Monday, July 23, 2012

Another Savior Arrives

Well that old cunning, riverboat gambler, hustler, Stealth GM has done it again. He has brought another savior to New York and most of the blogs and the press are going gaga over it. I haven't read the press release yet and the news conference is just days away but you needn't read it or watch it because you have seen it before.

Remember, the architect of this deal is the man who came to the Big Apple thirteen years ago after declaring, "If I had the Rangers payroll, I'd win the Cup every year," or words to that effect. Well 13 years later he has not even been close, but he is still spending money like it's going out of style and he is still nowhere closer to that elusive Cup.

If he has not been successful it's not for a lack of trying. Prior to Nash is was Brad Richards. Brad played for our coach in Tampa and had won a Cup with him so naturally he would be a great fit. However, he piled up his worst point total in three years and at best was streaky and not the consistent Brad we all followed. Before that it was Marian Gaborik, who actually had a great year, considering he played hurt and was berated and benched by Sir Torts. Forty-one goals, thirty-five assists and he even blocked a shot now and then.

Then there was the great Jaromir Jagr, who tried valiantly, set a Ranger goal scoring record and last year toiled for the Flyers. Then, not necessary in order of appearance, we had Lindros, Fleury, Bure, Nedved, Gretzky and even Mark Messier came back for an encore. I probably forgot a few, but they all came to deliver and they all left leaving the team well short of making the Cup finals.

But this one is different. That's also a familiar phrase. This is Rick Nash. The great Rick Nash who has played mightily for a very bad team and is now coming to do his thing on Broadway. But we can't call him Broadway Nash because we have Broadway Brad. Maybe we can call him 'No Frills' Nash. Last year was his lowest goal scoring year in the last four with 30 and his lowest point scoring in the last four, 59. So are we getting this superstar on the way down?

Rick is only 28 years old and in his second year won the Maurice "The Rocket" Richards trophy. Also, he was the acknowledged star of a weak team and is coming to a team that does not have an offensive bent to its game. Rick, at 6'4" and weighing 218 lbs, will have to learn how to block shots. He'll have to get dirty in the corners. he'll have to get back on defense. After all that's what killed Gretzky. Could you imagine Gretzky playing for this stiff?

So there we have it. Remember, hope springs eternal. However, hope couldn't block shots either and gave up trying. Knowing Rick Nash, he won't give up so easily but the question remains. Could a player of Rick Nash's talents fit in with a team that has no concept of how to play offense and no idea of what a power play is supposed to look like? The men who run the Garden are going to ask you to cough up a lot of cannolis to see if the great experiment is going to work. To see if offensive players like Gaborik, Richards and Nash can turn into stone like defensive rocks. This coach would have killed players like Gretzky and the Great Rocket. Or maybe the Rocket would have killed him.

The Savior Cometh!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

To Trade Or Not To Trade?

It will cost a big can of Scungilli for Rick Nash
That is the question. Never forgot the line from my early English literature. Okay, so I am taking poetic license and stretching it. It has been a very dull and boring free agency. The Stealth has a plan to win the Cup. While other GM's are blowing all their Scungilli on high powered front-liners the Stealth is gathering up all the fourth liners: Halpern, Pyatt, Asham, Haley. Watch out Rupp and Boyle. Is Blair Betts available? It should be a lively camp watching eight guys fighting for three positions.

Maybe the Stealth is correct. The Columbus GM wants the house and the in ground swimming pool for his supposed elusive star, Nash. McDonagh, Stepan and Kreider plus prospects. For what? For a guy who doesn't even know how to block shots. Stupid Nash. He thinks that is the goalie's job. You know what? Nash is right. But the Stealth is right too. I wouldn't trade any one of those guys for Nash. Stepan and Kreider will be top six forwards, provided they don't get maimed trying to block a shot.

I was browsing the hockey blogs and ended up checking out Ranger Nation. It's written by Glen Miller and naturally with a name like that I thought I would get "in the mood" and read it. Well, he picks his favorite Rangers and Sean Avery is his number 12. He has a YouTube of Sean Avery annoying the Devils and Marty. It's a classic. Watch it. There is no way that the Rangers would have lost to the Devils if Sean had been in the lineup. No way. Chalk up another loss for coach disagreeable. He's not only disagreeable, he is stupid.

But now a more pleasant note. My youngest grandchild, Allessa, qualified for a shot at the Junior Olympics at Rutgers by swimming the Gold qualifying time in a 200 meter freestyle race at Princeton. These young ones keep Grandpa Pundit very happy and are a welcome respite from the woeful Rangers' management. Go get 'em girl!

Monday, July 16, 2012

Goon Glory

Seann William Scott doing what a "Goon" does best.

Here is your recommended summer hockey fix: watch the movie Goon.
"Goon is a crude slapstick comedy with well-formed characters and a surprising amount of heart." -- Rotten Tomatoes
Alan Sepinwall / HitFix.com:
Movie Review: Seann William Scott is a funny, moving hockey 'Goon' --
What makes "Goon" work so well is that it simultaneously celebrates the tradition of the hockey goon even as it's pointing out the absurdity of it. It's ridiculous that this is an accepted part of a major sport, and yet it is, and from Doug's point of view, the job finally gives him a purpose. He's not excited to beat people up (though he's great at it); he's excited by the chance to be part of a team, and to protect his teammates.

The movie walks that knife edge in Doug's personal life, too, as he gets into a romance with a hockey groupie played by Alison PIll (in a role that gives her much more spark and strength than she's allowed to show on "The Newsroom"). The movie doesn't try to hide the fact that Doug is dumb bordering on simple, but it also shows us repeatedly that he's a nice, sweet guy, and this is perhaps the most endearing performance of Scott's career.

The one specific about the movie I want to discuss involves the use of Liev Schreiber as Ross Rhea, a legendary NHL hockey goon who's finishing out the final season of his career in the same minor league as Doug. Inevitably, the two meet, but it happens first away from the ice:

ICINGS:
Goon Trailer

Monday, July 09, 2012

Lundqvist does #Bluesteel

From Henrik Lundqvist on Twitter:

Thought it might be time to change my profile photo. Going with the pic I send for Zoolander audition. Almost got the part.. Lol

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related:
RangerPundit: How to Do the "Blue Steel" Pose

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