUT, Chris Chelios
could bring some needed things to this Ranger team. He'd be the first
logical partner for Brian Leetch ever since Jeff Beukeboom retired, and
that's no small thing. He'd be a good role model for young defenseman
like Poti, Kloucek and Purinton. Even at his advanced age he still plays
defense the way it should be played: Think defense first, and have a
nasty attitude about it. He could be a valuable pick up, but if you
think otherwise, I wouldn't have a hard time seeing your side of the
story.
Czerkawski was a disappointment for the Isles last season and getting
rid of him wasn't a bad idea, but for Arron Asham?! Still young at 24
and a decent hitter but not very big, doesn't fight, has few offensive
talents and couldn't even find a consistent spot on the Canadiens - A
team who had so many injuries the past several seasons they were more
like an AHL team on any given night. Not that adding Asham to their team
is such a bad thing, but for Czerkawski? Someone who, even in an "off
season" had 22 goals, 51 points and 2 and 2 in 7 playoff games? Milbury
got taken to the cleaners.
What's not to like about the Oliwa trade? It will probably end up
costing the Rangers nothing. Either the literal NOTHING (aside from some
cash under the table) or a figurative nothing, like a 7th round pick or
something equally inconsequential. He's huge at 6'5" and 230, is a
better fighter than anyone we have at the moment and creates depth both
for injuries and trades.
Yesterday afternoon I was watching one of my bench clearing brawl tapes.
One of the older clips is of a brawl between the Leafs and Rangers at
the Garden. The Rangers most active and best fighter in this brawl? #6,
Glen Sather! Really was funny seeing him as a younger man and so...
active. He comes off as so immobile
nowadays, it was a real trip watching him punching and wrestling around.
Also of note on this tape: Jim Schoenfeld checking someone through the
zamboni doors in the corner of the Aud then pounding on the guy in the
runway until he couldn't get up, and Terry O'Reilly fighting a North
Star (I think) who was standing on the bench in one of the best all-out
free-swinging punchfests I've ever seen.
In every free agent article and post I come across, everyone mentions
Guerin, Holik, Joseph, Richter, Amonte, Selanne, Kasparitis, etc. Why is
no one talking about Robert Lang? He's developed into quite a prolific
scorer with the Ice Chickens, peaking with 80 points in the 00-01
season. He's a step down from Guerin, Amonte and Selanne in pure scoring
terms, but not that big a step. Same goes for Scott Young. I definitely
don't want Lang for the Rangers ('tho Young would be OK), it's just odd
how this annual 60-80 point scorer isn't getting any wordage.
Dominik Hasek is officially retired. Anyone care? I guess his last four
retirement announcements kind of took the edge off of this one.
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