RANGERS SLIPPING

Earlier this season, the New York Rangers looked solid on top of the eastern conference, now they have slipped to number eight and are dangerously close to missing the playoffs. Anyone surprised? I didn't think so. The blueshirts have returned to their all too familiar inconsistant ways.

When scored upon, they get nervous and lose. When they win, they fail to generate momentum from the success and ultimately lose again. At their best they are a good team, not a great team, but at their worst they are awful. To be a great team, your worst has to be a lot better. When you can still win while performing at you lowest level you're on the right way.

So what is it about the Rangers that make them so inconsistant?

In my opinion, it's the organization. Over the years they have failed to create a solid foundation for the team to lean on. Take one look at a team like the Detroit Red Wings and you realize their success comes from years of solid draft choices, wise transfers, and a commitment to keep and maintaining the core of players that form the team in the long run. The Rangers don't have a Nicklas Lidstrom or a Pavel Datsyuk. But those two aren't just great individual players, they are also products of the Detroit system, they have been shaped, like all other skater who joins the red machine, to fit the program. The Rangers have Henrik Lundqvist, but that's not enough when the entire team and the organization lack direction. There is no Ranger system for players to fit into. Players come and go. In the early 90's, those who did, the core of the Edmonton Oilers' golden era, were good enough to win the Stanley Cup. That sure seems like a lifetima ago now.

Shanahan's Back!

After being away from hockey for more than eight months, Brendan Shanahan returned last night when his New Jersey Devils visited the Nashville Predators. In his long awaited comeback game with the Devils, the team that picked Shanahan second overall in the 1987 draft (behind only Pierre Turgeon), he wasted no time scoring his first goal. The Devils had no problem rolling past the Preds 3-1 and Shanahan could have notched at least one more goal.

One can't help compare his successful return to the less triuphant comeback of Mats Sundin. They have both spent more than eight months off the ice, but Sundin is still, after a handful of games, searching for his old touch. And, while Sundin joined a losing Canucks team that just keeps on losing, Shanahan came aboard a team that had five straight wins.

The thing that baffles me is the fact that Brendan Shanahan played last night's game without have practiced much with the team. I can't wait to see how the season turns out for this future Hall of famer.

Something Crosby Can't Do

Worst Shootout Percentage:
Patrice Bergeron, C, Boston (0-for-5)
Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh (0-for-4)
Miroslav Satan, RW, Pittsburgh (0-for-4)

This is pretty interesting. Why can't Crosby score in a shootout? Obviously, the other two's lack of notching in a shootout is equaly mysterious.


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AND THE CIRCUS LEAFS TOWN...

The Mats Sundin circus is finally over as the big Swede decides to join the Vancouver Canucks. I admit it, I was sure Markus Naslund had convinced his friend that the Garden is the greatest place to wind down your career, but I guess money talks more than Naslund. In the end the New York Rangers couldn't match the Canuck's big offer.

In his column for ESPN, Scott Burnside, who isn't very impressed with Sundin's career or possibly just pissed off that left Toronto, wrote the following.

"In all his time in the NHL, Sundin, 37, has managed to appear in zero Stanley Cup finals games. He has won no major awards. He was part of Sweden's gold-medal team in the 2006 Torino Olympics. But the Vancouver Canucks are likely paying him a prorated salary of $10 million to play in the NHL, not on the big ice surface of a once-every-four-years tournament."

Scott also wrote that Sundin is a fine hockey player, but the fact that he has never stepped up in the playoffs seems to overshadow the good things in his career. Mats Sundin is not Mark Messier, not many players, if any, are. Messier was an exceptional player and leader, the likes of we will most likely never see again. But is Sundin a good leader? Yes. Did he play on a crap team all these years? Yes.

When the Maple Leafs lose it is Mats Sundin's fault, yet when the Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup yearlier this year no one claimed this was Nicklas Lidstrom's doing. Don't get me wrong, I think Lidstrom is one of the best skaters to ever lace up, but he is also the captain of a great team. I would actually suggest that these two captains (although Sundin is no longer wears the C) are quite similar in their style of leadership, simply by leading by example in showing a tremendous work ethic.

Of course Mats Sundin's accomplishments would rank higher had he won trophies and the occational cup along the road of his otherwise impressive career, I can't help but sense a somewhat bitter tone in Burnside's critique. Was Sundin wrong to refuse to waive his no-trade clause last season? Perhaps. I admit it seems strange now as he joins a team halfway through the season because he feels they have a shot at the cup, which is exactly what he refused to do back then. On the other hand, this was the first time in his NHL career that he could choose where to play. Marian Hossa was in the same situation prior to this season and he also recieved massive critisism for his choice. I think a lot of people fail to realize how much it means to these players not to feel like a commodity.

I am just glad this whole thing is over.

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CLASH OF THE TITANS

The Western Conference showdown between Detroit and San Jose is just minutes away and I can't help but feel that this could be the game of the season. The Boston Bruins will have to excuse me. This is the game most hockey fans have been waiting for since a while back. The Sharks have been devestatingly good so far while the Wings, even though they they aren't far behind in the standings, still have some work to do.

How will it turn out? My gut says Detroit, Henrik Zetterberg scores the winner.

Here we go!


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AVERY NO LONGER A STAR

The six-game suspension of Sean Avery is over, but the forward will not be returning to the Dallas Stars. In an interview, co-general manager, Brett Hull said, "Sean needs to focus on his own well-being while the Stars hockey team must focus on playing hockey and competing for a playoff spot."

Is it just me or does that sound like Avery is recovering from a serious injury or illness rather than just coming to terms with having been a bad boy? I can totally understand that the Stars don't want the controvertial player back in their line-up, but don't make it sound like you're doing this for his sake.

Until now I thought Avery was just a victim of his own mouth being to quick to unleash uglies for his own good, but now I'm not so sure. Could it actually be that he wasn't happy in Texas, and when he suddenly realized trading his flashy Manhattan life style for more money wasn't such a great idea after all, and that he needed to do something to get him the heck out of there.

Now you probably say, "but who could possibly think a little speech about your "sloppy seconds" would get you thrown out of the organization?" Well, either this little press conference of his was just part of a bigger plan, or Sean Avery is savvier than we give him credit for. Perhaps Avery knew this was just enough fuel for the Stars to cut him loose. Perhaps he also knew that the double standard of the NHL would surface and condemn him hard enough for all everyone to join in their choir, stating it's ok to say anything you want on the ice, close enough for all kids whose parents happened to score rink-side seats, as long as you don't say it on TV.

I would not be surprised if the New York Rangers, only because they know what he can bring when he is happy with his situation, will take him back. And if not the Rangers, than surely some other team will take a chance on the guy. Either way, I am sure all hockey fans will follow the Sean Avery show with anticipation for the same reason that both fans and non-fans followed the Howard Stern show, just to see what he'd do next.

UNCLASSY MELROSE

I like Barry Melrose as much as the next guy, and I also think he was a great coach, but perhaps he should never have come out of retirement in the first place. The comments he made about his former team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, suggest to me that he is back where he belongs, on ESPN radio, that is.

I'm not saying Melrose is wrong about Steven Stamkos not being ready for the NHL, I agree. However, I don't think it's a matter of size. Look at what Patrick Kane did in his rookie season in Chicago. Kane is certainly not a big guy but he is skilled and, more importantly, he is mentally strong, at least his extremely mature game suggests he is. This may be Stamkos biggest problem. He will be a good NHL player one day, he's just not there yet.

Hoping the team wouldn't win another game all season, that's just not a very classy comment and not one I expected from a guy like Melrose.

Now, is Barry Melrose to blame for the Lightning's lame start to this season? Perhaps. As the coach he is, at the very least, responsible for the team's results. Also, when looking for scapegoats, it is certainly easier to sack the coach rather than the whole team. Ultimately, it the players who have to perform to win and they haven't. The Tampa Bay roster is still full of players who are good enough to take them to the play-offs, but they aren't playing at the level they should be.

The very questionable former management traded this team to pieces getting rid of Brad Richards and Dan Boyle among others, but they really have to get over it and move forward. Focus on what you have rather than on what you use to have.