The Rangers Tribune

Wade Belak's Death Third NHL Passing in Four Months

First it was our own Derek Boogaard, then two weeks ago it was Rick Rypien, and now Wade Belak, who retired from hockey this past year, has been found dead in his Toronto hotel room. Belak, 35, spent his career as a tough guy with the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers and the Nashville Predators. 

What makes Wade's death ironic is that he spoke of the tragic passings of Boogaard and Rypien just last week, and also mentioned that he was feeling great following his retirement. 

All three have something in common; they all were fighters. If one tough guy death didn't open the NHL's eyes, three certainly will. I enjoy the fighting aspect of the game, but there must be some concern about it's future now that three straight scrappers have passed away in four months. 

Belak's cause of death has not been announced. 

MSG Transformation Update (with Pictures)

Time is ticking as there is only a little over a month remaining for this year's portion of the renovations to be completed at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers are scheduled to play their first home game on October 27 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Knicks will be in their a few days earlier when they play a preseason game on October 24, so I would imagine the deadline for every last detail to be completed would be that week. 

In the most recent photos released by the Rangers, you can already see some of the glass going up as well as the outline of the rink. The ice is expected to be made soon after Labor Day...

 

Just to be clear, the glass you see above is not the actual glass that surrounds the rink. It is the second row of glass that separates the fans from the benches, or at least that is exactly what it looks like to me. Both teams will be entering from the corners of the rink from now on, which is why you do not see the path to the middle walkway anymore.

 

This one looks something like a balcony to me, which would go along with MSG's claim that it will be easier to see the game from anywhere in the arena while walking around or getting food or whatever it is you do when you roam MSG. If you have ever been to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ this is probably reminding you a lot of that. The concourses there are wide open and you can see the game from anywhere in the arena. I think that's the approach they are taking with the new MSG as well. 

Lastly, here's a video from Al Trautwig showing the most recent major installation at the Garden:

   

Ah, THE escalators. So many memories on those things. Hearing the "Let's Go Rangers" chants as you go up them before a game is spine-chilling. Or how about on the way out of the arena when you are barely getting a solid stance on them because your head is buried in your phone as you text/tweet friends and family after a huge win. Or, my personal favorite, when the drunk Devils fans stumbles down them, making fun of the Rangers even though we just beat his team. Yup, THE escalators. 

All in all, I think many of us cannot wait until October 27 when we pour in for the team's first home game and get the chance to see all of the changes for the first time. I, for one, and most looking forward to the wider corridors because those things were harder to navigate through than Penn Station. They will make a world of a difference and it will not take 20 minutes to circle the arena anymore. 

For more pictures of the MSG transformation, click here. 

Wednesday Ranger Reads

Here is your daily collection of morning Ranger links:

• Will Rangers' defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Tim Erixon be ready to make the big club next season?

• Blueshirt Banter blogger Joe Fortunato talks to Gordie Clark about the team's young defensive corps.

• At Blueshirt Bulletin, Kevin Baumer gives us a scouting report on Traverse City Prospects Tournament invitee Collin Bowman.

• Dan David at NewYorkRangers.com tells us why the Traverse City Prospects Tournament has been a spring board for many young Blueshirt prospects.

• At MSG.com,  Stan Fischler wonders if NHL referees will make fewer mistakes this upcoming season.

• Over at The Goal Line Report, Patrick Hoffman believes that Rangers' head coach John Tortorella needs to let back-up goaltender Martin Biron get in more games this upcoming season.

• Dave at The Blue Seat Blogs writes about Rangers' defenseman Michael Del Zotto's waiver status as a potential concern for the Blueshirts.

• Over at NYRnation.net, Jonathan Ragus writes why former Ranger Blair Betts is the ultimate penalty killing specialist.

Reebok's Black Ice Premier Jersey Series

Since the lockout Reebok has been the official jersey production company for the National Hockey League. A majority of the teams kept their same jersey design when switching over to Reebok, while others such as the Canucks, Coyotes, Capitals etc. decided to change it up. We then began to see the re-introduction of alternate sweaters, or 3rd jerseys, as well. 

Now Reebok has went ahead and developed I guess what you would call a fashion statement jersey. Let me be clear that what you are about to see will NOT be worn by players on the ice. They were made simply for the fans to buy. 

Reebok's new "Black Ice Premier Jerseys" suck the color out of every team's jersey and add highlights in a neon hue according to the club's official colors. For example, you can see how the above Ranger jersey is completely black except for the diagonal "RANGERS" and the name and numbers. I'm not going to lie, it's certainly not something I would want to see players wear in games, but it's a unique sweater to rock when attending a game at Madison Square Garden. I think it's a pretty stylistic option for the fans. 

Some of them actually look amazing. Here are a few of my favorites:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe it's just me, but I could totally see all four of those being worn by the palyers of those teams in games. Come on, just admit that the Wings jersey is one of the coolest hockey sweaters you've ever seen. 

If you are interested in purchasing one of these jerseys and to see all of the ones that have been put into production, head on over to the Black Ice Premier page on Shop.NHL.com. And to see the ones that have been made specifically for the Rangers, click here. 

Also, I really want to get your take on these sweaters. We're finally in the last few days of August, so I thought this would be an interesting way to give you your hockey fix until September is finally here. Please vote in the below poll which asks whether or not you would purchase a Reebok Black Ice Premier Jersey....

Tuesday Ranger Reads

Here is your daily collection of morning Ranger links:

• Prospect guru Jeff Rubenstein has released his rankings of Rangers prospects, which features 2010 first-round pick Dylan McIlrath at number one... [Prospect Park]

• Here's a brief video interview with Wojtek Wolski, talking about his offseason training and the year ahead. A lot of people see him fitting onto the Richards-Gaborik line quite well. [SNY Rangers Blog]

• Sean Avery is now getting involved in wildlife preservation... [SeanAvery.com]

• Pick-up hockey in Times Square during Hurricane Irene? And you thought you've seen it all... [YouTube]

• Some good points made as to why fighting should be banned in junior hockey... [Boston Globe]

• Henrik Lundqvist stands seventh on Yahoo!'s list of top 100 fantasy hockey players... [Puck Daddy]

• Is Michael Del Zotto en route to a bounce-back season this year? [Blushirt Banter]

• A look at the up-to-date renovation progress at the Garden via this panorama.

Ixnay with the Shootout

Yes, I just used pig latin. Now tell me I'm not the freshest hockey blogger around. 

Yesterday I talked about the corruption within the NHL's points system and how the "charity point" sort of undermines regulation play. In the world of blogging, or writing in general I guess, one story always leads to another. So, today, I am picking up from where I left off and discussing the infamous shootout. Because, honestly, who wants to read another article about Gaborik's potential chemistry with Brad Richards, or who will be the Rangers' next captain, or why Lady Gaga dressed up like a man at last night's MTV Awards? Okay, you may have something there with that last one, but you get the point. 

Under head coach Tom Renney, the shootout was a friend of the New York Rangers. A tie game, which usually was a result of a late third period comeback, would be preserved until overtime in order to pick up the aforementioned charity point in the standings (going back to yesterday's argument), and if they got lucky, they would get to the shootout where Henrik Lundqvist was then counted upon to win them the game. It got to the point where fans were hoping for the shootout. 

That all ended on the final game of the 2009-2010 season in Philadelphia. Oh yes, that dreadful day in Rangers history in which the shootout decided, and ended, their entire campaign that year. 82 games worth of puck decided on six shots. Six months of blood, sweat and tears all come down to a ten-minute skills competition. Now that doesn't seem fair, does it?

The following summer discussions started to formulate within the NHL about the future of the shootout and how it will be used to decide games that go beyond the five minute overtime. Now I am no NHL official or one of those "mainstream media" guys who totally know what they are talking about, but I still have the noggin to realize that the shootout, as it stands now, is destroying the roots of the game. It's corrupting the most respectable sport on Earth and the league, at some point, has no choice but to do away with it. 

First of all, hockey is a team sport. By no means is there any form of a team involved in a shootout. It's goalie versus shooter, and to me, that's not fair to the Brandon Prusts of the league whose effort gets their team to the shootout, but they are never called upon to go out and shoot when it comes time to pick the first three shooters. It's not fair that the better, more complete team loses because the worse team has a few guys who excel at dangling the puck one-on-one with a goalie. 

It just doesn't make sense that a 65-minute hockey game should be decided by six shooters and two goaltenders. Again, this is a team sport, therefore the team should decide it. And in the Rangers' case, the team should decide the outcome of their season, not just a small handful of the squad. 

The shootout does not incorporate the heart and soul of hockey, and it sure as hell doesn't respect the work ethic that goes into the sport. That reason alone should have this idea of a one-on-one game-decider thrown away and never thought about again. 

Personally, I want to see continuous overtime just like in the playoffs. Yeah, I've heard the line of garbage that it affects travel and everything, but you know what, they are professional athletes being paid millions of dollars - they can handle a late night on the job here and there. 

Does Overtime Loss Point Undermine Regulation Play?

They call it the "charity point" for a reason. Since the lockout, the NHL has went with a no-tie approach, and with that has come the implementation of a shootout following overtime if a winner has not yet been decided. In addition, the losing team in a game that goes beyond regulation also receives a point in the standings. Why? Well that's something I don't think anyone can come up with a factual answer for, hence the "charity point" term. It's basically given for free. 

This, along with the shootout all together, has been a highly debated topic within the hockey world for quite some time now. But Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy makes a point that you don't necessarily hear in every argument; the charity point could very well be undermining regulation play. For example, how many times have you heard a player say "at that point we were just trying to get it to overtime"?Therefore, instead of going for the win in those final two frantic minutes of regulation and risk a loss, they sit back and protect the score in order to pick up the charity point.

This is what makes the playoffs and ongoing overtime so excited. There's no point system in the playoffs and you get no reward for losing in overtime either. A loss is a loss, which means players will go extra hard for the win in those final two minutes. They rather take a risk and end it early than having to enter overtime and play extra hockey. 

The argument could go both ways, however, and I guess as a Ranger blogger I should be keeping my mouth shut about this topic. The Rangers finished last season with five overtime losses, which means they earned a total of five points over the course of the year via losses. For the Blueshirts, that's actually a pretty low number compared to years past. In prior seasons, like under the Renney era for example, they probably would not have made the playoffs without those overtime loss points. 

Just look at the top 8 in the Eastern Conference standings from the 2010-11 season. Here's what they looked like with the charity point:

1. Washington

2. Philadelphia

3. Boston

4. Pittsburgh

5. Tampa Bay

6. Montreal

7. Buffalo

8. NY Rangers

Now, here's what the East would have looked like without the charity point:

1. Pittsburgh

2. Washington

3. Philadelphia

4. Boston

5. Tampa Bay

6. Montreal

7. NY Rangers

8. Buffalo

So it's safe to say that without the charity point, there would have been some significant differences in the top eight in the East, and (some of) the first round playoff match-ups would have been different as well. Bet you've never looked at it that way before, have you? 

This is only the beginning of my problems with the NHL standings system and extra time. Tomorrow I will share my gripe with the shootout, which I'm sure many of you share the same feelings about (for obvious reasons).

Sunday Ranger Reads

Here is your daily collection of morning Ranger links:

• Dave at Blue Seat Blogs shows us how former Rangers' defenseman Vladimir Malakhov led to current Rangers' all-star defenseman Marc Staal.

• Over at The New York Rangers Blog, Kevin DeLury looks at Chris Drury's last goal/big moment as a Blueshirt.

• Kevin Baumer at Blueshirt Bulletin looks at one of the Traverse City Prospects Tournament invitees for the Blueshirts, Jordan Hickmmott.

• Rangers' beat writer Steve Zipay gives us his thoughts on the team's potential lines for this upcoming season.

• Ryan Kennedy at The Hockey News shows us why USA Hockey's current generation of players is its best yet.

• Here is how Matthew Barnaby and Zdeno Ciger became Brandon Dubinsky and how Mark Messier became Ryan Callahan.
• At RLD Hockey, Patrick Hoffman tells us why the Rangers are one of the most improved teams in the NHL.

• Over at The Sheet, Jeff Marek looks at a crazy fight that took place in a junior hockey game back in 1965. Current Rangers' GM Glen Sather is an alumni of one of the team's involved.

Adam Graves Gives Christian Thomas High Marks

I've talked a lot about Christian Thomas this summer being that the 19-year-old out of Ontario, Canada has a legitimate shot at making the squad come September. There's going to be an all-out dogfight for the numbered "open" spots remaining on the roster in training camp, but Thomas, a second-round draft pick of the Rangers in 2009, has the talent to impress the coaching staff enough to maybe win a spot over a player such as Mats Zuccarello. 

His biggest weapon is his shot, which was raved about by his coaches and teammates in Juniors. Now coming forward and giving Thomas' shot high marks is New York Rangers legend Adam Graves. Here's what he said when talking to the Rangers Official Site:

“I used to say that when Brendan Shanahan would do his one-timer, he had about a 14-inch backswing. I used to call it the ‘wow’ shot, because when it comes off the stick, you just have to say wow,” says Graves. “Christian’s shot is more of a drag-snapper, but it’s still one of those ‘wow’ shots, where the puck just rockets off his stick. I couldn’t advise him on shooting any better than he already shoots.”

Our first true look at Thomas will come in early September when he takes part in the Traverse City Prospects Tournament representing the Rangers. Based on his performance in that, I think we will be able to judge his chances in training camp and whether or not he is NHL ready just yet. Thomas should excel in this tournament and I think a lot of fans that maybe haven't seen him in action yet will be quite surprised (and excited).

I think Graves would agree, as he continued to speak highly of Thomas further in the interview:

“His shot is as good a shot as I have seen in a long, long time,” said Graves. “Inside the top of the circles, he has a special shot. He knows where it’s going and he can move it and he can change the angle on a goalie in a hurry. When the goalie is looking at him, he can change the angle because he drags the puck with equal amount of zip. I used to have to bring the puck in tight to my body where I had all my strength to change the angle like that, but by just movement of his stick and his sense of scoring, Christian is very good at changing the angle on the goalie.”

If Graves can go on for that long just talking about Thomas' shot, imagine everything he could say about the kid's all-around game. Thomas is a very special hockey player, and with players that hold as much talent as he does, you don't want to disrupt his game by improperly developing him on his way to the NHL. So if the Rangers elect to return Thomas to Juniors this season, instead of sticking with the NHL squad, realize it is for his own good and not a negative thing by any means. 

But it may not even come to that, because as I've said in the past, Thomas is my dark horse to make the team out of training camp this year. 

Follow Christian Thomas on Twitter: @cpt27

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On a non-hockey note, I just wanted to wish all of the fellow New Yorkers (and everyone else in the tri-state area) luck during the storm. Keep safe and also keep your fingers crossed that we do not lose power. We need our Rangers fix!

Saturday Ranger Reads

Here is your daily collection of morning Ranger links:

• "The Suit" wonders if Sean Avery is first line material for the Blueshirts this upcoming season.

• The Rangers'  2011 Season Subscriber Fan Fest has been postponed due to the incoming Hurricane Irene.

• At Blueshirt Banter, Joe Fortunato wonders who the Rangers' top prospect is.

• Over at NHL.com, staff members took a place in a "re-drafting" of each NHL team. Dave Lozo was in charge of re-drafting for the Blueshirts.

• Blueshirt Banter looks at Derek Stepan's cousin Zach and compares the cousins' play at Shattuck St. Mary's. 

• Over at NHL.com, John Kreiser looks at some of the questions facing this Rangers this season.

• How does one know when a prospect is ready to make the jump to the NHL? Michael Gleich at Bleeding All Blue gives us his thoughts on the matter.