The Manic Ranger Has Moved!

The Manic Ranger has moved to it's new home on the Bloguin Network. Please bookmark the new sites URL - http://www.bloguinpro.com/manicranger/. I will be setting up a new domain name soon which will be www.themanicranger.com.

See you over there!

The Manic Ranger Will Soon Be Moved To Bloguin

Yup, that's right, I am once again moving my blog to what will most likely be it's finally resting place. By joining the Bloguin Network, I will be able to increase the overall quality of the site while also making it more accessible to the readers. I hope to have the blog up and running by the end of next week.

Feel free to e-mail me with any questions/concerns/bitching/w.e

Thanks guys,

- Ryan

Trade Specs: Jonathan Cheechoo For Michal Rozsival

Pure Speculation

There has been some chatter and speculation of a possible trade between the Rangers and the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks have suffered another quick exit after a dominate regular season in which they captured the President's Trophy with the NHL's best record. Rumors of change in San Jose hint that Sharks GM Doug Wilson may make players such as Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, and Jonathan Cheechoo available for trade. The Rangers are also looking to change the makeup of their team, could the two be trading partners?

Steve Zipay recently proposed that the Rangers make a move for Jonathan Cheechoo, the former Rocket Richard winner. Since his '05-'06 campaign when he notched a league leading 56 goals, his numbers have steadily tailed off from 37 goals in '06-'07  to 23 goals in '07-'08 to 12 goals last season. Considering he just recently turned 30, it's difficult to believe that his decline is due to diminishing skills. He has been bumped around the Sharks lineup, finding himself on the 3rd line for most of last season. He fits the bill for a 'change in scenery will do ya good' type player. 

The proposed trade would be Michal Rozsival for Jonathan Cheechoo. Although this trade would be entirely based on Rob Blake retiring or moving to another club, it's not such a farfetched dream as the Marleau for Drury proposal of a few weeks ago. 

If Blake retires or moves to another club, Rozsival's $5 million cap hit could occupy the slot left by his departure. Rozsival could also fill the void left by Blake as the secondary puck moving defenseman on the team (Dan Boyle is the goto guy).  Although the 40+ year old Rob Blake put up better numbers than Rozsival did last season, the high powered offense in San Jose would certainly provide a boost to Rozsival's stat line. With two years remaining on his contract, Rozsival isn't the kind of gamble by the Sharks that could seriously hamstring them in the future (w-a-d-e-r-e-d-d-e-n). Rangers fans are brutal on the Czech defenseman at MSG and laid back Cali might be a nice destination for him.

As for Cheechoo, he has two years and $6 million remaining on his deal. With a relatively small cap hit of $3 million per even the Rangers can fit him into their tight salary cap. Even though Cheechoo statistically has been on the decline, he's a calculated risk that has a better upside than 2 more years of Michal Rozsival. Cheechoo could do well in a new environment and with the opportunity to play alongside Scott Gomez. He fits the Rangers need of size and scoring on the wing. 

But if he didn't and continued to put up poor numbers, the Rangers cleared $2 million in cap space that can be devoted to re-signing Marc Staal next summer. They also opened a spot that can be filled by Bobby Sanguinetti or Matt Gilroy. Cheechoo is a risk and right now doesn't have a whole lot of trade value, but comparatively speaking, he's cheaper than most other players on the trade market and the $2 million net cap space from the trade is a much needed bonus. 

Disagree with me? That's fine because The Dark Ranger has the another realistic view of this proposal.

Rangers Sign Goalie Matt Zaba

The Rangers have agreed to terms with goaltender Matt Zaba.

Zaba, 25, appeared in 41 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), posting a record of 25-10-0, along with a 2.33 goals against average, a .920 save percentage and two shutouts.  The AHL rookie ranked among the league leaders in several categories, including seventh in goals against average, tied for eighth in save percentage and tied for 12th in wins.  
He made his AHL debut on October 18 at Toronto, and earned his first career AHL win on November 1 vs. Albany.  On January 9, he recorded his first AHL shutout with a 40-save effort at Springfield.  Named the AHL Goaltender of the Month for February, Zaba registered a season-high, seven-game winning streak from February 20 at Lowell to March 4 vs. Worcester, posting a 1.53 goals against average and a .952 save percentage during the stretch.  
He closed out the regular season with a 14-2-0 mark, along with a 1.84 goals against average, a .937 save percentage and one shutout in 16 contests.  In addition, Zaba appeared in six playoff games with Hartford, posting a 2-4-0 record with a 3.17 goals against average, a .908 save percentage and one shutout.

With Steve Valiquette signing a one year deal last month, Zaba is going to have another year in Hartford to prove his worth. It's possible that if he continues to put up strong numbers, he will be given serious consideration for the back up job next season. The Rangers are lacking organizational depth when it comes to goaltending. Especially since they have decided to not to offer Antoine Lafleur (2007 2nd rd.) a contract. They now only have two goaltenders in their system, Miika Wiikman and Zaba. There is little doubt that at some point in the upcoming draft the Rangers will select a goalie.

Bobby Sanguinetti Interview

Blueshirt Banter has an interview of Rangers prospect Bobby Sanguinetti. It was the first time the guys and I at BB were able to contact and submit questions to a Rangers player. Sangs was nice enough to answer to our questions along with a few others submitted by readers on SB Nation. So head over there and check it out. Also if you haven't yet joined the network on Blueshirt Banter, get on it already!

Antoine Lafleur Let Go By Rangers

The Rangers did not offer a contract to goaltending prospect Antoine Lafleur (2nd round 2007) and he will be now be allowed to re-enter the entry draft or become an UFA. In not offering Lafleur an entry level contract, they have walked away from the tall netminder who never lived up to expectations. The PEI Rockets traded Lafleur to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies where he continued to dissapoint and couldn't find a consistency to his game. 

Even though Lafleur was highly touted when he was drafted, why would the Rangers spend a second round pick on a goaltender? They have a franchise goalie in Henrik Lundqvist and a second round pick can still yield a quality forward or defenseman that actually has a shot at impacting the NHL roster. If they were too add organizational depth for goaltending, why not use a pick later in the draft?

Congrats JD

Ohhhhhhhhhh Baby

John Davidson will be awarded the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for his outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster. He will be given the award at the Hockey of Hall of Fame this November. Well deserved JD. Congrats. For me, John Davidson (along with Sam Rosen) is the voice of Rangers hockey. Davidson always said what needed to be said. He was a Ranger at heart but he didn't coddle the team like Devils broadcaster Doc Emmerick did (he still does) and I always respected him for that. 

                                        

He's also doing a great job so far as GM of the Blues. Since this week is as good a time as ever to bash Rangers management.. Did they not realize they had such a great hockey mind on their payroll? In a perfect world, Glen Sather would have been canned 2 years ago and JD would have been hired as GM..  Where's Doc Brown's time machine when you need it.

It's Always About the Dollars

Despite the recession, despite the fact the Rangers as a team are regressing, and despite the fact that attendance for the 2009-2010 season is expected to decrease, the Rangers ticket prices will increase. Where's the logic in that? Sadly, James Dolan and his crooked accomplice Glen Sather don't have to worry about the Rangers attendance to significantly decrease - if at all - due to the price hike. One of the things that makes the New York Rangers such a great organization is their loyal fan base. A price hike is not going to seriously deter the fans from regularly attending games. How many years in a row have prices increased again? Does anybody know?

As much as I want to go on a rant because the salary cap is expected to go down in 2010 and therefor the cost of operation can't be significantly increasing so there is no need for a price hike I know there is a reason for the madness. The Garden is going to have renovations and the money needs to come somewhere, so why not from the fans pockets?

Nuts.

But to make you feel better, our fearless leader Glen Sather has wrote a reassuring letter to us, the loyal New York Rangers fans. It would almost lead one to believe that the Rangers have a real shot at a Stanley Cup next season.. 

Rangers Subscribers,

Five years ago, we made it our priority to build the New York Rangers team for long-term success by developing a core foundation of young players and adding key veterans as our youngsters matured. Our philosophy remains steadfast, and this past season, six young players whose NHL careers began here in New York played major roles in taking us to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.

Although we were not satisfied with this past season's results, we believe we are on the right track. We continue to focus on the development of players and are excited about several talented prospects in our system. At the same time, we still have work to do as we strive toward our ultimate goal — to compete for the Stanley Cup each and every season.

Under the direction of our new Head Coach, John Tortorella, you will see a retooled Rangers team in 2009-10 that will feature a system that emphasizes aggressive forechecking and puck possession. This up-tempo approach has made John an accomplished winner in the NHL, earning a Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year and delivering a Stanley Cup to Tampa Bay in 2004.

The key objective for this off-season is to complement our strong defensive play and league-leading penalty-kill with more goal-scoring, stemming from this aggressive system. We are determined to add players who make significant contributions in 2009-10, enabling us to dictate the pace of the game on a regular basis.

With an All-Star goaltender, and a mix of accomplished veterans and hungry youngsters, we expect to make our fans especially proud this season. Your loyalty and enthusiasm has always made The Garden a very intimidating place for visiting teams, and you will see a team whose style of play makes it even tougher.

We remain humbled and thankful for your energetic support and look forward to seeing you at The Garden for a great season of Rangers hockey.

Sincerely,

Glen Sather, President and General Manager, New York Rangers

One last thing, isn't it very, very convenient that the due date is June 22nd? Well before free agency opens up.. 

UPDATE - Ticket Prices

For the 41 regular-season and three-game exhibition package, loyal Blue Note readers say the $52 seats are rising to $56, up $176. A $34 seat in Section 410 costs $37, an extra $132.>The less expensive seats aren't the only ones increasing: I'm told $89 seats are $95, $100 seats are $108, $164 seats are $170, $200 seats are $210 and so on...

Don't you enjoy paying for Wade Redden's salary? Times like these make me wish fans were like stock owners. I would say that 95% of fans would vote yes for the price hike if it meant that Redden would be waived and paid the $31 million to play in Hartford. Back to reality, let's try to enjoy watching #6 flounder on the Garden ice next season. Awesome.