Hey Yo

So here we are Thursday AM and the New York Rangers and Brandon Dubinsky have failed to come to an agreement on a new contract. Both the Rangers and Dubinsky lost here because this never ever should have come down to arbitration.

Dubinsky right now is seen as the Razor Ramon of hockey as we can see him entering the arbitration hearing's room and throwing a toothpick in Jeff Gorton's face while saying "Hey, Chico, take a look at the bad guy."

But really there is not one valid excuse for a deal not to have been reached back in April or May or even June. Both sides have to take an equal amount of the blame for this to get this far.

When Glen Sather returns from his fishing vacation he might as well start shopping Dubinsky now while his value is still high. The moment the two sides sit down for the arbitration hearing then the clock starts on Dubinsky's exit from the Rangers.

This is not melodramatic. it is the reality of a player and team's relationship that has now had 2 badly handled contracts in 3 years. Trade Dubinsky while you can because if he even gets close to becoming a UFA then he will jump at it and the Rangers will have nothing to show for it.

What really is so frustrating about this has to be the way some Ranger fans just jumped all over every tiny rumor and turned Brandon Dubinsky into "the Bad Guy." Really not one item that was a proven fact and there were too many Ranger fans who became charter members of the "Dubinsky Lynch Mob."

Go right ahead and pull the "Why he is being biased here" card because if I am being biased then what do you call blindly believing rumors? I believe the term is "sheep led to slaughter" as it is not being fans of the team when you blindly believe rumors.

Oh wait he had the nerve to hold out 2 years ago which makes all of this a proven fact as well as just cause to trash Dubinsky in every possible manner.

But yes I will defend Dubinsky just as you would do for your friends. Show me facts that say Dubinsky is asking for 5 million dollars and I will say he is not worth it.

Maybe it is because I am biased that I know that Dubinsky is not as greedy as people are trying to make him look like. It is that biased which is based in the knowledge of what Dubinsky had to do in order to make the Rangers as well as what he has to do every year to remain one.

Dubinsky and Callahan both should be coming in at no less than 3.9 per season but no more than 4.4. But if both wind up in arbitration hearings then all bets are off.

But why wait for what actually happens when you can grab a hold of a rumor and use it to jump to conclusions. Watching the evolution of the "Dubinsky Lynch Mob" during the day was one of the more disappointing days I have had this summer.

There were no facts that said what Dubinsky has asked for or what the Rangers had offered. What there was is differing reports first from Jesse Spector of the Daily News then from Larry Brooks of the Post.

Spector reported that it was not money but the length of the contract which was the problem area. Brooks said no it was the money as Dubinsky was demanding 5 million.

So who should we believe one or the other, maybe both or neither? Spector broke the story so in order to gain some attention Brooks could not write that it was years so he had to write it was about the money.

Seriously please name the person who in the Ranger's front office who would confide in Brooks? Glen Sather? John Tortorella? Mark Messier? The PR department?

That is just it, over the years Larry Brooks has endeared himself to so many of the Ranger's front office as well as many players with rumors that were not close to reality. Spector on the other hand has been nothing but a straight forward guy who is doing his job.

I have yet to meet the first person who can say something bad about how Spector operates. And no Spector does not write for the Blueshirt Bulletin so it is not propping a friend.

On so many levels there no legit reason to say that Dubinsky wants 5 million; Dubinsky is not stupid he knows he would never get it. Nor is Dubinsky a greedy SOB that some seem to think because if he was then he does not ask for a long term deal.

Seriously find a name of someone who would want to undo all the positive energy created so far for the Rangers this off-season? Look at the last 24 hours and see how the high hopes for the season are now turning to anger.

Nobody with the Rangers would want to damage what looks like the first real season with honest hope since the 1990s. Dubinsky is not going to want to become the evil guy either as it ruins some many off ice things for him not to mention killing off any fan vote for anything.

That people think that Dubinsky is that greedy, is that self-centered and any other possible bad image makes Dubinsky not someone you would want to keep on the roster if one believes the stuff being said. He would be a cancer in the locker room based on all of these accusations right?

But here is the problem for the "Dubinsky Lynch Mob' which is that every possible crime Dubi was tried on and convicted of in the court of public opinion was done with not one single shred of factual information.

Dubi is so lucky that this was not a court of law as he would have been tried, convicted and hung in less time than a minor penalty. Not one of these "fans" would consider the possibility that none of what was being said was true.

How sad it was to see all people buying into rumors and turning Dubinsky into a villain. Nobody once said "Hey wait a second maybe none of this is true" because once the rumors started then Dubinsky was guilty.

And to see someone pull the "well I know someone who knows someone who says that Dubinsky is an egomaniac" was really too much of a joke. Well I know someone who knows someone who is related to someone who works with the guy who happens to drink coffee with the guy who rides the bus with the guy who knows the brother of the towel boy.

Anyone want to bet that once the Dubinsky award is handed out that no matter what the dollar amount is that there will be people bitching about it. Bitch now because in 2 years if he is not traded by then Dubinsky is going to walk away from the Rangers as well as his "loyal" fans.

Go to arbitration at 9 AM and the beginning of the end for Dubinsky's days as a Ranger will start. Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants said Dubinsky should come in about 4 - 4.5 million which is basically what is a fair price for both Dubinsky and Callahan.

Whatever Dubinsky is awarded by Friday then the pressure will be ramped up to get Callahan under contract. If Callahan also winds up in arbitration then any hope of keeping a good salary structure on the Rangers will be blown to bits.

While Ranger fans will blame Dubinsky for his salary award; that will not be the case with Ryan Callahan. Watch how fast Ranger fans turn on Ranger's front office the moment the Dubinsky award is announced.

And heaven help the Rangers if Ryan Callahan winds up in his arbitration hearing. The end of the world will pale in comparison to the way Ranger fans react to the possibility of Callahan possibly becoming a UFA in a year.

But Dubinsky no matter what he does will remain the bad guy with too many fans and that is the shame of it all.

Hey take a look at the bad guy but it is not the kid who wears 17.

(Razor Ramon courtesy of the WWE)