Seriously?

Either Brendan Shanahan owed Kevin Dineen a huge favor, or the league disciplinarian was given a tape of a different Ranger-Panther game to review. Or, perhaps the league has confused itself to the point where they are no longer able to determine what is and what isn't deemed worthy of a suspension.

Whatever the case may be, Shanahan's decision to NOT suspend Tomas Kopecky for his abhorrent action in last night's game sends, to put it mildly, a mixed message to the league and in the process makes the NHL look even more ass-backwards (to steal a recent quote from John Tortorella).

The central theme of the league's endless string of disciplinary action this year has been all about "protecting" the players and trying to remove head shots from the game. So Kopecky, in frustration, turns and wallops an unsuspecting Del Zotto in the head with a right hook last night and the league doesn't consider that suspension-worthy? Wow. This one's really difficult to comprehend.

Have I been misinterpreting everything up until this point, or is the NHL right smack in the middle of a concussion epidemic that's been talked about ad nauseum since NHL poster boy Sidney Crosby got his bell rung in last season's Winter Classic?

Crosby has been absent from the game (for the most part) nearly a year now due to post-concussion symptoms, players are being diagnosed with head injuries at an alarming rate, and Shanahan's reaction to Kopecky's cheap shot on Del Zotto is to give each player a $2,500 fine? If that decision weren't so utterly reprehensible, it would be downright laughable.

Before I go any further, don't think I'm excusing Del Zotto for his part in last night's melee, as he clearly got his stick up high on Kopecky just prior to the incident. But there's a big difference between being careless with your stick and blatantly sucker-punching your opponent.

I suspect the fact that Del Zotto came away unscathed (we think) played a part in Shanahan's decision, but should that really exonerate Kopecky from his reckless behavior? Not in my opinion. Kopecky's head shot could very well have caused Del Zotto to suffer a concussion, and while it appears the Ranger defenseman escaped injury, just the mere fact that the Panther forward intentionally administered a blow to an opponent's head should have warranted a suspension and sent a message to the rest of the NHL that actions like this cannot and will not be condoned.

Sorry Shanny, but you and the league shamelessly dropped the ball on this one.

In a sick, twisted way, I'm actually looking forward to seeing just how bad the 2010-11 version of the New York Rangers could potentially be.  Granted, it's only Day 1 of the free agency period, but if today's activity is any sign of things to come, a lottery pick for New York in the 2011 draft is all but guaranteed.  That is, unless we decide to deal our 1st rounder for someone like Cam Janssen, 'cause you know, we can never have enough "jam" in the lineup.  You know, the "jam" Torts never stops talking about, or more appropriately, cramming down our throats.

We knew this rebuilding thing wasn't going to be pretty, but it looks like Glen Sather is going to do his damnedest to make sure it gets downright ugly.  Sather's signing of Derek "2 goals in 255 games" Boogard to a lucrative contract pretty much confirms what most of us have known all along: The man has completely lost his mind.

While the rival Penguins (Michalek, Martin) and Devils (Volchenkov, Tallinder) were busy solidifying their bluelines with high-profile signings, the Rangers were busy figuring out how to one-up the Flyers when Philadelphia snatched Jody Shelley from them.   Once again, reminiscent of the Brashear fiasco exactly one year ago, the mad genius felt compelled to push the panic button over the loss of a one-dimensional enforcer... because really, that's what this team is in dire need of - someone who can't skate or score a goal if his life depended on it.  Perhaps the Rangers' new motto should be "if you can't beat 'em, beat the sh*t out of 'em." 

Goal scoring?  Who needs it?  Resigning your best defenseman?  Not a top priority.

Slats must have reached the boiling point seconds after he found out Shelley had bolted for the hated Flyers.  I can just picture his bloated, flushed face when he caught wind of the news.  Yup Glen, nothing says retaliation like giving a 0-goal scorer $6 million+ over 4 years.  You really showed 'em.  As George W. Bush once eloquently stated: "Fool me once, shame on you... fool me twice..."  Uhhh...well, you get the idea.

I can only imagine what's coming next.  Whatever it is, it can only be contrived by the insane mind of one Glen Cameron Sather.  Stay tuned folks...

Some interesting tidbits from an article posted on NHL.com today:

Gordie Clark obviously wasn't going to let the world know who the New York Rangers wanted to take with the 10th pick in the 2010 Entry Draft during a conference call Wednesday, but he certainly perked up when Russian right wing Vladimir Tarasenko became the topic of conversation.

"We think quite a bit of Tarasenko," said Clark, who credited Rangers scout Vladimir Lutchenko as one of the biggest reasons for the franchise's success in Russia.

"As of today, Lutchenko has been (right) on Anisimov, on Grachev, and unfortunately we never got to see Cherepanov, but everything he had heard and everything Cherepanov had said, he was on his way over. He's been on, so whatever information he'll have will be the information that we'll go with."

Mock drafts vary wildly, but Tarasenko likely will be available when it's time for the Rangers to make their pick. Tarasenko will continue to meet with Lutchenko in Russia before Lutchenko flies to New York to meet with Clark and Jeff Gorton, the Rangers' assistant director of player personnel. All three will fly to Los Angeles for the Draft, which will be held at Staples Center on June 25-26.

According to Clark, the Rangers aren't simply entering the draft with the idea of taking the best available player. They will have a list of "A-rated players" from which they'd like to draft. Should those players not be there when it's time to pick, only then will they instead consider filling a positional need.

"Clearly the two names you hear are Hall and Seguin, for sure are A-players," said Gorton. "Then there's a bit of a fall-off. It depends on your definition of 'A.' For us, sometimes there are four, five or seven guys, then it falls off. I would say there's two guys clearly better than everybody else, then depending on who you're talking to, which I guess is us, there's another 10 guys you can throw a blanket over."

I don't take too much stock in these "mock" drafts, but Nino fans might be interested to see one NHL.com "expert" (Mike Morreale) has Niederreiter going to the Rangers at number 10, while another actually has the Swiss forward lasting until pick 13. 

Adam Kimelman predicts the Rangers select Russian forward Vladimir Tarasenko (doubtful, if Tortorella has any say in the matter), while Brad Holland thinks they nab Kitchener Ranger Jeff Skinner, an undersized center who scored 50 goals this past regular season, then added another 20 in the playoffs. 

Take it for what it's worth...

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=527977&navid=DL|NHL|DraftMicrosite2010

Wow.  Two weeks ago the playoffs looked like a sure thing for the Philadelphia Flyers - now, suddenly they're spiraling out of control, losers of 5 in a row and 7 out of their last 8.  Meanwhile, the Bruins pounded Calgary this afternoon, 5-0, and in the process tied Philly in the standings at 80 points apiece.  Boston also has a game in hand on them.  The goaltending dilemma (yet again) is becoming quite the nightmare for the Broad Street Bullies heading into the stretch run, and the loss of top scorer Jeff Carter isn't helping matters.  Johan Backlund, the latest member of the Flyer goaltending merry-go-round, apparently suffered a groin pull in this afternoon's game and was replaced by Brian Boucher.  Are you kidding me?

If the Rangers escape Toronto with 2 points tonight (and that, as we're all well-aware, is a big IF), they'll be just 3 points behind the Flyers, and tied in games played (75).  As fate would have it, the Rangers and Flyers meet in a home and home series April 9th and 11th to close out the regular season.  Those games could very well determine who earns the right to take a shot at knocking off Goliath (aka the Capitals) in the opening round of the postseason. 

Philadelphia fans have got to be in panic mode right about now.

And the struggle continues... As the Rangers keep spinning their wheels, it makes the possibility of a lottery pick in this year's Entry Draft that much more enticing.  But In order to have a shot at #1, which at this point should be Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin, the Rangers would have to finish the year as one of the 5 worst teams in the league points-wise. Chances are Edmonton will wind up with the top pick, although #2 isn’t a bad consolation prize.  As of this writing, the Rangers possess the 8th worst record or 23rd "best" record if you want to look at it from that perspective (For the few "glass half-full" Ranger fans out there).

Of course there are varying opinions on the draft.  Some think it’s a complete crapshoot.  However, if you’re lucky enough (or bad enough I suppose) to get a top 5 pick, odds are you’re going to end up with a solid NHLer and in many cases an impact player, depending on the talent pool available that particular year.

Interestingly, of their remaining 10 games, they draw the Islanders twice, the Maple Leafs twice, the Flyers twice, and the Lightning, Panthers, Devils and Sabres once each.  Right now, the Isles, Leafs, Panthers and Lightning are all "chasing" the Rangers.  Hmmm…

Considering how mightily they struggle vs. their hated rivals from Long Island, a pair of games against them could actually be a good thing if you’re hoping for a higher draft pick.  Think the upstart Isles might jump all over an opportunity to finish ahead of the Rangers in the standings?  They’ll want to make a statement, as they always do against the Rangers, in these two late-season tilts.  Okposo, Moulson, Tavares and Co. would like nothing more than to subject the Blueshirts to further embarrassment.

I’m not sure the Leafs will put up as much of a fight, but they have been playing pretty good hockey of late, despite the fire sale at the trade deadline.

The Flyers should have a hell of a lot more to play for than the Rangers come April 9th, but even that remains to be seen given Philly’s annual goaltending quandary.  They haven't secured anything yet, in terms of playoff positioning. 

Whatever ultimately transpires, it’ll be interesting to see who "packs it in" come the final few weeks of the season.

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Well, we’re back to square one…again.  After promising wins over Montreal and Tampa Bay last week, the Rangers reverted to their old ways, getting blanked and beat up by Philadelphia on Thursday, then getting blasted by Les Canadiens at the Bell Centre last night.

Yes, the Eastern Conference is wide open and there’s still a decent chance the Rangers slip into the playoffs as a low seed.  But we’ve been down this road before, and it’s essentially a dead end.  Optimism is a wonderful thing, but if this organization thinks they're poised to make any noise in the postseason (if they even make it that far) they're sadly mistaken.  Let me take it a step further:  If management thinks the Rangers can legitimately contend for the Stanley Cup this year (and I have no idea why on earth they would think such a thing) they’re either: a) completely delusional; b) incredibly optimistic; or c) both A and B.

The Blueshirts have to do themselves and their staunch fans a favor and start shedding the dead weight (i.e. Redden, Brashear, Kotalik) by any means necessary, while keeping the core intact (i.e. Staal, Gaborik, Dubinsky, Callahan, Del Zotto, Lundqvist).  If that means missing the playoffs this year, so be it.

I realize a lot can happen between now and March 3rd and a lot probably will happen with this wildly erratic team, but I’m already pleading with Sather and the Rangers to resist being "buyers" at the trade deadline.

Here are 5 reasons why the Rangers should be sellers:

1) There’s hope for the future.  They’d almost certainly have to part with one of the following players in order to land a marquee player: Staal, Callahan, Dubinsky, or Anisimov.  (Leave Del Zotto, Lundqvist and Gaborik out of the equation.  They’re not going anywhere).  Is it worth giving up a Marc Staal to get Ilya Kovalchuk?  I say no way, not at this point. We all have our opinions on these younger players, but personally, I keep the youthful core in place, suck it up this year, then get to work during the off-season and attempt to further improve what we’ve already got.  The nucleus is there and reinforcements will eventually come in the form of Grachev, Stepan, and Kreider.  As critical as I’ve been towards Sather, I’d like to think he’s still shrewd enough to play the cards (that he’s ironically dealt himself) before pushing the panic button.  Don’t risk further damage by trading away the future.

2) This team is going nowhere in the short-term.  Let’s face it – the Rangers cannot realistically compete with teams like Washington, Pittsburgh, San Jose or Chicago right now.  They simply don't have the personnel and this is no time to go for broke.  If it was 1994 and they were a piece or two away from winning it all, yes, by all means pull the trigger if it makes sense.  But make no mistake folks, this team couldn’t be any further from 1994.

3) This group needs stability.  Give the young players time to play together and become a cohesive unit.  This organization has been in a constant state of flux for as long as I can remember. They have to continue building for the long haul, instead of reverting back to the "win now" mentality.  Easier said than done.  I realize it's New York.  Everyone wants instant gratification.  But one Cup in 70 years proves that philosophy doesn’t work.

4) They have too many needs to address.  A big, tough, defensive-minded defenseman, a la Brooks Orpik.  A true #1 play-making center.  A second line that provides consistent and timely scoring.  A feared enforcer that can take a regular shift (and regular punishment) and be willing to stand up for his teammates night in and night out.  The Rangers possess none of those.  Only one need has potentially been addressed, and it only became an issue because of Steve Valiquette’s early-season implosion.  It appears Chad Johnson could be the answer to the Valiquette problem.  All other deficiencies?  Much work to be done. 

5) They're currently carrying too many players that have to be shown the door.  We’ve talked about this ad nauseum.  Redden, Roszival, Kotalik, and Brashear have to go.  Housecleaning ought to be the first order of business.  Again, easier said than done.  Attempting to trade Wade Redden at this point is akin to listing your 15-year old defective Sylvania VCR on EBay - nobody’s going to be the least bit interested, and they’re certainly not going to offer you anything substantial in return. 

I won’t rip into Roszival too much because he’s done some good things during his tenure in NY, but his time in the Big Apple is clearly up.  He still has a modicum of trade value.  Insert Ilkka Heikkinen into his spot and I don’t think you lose much.  You gain youth, and you save a lot of money in the process.  Get something for him if/while you can. 

At this stage of the game, Kotalik’s generous contract and generally dismal play have made him all but immovable.  If the Rangers can find a willing buyer, I’d gladly take a 4th rounder to unload that baggage.

The Brashear signing was a disaster from day 1.  This one left most Ranger fans scratching their heads (and many others infuriated).  He’s 37, he can’t fight anymore (on skates anyway), he can’t score, he’s been injured a good part of the year…so he’s essentially just taking up space, physically and cap-wise. But to his credit, he’s a millionaire.  Good for him.  Now please retire.

So...