Trying to Sort Out a Huge Mess

Sunday went a long way in clearing up who is going to face who in their league playoffs (or in the case of one no playoffs at all) as we enter the last week of regular season play for the 3 CHL leagues.

For those in the college ranks, now we know who is facing who starting next weekend. Still we need to send out congrats to the 6 Ranger prospects playing in the NCAAs for all of them making at least one round of playoffs.

But Sunday had a mix of good and bad hockey for the Ranger prospects in action.

Today's Star Ethan Werek

Ah cmon Ethan Werek (2009 2nd) you can smile for the New York Ranger fans after scoring the game tying goal with just 45 seconds remaining in regulation. You can smile because you was named the game's first star after your Kingston Frontenacs defeated the Ottawa 67's 4-3 in overtime to clinch the home ice advantage in the first round of the OHL Playoffs.

Werek's goal was his 28th of the season and he added his 31st assist to help the Frontenacs win their 33rd game of the season. Last season Werek and company only won 18 games so the Frontenacs have made huge strides in rebuilding the franchise in just one season.

All kidding aside, Werek is going to see his first playoff action of his OHL career and we are going be very interested in how he plays. Werek for a big prospect (6'2 200) has some very soft hands as well as a high hockey IQ and credit the Rangers for grabbing him in the 2nd round of the 2009 draft.

Rest of the OHL

Daniel Maggio (2009 6th) and his Sudbury Wolves opened up a 3 point lead on the Oshawa Generals after escaping for their game with the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors with a 2-1 win. Maggio was scoreless but a +1 as the Wolves really should thank their goalie for this win.

Scott Stajcer (2009 5th) and his Owen Sound Attack were officially knocked out of the OHL playoffs when the Guelph Storm defeated the Kitchener Rangers 5-4 via the shoot out. Stajcer becomes the first Ranger prospect not to have his team make the playoffs since 2005.

The QMJHL

Ryan Bourque (2009 3rd) missed his 7th straight game with his neck injury but his Quebec Remparts did not need him after an easy 6-1 win over the Chicoutimi Saguenéens. Just guessing here but since Quebec already has clinched a 1 seed in the first round of the QMJHL that Bourque will sit until the last game of the season.

Chris Doyle (2008 5th) had a very quiet game as he was held scoreless for the 2nd straight game as his Victoriaville Tigre shut out the Gatineau Olympiques 2-0. We mention that scoreless streak because Doyle has not gone more than 2 games without scoring this season.

Doyle's Tigre though know that they will be facing the Shawinigan Cataractes in the first round and they hope to go deep in the QMJHL playoffs this season.

The WHL

Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) and his Medicine Hat Tigers have picked the right time of the year to go on a winning streak as they won their 4th straight with a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings. Kundratek set up the Tiger's first goal and wound up the night a +1.

The Tigers jumped into 4th place of the WHL's Eastern Conference with 2 games remaining. Keep an eye on Emerson Etem who scored his 36th goal in this game as he might be the best player to ever come out of California.

Sam Klassen (2009 UFA) and his Saskatoon Blades had a chance to close the gap on the Calgary Hitmen for the Eastern Conference title but instead reduced Calgary's magic number to 1 as the Hitmen spanked the Blades 6-1. All 7 of the goals scored in this game was scored on a power play.

Calgary went 6 for 8 while the Blades were 1 for 6 but more importantly is that the Blades with just 3 games remaining are going to wind up with the 3rd seed. That would be bad news because the Red Deer Rebels would be who they faced and the Rebels are playing some pretty good hockey.

Roman Horak (2009 5th) and his Chilliwack Bruins like repeating themselves it appears. The last time they defeated the Tri-City Americans, they went out and got whipped by the Vancouver Giants in the next game.

So the Bruins defeated the Americans on Friday and got whipped by the Giants on Sunday 6-0. The Bruins should settle for the 8th seed in the WHL's Western Conference because if they finish 7th guess who they would wind up playing in the first round?

If you said the Giants you would be correct.

NCAAs

It really was a meaningless game and the 3rd ranked Wisconsin Badgers played like it but losing to Minnesota 6-1 could hurt them down the road. Derek Stepan (2008 2nd) had an assist but Ryan McDonagh (2009 trade) should be happy that he did not get ejected.

McDonagh got into it with Minnesota's Ryan Flynn and it was like at the last minute McDonagh realized he had best not throw any punches. Still for us it is a sure sign that McDonagh is not coming back for his senior season as his style of play is best suited for the professional ranks.

As for Stepan, we will repeat what we have been saying all along; Stepan is returning to Wisconsin for his junior year unless the Badgers win the NCAAs. He has not said it openly but the way he plays makes it very clear he has a plan for his future all mapped out including when he will jump to the Rangers.

Sadly you are going to have to be a subscriber of the Blueshirt Bulletin Plus to find out why. But then again subscribing to the Blueshirt Bulletin is one of the best moves you can make

(Werek courtesy of the Kingston Frontenacs)

Step Up or Go Home

As we said last night, this is the time of the season for the Ranger prospects to make statements about their wish for a contract from the New York Rangers. The Rangers may have almost a month to go in their season but for the prospects just about every game now is "win or go home"

Sure those are the corny cliches that everyone pulls out but in many a case they are as true a statement as this is the time of the year where prospects can earn that desired contract. It is a love/hate time for us as well as nothing is more fun than watching a prospect elevate their game but at the same time it breaks your heart to see kids you have covered reach the end of the road.

Advancing: Carl Hagelin

The Michigan Wolverines are by their own standard having a down year even though they have a 21-17-1 record. When you are used to going to the NCAAs like the Wolverines have for the last 19 straight years then you have higher expectations.

Yesterday we said that Carl Hagelin (2007 6th) had to step up his game since Michigan is going to have to win the CCHA in order to earn a trip to the NCAAs. Hagelin responded with a 2 goal effort as the Wolverines advanced to the CCHA quarterfinals where they will have to beat arch-rival Michigan State on the road.

Hagelin scored both his goals in the second period (#s 15 and 16) has Michigan had no trouble finishing off Lake Superior. Hagelin had seen his 11 game scoring streak stopped in Game 1 started a new streak as Michigan's leading scorer improved to 16-25-41 on the season.

Earning Playoff Spots: Danny Hobbs, Chris Kreider

When the weekend began, Danny Hobbs (2007 7th) and the UMass Minutemen needed to sweep Maine and get some help from others. Hobbs and company did their part by sweeping Maine on the road winning Saturday 4-3 and getting the helped they needed.

Hobbs was scoreless but UMass uses him on their top line for reasons we still do not understand but it works for them. UMass winds up with the 7th seed in the Hockey East playoffs as they will earn a trip to face Chris Kreider (2009 1st) and the Boston College Eagles next weekend.

Kreider saw his 6 game scoring streak come to an end as the Eagles defeated New Hampshire 3-2. It was a win that came one day too late for the Eagles as they lost out on a chance to be the Hockey East regular season champions.

For us it also means a prospect is guaranteed to see his season end next weekend.

Eliminated: Max Campbell

Max Campbell's (2007 5th) season actually ended Friday night when he was ejected for head butting but the season for his Western Michigan Broncos came to an end when they lost 4-1 to Alaska-Fairbanks 4-1. The loss eliminates Campbell and the Broncos as a horrible season for both player and team as Campbell finished a disappointing 6-13-19 which is down from 16-15-31.

Campbell has for all intents and purposes taken himself out of serious consideration for a Ranger contract next season. A shame too because Campbell had a ton of potential as a pure sniper but took a long jump backwards this season.

Jockeying for Position: Sam Klassen, Mitch Gaulton, Tomas Kundratek, Ethan Werek

As we told you last night; if you have a DVR and can get the NHL Network USA version then make sure you catch Sam Klassen (2009 UFA) and his Saskatoon Blades in what is now a very important WHL game against Calgary. Klassen had an assist as the Blades rallied from down 3-0 to defeat the Edmonton Oil Kings 6-4.

This sets up tomorrow's game as an elimination game as the Blades trail the Hitmen by 4 points for the top seed in the WHL's Eastern Conference or East Division. The Hitmen (99 points 4 games left) and the Brandon Wheat Kings (96 and 4) lead the Blades who have 95 points and 5 games remaining.

Klassen's assist was his 27th on the season and his 30th point. Watch him tomorrow if you want to see what a hard hitting defenseman is like as Klassen has had some of the hardest CLEAN hits we have seen from a junior.

Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) and his Medicine Hat Tigers earned a 3-2 shootout win over the Red Deer Rebels in the battle for the 4th seed in the WHL's Eastern Conference. Kundratek was scoreless but the Tigers now trail the Kootenay Ice by 1 point.

Ethan Werek (2009 2nd) was held scoreless as his Kingston Frontenacs lost in overtime to the Oshawa Generals 3-2 and have basically conceded the OHL East Division championship to the Ottawa 67's after this loss. The Frontenacs have just about nailed down the 4th seed which is a huge improvement after missing the playoffs for the last couple of seasons.

Mitch Gaulton (2008 6th) and his Erie Otters after earning a 5-4 shoot out win over Scott Stajcer (2009 5th) and the Owen Sound Attack jumped into 6th place in the OHL's Western Conference. Gaulton was held scoreless as the Otters also may have put the finishing touches on eliminating the Attack.

For Stajcer who gave up 4 goals in facing 25 shots is now 3-7-0-2 and 1 no decision in his last 13 starts. His numbers have simply fallen south is now 21-23-3-3, 3.67 and 0.897.

With only 2 games left and trailing the Guelph Storm by 4 points (and 2 games in hand), it is safe to say that Stajcer is not going to play in the playoffs.

Barely Holding On: Daniel Maggio

Daniel Maggio (2009 6th) returned from his 2 game suspension as his Sudbury Wolves lost a big game to the Niagara Ice Dogs and now are in 8th place of the OHL's Eastern Conference with 4 games remaining. Maggio was a -2 in his return from a suspension for "Abuse of Official"

Still in this conference there are 4 teams fighting for 3 playoff spots all separated by 3 points as they head for the final weekend of the regular season.

(Hagelin courtesy of Michigan Photo Services)

Time To Man It UP Popeye

For many of the New York Ranger prospects Friday night was a very important starting point as this is the time of year where possible contracts. ATOs and lifelong dreams will either be made or they will get broken possibly forever.

Instead of offering out stars we are going to report on the prospects in terms of how important a game they were playing so we start with Carl Hagelin (2007 6th) and his Michigan Wolverines as they opened up their CCHA playoff series with Lake Superior State.

Hagelin ended his regular season with an 11 game scoring streak and was Michigan's leading scorer for the season. Still none of that means anything now as Michigan is in a position where they have to win the CCHA playoffs in order to earn a trip to the NCAAs for the 20th straight year.

Hagelin was scoreless as Michigan took Game 1 of their best of 3 series with Lake Superior State. Hagelin was held to 3 shots on goal but earned a +1. Hagelin played decently but if Michigan wants a miracle shot at the NCAAs then he needs to elevate his game big time.

Max Campbell (2007 5th) may have played his last game of the season as his Western Michigan Broncos dropped Game 1 of their CCHA series to Alaska-Fairbanks 4-0. Max has long been one of our favorites here which makes the following so very disappointing to have to report.

Campbell was hit with a 5 minute major as well as a game misconduct for headbutting UAF's Andy Taranto at 16:56 of the 3rd period. It capped off a terrible evening for Campbell who was a -3 as well as 2-15 on his faceoffs.

As much as we like Max, we are sorry there is no reason that will explain away head butting and for that if Campbell sits; he will deserve it. Campbell may have pushed himself off the prospect radar after this season.

In the Hockey East, Danny Hobbs (2007 7th) and his UMass Minutemen needed to sweep their 2 game series at Maine along with getting some help from others just to be able to make the Hockey East playoffs. UMass did their first part winning 5-2 even though Hobbs did not score.

This sets up a "last chance" game for UMass on Saturday as if they win or tie while either Northeastern or Vermont lose then UMass will earn the 7th seed. That one was the easiest one to explain as there are so many different possibilities that we just do not have the time to explain them. Win and UMass is in.

Still for Hobbs, it is frustrating to see someone with talent just not realize that he can do more and sadly for him he is going to face a key junior season next year.

Chris Krieder (2009 1st) did his part scoring his 10th goal in his last 12 games (12th on the season) while adding an assist but his 5th ranked Boston College blew a 3-0 lead and settled for a 3-3 tie with New Hampshire. The price for Boston College was that they lost out on a chance to win the Hockey East regular season title for sure the top seed in the Hockey East playoffs.

The tie also may cost Boston College down the road when it comes to NCAA seedings as if they do not win the Hockey East playoffs they will most likely wind up being sent away from the Eastern Regional.

Still Kreider has been turning up his game big time since returning from the World Juniors. A 12 game scoring streak (10-2-12) is a nice way to end his freshman season but he still needs a lot of work so we will cut off any talk about him leaving school by saying he is not ready.

But when Kreider is ready then life for the Rangers will get that much better.

Derek Stepan (2008 2nd) and Ryan McDonagh (2009 Trade) are going to start the WCHA playoffs as the 2nd seed after winning their 4th straight game 3-2 over rival Minnesota. Stepan earned a secondary assist (40th point of season) on Wisconsin's 2nd goal while McDonagh was scoreless but played a role in shutting out Minnesota's power play (0-6).

The Badgers have just about sewn up a spot in the NCAAs but need to win their first round series next weekend to guarantee it.

The Prospects in the Juniors

For the Ranger prospects in the CHL, they too are playing games that will go a long way in determining their own playoff status.

One day after singing the praises of Chris Doyle (2008 5th) then he winds up with a struggling game but one clunker in 3 months is more than acceptable with us. Doyle was a -3 and scoreless as his Victoriaville Tigres earned a 6-5 shootout win over the Montreal Junior.

The Tigre will go into the QMJHL playoffs as the 2nd seed from the Central Division and will face Shawinigan in the first round.

Ryan Bourque (2009 3rd) missed his 6th straight game with a neck injury as his Quebec Remparts lost to the Gatineau Olympiques 5-3. The loss though does not impact their playoff situation as the Remparts have earned the 1 seed out of the Eastern Division but still do not know who they will face.

In the OHL, Ethan Werek (2009 2nd) and his Kingston Frontenacs dropped a 5-2 decision to the Oshawa Generals and basically ended their hopes of catching Ottawa for the OHL's Eastern Division. Werek had an assist for his 57th point of the season but it looks like the Fronts could wind up with the 4th seed in the OHL Eastern Conference.

We have a correction as Daniel Maggio (2009 6th) is not injured but rather suspended 2 games for abuse of an official. Maggio served the 2nd game of his suspension as his Sudbury Wolves were able to hold off the Belleville Bulls for a 4-3 win.

The win was big for Sudbury as they jumped past the Peterborough Petes for the 6th seed in the OHL's Eastern Conference. 4 teams are fighting for the last 3 playoff spots in that conference but Sudbury has a slight edge with a game in hand.

Mitch Gaulton (2008 6th) and his Erie Otters dropped a 5-2 decision to the Kitchener Rangers missing out on a chance to move into the 6th seed in the OHL's Western Conference. That would have them possibly facing the same Kitchener Rangers who just defeated them.

Gaulton was scoreless but the Otters on Saturday with a win could eliminate Scott Stajcer and the Owen Sound Attack from the playoff race. As of right now Stajcer appears to be the only Ranger prospect who will not see any playoff action.

In the WHL, Roman Horak (2009 5th) scored his 20th goal of the season as his Chilliwack Bruins clinched the 8th playoff spot in the WHL's Western Conference with a 4-1 win over the team they will be facing in the first round, the Tri-City Americans.

What makes this interesting is that the Bruins now have won 2 straight games agains the Americans which is going to be a huge confidence booster for the Bruins. Horak became the 4th Ranger draft pick to score his 20th goal of the season.

Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) and his Medicine Hat Tigers defeated the Kootenay Ice 2-1 as Kundratek netted his 31st assist of the season. The win pulls the 6th place Tigers to within 3 points of the 4th seeded Ice with 4 games remaining.

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Get your DVRs Ready

If you get the NHL Network USA then Sunday evening as the Rangers take on the Sabres, the NHL Network is going to show a WHL game featuring Sam Klassen (2009 UFA) and his Saskatoon Blades as they take on the Calgary Hitmen.

We really do suggest you check out this game as Klassen (who wears number 3) is a hard hitting stay at home defenseman which sadly many a Ranger fan has forgotten what it looks like in a Ranger uniform.

(Popeye courtesy of King Features)

Walking His Talk

When we did our interview with Chris Doyle we had this exchange:

PP: You are in 2nd among the prospects in scoring behind Ethan Werek with a chance to pass him.

CD: No I am going to be the leading scorer this season

With 23 points in 17 games, Chris Doyle (2008 5th) not only is the hottest scorer among New York Ranger prospects but he is also the leading scorer just as he said he would. Doyle has found himself new life as a player with the Victoriaville Tigres and the Tigre version of Chris Doyle is doing a great job of silencing his critics.

The game was supposed to be Ryan Bourque (2009 3rd) and his Quebec Remparts against Doyle and the Tigre but Bourque sat this one out recovering from his neck injury. The matchup would have been fun to watch as Bourque might have been the one to try to stop Doyle.

It still was an interesting game as Quebec came back from down 4-2 in the 3rd period to earn a win via the shootout 5-4 as the Tigre will look back at this one and have plenty of regret. From jumping out to a 3-1 first period lead to allowing the Remparts 45 shots on goal.

Still for us the story is Chris Doyle as he has turned his season around after such a rough start.

Since the trade from Prince Edward Island back in December Doyle has gone 8-23-31, a +9 and just 11 PIMs. It is as if Doyle has reinvented himself as a player which is good news for the Rangers as they can always use a power play specialist which is what Doyle has proven himself to be.

Now what Doyle needs to do is carry his play over to the QMJHL playoffs to earn himself the Ranger contract he dreams of.

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That the Rangers even got a single point from the game this evening is not due to their hard work or even because Henrik stood on his head; they got a point only because of a miracle. When you get outshot 55-16 you deserve nothing.

When you are outplayed like the Rangers were in the 3rd period consider that 1 point a gift that you will not be see many more of the rest of the season. Sorry Rangers fans should start doing is not consider squeaking into the playoffs but hoping to wind up with as high a draft pick as possible.

Playoffs would be a waste of time and a source of frustration for the Ranger fans. Why bother when you are not going to beat either the Caps or the Pens.

(Doyle courtesy of Kay Ep)

The Beginning of Their Season's End

This is always the hardest part of the season for everyone involved whether you are a prospect, coach or even a writer covering the prospects. Not sure which is worse; coming close to winning a championship or not even getting a chance to play in the playoffs.

At the NHL level, the players have been though this experience as they develop so when one has to write a critical article they understand it is not supposed to be personal.

In the years covering Ranger prospects, the one thing that we are not used to seeing is a prospect not making even a token appearance in their league playoffs. This season appears that there will be an exception to the rule as one and possibly a second Ranger prospect might not make the playoffs.

Scott Stajcer (2009 5th) has had an up and down season with the Owen Sound Attack but the last month has been mostly down as his Attack have gone 3-6-0-1 in their last 10 games. For all intents and purposes the Attack were eliminated on Wednesday when they lost to the London Knights 4-3.

Stajcer gave up 4 goals on 40 shots as he lost for the 7th time in 11 starts and if you go strictly by the numbers then it is easy to pin this on Stajcer but it is not all on him. Just like we saw Antoine Lafleur go through when you do not get defensive support, when you find yourself appearing in 54 out of your team's 65 games then spread the blame around.

The one thing that it really does look like is that Stajcer's confidence if not gone is on shaky ground. The question now is are we going to see yet another young goalie be ruined by being in a bad situation?

We hope not but for this season the Attack trail the Guelph Storm by 3 points with 3 games remaining but Guelph has 5 games remaining.

Other Prospect Action

The Attack's bad luck was Mitch Gaulton (2008 6th) and his Erie Otters good fortune. The Attack's loss clinched a playoff spot for the Otters even they lost to the Guelph Storm 4-1. Gaulton was scoreless in his 2nd game back from injury.

The WHL's Eastern Conference race for playoff seeding is one of the more interesting races we get to watch because every night the standings will change. Sam Klassen (2009 UFA) and his Saskatoon Blades have 6 games left to earn the top seed after losing to their rival Brandon Wheat Kings 5-3.

The loss which was the Blade's 2nd straight leaves them in 3rd in the conference as well as 2nd in the East Division as the Wheat Kings and Calgary Hitmen will battle down to the last game for the top seed. The Wheat Kings already have a spot in the Memorial Cup as the host city but if they were to win the Eastern Conference then the WHL's spot in the Memorial Cup will go to the winner of the Western Conference.

Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) and his Medicine Hat Tigers are also going to the playoffs as they clinched their spot the other night but now their fight is for seeding as the Tigers needed the shootout in order to defeat the Moose Jaw Warriors 3-2. Kundratek was scoreless but the Tigers opened up a 6 point lead over the Warriors for the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Tigers and Red Deer Rebels both have 80 points after Wednesday's action but Red Deer has a game in hand as the 6th seed will have an almost impossible task of winning a first round series but if it is a matchup between Saskatoon and Medicine Hat then the Hartford Wolfpack will be the winner since they will gain a defenseman from the losing team.

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It will be interesting to see how the Rangers spin how they did not make a trade deadline deal for the first time since 2001. We are happy because it is as we had hoped the Rangers are now forced to sink or swim with their current roster.

Now if you want us to be honest with you then we are not going to shed a tear if the Rangers fail to make the playoffs. This was as it has been in the Sather era a poorly constructed roster that was based on how much money was spent instead of being developed as a team.

If John Tortorella is going to be the coach of the Rangers then he must be given a say not only in who makes the roster, who is drafted and who is developed in accordance to his system. If you are not going to do that then Tortorella is not going to win as coach because he is being handicapped by his own GM.

We are not fans of Sather, we are not fans of Tortorella and to be honest we would clean house of front office as well as roster. That is not going to happen so then the next best thing is to give the coach the best possible tools for him to run his system and win.

(Stajcer courtesy of Aaron Bell/OHL Images)

The Right Move Would Be Not to Make A Move

For us at Prospect Park this tends to be the most frustrating 24 hours of the NHL season; it is the trading deadline day. For us it is an exercise in frustration because in the decade of Glen Sather it has been a day of wasted efforts and simply shuffling of assets.

It is a day so the Rangers can say "look we made these moves to get us into the playoffs where anything can happen." By now New York Ranger fans know that the real reason to make the playoffs has never been to win a Stanley Cup but rather to collect more cash from the wallets of Ranger fans.

We know this is a pipe dream but the very best move that the Rangers can make is to do nothing; sink or swim with this current roster. If this was a team that was contending for a Stanley Cup then nobody would complain about the Rangers selling their souls for that shot.

But this team as it is in 9th place after defeating Ottawa on Tuesday night; it is a team that already is at 63 games and is about to go a few games without Marian Gaborik in the lineup. Do nothing would make more sense since the odds are that price tag to make serious improvements just to make the playoffs is going to be higher than it has ever been before.

Under no circumstances should the Rangers risk a first or second round pick in any trade this year. To do so would be the worst possible of moves by the Sather team as the 2010 draft is going to be a good one but after that 2011 is not looking so good.

There are 12 teams currently within 6 points of the final 2 playoff spots in each conference. Reality check is that the Rangers overall if the season were to end right as it is would have no worse than the 10th pick in the draft and possibly as low as the 8th pick.

Even if the Rangers were to sneak in as the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference then they would wind up with the 15th pick cause sorry we will not fool ourselves and pretend that this Ranger team could take out the Capitals even with the hole the Caps have in goal.

There are 19 games left in 39 days and who here thinks that Alex Auld is going to get more than 3 starts tops as long as the Rangers pretend to be in the playoff hunt? Seriously folks ask yourself is risking Henrik's long term health worth making a token appearance in the playoffs?

It was overworking Mikey Richter that cut short his career because they burnt him out and that left him wide open for several of the injuries he suffered. For the last 3 seasons the Rangers have been playing with fire risking Henrik's health by playing him as much as he has.

This year is even worse because they failed to see Vally was not a legit backup and then were stuck pretending to use Chad Johnson and Matt Zaba (d0 we really need to point out why Alex Auld never can keep a job with a team?)

Can you honestly look at what is supposedly out there on the trade market and say there is the one player who could solve the Ranger's woes on offense and defense? That player does not exist and even if he did who do you think the other teams will demand in return?

If you think Sather is going to pull a miracle and find someone to take Wade Redden off his hands forget it. The only moves to seriously consider is to move what you can for tomorrow like Vinny Prospal who teams will jump for given his play this season and even best his cap number.

You might even find someone willing to take Ollie off your hands for draft pick or prospect. Then comes the harder decisions which is do you think Dan Girardi is going to develop any further in this system?

We do not so move him for a draft pick which is a profit given he was a free agent and to be honest if you have to choose between Staal or Girardi in July then it becomes a no brainer.

But sadly like the rest of you, we will watch, we will pray and we will shake our fists in anger when Glen Sather makes what is expected to be his big moves to push the Rangers into a playoff spot.

Then again if Sather does then hopefully come Sunday it will help swell up the numbers for the "Fire Sather" rally that will take place prior to the Sabre's game. If you ever needed an excuse to join Facebook then here it is as the folks who are behind this movement are not a bunch of screaming clowns.

These are well written and truly loyal Ranger fans who I have gotten to know over the last couple of months. Check out their event page here

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OK the chat that was supposed to happen at the Blueshirt Bulletin website is going to happen tomorrow. I will be joining them there most likely around 1 PM EDT (hey I live out west give me a break ) but as far as I am concerned we can chat about everything Rangers even after the trade deadline passes.

It starts at 10 AM EDT so join Dan, Greg, Tom and myself for an all day event and who knows who might show up to join us.

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Well one Ranger prospect was supposed to be in action on Tuesday but Daniel Maggio (2009 6th) missed the Sudbury Wolves game against the Barrie Colts with an undisclosed injury.

The Wolves lost in OT 6-5 and we hope to have an injury report tomorrow.

(Glen Sather courtesy of the NY Rangers)