You think Sean Avery may have second thoughts about joining the Rangers after seeing his ex-mates, the Stars, slaughter his ex-mates the Rangers? You think this ruffian who plays with an edge can fit in with this sanitized collection of softies and Lady Byngers? Do you think Avery can 'fit in' and not disrupt the chemistry that coach clueless and the Stealth GM have developed? Do you think Avery still has his edge; or has attending the Gary Bettman School of Charm and Wusses morphed Avery into a turn-the-other-cheek type of player? These and other questions will all soon be answered as the Stars and Rangers try to manipulate the maligned Avery through the NHL's waiver system. My God! What if the Islanders or Devils claim him?
The Rangers, who were punished by their fearless leader the night before, retaliated by punishing their fans and anyone who has a liking for hockey. It was brutal. No one should have to pay to watch that kind of so called hockey. So the punishment drill really worked, eh? But, pray tell, what were the Rangers being punished for? They lost a hockey game in a shootout 2-1. Isn't coach clueless constantly proclaiming that the Rangers are a 2-1 hockey team? Trouble with being a 2-1 hockey team is sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Why were they being punished for playing defense first hockey when the mantra is, "Not playing defense is not an option." In a sense they were being punished for playing exactly the way coach clueless wants them to play.
So the Rangers, who are now reeling with a four game losing streak, are closer to ninth place, six points, than they are to first, 21. Of course, first place was never a consideration, unless you were one of the ass-kissers at MSG or the many apologists in the newsprint. So now it's a fight to make the playoffs and the Rangers seem ill equipped for that race as other teams behind them are getting stronger as the Rangers become more philosophical. At this stage it's questionable whether Avery can actually make a difference. Will the boo birds who greeted him in December cheer him in March? What about the reception from his ex-mates who are more concerned about their locker room chemistry than they are in scoring goals?
So while coach clueless may have stopped the Ranger team punishment, the punishment of the fans continues unabated. Poor off season decisions of a lot of money for over rated talent and and misuse of what little talent the Rangers do have by a clueless coaching staff have led to a season that could wind up as the worse of the Stealth GM regime. The man who once said, while working away in Edmonton, that if he had the money the Rangers had he would win the Cup every year, is now 0-8 and counting. Now, that's punishment!
ICINGS Update:
Mike Heika / Dallas News:
Avery is back on Stars roster --
The NHL does not make a big deal about this stuff, so he sort of snuck on there [Stars roster] this morning.2nd update:
That means the suspended winger has completed his anger management therapy and is cleared to resume his NHL season. The Stars own his rights, so he has to go back on their roster, where he will take up a roster spot and salary cap space.
However, Avery will never again work out with the Stars, let alone play. The Stars have made that clear. Avery has already been placed on waivers by the Stars and will clear at 11 a.m. on Monday (assuming no team takes him at his full salary).
At that time, the Stars can assign him to an AHL team. They are working on which team that will be, but had not come to a decision on Saturday morning...
Brooksie wants Avery back. His stories will write themselves if that happens.
Larry Brooks / NY Post:
RETURN OF PAGE SIX SEAN RIGHT MOVE FOR RANGERS --
This is a minimum-risk, maximum reward move for Rangers GM Glen Sather. Avery knows that this is his last gunfight. He undertook his therapy seriously. I can understand there might be trepidation on the part of some Rangers, but they need his energy, his edge, his passion and his presence...
Before last night, I wrote right in this blog "And by the way, this team on the ice at the Garden now is not my Rangers"
Before this season I wrote that the team could not score enough goals to match the power of last years team and was going to fail as it was constituted.
This is not a horrible team. This is not a team without talent. This is a team from OZ - without a brain or a heart.
A "sanitized collection of softies," indeed.
What a wretched performance last night. As Sec. 335 writes -- no heart -- and I must concur. No grit either.
Adding insult to injury, I turn on the eleven o'clock news, and the image I'm promptly greeted with is Shanny sticking up for his new mates and throwing down with Eric Boulton during New Jersey's thrashing of Atlanta.
At this point I must admit to a longing for Avery. Or Shanahan. Or Hollweg.
And I'm guessing a certain #68 would probably have been able to help this anemic offense....
Wretched performance indeed. NYR threw a party for a half-empty arena. Did they buy them hotdogs and beer too?
I've seen collapses, but that one was something else. Not a single player had a spark of energy or leadership in the third. Zman hustled, but basically the team was just a collection of zombies on skates....Night Of The Living Dead.
No point in talking about the giveaways, I'd just run into the maximum message size limit!
Not sure what Avery could do here, would he be worth the gamble? I always loved Avery here, and not primarily for his agitating, believe it or not. Still, he isn't that top-line scorer we keep waiting for, and waiting, and waiting.
This team is a gelding. Renney does not like to ride a horse that's too frisky. He's a delicate jockey, who falls off his mounts too easily.
So Sather neutered the team with the removal of Shanny and Avery.
Now that Renney needs to go to the whip hand the poor beast has nothing. The cojones have been dispatched.
Did you hear Commander Tom blathering after the game about how the team had to get more aggressive on the forecheck? Say what? This is Mr. Defense now changing his tune to promote aggressive play in the offensive end? Might be a little too late to change the mindset. Clueless is as Clueless does.
Why can't we get players like Ott? He's the straw that stirs the Stars drink and after getting this confidence booster they look good to get back to the playoffs.
b-m-d, that was surprising to see now many empty seats were there.
If the Rangers can't pull in a decent crowd that says a lot about the low state of hockey in the Lone Star State.
I'm not sold on Avery. This team doesn't have a cold I think it has cancer. So a shot of Red Bull won't cure them. You need surgery, starting with the brain(s).
Avery's agent says he's now" kinder and gentler and a better people person." That removes any possible protest from the dressing room. Now he'll be a perfect fit in this country club.
I've been a Renney supporter through it all but if they fall flat against the Devils and the Capitals, then he's got to go. Ted Nolan is the man for my money. He's the only guy around who can make something out of nothing.
jb - Relating to your question "Why can't we get players like Ott? ". I agree with what you say. However, I still think players get assimilated and diluted here. Ott on the Blueshirts would not be the Ott we see on the Stars, I guarantee that. We have some good players that would look great on other teams, the curse in reverse.
Emotion takes a seat way at the back of the bus with this squad. Flat-liners. If last night was not a time for someone to step up and inspire, then I just don't know. I guess that's why I'm of two minds about Avery at the projected cost.
Pretty sad that this is the big question in RangerLand at this time of the year.
section 335-It is a team without a coach.
Ramblin'Pete-But then we would not have the chemistry we have with this team.
blow-me-down-Maybe Avery will be the 'chemistry' buster.
Dov-John Tortorella would be good fit though a tad strong for The Stealth GM.
blow-me-down-Looking at Avery is an admission by the 'drain trust' that their team is too vanilla, too soft,too predictable, too colorless, ad nauseam......
Mike - aah yes, the chemistry. Considering it looks like it consists of trips to the ice cream parlour together and holding hands and singing Kumbaya before games, maybe some chemistry busting is the answer.
Mike
When I said without a brain, I meant the coaching staff. When I said without a heart, I meant Avery and Shanny.
Where do I begin? How about at the start?
This team lost four of its top goal producers to start the year. Jagr, Straka, Shanny and Avery were all let go. They were replaced by two players who could put the puck in the net- Z and Naslund. Immediately, the team was in trouble.
Slats decided he would try to fix that with a killer power play, and got Redden. The move has been a total failure.
Renney decided he would fix that with defense first. That worked for the first month, but did not work long term. Other teams kept their lines together, and their players started to make plays breaking down defenses with speed and physical play. The Rangers had only six defensemen, who got tired from playing every day and being in their own zone all the time.
Renney also HAD to get a good power play with a team anemic at 5 on 5. He failed.
I do not blame Scott Gomez or Drury. They are exactly what they always were. Put either player on the Devils and they would star.
Can this be fixed? Yes.
1. Fire the coach and his assistants. He has lost this team.
2. Hire Ted Nolan. He has the ability to coach a young team and can take the heat. The Rangers are a young team. Remember, he got the Islanders into the playoffs.
3. Get some muscle. Avery is a good start.
4. Get rid of Voros or put him on the power play in front of the goalie and make him fight for space. That is all he is good for right now.
5. Sit Redden and let him watch a while.
6. Make your lines and play them for the rest of the year.
7. Work on the power play every day. Play Prucha in the slot and let him shoot at Voros' legs. Tell Voros to jump out of the way.