Blue Notes

I would think the last forward is probably going to be Rissmiller. Just for the plain fact that he doesn't have to play everyday. Guys like Moore, Korpi, and Byers they are younger and need to keep playing and developing. I'd rather have them play in Hartford than on the 4th line, but that's just me. As for the defenseman, maybe Pock, not Potter for the same reasons above, even though Pock is young too, maybe they get a veteran plug-in (I wish Strudwick was still around).

Does that also mean that Sjostrom signed? I haven't really looked into it but the last time I saw, he wasn't signed yet.

Jordan,

hahaha I just read it. What a clown!! Now I feel like an idiot talking Rangers to a spy!!

While it is true that Sjostrom hasn't signed yet, it is clear that they both want the deal to get done. I think, until the situation changes, that the top six defensemen and the top nine forwards are set.

How do the combinations shake out at this point?

The top four even strength point getters, using last season's stats, are Gomez, Zherdev, Naslund, and Dubinsky. Thats two centers and two wings. If we want two lines, this is the place to start.

Gomez has played exceptionally well with a scoring left wing, so it seems that Naslund and Gomez may be the logical choice.

Dubinsky has played the best hockey of his life with a talented right wing, so Zherdev and Dubinsky may the logical choice.

This also distributes the two fastest players on the team onto two different lines.

The Drury, Dawes, Callahan line from last year's playoffs may have earned the right to stick together. Without a Jagr line taking up a lot of ice time, we may expect the top three lines to log close to the same amount of even strength minutes, clocking in at around 15 per game.

With the strength of the defensemen that the Rangers can ice, I am not to worried about there being a weaker third wheel on the top two lines. If the left wing Prucha skates with Zherdev and Dubinsky, and the right wing Sjostrom skates with countryman Naslund and Gomez, then we will be looking to those two to play above their abilities. If they keep it simple (Prucha) then they should be fine.

The best defensive pair will probably Girardi and Redden, so that Staal and Rozsival can stay together. I would put Redden and Girardi on the ice with Dubinsky, Zherdev, and Prucha, so that line is less defensively scary. Staal and Rozsival playing with Gomez, Naslund, and Sjostrom should make for one of the better two-way lines in the entire league.

The fourth line is to be determined, mostly because we do not know if Gomez will join Drury as the top two penalty killing centers.

Neither Naslund nor Zherdev kill penalties, so the fourth line may need to be entirely made up of people who can do that job. Rissmiller played 2 minutes a game on the PK for the sharks, which comes out to being top four forward on the pk. Betts we know can kill them off, but Voros and Orr do not.

I think Shanny will be the Forward.... Watch and see.
They will make room for him!
Go Rangers

There’s a very long Q&A with LA defenseman Jack Johnson conducted by Don Fulton on the Inside the Kings blog for the LA Daily News. He has a number of interesting thoughts about developing confidence in the NHL and life during his first season and his relationship with ex-teammate Rob Blake, his mentor who is now with the Sharks.
At the end, he was asked “What’s your call on the worst NHL hockey city?
“Johnson: (Laughs). Oh, I’d have to say the Islanders’ rink and the area just around there was the worst. (laughs)
“Question: Okay, how about the best?
“Johnson: I think the best place was New York City, Madison Square Garden.”

http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/the-morning-skate-carcillo-throws-em-so-might-the-khl/

You wonder if the Coliseum and lack of fan support is actually helpful to the Islanders.

Just look at Johnson's comments. He is basically saying it is downright depressing to play before an empty Coliseum crowd. Naturally, I bet he (and many others) do not put in the same type of effort that they would in other arenas.

So this is beneficial to the Islanders, and harmful to the Rangers. When a team plays at the Gareden, the are pumped up, the crowd is in to it. They give it their all. They play the Isles at the Coliseum and they are depressed by the near empty crowd they play before

That team is moving soon. They can't keep up with the rest of the league when it comes to dollars and cents. Wang is losing a battle that was a fantastic idea. But the town knows what will happen to the surrounding areas once the building is complete, and in the gutter they'll go.
I couldn't be happier to read that the NHL is looking to either expand into Canadian cities or move the American poorer franchises. In doing so he names a few cities from the past and future consideration like Hamilton.
Wang is losing control. SI, ESPN and now players are outing them as failed.
It's only a matter of time! I get to say I told you so.
Good bye trashy islanders fans

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=244291&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_nhl

If in fact Wong does lose his Lighthouse idea, it'll once again be totally due to NY Politics...the same BS Politics that cost us the Giants and Jets moving to NJ...it was allllllllllllllllllllllllll NY Politics (and the Dolans paying Sheldon Sliver millions in my opinion)...sorry, but this is how I see it. Too bad too, because Wong is really trying to make it all work out-I at least give him a lot of credit for this.

Isles should move to Seattle. They could keep the team name. Better yet, let them move to KC and keep the name.

messing with new yorks premiere destination vacation area isn't something that works for New York in the long run. Yes, the Lighthouse project is fantastic. It would be good for the Islanders and Wang. But in the end the people of Long Island, the wealth and upper middle class are going to lose out. AND THEN YOU REALLY LOSE MONEY. Everyone knows what happens to the areas around major projects like this, the go to the... birds, if you will.
With all the money floating around out there, I'm sure as heck not willing to watch the town and area I grew up in be destroyed to help make Wang more wealthy than he already is no matter what he tries to give in return.
Not ever town is open to BIG economic ventures. The board should have all the right in the world to pass on this project without being gangbusted by Wang and his army of lawyers.
Would you like this project in your back yard?

You're all friggen nuts.

Say goodbye to the Isles and where are you guys gonna go to catch a live Ranger game?
The Garden? only if you know someone in a suit.
Downtown Newark? Go for it.

Say goodbye to the Isles and your beloved Rangers become the "laughingstock" of the league, what with hundreds of millions of dollars spent in 68 years and one cup to show for it.
Just look at that other MSG owned team, the Knicks, right now.
The Rangers are one bad season away from that kind of notoriety.

Most of you are too young to remember or even know what happened to baseball in NY in the late 50's when the Giants and Dodgers left town.
A thriving energetic sport-the nation's past time- went into a funk in NY that lasted more than 10 years.
It was a "baseball depression" that even spilled over to the Yankees as people lost interest in them well into the 70's.
It took a "new team" (the Met's) in '69 to bring NY out of it's baseball depression.

Rivalries are good for this town and even better for the sport.
Even when one of the teams is struggling.

What don't you understand about that?

Say goodbye to the Isles and what the hell are you gonna do to feel better about yourself when the Rangers suck and you don't have the Isles to malign?

Hypocrites.
Narrow minded short sighted hypocrites.

And that's not just my opinion.

KYS...

Your entire theory is flawed from the first sentence.

"..messing with new yorks premiere destination vacation area isn't something that works for New York in the long run."

Long Island is simply NOT "new york's premiere destination vacation area".
There is another smaller island a few miles to the west that holds that distinction. By a WIDE MARGIN.

Long Island is, and has been, a bedroom community to NYC since 1945. A distinction that was exacerbated by the diaspora of the aerospace industry that began in the 70's.
The backbone of Long Island's economy in 2008 are strip malls, deli's, pizza joints and Carvels.
And I don't think that Wang's LightHouse project is gonna change that very much when it gets approved.
But it's a start.

Sorry, but your rant is sheer nonsense.
Just my opinion.

"It was a "baseball depression" that even spilled over to the Yankees as people lost interest in them well into the 70's."

I'll never forget watching (WPIX) Roger Maris hitting his 61st HR in front of 45,000 empty seats at Yankee Stadium in 1961, just 3 short years after the hated Giants and Dodgers left town.

Those were sad sad days for baseball.
Yanks were winning championships and nobody cared.

Oh, I can hear it now......that would NEVER happen to the Rangers.
Never say never.

Sorry guys, I lost my head. Was blogging on the wrong blog there for a moment.

12:38 is a troll...

505 - some Ranger fans may miss the rivalry but i'm sure the Isles fans will miss their team period a lot more. although after the last 15 years ..............

to use your baseball analogy I'm sure Dodger fans and Giant fans missed their teams a lot more than Yankee fans missed the Dodgers and Giants.

there really is no need for 3 teams in the tri state area. with the new arena in Newark which team do you think will draw the short straw.

the Colts and Browns moved and yes i know both were replaced. if the Isles move they willl not be replaced.

just like many companies have left the scene like the Pony express and pan am as well as aerospace companies, the Isles time has come and gone. it's all about burying the body now.

but know the sun will still come out the next day. life goes on.

Expressen reports RFA winger Fredrik Sjostrom has re-signed a one-year contract with the NY Rangers worth $840K.

SPECTOR'S NOTE: My thanks to everyone who sent in the Murray link and to "Swedish Viking" for the Sjostrom link and translation.

I hope the Lighthouse Project goes through actually...It would be good for Long Island's ecomomy . As as lifelong die-hard NYR fan from LI, I would love nothing more but to continue beating up the icelanders and keep showing them we ARE the best NY metro area Hockey Club w/the best, most supportive fans in the NHL. (aside from Detroit of course). The only thing good about the White Elephant (Nassau Col.) are the sight lines...but with MSG being renovated, our's will be just as good......on another note: it'll be interesting if and when Sather makes a move to attain a crease clearing D'man.....we need that more than Shanny, and I am a big Shanny'fan...but we need to do what is best for the team.

Maybe the Rangers will be able to beat the Islanders next year now. probably not lol.

as I say so often

who cares if we beat the Islanders?

I want to win the Cup! I could care less about our record vs the Islanders.

It's right around this time every summer when everyone gets board and the usual Islander-Ranger bickering gets going.

Every summer.

If you make good money in NYC, where do you move to.
If you're spending high dollars for small property line, where do you move in NYC.
Long Island.
Premiere destination point for city folk, suburban folk, and the upper class is and has been Middle and Eastern LI.
As a pryer town board member I understand the concerns home and business owners in the Lighthouse area are having.
They know the value of the property will go up shortly after the project starts, but by the time it's finished they'll be some of LI sorriest residents for selling the town to Mr. Wang and the Islanders.Who are the only people that will benefit in the end. Everyone else loses. Walmart has changed the face of business with these tactics that Wang is introducing in the courts and the premiss of the towns people to be for the Lighthouse project.
There is no argument adout is tactics. It's what he's good at.
I don't know exactly what the term White Elephant means? help?
I'd call the Lighthouse project a Trojan Horse.
IMO.
The Islanders are as good as dead.
We are a lot farther along than a season away from being forgotten like the Islanders. Dolan may sell the team, but no owner will move away from MSG, there's WAAAAYYYYYY too much money.
UNlike the Islanders, which is the problem. You're problem.
And as I remember the 50's and 60's and baseball in NY, it was all there was and nothing else mattered.
It was the 70's when we forgot.
But, to each is own.

Truth is, the Isles won't be moving anytime soon. They are the ONLY US hockey team to ever hold a dynasty. If they move it diminishes US hockey. That's a fact. The league would NEVER allow it. Morons. Stop being so obsessed with the Isles and your inferiority complex and focus instead on your loser rag team.

#1

"As a pryer town board member I understand the concerns home and business owners in the Lighthouse area are having."

If you are in fact a "pryer" town board member, I don't think Mr. Wang or the Islander organization or the Town of Hempstead are concerned with your input, comments, vitriol or nonsense.

Perhaps two mail stops in the cul de sac of the intellectually challenged single wide trailer park that you think you represent might be glued to your Vitalis glazed pablum might acknowledge your theory, but anyone who has a subscription to TV Guide or higher is most likely yawning.

Just my opinion.

ya know.....I really do have a higher opinion of ranger fans.

can't find it here, Zip....sorry

Only on the rangers board can you find 99% of the posts about the supposedly hated islanders. Only on the rangers board will you see so many "ranger fans" praying that the islanders move instead of talking about their own team's recent signings during the offseason. Only on the rangers board will you see ranger fans talking about kicking the islanders' a** while the islanders won the season series last year. Only on the rangers board will you see ranger fans every summer saying how they will win the cup the following year, only to lose in the first or second round. Only on the rangers board will you hear the excuse "At least we won a playoff series" when asked why they didn't win the cup for yet another year. Only on the rangers board....

anonymous i don't think more than 1 person here expects the Rangers to win the cup this year. not with the Wings and Pens among others. so of the last several years only last summer did you see that kind of talk. that is hardly a trend.

messier - this is not your grandfathers Islanders. this is not the reagen 1st term. it's 2008. if the Islanders moved very few would care or miss them. and the new city whether in the midwest or Canada would actually show some enthusiasm. maybe then legit players would want to sign with the relocated franchise.

Who are you kidding LI Joe? I know it must be embarassing every year to watch your "stacked" team; that every FA wants to flock to; lose year after year against our team that no one wants to come to.

Give it a break and stop being so obsessed with the Isles. I know there are no bright spots to being a rangers fan-past (we won a cup in the last 50 years!!!) or present (no matter how many quality FA's we picked up, we never get past 2nd round in PO's) but stop focusing so much on the Isles and wanting us to disappear for you and your fellow rag fans to be happy. Its really pathetic.

messier your team has not won a single playoff series in 15 years and counting. that is the disgrace, currently our team is far from stacked. we are in rebuilding mode. and at just the right time since the next couple of years at least will be Detroit and Pitt. so no embarassment relative to our expectations.

what was embarassing was the actions of you and your fellow fans throwing garbage on the ice the last time your team made the palyoffs.

How about Ranger fans shaking and blocking the path of an ambulance trying to carry Pat LaFontaine to the hospital. Is that considered embarassing?

how many years ago was that 20? but keep trying.

you do like to live in the past. newsflash we are in the 21st century.

Hey Anonymous,

what do you call the way the Islanders acquired Mark Streit and Doug Weight?

Or Andy Sutton, Mike Comrie, Bill Guerin and Ruslan Fedetenko last summer?

It's called free agency ya dip shiiiiiiiiiiit

The Islanders sign as much free agents as anyone

And take a look as the Islanders roster right now, 8 guys 30 years old or older. 8, and this is supposed to be rebuilding team.

The Rangers only have 4 guys 30 or older on the roster, and that's if you wish to count Valiquette.

LI Joe,

you've won 2 PO series in 10 years. Get off your high horse until you actually make it to the finals or a cup. 2nd round knockouts are no better then first, its meaningless-not an accomplishment (like rag fans think). You are living in the past as well, only accomplishment the rags have had in over a decade is 94. A fluke accomplishment at that. Get over it, and stop obsessing over the Isles.

Past or not, ranger fans are classless. They tried to block an ambulance carrying an injured human being. I don't care if it was 2 years ago or 40 years ago. This is exactly why the rest of the NHL agrees that the Ranger fans are scum.

"In the first game of his next series, in 1990, LaFontaine suffered the first of many concussions, after a controversial, open-ice hit by James Patrick of the New York Rangers. He fell on his head, and was unconscious while being taken off the ice on a stretcher. Famously, his ambulance was delayed en route to the hospital by Ranger fans who tried to turn the ambulance over. He was lost for the remainder of the series."

Yet Islander fans don't feel the need to chant "Patrick sucks." It's ok, I doubt any of you ranger kiddies even know who James Patrick was.

Occurred 4 years before the rangers won their last cup.

by 1990, nobody cared about the Islanders anymore and nobody has since

messier it is very unlikely the Islanders will win a series again because by the time they'll be ready they'll be relocated. so i hope you were old enough to see some of their wins. those days are long gone. reagen is no longer president.

anonymous - the appropriate part of your sentence is "I don't care". stop living in the past. at least what i brought up was 1 year ago.

1 year ago is the past. If you don't want to bring up the past then it doesn't matter how many playoff series anyone won during the past 10 years or 20 years. If you don't want to bring up the past then it doesn't matter when the last time the Islanders or Rangers won the cup. It's hilarious watching you losers squirm and try to come up with excuses as to how blocking an ambulance carrying an injured human being is acceptable. Oh well, I'd expect nothing less from fans that have been known to urinate on people wearing the jersey of the opposing team at MSG.

And his name is spelled President Reagan idiot lol.

anonymous - real brave with that handle.

so i did not look up the correct spelling of the president from the early 80's boy you got me there.

the past is the early 80's and the ambulance incident and yes even 94'. however a current streak of not winning a series of 15 years is just that current. so that is relevant and will directly lead to the Islanders relocating due to general apathy. am i going too fast for you to connect the dots.

and 1 year ago when you and others of your ilk trashed the ice and disgraced yourselves and your franchise is absolutely relevant. it was 1 year ago not 20 or 30. and will be another contributing factor in the Islanders moving.

but thanks for playing.

don't worry life goes on.

LI Joe

Maybe in your bizarro world, last year isn't the past, but in reality it is. Move on. Stop with the hatorade. It won't make the rags a better team, or you feel better about yourself. Both teams are the S-U-C-K at the moment. Winning the first round in PO's 2 years in a row, usually gets a coach fired for being such a failure. Don't crow about failure. Stanley cup is success, and 2nd round knockouts are still a loooonnnng way off from a cup.

Unlike you Joe, I don't hate my arch-rival team, I just think they suck. I am a hockey fan first, then a team fan. Instead of believing my team to suck (like you) and wanting any team that beats mine to move out of the division/area like you is childish. Then again you admit you would need to look up Reagan's name in order to spell it, so I assume you really are just a child. Enjoy your 2 PO wins in 10+ years. What every other team in the league calls a failure, only a rag fan woulkd call a success.

what the eff are you talking about?

It's not like the Rangers traded all their chips and youth to try and win with rentals like Ryan Smyth or Marian Hossa at the deadline.

They lost to superior teams in the 2nd round both years, Buffalo and Pittsburgh.

They weren't the favorite in either series, so you trying to inflate the level of failure here makes you look like a typical Islander fan moron grasping at straws.

Dude,

I was clear. Reread it if you do not understand.

For the ADD crowd, both teams S-U-C-K at the moment.
Not making PO's is a huge failure. 1st or 2nd round losses are big failures. Anything less then a cup is a failure. Both teams are and have been failures for the last decade or more. Neither team has the right to gloat for anything.

As for being favorites in either series . . . who the hell cares? That was never brought up whether they were or not. Idiot.

I will add one more thing to what I wrote above. The only thing besides a cup that would be considered a success would be at least making it to the Stanley Cup finals. Even a loser in the finals is not a complete loser... if they can make it to the finals at least it shows the team is on the right path. For teams that haven't sniffed a Finals in 10+ years, they are failures to compete. Period. Both our teams fall in that category, and neither has ANYTHING to brag about.

messier - i don't want the isles to move because they beat the Rangers more games this year.

I think its for the good of the league to either contract (1st choice) or relocate teams to more viable locations. In nature the weak do not surviive. the Isles with an apathetic fan base and 15 year history of complete failure are a prime candidate to either contract or move. Now I don't think the league will allow contraction. I do think that relocations will happen. So enjoy the last few years of your franchise. I for one will not shed a tear.

By your statement i would want pittsburgh or buffalo to relocate or contract. Au contraire. Both are good for the league and should definitely remain. The islanders on the other hand bring nothing to the table. And if there is a game in the new yankee stadium don't expect the powers that be to allow the Isles to particpate. That pretty much says it all.

Joe,

"the Isles with an apathetic fan base and 15 year history of complete failure are a prime candidate to either contract or move."

If the Isles are 15 years of "complete" failure despite making PO's twice as many times as rangers in the last 12 years-what does that make the rangers? Except for attendance the results been the same with both teams. Neither has made it even remotely close to a cup.

As for an apathetic fan base, I will agree with you on that at the moment. The fanbase has nothing to come together around . . . no stars, our record is 50/50 at best these days. But it would take a fool not to see that if Snow holds course with our rebuilding, within two years we will see a turnaround on the path to being a contender. Despite the disastous Smyth trade (losing 3 1st round picks), and only a few draft picks in 07; with our 08 draft and our maturing picks from the preceding drafts to build upon, we are on the road to a nice rebuilding. As well as the fact that the lighthouse should be started by then. In 2 years things will be different. The fanbase will come out again, once this team is legitamately a contender.

"And if there is a game in the new yankee stadium don't expect the powers that be to allow the Isles to particpate. That pretty much says it all."

That says nothing. Devils are said not to get consideration either, and they have CUPS in the last 10 years. Something neither of our teams has. They are a successful franchise (despite the last year or two), while both of ours are failures.

Gotta love Rag fans. They make the rules in arguments as to how far into the past you can go. Can't go back to 90 or 93, but you can go back to 94. They tell others to stop living in the past, yet constantly talk about playoff wins in the past 15 years. Amusing, soooooo amusing.

Shaking an ambulance with an injured person in it is OK in the eyes of rag fans because it was in the past...bwahahahahhahaha. Priceless.

anonymous i guess reading comprehension isn't a strong suit for you. if you read i said 94 was in the past as well just like the ambulance and the Reagan years.

we are talking about a CURRENT islander streak of incompetence of 15 years without a single playoff series win. just win a series and that too will go into the archives. i would not bet on it in the next 5 years by which time the isles will have moved.

and what 20 people shook the ambulance 20 years ago. as compared to hundreds of isles hooligans throwing crap on the ice multiple times 1 year ago.

and last i checked this was a ranger board. you will NEVER see me on the isles board. think about it. now troll on back to your board.

PRICELESS!! The past 15 years is not considered the past according to ranger fans lol. Absolutely brilliant.

A LOT more than 20 people shook the ambulance, but you are too young to remember any of this. Search for a news clip of it. I think you will be surprised and then insert your foot in your mouth. I'll give you a hint: It was in the 100's.

The fact that you think 20 people can block an ambulance is hilarious.

anonymous you're worse than a 2nd wife. always have to get the last word in.

now run along troll