Blueshirt Bulletin

Veteran Outlook: Sunny or Shanny

The top remaining free agent, Mats Sundin, he of the neverending "will he or won't he?" saga, has put the Rangers at the top of his wish list, according to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, even though other teams are able to offer him tons more money. In order to accommodate Sundin under the salary cap, Brooks says Glen Sather will have to find a way to trade Michal Rozsival and replace him with a cheap NHL-capable defenseman. But Sundin's agent has denied portions of Brooks's report that have to do with his possible return to the Maple Leafs, according to the Toronto Star and TSN. See Blue Notes for more.

Meanwhile, another "name" veteran who has put the Rangers at the top of his list awaits to hear his fate. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported last week that the Blues want to make an offer to Brendan Shanahan, but Blueshirts Blog contacted Shanahan and was told that he is still holding off all suitors as long as he has a chance to return for another turn as a Ranger. Blueshirt Bulletin subscribers can join the discussion on these and other subjects at Blueshirt Bulletin+. In other reading, Prospect Park takes on a couple of topics (here and here).

His Own Team Is Not Our Team

He may be gone, but he just won't let himself be forgotten, no matter how many times we think we've written the last episode of "The Sean Avery Show". The Late Grate One can be seen all around town in a new ad campaign for The Gap, one that has the now-ironic tag line, "Believe in Your Own Team" -- yes, Sean Avery has made his own team, because that team was no longer going to be the Rangers, even though being a Ranger is what got him the visibility he needed to break into the fashion industry. [Thanks to reader Ken Hoffman for forwarding the ad image.]

Elsewhere, NHL.com put up a slew of Ranger-related stories -- they get Gordie Clark's take on the prospects in the system, they focus in on recent draftee Dale Weise, they include another recent draftee, first rounder Mike Del Zotto, in an article on superstitions, and they have a piece on the newest member of the Rangers' front office, Mike Barnett. Prospect Park explains some of the subtler ways to look at prospects' prospects. Blue Notes and Rangers Report have updates on the recently released NHL TV schedule. And the Hockey News explains why the Rangers will underachieve this season.

Now available at Blueshirt Bulletin+ is Part 5 of our Change of Scenery series on the crises of confidence defenseman Dmitri Kalinin undergoes. E-mail us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com to learn how to gain access to this and all other postings at BB+ whether you are already a subscriber or would like to order a subscription. Here is the lead-in to the article:

What if the Rangers had a free agent defenseman who a) rarely threw a hit or cleared his crease despite having good size, b) was prone to giveaways and deflecting goals into his own net, c) had dropped down the depth chart from first pair defenseman to third pair, d) was widely despised by his team's own fans, and e) was earning too much money to be a player like that? No way you re-sign a defenseman like that, right? After all, that's Marek Malik, right? And it's true -- the Rangers didn't re-sign Malik. But the Rangers did sign a player that met the above description to a T -- in Buffalo.

Click here to read more if you are Blueshirt Bulletin subscriber.

On Nigel and Numbers, Voros and Forums

UPDATE: Brian Leetch and Mike Richter were named as two of the four 2008 inductees to the US Hockey Hall of Fame today. Cammi Granato and Brett Hull are the other two. For more, see NYR.com, NHL.com, and ESPN.

The Nigel Dawes roster riddle has been laid to rest -- NYR.com has added him onto the online listing. So if any trade is in the works, there is no clue hidden between the lines there. Nikolai Zherdev got his #13 back too -- does that mean the Mats Sundin watch is officially off, or will the two players arm wrestle for the number should Sundin miraculously choose to turn down Vancouver's $10 million offer and opt instead to come to New York for the Rangers' remaining cap space, the league minimum salary? And Scott Gomez will not have to undergo another puck flip for his number, with Markus Naslund taking #91 instead of his customary #19.

Part 4 of our Change of Scenery series is up at Blueshirt Bulletin+, this time analyzing newcomer Aaron Voros (E-mail us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com to learn how to gain access to this and all other postings at BB+ whether you are already a subscriber or would like to order a subscription). Here is the lead-in to the article:

Most of the Rangers' new acquistions have come to New York in search of a change of scenery they hope will re-invigorate their careers. But in one case, it's not so much a change of scenery, it's a change in casting. Sean Avery was the protagonist cast in the role of antagonist. Anticipating his departure, Glen Sather signed Aaron Voros to play the role of agitator.

Only 15 months younger than Avery despite having played just part of one NHL season, Voros already has a reputation as a yapper, his hits have ignited line brawls, and he celebrates goals in a way that grates upon the opposition. And like Avery, he can score the odd goal, and he can take the odd detrimental penalty.But is Voros, a 26-year-old rookie with the Wild last season, capable of filling Avery's role as a spark plug and super pest who can catalyze wins? Or will he prove to be little more than an energetic fourth liner predisposed to taking bad penalties and losing fights, like Ryan Hollweg?

Click here to read more if you are Blueshirt Bulletin subscriber. Blueshirt Bulletin+ is also the place for subscribers to discuss the Rangers. Our apologies to non-subscribers that we can no longer host an open discussion here at BlueshirtBulletin.com, but we were plagued by trolls who ruined things for our subscribers and were asked by them to take this action. For non-subscribers, here is a list of online locations that currently host robust discussions for Ranger fans: the comments sections of the reporters' blogs -- Rangers Report, Blue Notes, Blueshirts Blog, and Game On! -- and the forums at Hockey Rodent, Rangerland (previously Hockeybird), Outside the Garden, Hockey's Future, NYR.com, MSG.com, Ranger Nation, and ESPN.com (there are others, but these are the longest running and/or most visited).

Avery Takes His Show on the Road

We were going to stay away from the Sean Avery press conference in Dallas because a) having spent as much time as we have on the other end of a microphone from him, we know we can expect him to say anything, and having heard him say anything on behalf of the Rangers, we're not about to take the moral high ground against him now that he's doing it for Dallas, and b) he may be right, Dallas may very well be a better team than the Rangers were last year, and what's so wrong with him saying so even if it proves to be incorrect?

But then there's this bit reported by the Sporting News, in response to reporter Craig Custance asking the super pest why he thought the Rangers didn't want him back. "I don't know," Avery responded. "I guess it probably came down to money, probably. It's an interesting situation because then they turn around and spend it on guys they shouldn't have spent it on. It's going to be an interesting situation, certainly I'll sit back and watch. New York is a tough place to play. Markus Naslund is going to have a tough time, so is Wade Redden. New York fans aren't going to put up with those guys. I don't think that they're going to live up to the expectations. I've gone to a better team."

Again, nothing really incendiary there -- Naslund and Redden will indeed have a tough time in New York if they don't live up to expectations, and they'll have a tough time regardless of how the fans react. And Avery saying it doesn't make it true, although everyone understands that with those two, that kind of downside is a possibility. In the end, the only conclusion we can come to is that it's refreshing that at least one player in this league has not taken Nuke Laloosh classes in Cliches 101, and we regret that he's not still doing so as a Ranger.

That last sentiment may be a selfish one, since we will no longer be able to run our monthly "Sean Avery Show" segment in Blueshirt Bulletin. We've posted PDFs of four of the more memorable installments from last season over at Blueshirt Bulletin+ mainly to start a new discussion thread and also to give recent subscribers a look at a page or two from the magazine. E-mail us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com to learn how to gain access to this and all other postings at BB+ (whether you are already a subscriber or would like to order a subscription).

From Russia, With Love

A year ago, Ranger fans had visions of Jaromir Jagr and Alexei Cherepanov teaming up on Broadway this season, with the future Hall of Famer teaching his successor the ropes. After seeing Jagr take Brandon Dubinsky under his wing last season, staying late with him in practice to show him a trick or two, the thought of having Jagr mentor the offensively explosive Cherepanov was something worth looking forward to. But alas, it was not to be. Neither Jagr nor Cherepanov are Rangers this season, as we had hoped -- the two are now teammates in Russian instead.

"You can’t even imagine what emotions are now overflowing in me," Cherepanov told Sport Express about playing with Jagr, the player he always listed as his hero. "A dream is a dream, but at the same time even I could not imagine that we would play together for Omsk! I think that such a thing [as playing on a line together] is possible! Anyway, now I dream of scoring off a pass from Jagr."

Nevertheless, Ranger fans can retain hope that at least Jagr is helping prepare the Rangers' 2007 first round draftee for the NHL. "Sometimes I ask him about the NHL," Cherepanov said. "Jaromir knows that I have been invited there, and once said, 'You want to play in the NHL, train more.' After these words I began to work even harder. By the way, after each practice Jaromir works extra with me, shows me all kinds of techniques, teaches me how to shoot, tells me how and on what I still need to work. In a way he is one of my coaches."

Jagr leaving New York to play in Omsk became a second reason for Cherepanov to want to stay in Russia this season. "My contract with Avangard still runs for one year, so I did not think at all about a departure," he said. "And then when I learned that my idol would play in Omsk, I generally forgot about the NHL for awhile. The arrival of Jagr should give to us -- the young guys -- more confidence. We will watch Jagr and learn." For his part, Jagr likes what he sees of his ersatz protegee. "There are many promising kids [here]," he told Sport Express. "For example, Cherepanov. Today he played simply superbly! In any case, I admire his game. It's obvious that Alexei is an extremely skilled guy. In practices he tries very hard, and I think his efforts will bring results." Thanks to Laurie Carr for the translation from Russian -- see her blog Beyond the Blueshirts for the complete transcript of Cherepanov's interview.

Second Czech Bouncing Over to Training Camp

Petr Nedved will be the written-off veteran trying to mount a comeback at Ranger training camp. But he won't be the only Czech trying to crack the Ranger line-up. At the other end of the spectrum, Tomas Kundratek, selected by the Rangers in the third round of this June's draft, says that he has been offered a two-way contract and will come to training camp with hopes of winning an NHL job.

"I have received a three-year contract offer, which of course I am happy about," said Kundratek, according to hokej.cz. "The contract should be two-way for three years. I don't know any more details." His agent said the contract cannot be signed until the Rangers arrange for a transfer with the young defenseman's Czech club, which may be tricky given the lack of a formal agreement between the NHL and the IIHF. "There is a need to agree on compensation with Trinec," he said. "Kundratek decided to try his luck overseas where he would like to break in with the Rangers, who chose him in the draft," a Trinec spokesman said.

"I know that it will be difficult, but I’ll give it my best," said Kundratek of his hopes of making his way to the NHL. "Rangers camp is where everything will be decided. Of course I want to fight for a spot on the team but I rather expect to start on the farm or in juniors. This is up to the club." Kundratek has been drafted by Medicine Hat of the WHL, where he would play if the Rangers decided to start him off in junior hockey. He has already started to prepare himself for life in North America. "The last two months I've had classes in English," he said. "I’m slowly getting into it. I think that it will show most over there. I’ll talk and the words will get into my head by themselves."

Nedved chatted with fans via the internet in Czech, according to the iDNES web site, and shared some of his feelings about trying to make his way back to the NHL with the Rangers. "Of course I am confident," he said. "Otherwise I wouldn’t even go there. I’m reasonable. I know I haven’t played in the NHL for a year. We’ll see how they want to build the roster. We’ll see whether I am good enough. I have nothing to lose. And I have a vision of 1,000 NHL games before me." He's played 982. "If it doesn’t work out, I’ll go into battle with the White Tigers," he said of his Czech team, Liberec.

He explained again how he got in touch with the Rangers. "My agent J.P.Barry started it all," he said. "Then I called Rangers manager Glen Sather and coach Renney. He called me back and just a day before I definitely decided for Liberec, we made a deal. Tom coached me in [the Olympics in] Lillehammer. Glen knows me from the old days in New York. We know what to expect from each other. We made that clear. Now we see whether it happens, and I’ll organize things accordingly. It mainly depends on me, then on the coach himself." But Nedved knows his chances are slim. "Everything’s a little clouded," he said.

We're not going to cover every move Jaromir Jagr and Alexei Cherepanov make in Omsk, but their season debut together was memorable enough to note -- although they didn't play on the same line (Jagr is playing on an all-Czech line with Jakub Klepis and Pavel Rosa), Cherepanov netted a hat trick and Jagr assisted on two other Avangard goals in a 6-3 win over a Slovakian team in an exhibition match. See the Avangard web site for a photo of a happy Cherepanov and click on the link under the photo to see the box score.

In other reading, ESPN ranks Tom Renney in the second tier of NHL coaches ("Proven"), the Post's Blue Seats blog rants about a couple of Ranger issues, Prospect Park looks at the Rangers' recent draftees as their season approaches, Beyond the Blueshirts has an extensive look at the Wolf Pack, and Theo Fleury is playing baseball! Check out Blueshirt Bulletin+ for our latest installment in a series evaluating the newest Rangers -- scroll down to the next posting for more information on BB+. And thanks to our friend DaTeL for improving on the initial Czech-English translations we posted.

Getting a Read on Redden

There has been absolutely no Ranger news since last week when we reported that Petr Nedved was invited to training camp. The Mats Sundin watch remains in force, but the Rangers remain without enough cap space to sign Ronny Sundin, let alone Mats, and they don't have enough trade bait to open up that space, despite false rumors being spread by discredited fraudsters. So what can we do to help fill the time for Ranger fans in need of their summertime fix? That's right, our next installment in our Blueshirt Bulletin+ series about all the new Rangers who hope to benefit from a change in scenery. We've already looked at Markus Naslund and Nikolai Zherdev. Next up: Wade Redden. Here's our lead-in:

Ranger GM Glen Sather has always believed that good players are still good players and that sometimes all they really need is a change of scenery. And he always believed that he was the one who could jump start the stalled careers of players who were toiling in poisoned or otherwise compromised atmospheres. His results have been mixed -- from one extreme to the other given the success of pulling Jaromir Jagr out of a bad situation in Washington to the failure of trying to rescue the too-often concussed Eric Lindros from Philadelphia. But never before has Sather thrown all his cards into the "change of scenery" bucket as he has this year...

Of all the important new Rangers said to be in need of change of scenery, Redden is one for whom that landscape is not real estate. He needed to readjust his inner space -- the space between his ears -- more than he needed a trip to outer space, which is where Ottawa fans thought their cornerstone defenseman had taken up residence since the lockout.

Click here to read the complete analysis. All prior articles posted at BB+ remain available for readers. Blueshirt Bulletin subscribers who have not yet learned how to access BB+ should send an E-mail with your name and address to Blueshirt@mindspring.com to get details. If you would like to subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and gain access to BB+, send us an E-mail or click here to download a form that has subscription rates and contact information (please note that we are unable to process phone orders during the summer, with our offices closed).

A note on Comments: With the comments here at BB.com going well, we extended their availability past the end of July, the original target date for a complete switch to BB+ commenting. However, the unfailing efforts of one past commenter banned twice for violating the rules of posting on the site has brought that extension to a sudden and final halt. Our subscribers do not want to have to deal with putative fans who are only interested in gaining attention for themselves by disrupting the discussion of others, so the discussion from here on out is for subscribers only at Blueshirt Bulletin+ (click here to comment). Thanks for bearing with us as we continue to reshape Blueshirt Bulletin -- next up, we're going to try out a new look at BB+ later this week that we hope will make it more readable. Stay tuned.

Nedved Invited to Training Camp

Petr Nedved told Denik Sport in the Czech Republic that Ranger GM Glen Sather has agreed to invite him to training camp to give the NHL one last try. "We agreed that the Rangers will try," the two-time former Ranger said. "Sather does not give me any certainty. It is a huge challenge for me. I do not have a guarantee, but I'm going to do it. I have nothing to lose and neither do the Rangers, whether this works out or not. I will not disguise anything, it attracts me terribly. Even though I have some age, I still believe I can play in the NHL."

He said that coach Tom Renney confirmed for him what he (via his agent, J.P. Barry, who suggested the idea) had already heard from Sather. "He confirmed to me that he will give me the chance and is curious to see me for himself," Nedved said. "He knows that I played for the Rangers, and I want to prove to him that I have something I can give them. I'm no fool, I know I'm not going to crash the first line, or even play a few minutes on the fourth line -- but I could be on the third line." Blueshirts Blog has a more precise translation of what Nedved said as well as an analysis of his chances (somewhere between slim and none, leaning more toward none). Blue Notes reports that the Rangers have confirmed that Nedved is coming to camp without any guarantees.

Elsewhere, Blue Notes examines the ongoing possibility of Mats Sundin coming to New York. And there's a great story in the Glasgow Daily Record of Director of Player Personnel Gordie Clark returning to Scotland to seek out his roots -- the first story appeared in June about his search, and a follow-up story a few days ago reported that he was successful in locating the Scottish branch of his family.

Taking Care of Business

UPDATE: Hartford has signed David Skokan, the Rangers' 2007 seventh round draftee, to an AHL contract -- see Howlings. For an in-depth look at Skokan, see Prospect Park.

That's what the Rangers will have to do -- take care of business -- during a busy pre-season that has them playing eight games in twelve days, including four in four nights and concluding with a pair of back to back games in Switzerland against two European teams. As in so many cases, things could go either one way or the other under the circumstances -- the abbreviated training camp that precedes the crammed exhibition schedule could hinder the newly reformed roster from learning Tom Renney's system, or the extensive travel to Ottawa, Tampa, Bern, and then Prague for the opening of the regular season may allow all the new personalities to jell quickly. Only time will tell. Newsday has a good report on the schedule -- see also Rangers Report and NYR.com.

Elsewhere, business developments dominated the news coming out of the Garden and Cablevision yesterday. An executive shake-up that appears to primarily affect the Knicks will in fact have some ramifications on the Rangers -- former NBA VP Scott O'Neil takes over for the re-assigned Steve Mills as president of MSG Sports (see the Times and News for details). We all know what a former NBA executive can do to hockey (cf. Gary Bettman). Mills, often seen around the Ranger locker room after Garden games, was not demoted because of his role in a Garden lawsuit, according to Cablevision management. Yet on the same day, another Knicks-related sexual harassment suit was launched against MSG -- see Newsday. And speaking of Newsday, Cablevision's acquisition of the Long Island daily was finalized yesterday -- time will tell how the paper will cover its new owner and its subsidiaries like the Rangers and Knicks.

Currently available at Blueshirt Bulletin+ is an article on the Rangers' offensive defensemen of the future, recent first round draftees Bobby Sanguinetti and Mike Del Zotto. Blueshirt Bulletin subscribers who have not yet learned how to access BB+ should send an E-mail with your name and address to Blueshirt@mindspring.com to get details. If you would like to subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and gain access to BB+, send us an E-mail or click here to download a form that has subscription rates and contact information (note that we are unable to process phone orders during the summer since our offices closed).

Finally, check out Prospect Park for a pep talk that harkens back to where the Giants were at this time last year, check out Howlings for the Wolf Pack's latest signing (Harvard grad Mike Taylor), and check out Beyond the Blueshirts for more translations from Russian of Jaromir Jagr interviews in which he jokes about being "warmly seen off" by the Rangers and a video of how Ranger draftee Alexei Cherepanov reacts to practicing with Jagr.

Freddie in the Fold

Fredrik Sjostrom has accepted the Rangers' one-year $840,000 qualifying offer, according to Blue Notes, which had previously reported that the was trying to negotiate a two-year deal at a lower salary. Sjostrom was the last remaining unsigned Ranger. Ranger draftee Mitch Gaulton (interviewed at BB+) will miss the entire upcoming season and possibly a portion of the following season after undergoing a tendon transplant in his injured elbow (better known as the Tommy John procedure), according to the Erie Times-News. He will need more than a year of recovery and rehabilitation from the procedure.

Elsewhere, Beyond the Blueshirts has the translation of an interview with Jaromir Jagr in which he jokes that he left the Rangers for Russia because he couldn't keep up with Alexander Ovechkin and to be closer to home. There is also news about Belarussian defenseman Vladimir Denisov and a posting on former Ranger Darius Kasparaitis. NJ.com's Frank Della Femina has some excerpts from our Blueshirt Bulletin+ analysis of Nikolai Zherdev.

Now available over at BB+ is a new article on the Rangers' offensive defensemen of the future, recent first round draftees Bobby Sanguinetti and Mike Del Zotto. Blueshirt Bulletin subscribers who have not yet learned how to access BB+ should send an E-mail with your name and address to Blueshirt@mindspring.com to get details. If you would like to subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and gain access to BB+, send us an E-mail or click here to download a form that has subscription rates and contact information (please note that we are unable to process phone orders during the summer, with our offices closed).