SB Nation - Corey Locke

Rangers GameDay: News and Notes, Scouting the Sabres

Jim Schmiedeberg — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 16:50:43 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Here is the latest as the Rangers get ready to take on the Buffalo Sabres tonight.

Stephen Valiquette got shellacked in his first Hartford start last night, gave up 5 goals on 31 shots, and was pulled in the first period. He was sent back in after Matt Zaba was equally ineffective. Thanks to Adam Rotter at SNY for the update.

Andrew Gross from Ranger Rants says the Rangers may have even more trouble scoring tonight:

First off, the Rangers may have tremendous problems scoring goals tonight. Not only have they notched only two or fewer goals in 11 of their last 15 games, but Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller is leading the NHL in both goals-against (1.84) and save percentage (.936). Plus, the Sabres’ penalty kill has killed off 39 of their opponents’ last 42 man-advantage opportunities.

Also, from NorthJersey.com, Gross talks about Ales Kotalik hoping to snap his slump:

"It has nothing to do with the coach," said Kotalik, who has six goals and 12 assists after signing a three-year, $9 million deal with the Rangers, but has gone nine games without a goal. "I’m going through some tough times, like everybody. Hopefully, I come back to Buffalo, or anywhere else, and feel good and get back to my game."

This one is a couple of days old, but Corey Locke was named the AHL Player of the Month for November. His reward is another month in Hartford.

Jim Cerny at Rangers.com looks at the refreshed and (again) reconfigured Rangers.

Ok, more on tonight's game and the Sabres after the jump.......

Buffalo Sabres (16-7-2, 1st Place, Northeast Division)

Head Coach: Lindy Ruff

Leading Scorer:

Derek Roy

#9 / Center / Buffalo Sabres

Height: 5-9

Weight: 188

Born: May 04, 1983

	STATS
27	GP	25
13	W	16
13	L	7
1	OT	2
27	P	34
0.500	P%	0.680
2.89	G/G	2.80
3.11	GA/G	2.28
21.4	PP%	19.5
83.9	PK%	85.4
29.0	S/G	32.4
29.6	SA/G	29.3
47.3	FO%	50.5

Game Notes:

Tonight's game will be televised on MSG. You can also catch the radio broadcast on 1050 ESPN New York and on satellite radio at XM 205.

All Time – Rangers vs. Sabres
Overall: 54-67-25-4
At MSG: 32-25-15-2
At Buffalo: 22-42-10-2

2008-09 Series Recap
New York went 1-2-1 against Buffalo in 2008-09, including an 0-1-1 mark at HSBC Arena. Ryan Callahan tied for the team lead with two goals and three points in the season series.

Sabres right wing Mike Grier has four points in five games since returning from an upper-leg injury. More importantly, they are 4-1 since his return after going 2-3 without him. The first line of Jochen Hecht, Derek Roy and Jason Pominville has 14 points in the past three games. Roy and Pominville have five points and Hecht has four. Thomas Vanek also has five points in three games. Rookie defenseman Tyler Myers has five assists in four games. Swingman Andrej Sekera has four points in three games since a benching.

Before we anoint a forward as the rookie of the year, look at what Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto and Buffalo's Myers are doing.

Among rookie defensemen, Del Zotto, the 20th pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, leads with 17 points and is tied for first with 12 assists. He's also tops with three power-play goals and is one of three rookie defensemen with a game-winning goal. He's fourth with 18:45 minutes of average ice time.

Myers, the 12th overall pick of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, is tied for lead at plus-6; is second with 21:55 minutes of ice time a night; is second with 14 points and third with 11 assists.

Sabres Penalty Killers on a hot streak (Buffalo News)

Sekera proving to be a tough out (Buffalo News)

For more on the Buffalo Sabres, check out our SBNation affiliate for the Sabres: Die By The Blade

Rangers Recap: Penguins 5 Rangers 2

Joe Fortunato — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:49:33 -0000

More photos » by Frank Franklin II - AP

23 days ago: Pittsburgh Penguins' Mike Rupp (17) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers on Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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Same story, same result. No one other than Marian Gaborik scores, John Tortorella benches the wrong players and Michal Rozsival is still finding ways to screw up games.

What are the Rangers going to do? What can the Rangers do? Who is to blame here, Tortorella or Glen Sather? Will the Rangers recover? Are they even a good team? Why isn't Henrik Lundqvist playing his normal "brick wall" style of goaltending? Why can't Chris Higgins or Ryan Callahan score? Why is Michael Rozsival so bad? Why haven't Corey Locke or Dane Byers been called up? Why is Chris Drury so bad this year, what happened to him? Why is Ales Kotalik so bad in five-on-five play? Why is Donald Brashear playing on the third and second lines? What happened to our lethal power play? Would we have been better off with Tom Renney at the helm? Is Glen Sather even paying attention to this season? Does he think everything is okay? Why doesn't Jim Donal fire him? When is Dolan going to start getting involved in this team? Why do I even root for them?

Notice a trend in the above paragraph? Yup all questions, no answers. That's what life is like as a Ranger fan right now, and no one seems to know anything.

The Rangers found a way to blow a 7-1 start to the season to come back to level ground at 13-13-1. The supposed fiery coach that was Tortorella has lost this team, and as a result they are floundering.

It really is no longer debatable this team is tuning out Tortorella. It is no longer debatable that they need a move or a spark or something. I'm not doing my empty netters, the Penguins scored enough goals in the past two games for tonight. I am also not recapping the game, it was awful. Vent here, don't hold back they deserve it!

Rangers Analysis: When do we start blaming Tortorella?

Joe Fortunato — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:00:19 -0000

More photos » by Frank Franklin II - AP

about 1 month ago: Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (8), of Russia, celebrates with teammates after a goal by Brooks Laich during the second period of an NHL hockey game as New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, of Sweden, looks on, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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A 7-1 start masks a lot of problems. I'm not going to mention any of them because they deserve a post to themselves but something does need to be addressed. The Rangers are 4-8-1 in their last 13 games, an abysmal record considering they lost to the likes of the Islanders and the Wild.

There are very few people who are safe from blame right now. Marian Gaborik, Henrik Lundqvist, Vaclav Prospal, Michael Del Zotto and Ales Kotalik are all okay in my book as of right now. I am not going to get into the failures, you know their names you know their problems.

But when do we as Ranger fans start pointing the finger of blame at John Tortorella? When do we turn our ever whithering gaze on the man who, in my opinion, is just as responsible as the players on the ice. The supposed "reign of terror" that Tortorella is known for is nowhere to be seen. And aside from the select few players mentioned before the New York Rangers are sliding back into that ever familiar "we can care less" attitude. Let's just take a look at some of the things Tortorella is turning a blind eye to.

Where is that fiery "I'll throw your ass onto the bench" attitude Tortorella was supposedly going to bring to the team? Aside from benching Brandon Dubinsky and Chris Higgins during the Montreal game Tortorella's fire has been quelled. And it shows. Players are taking lazy penalties in the offensive zone, they are not hustling back on defense and players are simply abandoning each other when things get physical. Where is the fire John? Where is the anger? Where is holding players accountable?

More after the jump.

What about the defensive pairings? Marc Staal is seeing one of the roughest patches of his career being paired up with Dan Girardi, and for that matter Girardi doesn't look great either. So why keep them together? This is nothing new, this is not surprising news in fact its been like this most of the season. Rozsival and Gilroy have looked bad and Del Zotto and Wade Redden haven't exactly been lighting it up either. So make some changes, do your job as a coach.

And what about last night? Why were Redden and Rozsival on the ice during the final minutes of the game. If John Tortorella has been watching just half the games he should know that Redden and Rozsival are the last choices to score a clutch goal. I know this, you know this but why doesn't Tortorella know this?

The last problem I am seeing and probably the biggest is Tortorella "sticking with the hand he is dealt." Obviously the current team is not working out, obviously we need some defensive help, why not call someone up. Corey Locke is tearing it up in the AHL and Evgeny Grachev seems to be finding his game as well. Give one of them a call up, move Higgins back to the wing, and give the third line a real center. This would benefit the Rangers in many ways including seeing less of Aaron Voros and Donald Brashear.

Just a little quote to prove my point, this is from Steve Zipay's recap last night:

John Tortorella said last night that Matt Gilroy should have prevented game-winner by taking penalty. Great. This after he's been scolding players fro weeks on late-game penalties.

You can probably see where I have a problem with this. Matt Gilroy is the last guy you need to point out for yesterday's game. Maybe Tortorella should have mentioned Redden trying to swat at the puck instead of coming back to make sure that the semi-breakaway never happens. Not to mention that Gilroy came all the way over from the other point to catch up to him. Plus this might just be me but that's one I want Lundqvist to stop, he stayed pretty deep in his crease and I am not sure why.

So where is the coach that can pull a team out of a tale spin? Where is the coach that we all put our trust in to deal with situations like this? Where is John Tortorella ripping this team a new one, and let's be honest some of them deserve it. I don't see him, do you?

Rangers Recap: Capitals defeat Rangers 4-2

Jim Schmiedeberg — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:51:35 -0000

More photos » by Frank Franklin II - AP

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Suddenly, the Rangers 7-1 start seems like a lifetime ago.

After losing last night to the Washington Capitals 4-2, it is safe to say the Rangers have real problems. Vinny Prospal and Marian Gaborik are the only forwards making anything happen right now, and no one else is stepping up to help.

The injuries to Chris Drury and Brandon Dubinsky are killing the Rangers on puck drops. The Rangers only won 4 out of 13 face-offs in their own zone last night, which helped the Caps dominate play for a good portion of the evening. Artem Anisimov was a woeful 4 for 14 on face-offs overall.

After Gaborik's second goal of the night tied the game at two in the third period, Wade Redden made a costly mistake and was beaten badly for a goal by Matt Bradley, who had earlier made a substantial blood donation thanks to the fists of "Boom Boom" Voros.

The Capitals added an empty netter to put the Rangers away.

Final thoughts before we get to the notes and quotes from the Rangers:

What in God's name were Wade Redden and Michael Rozsival doing on the ice with the goaltender pulled? As we said in the game thread, put 4 forwards out there, and Gilroy and Del Zotto.
Sean Avery seems to be finding his game again.
I think the Rangers have to make a callup, and try and get something going, this just isn't working. Corey Locke, Evgeny Grachev, Bobby Sanguinetti, somebody, anybody that can put a charge in this team.
Sometimes I think DirecTv customers are lucky not to have to suffer through games on Versus.

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES AND QUOTES

November 17, 2009 - New York Rangers 2, Washington Capitals 4 (Game #21, Home #10)

Click Here For The Official Game Summary

The Rangers were defeated by the Washington Capitals, 4-2, in front of a sold-out crowd (18,200) at Madison Square Garden to drop to 11-9-1 (23 pts.) on the season and 6-4-0 at home.
New York have sold out 166 consecutive regular season games, dating back to Nov. 5, 2005 against New Jersey; the last regular season non-sellout was Oct. 31, 2005 vs. Montreal (17,697); including the playoffs, the Rangers sellout streak is now at 180 games.
The Rangers are now 14-5-0 in their last 19 regular season games at MSG, and have out-scored their opponents, 65-40, during the stretch.
Marian Gaborik opened the game's scoring at 1:16 of the first period, and added a power play goal in the third to post his ninth multi-point effort of the season; he has recorded a point in 17 of 19 games this season, including nine goals and 15 points in his last 10 contests; Gaborik also logged a team-high 24:03 of icetime.

Plenty more after the jump..........

Sean Avery tallied one power play assist and registered three hits in 16:03 of icetime; he now has five goals and eight points in eight career regular season contests against Washington.
Rangers defensemen Dan Girardi and Marc Staal each recorded an assist on Gaborik's goal at 1:16 of the first period; New York defensemen have now combined for 45 points (13 goals and 32 assists) this season.
P.A. Parenteau recorded an assist on Gaborik's power play goal at 8:23 of the third period; the assist was his first as a Ranger.
Ryan Callahan registered five hits in 21:21 of icetime; he currently leads the NHL with 82 hits on the season.
Christopher Higgins led the team with seven hits, and won seven of 13 faceoffs (54%) in 18:00 of icetime.
The Rangers next practice is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 19 (11:00 a.m.), at the MSG Training Center.
The Rangers return to action on Saturday, Nov. 21, when they will face-off against the Florida Panthers at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.); the game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.

POST-GAME QUOTES

John Tortorella on tonight's game...

"I thought, for most of the game there, we played. Obviously our biggest weakness is that we are not getting any secondary scoring. We played in surges at times. We held them to 11, 12 scoring chances. We just aren't creating enough with our secondary scoring."

Henrik Lundqvist on tonight's game...

"You have to be positive and you have to think you'll turn this around. We had a big win the other night and we just need to have a couple in a row and get going. Now we're back to square one again. We have a couple of days off between games and we have to make sure we're ready for the next one."

Marian Gaborik on tonight's game...

"We've got to capitalize and try and score on those hardworking, grinding plays. We just have to cut down on taking penalties and go from there. We didn't generate a lot of shots, that was a problem there. We came back in the third, we had some good chances down low and we need to keep the puck down low more often."

Wade Redden on creating offensive chances...

"I think a lot of things stem from getting the puck in their zone. It starts from our end, where we get good passes, chip it in and forecheck. It is not just shots, it is creating momentum. I think we just have to rely on the simple little plays to create chances for ourselves."

Finally, here is video of Marian Gaborik's first goal:

Rangers News: GameDay Updates

Jim Schmiedeberg — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:13:47 -0000

A few updates as the Rangers get ready to take on the darlings of Versus tonight at MSG:

Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants has some notes from this morning's skate: (click link for full story)

Well-attended optional skate here this morning at the MSG Training Center with goalie Henrik Lundqvist (who will start tonight), defensemen Wade Redden and Marc Staal and forwards Sean Avery and Christopher Higgins not on the ice.

Speaking of Versus' favorite hockey team, check this stat out, courtesy of Mr. Gross:

Tonight’s game is being broadcast by Versus and Ovechkin has six goals, two assists and is a plus-7 in the Capitals’ three previous Versus games

The Long Island Press also takes a look at the Rangers first 20 games: (click link for full story)

Upon closer inspection, the recent 4-7-1 malaise might be more representative of this club than the 7-1 start and the current pace they’re on is simply one headed toward yet another mad scramble just to qualify for the post-season. Can’t imaging this is what GM Glen Sather had in mind when he basically overhauled the roster this summer.

More after the jump.......

Varlamov will start in goal for the Caps tonight, Jose Theodore has left the team for personal reasons.

For more on the Caps, check out Japers Rink, the SBNation home of the Washington Capitals.

Markus Naslund has un-retired to play with Modo of the Swedish Elite League, the same team Peter Forsberg is playing for.

Here is the Wolf Pack watch from Rangers.com. Chad Johnson has two straight shutouts, and Bobby Sangs continues to tear it up.

Corey Locke has 24 points in 17 games for Hartford. Corey Locke is a center. The Rangers are thin at center. Are we surrrrrrre Corey Locke couldn't help a little? We may never find out at this point.

Don't forget, if you are going to the game tonight, Theo Fleury at Borders at 2 Penn Plaza signing copies of his book "Playing with Fire". Keep an eye out for The Mouth, he is expected to be hanging around as well.

Rangers Analysis: With Drury and Dubinsky out, Rangers look for options

Joe Fortunato — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:14:17 -0000

More photos » by Paul J. Bereswill - AP

8 months ago: New York Rangers captain Chris Drury, right, congratulates teammate Dan Girardi (5) on scoring a goal against the New Jersey Devils in the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, March 30, 2009, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, N.Y. (AP Photo/Paul J. Bereswill)

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As per the tweets of Steve Zipay:

Tortorella: Drury has concussion, Dubinsky probably out for awhile

After last night's hard fought loss, the Rangers lost more than just two points. As you can see above, both Chris Drury and Brandon Dubinsk were injured. Chris Drury will probably be out a week or two with his concussion and if Dubinsky's wrist is broken or fractured (which is most likely) then he will be out for at least 3 weeks depending on the severity.

Adding insult to injury here is that both Drury and Dubinsky are centers, which leaves the Rangers with Vaclav Prospal, Artem Ansisimov and Brian Boyle as the centers. So let's take a look at some moves the Rangers may have to make.

Corey Locke: With 9 goals and 12 assists for 21 points in 14 games Locke is the leading point scorer for the Hartford Wolf Pack. Locke has been pretty brilliant in the AHL before but has seen very little NHL time.

Evgeny Grachev: Like Locke Grachev would be an AHL call-up. Grachev has picked up his play a little in Hartford, scoring 5 goals and 7 assists for 12 points in 15 games. Grachev--arguably one of the most exciting Rangers prospects--might be a good candidate to replace the injured centers as well. Ranger fans are dying to see this kid in the NHL and he may get a legitimate shot here.

Peter Forsberg: A lot of you were down on Forsberg as soon as the story that the Rangers were scouting him hit the fan. I don't understand why. Yes, Forsberg makes Marian Gaborik look like the man made from impenetrable steel, but when Forsberg does play he is a monster. Scouts say that his foot is much healthier than it was a year ago, and if the Rangers deem he is good to go then Glen Sather might make a serious move for him, depending on his asking salary.

Those are just three quick options I looked into. Yes, I know that Forsberg is not a center but with Dubinsky out the Rangers are gonna need some set-up guys, and Forsberg would answer that call. The other option is that Sather makes a trade but it's way too early to know what Sather is thinking on that subject.

What moves do you guys think the Rangers should look at? Let us know in the comments! (Please remember the Rangers have just under 700K in cap space. And no Redden and Drury won't be traded.)

Rangers News: Rangers trim training camp roster by 20-NY Rangers Press Release

Jim Schmiedeberg — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:26:26 -0000

New York, September 17, 2009 - New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has assigned the following 15 players to Hartford (AHL): goaltender Miika Wiikman; defensemen Trevor Glass, Brent Henley, Sam Klassen, Mike Sauer, David Urquhart, and Nigel Williams; and forwards Andres Ambuhl, Daniel Bartek, Devin DiDiomete, Brodie Dupont, Dan LaCouture, Matt Maccarone, Justin Soryal, and Dale Weise. In addition, the Rangers returned five players to their respective junior club: goaltender Scott Stajcer (Owen Sound, OHL); defenseman Tomas Kundratek (Medicine Hat, WHL); and forwards Ryan Bourque (Quebec, QMJHL), Roman Horak (Chilliwack, WHL) and Ethan Werek (Kingston, OHL).

Forwards Tyler Arnason, Dane Byers, Corey Locke, Jordan Owens, and Patrick Rissmiller will continue training camp with Hartford. Including these five players, the Rangers now have 34 players remaining in training camp, including four goaltenders, 10 defensemen and 20 forwards. New York continues their exhibition schedule tomorrow, September 18 at 7:30 PM when the team will travel to Detroit to face-off against the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena.

PLAYERS ASSIGNED TO HARTFORD (AHL) ON 9/17/09:

Goal: Miika Wiikman

Defense: Trevor Glass, Brent Henley, Sam Klassen, Mike Sauer, David Urquhart, Nigel Williams

Forwards: Andres Ambuhl, Daniel Bartek, Devin DiDiomete, Brodie Dupont, Dan LaCouture, Matt Maccarone, Justin Soryal, Dale Weise

PLAYERS RETURNED TO JUNIORS ON 9/17/09:

Goal: Scott Stajcer (Owen Sound, OHL)

Defense: Tomas Kundratek (Medicine Hat, WHL)

Forwards: Ryan Bourque (Quebec, QMJHL), Roman Horak (Chilliwack, WHL), Ethan Werek (Kingston, OHL)

PLAYERS STILL IN NEW YORK RANGERS TRAINING CAMP:

Goal: Chad Johnson, Henrik Lundqvist, Steve Valiquette, Matt Zaba

Defense: Michael Del Zotto, Matt Gilroy, Dan Girardi, Ilkka Heikkinen, Corey Potter, Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, Bobby Sanguinetti, Alexei Semenov, Marc Staal

Forwards: Artem Anisimov, Tyler Arnason, Sean Avery, Brian Boyle, Donald Brashear, Dane Byers, Ryan Callahan, Paul Crowder, Chris Drury, Marian Gaborik, Evgeny Grachev, Christopher Higgins, Ales Kotalik, Enver Lisin, Corey Locke, Jordan Owens, P.A. Parenteau, Vinny Prospal, Patrick Rissmiller, Aaron Voros

Rangers News: Let's play two! AHL-NHL Double Dip at MSG West

Jim Schmiedeberg — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:14:56 -0000

For those of you that didn't know, there is a doubleheader today over in Newark. At 1 PM, the Hartford Wolfpack will take on the Lowell Devils, and then at 7 PM the Rangers and Devils take to the ice.

Here are the rosters for the games today, thanks to Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants:

Hartford (1 p.m. game):

Justin Soryal-Paul Crowder-Dale Weise
Devin Didiomete-Corey Locke-Ryan Bourque
Brodie Dupont-Ethan Werek-Andres Ambuhl
Daniel Bartek-Roman Horak-Jordan Owens
Trevor Glass-Sam Klassen
Nigel Williams-Tomas Kundratek
Ilkka Heikkinen-David Urquhart
G: Scott Stajcer/Miika Wiikman

Rangers (7 p.m. game):

Sean Avery-Vinny Prospal-P.A. Parenteau
Aaron Voros-Tyler Arnason-Enver Lisin
Evgeny Grachev-Brian Boyle-Ales Kotalik
Patrick Rissmiller-Matt Maccarone-Dan LaCouture
Wade Redden-Matt Gilroy
Michael Del Zotto-Michal Rozsival
Brent Henley-Corey Potter
G: Henrik Lundqvist/Chad Johnson

I must say I am a little bummed. Was hoping to get a look at Heikkenen and Klassen tonight, before surely at least one of them is cut.

Arnason-Boyle-Maccarone, not exactly a Murderer's Row at center tonight. But on the plus side, we get to see Grachev, Gilroy, and Del Zotto again, and we'll get our first look at Vinny Prospal in a Ranger uniform.

Rangers Training Camp: 2nd scrimmage updates

Jim Schmiedeberg — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:56:48 -0000

Highlights from Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants: (click link for full story):

Goalies, Steve Valiquette (Team 2) and Chad Johnson (Team 3) both had strong outings, stopping potential scrimmage-winning shots in the final minutes. The rest of the teams were: (Team 2 Fs: Sean Avery, Vinny Prospal, Brodie Dupont, Paul Crowder, Andres Ambuhl, Devin Didiomete; Ds Wade Redden, Corey Potter, Ilkka Heikkinen, Brent Henley, Alexei Semenov), (Team 3 Fs: Evgeny Grachev, Brian Boyle, P.A. Parenteau, Donald Brashear, Tyler Arnason, Enver Lisin, Dan LaCouture, Corey Locke; Ds: Sam Klassen, Michal Rozsival, Nigel Williams and Tomas Kundratek).

And Rozsival knocked down Ambuhl as he tried to get to the net. Ambuhl tried a spin-o-rama around the veteran NHL defenseman in the slot and Rozsival, not budging, used Ambuhl's lack of balance on the play to push him to the ice.

Brashear, by the way, looked good and not in the way he's usually measured in looking good. He skated hard and was creating chances in front of the net, also going into the corner to retrieve the puck. I sort of thought a younger kid, like hulking Henley, would try to make a name for themselves by challenging Brashear but it never came close to that.

From the tweets:

Andrew Gross:

After second group practices, Torts again stresses hard skating, picking out Girardi and Kotalik.

Evgeny Grachev beats Valiquette on penalty restart to tie scrimmage at one.

Vinny Prospal playing center in scrimmage with Brandon Dubinsky still absent.

Jim Cerny:

Good physical play from Boyle, Lacouture and Brashear (shocker)

Higgins on Torts' intensity: "He comes as advertised"

I'll be taking your phone calls on Blueshirt Banter tonight, as well. Call in number is: 646-479-4692. Looking forward to talking Rangers! [Note by Jim Schmiedeberg, 09/14/09 2:55 PM EDT I had to put this one in, shameless promotion]

A Quick And Early Look At The Northwest Division Rivals

Sean Zandberg — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:59:19 -0000

NHL.com has just listed the Canucks as one of their top 10 teams on the rise, saying:

Losing Mattias Ohlund could hurt, but that was buried under the important re-signings of the Sedin twins. Roberto Luongo is at the top of his game and will be motivated by the opportunity to get hot and start for Canada in the Olympics. Alex Burrows, Ryan Kesler, Kevin Bieksa and Alexander Edler only are getting better. Mikael Samuelsson, signed away from the Detroit Red Wings can make the power play better.

Convincing, huh? No not really. However, are the Canucks really worse off on paper than last year? Not really. I just find it odd that the writer calls them a team on the rise when they already won the Northwest Division title. Alas, you never know what can happen, and so many variables are involved (like what division rivals are doing in the off season).

Note: No other Northwest Division teams made the list.

Here's a quick look at how the other teams in our division are shaping up this summer. NOTE: **Yes, every other team in the NW has made a coaching change, as the guys quickly reminded me)** But I'm just focusing on the player additions.

CALGARY FLAMES

IN: D Jay Bouwmeester, F Fredrick Sjostrom

OUT: D Adrian Aucoin, F Todd Bertuzzi, F Mike Cammalleri, D Anders Eriksson, F Jamie Lundmark, F Warren Peters, F Andre Roy, D Rhett Warrener

Cap Spending: $54.29 million

Adding the coveted Bouwmeester meant that the Flames had to part ways with Mike Cammalleri. They have so much money invested in Bouwmeester, Phaneuf, Jokinen, Iginla and Kiprusoff that they can spend no more. They are now thick on D and more shallow up front. I still think the addition of Olli Jokinen at the deadline was a joke, yet he may rack up the points this year as he plays more with the team. Who knows. Glad they have him and not us.

Better or Worse? Potentially worse. Secondary scoring may be quite tough to come by beyond Iginla, Jokinen and Langkow.

EDMONTON OILERS

IN: G Nicolai Khabibulin

OUT: F Ales Kotalik, G Dwayne Roloson, G Dany Sabourin, D Jason Strudwick

Cap Spending: $51.40 million.

Not much change here except between the pipes, where Khabibulin may be an upgrade over Dwayne Roloson. I say "may be" because the Oilers are a run and gun team. Khabby is going to see a lot more quantity and quality shots in Edmonton. Let's see how he fares with that.

Edmonton's fate lies with the health of Sheldon Souray and Lubomir Visnovsky. They have over $13 million invested in those 2 defencemen. Madness I say. Up front they have a lot of young guys who may find their stride after sophomore seasons and what-not.

Are they going to add Dany Heatley or not? He could change the Coilers' fortunes.

Better or Worse? About the same.

MINNESOTA WILD

IN: F Martin Havlat, potentially F Kyle Brodziak (RFA), D Greg Zanon, G Wade Dubielwicz

OUT: D Marc-Andre Bergeron, D Kurtis Foster, F Marian Gaborik, F Krys Kolanos, F Corey Locke, F Bryan Lundbohm, D Tomas Mojzis, G Nolan Schaefer, D Jesse Schultz, D Martin Skoula, F Stephane Veilleux,

Cap Spending: $51.43 million

I am still laughing at the Wild letting injury-prone Marian Gaborik go and then acquiring injury-prone Martin Havlat. I don't care if Havlat played 81 games last season. Look at his track record. Plus it was a contract year. Let's start placing bets on how many games he plays this year. I'll start the betting with 55 games.

The Wild need more help up front, and they may just get that as trading Josh Harding is imminent.

Better or Worse? Worse

COLORADO AVALANCHE

IN: D Tom Preissing, D Kyle Quincey, G Craig Anderson, and Potentially 1st Round Draft Pick Matt Duchene

OUT: F Tyler Arnason, F Jesse Boulerice, F Ben Guite, F Ian Laperriere, F Matt Hendricks, F Per Ledin, D Aaron MacKenzie, D Lawrence Nycholat, G Andrew Raycroft, F Joe Sakic, F Nathan Smith, D Daniel Tjarnqvist, F Brian Willsie, F Cody McCormick

Cap Spending: $49.71 million

It's all about rebuilding for the Avalanche. especially up front. The goaltending and defence are set and more experienced. Canucks fans may get a good look at Matt Duchene, a former teammate of Cody Hodgson. It will be a mighty surprise if the Avalanche make the playoffs this year, but at least they are taking the right steps. Losing Sakic's presence will hurt, just as it did last season, but at least they have an upgrade in goal adding Craig Anderson.

Better or Worse? A bit better. They can't be any worse than last year's 69 points.

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Considering how often we play these teams each year I'm feeling optimistic. But you can never take any of these teams for granted. The Canucks are going to have to play better against lesser teams than they did last year.

Like I said, this is a quick and early look at these teams. They still have lots of summer left to tinker with their rosters.