Well, the Jamie Lundmark Project is over. It really is a shame. Looking back, that 1999 draft really stunk for the Rangers. They had 11 picks, including 2 in the top ten. Those two, of course, were Lundmark and Pavel Brendl. Jamie was the only player from that draft to ever play for the Rangers. To be fair to the Rangers, the entire 1999 draft was not the strongest.
So anyway, Jamie was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for forward Jeff Taffe. Reading some of the reviews on Taffe, it seems he has been a bit of a letdown for fans as well. He is only 24 years old, and at 6'3 and 208 pounds, he is bigger than Lundmark, and plays a more physical game. Taffe was one of the players included in the deal that sent Keith "Krispy Kreme" Tkachuk to the St. Louis Blues.
Expectations had been high for Lundmark, maybe even too high. I hope all that both players needed was a change in scenery. I am not sure about Taffe's waiver situation, but in all likelihood he will play in Hartford for a while before coming up to the big club.
John Dellapina of the Daily News points out that Lundmark is officially the last tie the Rangers have to the Neil Smith era. Andrew Gross of the Journal News also covers this story, as does Colin Stephenson of the Star Ledger.
Tonight, as you know, the hated Islanders come to Manhattan to take on Henrik Lundqvist and his New York Rangers. Speaking of Lundqvist, his counterpart, Kevin Weekes caused a mini-controversy yesterday while responding to some questions from reporters.
Weekes was asked if he was surprised that coach Tom Renney affirmed that he was the #1 goaltender in light of Lundqvist's play. Weekes response:
"To be honest with you, I think I get asked these questions more than any other goalie in the league, and I don't know why. If Jose Theodore was injured, I don't think you'd be asking him the same thing. If [Nikolai] Khabibulin were injured, I don't think you'd be asking him the same thing, and I could go on and on down the line.
"So I don't know if it's because I'm one of two, or one of one; I don't really know why I feel like I have to continue to justify and show improvement and justify and re-justify, because I stay abreast of what goes on in the league and I don't see anybody having to account for anything to the degree that I do."
Hey, um, Kevin . . . you are NOT Jose Theodore and you are CERTAINLY NOT Khabibulin. Maybe you are asked these questions because you are 30 years old, your career record is 79 wins, 137 losses, and 34 ties, and you have only appeared in 8 playoff games in one postseason, despite the fact that you have been playing NHL hockey since 1997-98. MEANWHILE, the 23-year-old fan favorite has allowed just 2 goals in the last three games against Atlanta, the Devils, and Florida. I agree that Lundqvist is young and shouldn't be thrust into the full time starting role just yet, but take it easy big fella.
Anyway, Weekes' comments were interpreted as a race issue, I guess because he was singling himself out at the only goalie who gets asked these kinds of questions. Weekes later responded that it was, um, actually, it makes no sense so here is the explanation:
"Essentially, what I was trying to let you [media] guys know was there are only two spots on the team for a goalie. When I said 'one of one' or 'one of two,' it's one of one, being A, a starting goalie, or one of two, being one of the two goalies."
Okey dokey. Funny, while Lundqvist is doing everything in his power to win the hearts of the fans, Weekes is doing just the opposite. He could have just said "No I wasn't surprised by coach Renney, and I appreciate his support. At the same time, I am rooting for Henrik to continue helping this team win."
The Daily News and the Post both cover this story.
Newsday has a couple of articles on tonight's game, which can be found here and here.
The Rodent has a bunch of new stuff today.
Bird has a new Birdcage. I mean, he has a new Birdcage article.
The Rangers have moved up to fifth in the Foxsports power rankings.
The Rangers and Islanders drop the puck at 7:00 pm EST. The Garden will be rocking.
HDH
Posted by Jim at October 19, 2005 10:27 AMeMail this entry!
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