Well I’m back. I’d love to say that I’m happy to be back, and while I am certainly happy to be back writing again –after a brief cameo this past Monday– I am not happy to be back in New York. It’s beautiful in Aruba, the weather is perfect, and I would love to live there. Anyway, I was keeping up with the Rangers while I was out, even if I wasn’t really available to write. And I have some thoughts.
1. First things first, big thank you to the staff here for covering while I was out.
2. On Mika Zibanejad, at this point they should just call it a concussion. It’s not a neck/shoulder thing. It’s a concussion. The NHL is so weird with these injuries. Even the NFL, which has cases of targeting injured players, discloses everything from broken fibula to sneezed too hard. The NHL is the only league where they give us vague descriptions and treat the fans like we are idiots. It’s a concussion, and it’s not Zibanejad’s first.
3. It was only a matter of time before Lias Andersson was sent to Hartford. The Rangers really botched this one, at least in the short term. There was no plan after he wasn’t what they thought he was after taking him 7th overall. This whole debacle dates back to the Blueshirts being unable to move up to #5 with Vancouver when Elias Petterson, the player the Rangers wanted, was still on the table. Jeff Gorton panicked and then made the trade with Arizona. Granted, it’s not like any of the picks between Lias and Filip Chytil have made an impact, and yes that includes everyone’s favorite Casey Middlestadt, who is not looking overly great in Buffalo.
4. The move to Hartford put the young center with Phil DiGiuseppe, the best winger he’s had to work with this season, and he immediately scored in his first game. As I’ve said, the issue isn’t that Andersson is going to be amazing, it’s that he was never given a chance with actual NHL wingers. If you’ve invested this much into your 7th overall pick, play him with actual NHL players and see what he can do. If he doesn’t perform, then at least you know you gave him the chance.
5. Justin hit the nail on the head regarding Don Cherry. There’s no room in the game for bigoted comments. Hockey is for everyone. Period. End of story.
6. You know what would piss me off if I were Andersson or Vitali Kravtsov? Seeing Micheal Haley get more minutes and a better shot at the NHL, then seeing him get waived after we all knew it was a bad idea. Yes, the argument is getting the kids more ice time in lesser leagues, but there’s a communication breakdown somewhere. The Rangers botched this with two of their key prospects and it’s not even Christmas yet. They deserve criticism for it in the short term. Long term, you never know, but short term, this is a stain.
7. It’s good to be back.
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