2001 Rangers – Where Are They Now?

Ten years ago feels like just the other day doesn’t it? The Giants were on their way to irrelevance, the Jets had just rattled off 4 straight wins, but most importantly the Rangers were looking like they could finally get back into the post-season after a four-year drought. We all know how that turned out. Boo.

But for a moment there Eric Lindros, Mike York, Theo Fleury and company were a rare ray of sunlight in those dark days following 9/11. Ten years ago the Rangers were 14-7-1 heading into Thanksgiving weekend.

Some of those players who lifted our hopes have well-known pursuits since donning Broadway Blue like Mikael Samuelsson (Detroit,Vancouver, now Miami), Manny Malhotra (Columbus, San Jose, now Vancouver), and Matthew Barnaby (ESPN Analyst). But what about some of those other players like fan faves Mike York, Sandy McCarthy, up and comers like Rico Fata, or whipping boy Igor Ulanov?

Here’s an update on five forgotten Rangers…

Mike York

York was a fan favorite, a Ryan Callahan of his day, and his trade to Edmonton for Tom Poti (the first to be anointed the next Brian Leetch) made Blueshirt fans’ feelings for Sather go from mistrustful to downright toxic. Supposedly York teared up the day he found out he was traded and that made the pill that much harder to swallow.

Though Poti was nothing to sneeze at, York never did become the player Rangers fans thought he would. He had a few good seasons in Edmonton and later out on the Island, but the last few years he bounced back and forth between the NHL and the AHL.

These days York is lacing ‘em up over in Germany’s DEL, which has the highest amount of North American players outside of North America, thanks to solid six figure contracts, low taxes, and a higher per team limit of foreign-born players. Plus who wants to play in Russia anyway?

Sandy McCarthy

Sandy McCarthy was a tough as nails 4th line forward who ended up getting a decent amount of playing time with Eric Lindros once the season started to go south and the F-L-Y line was broken up. He’s also the only person I can think of  that ever had a uncanny resemblence to Mick Foley. Though there is a Foley clone lurking around the 400s I hear.

Anyway, after his retirement in 2004 McCarthy owned a marina and coached midgets up in Canada. Currently he is behind the bench of the Alliston Hornets, a Junior C team near his hometown in Ontario.

Dale Purinton

Purinton never scored more than 6 goals at any level of hockey, but boy this kid could fight. In 2001 he had 18 fights in only 42 games. The beginning of the end came for Purinton when he was suspended for 25 AHL games in 2007 after he delivered a nasty punch to the back of the head of Iowa Stars forward Marius Holtet.

Purinton retired in 2008 and now coaches for the Cowichan Valley Capitals in the British Columbia Hockey League (Junior A). Interesting all of these enforcers are coaching kids huh?

Igor Ulanov

Everyone talks about Holik, Gomer, Redden and a host of other mistakes who Sather watched wilt under the lights of Broadway and somehow was able to unload them. But perhaps one of the first Sather signings to fail miserably upon arriving to NY was defensive defensemen Igor Ulanov.

Ulanov put up 20 assists for the Oilers prior to coming to NY, which was great for a hard-hitting stay-at-home type, but he never meshed with the Rangers. He was routinely the whipping boy for the Garden faithful, which was just for some of his blown coverages. Somehow Sather was able to unload Ulanov and picks for Pavel Bure. Yes folks, Sather’s first rabbit.

Ulanov actually had some success when he returned to Edmonton, but ended up finishing his career in the KHL. His current whereabouts is unknown; however, I have reason to believe he is behind the Igor Ulanov Fan Club. I mean who else could be running that site?

Rico Fata

Last but not least, Rico Fata was your classic case of a young prospect who dominated the minors (35 goals in the AHL), but couldn’t put it together at The Show. The kid could skate like the wind, but unfortunately he had hands of stone.

Fata bounced around NHL teams never quite sticking with any and is currently playing in the Swiss National League A, another popular league for North American expats.

Musings: The Sauer Effect, Refs vs. MSG, & More

Sorry for the delay, we usually aim to post these things around 7a, but Dave is in California for work, Chris is already serving beer in the UK, and my commute doubles in duration every time it rains. Anyway, here are some quick thoughts before we prepare for the opener tonight. Feel free to chime in below…

Amateur Hour

The other day we provided video of Adam Mair delivering an awful blindside hit to Mats Zuccarello down in the AHL. The outcome? Mair received just 4 games. Way to follow big brother’s footsteps.

The Sauer Effect

Michael Sauer returns to the lineup tonight and the internet is abuzz with his potential impact. I wouldn’t expect the offense to all of sudden magically click, but where Sauer will help is on the possession side of the puck. The Rangers were a little too scrambled in their own end the past couple of games and Sauer is excellent at separating players from the puck.

Sauer also provides excellent gap control in the neutral zone and rarely gets caught flat footed. So as long as he’s playing near 100%, I’d expect the Rangers to be tighter and hopefully more balanced in the scoring chance department.

The Refs vs. MSG

Whenever we play the Leafs, or the Canadiens for that matter, I feel like the officiating is sub-par. I’m not a conspiracy theorist at all, but there have been too many games against these two teams where I’ve left the building scratching my head. Personally, I blame my old man who planted that idea in my head when I was younger and I’ve been unable to shake it since.

I don’t know how everyone else feels, but do yourself a favor and pay attention to who the refs are tonight. If we get Dan O’Halloran or Stephen Walkom it could be a long evening.

Check For Effort

Finally, I just want to comment on this new MSG 150 segment on MSG Network. Overall I like it. The concept of showing game highlights in that machine gun fire fashion is fresh and unique. But showing the same clip every break is overkill.  There are 11 NHL games going on tonight…there should be plenty of material.

New Poll: Is Torts Still The Right Man For The Job?

Friends,

We learned over the weekend that we were having a problem with our polling feature and as a result many of you were unable to cast your votes. We apologize for the error and we have since updated our software. We would like to re-invite everyone to vote again (the original results were deleted).

Also, this new polling  software we’re using allows everyone to share the poll on their own Twitter pages, Facebook profiles, etc. So please feel free share this poll with whomever you’d like. All you have to do is click the “share poll” link and select the site you’d like to post this on.

Enjoy!

We’ve moved this poll to the right sidebar.

The Season Is Upon Us, So Let’s Have A Giveaway

This post is schedule to go up at 7am. Six hours later, the New York Rangers will open their season in Stockholm, Sweden against the Los Angeles Kings.  It has been almost six months since we’ve seen the Rangers take the ice in a non-preseason game, and New York hockey couldn’t come back at a better time.  In honor of this glorious day, I think it’s time to have another giveaway, this time for an autographed 8×10 photo of Ron Greschner.  It does not have a COA, but I personally watched him sign it myself, so it’s legitimate.

So, make sure you get on Twitter, and tweet the following message (make sure you follow me as well):

RT & follow @BlueSeatBlogs for a chance to win an autographed 8×10 photo of Ron Greschner. Check www.blueseatblogs.com for more info

Remember, you must tweet the message and follow to be entered. A winner will be announced at the conclusion of the game against the Kings.  Good luck.

Another Twitter Give-Away

Following up on my good friend and Blue Seat Blog partner in crime Dave, I agree that we need to keep the give-aways coming. After all, the season is almost up on us so a competition-of-sorts is never a bad thing to crank up the fun and excitement!

My next give-away is a bit of a double header. It is a signed photo of Ex-Ranger-done-good Manny Malhotra and is co-signed by the other player in the picture, none other than Vinny Lecavalier. Nice little prize, I’m sure you’ll all agree. The picture comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Manny may not have lived up to his lofty draft status but has gone on to become a highly respected two-way center in the NHL and played 206 games for the Rangers while scoring 41 points in Rangers red white and blue.

To enter the give-away, you need to get yourself on Twitter and give me (@NYR_Jugs88) a follow, and then tweet the following phrase:

“RT & follow @NYR_Jugs88 for a chance to win an autographed Manny Malhotra & Vinny Lecavalier pic. Check www.blueseatblogs.com for more info”

Remember, you MUST tweet that message AND follow me to be entered. There will be a third give-away right before the opening weekend if you’re all responsive to the second one! Get tweeting!

Get Ready For Fantasy Hockey!

Tired of arguing? Think bloggers are always getting the final say?

Well perhaps it’s time to shut up your favorite (or least favorite) bloggers for good by beating them in a good old fashion game of hockey.

Okay, so we’re playing fantasy hockey and not the real thing…but hey, I’m sure most of you haven’t touched a hockey stick since high school floor hockey anyway.

Just kidding ….or am I?

Anyway, we are putting together a fantasy hockey league via Yahoo Sports. Right now we have around 16 people and are looking for a few more. If you would like to get in on the action, be sure to leave us a comment at the end of this post. Once we think we have enough people, either Dave or myself will email you the link and information to joining our league.

Come get some!

The Worst GM In Hockey Award? Your call. (Updated)

It’s funny. Last summer I had a much easier time giving former Flames GM Darryl Sutter The Worst GM In Hockey Award. Sutter presided over one of the worst farm systems in the league, he had handed out more no-movement clauses than any other GM in the game, and he sent his organization back years when he traded franchise defensemen, Dion Phaneuf to Toronto without receiving a single prospect or draft pick in return.

As it turns out, Calgary’s ownership didn’t disagree with me. Sutter “stepped down” last December.

This summer has been a different story. Not because there have been any shortage of dumb moves, but because there were so many GM’s that made risky trades and financially unsound signings, it’s hard to pick just one guy. So this year I am going to do things a little differently. Rather than anoint the worst GM in hockey myself, I am going to let you decide.

Let’s look at the candidates.

Dale Tallon – Florida Panthers

Tallon is an interesting character. Out in Chicago everyone credits him for being the architect of the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup Championship team. On the other hand he got blamed for their dismantling due to bad contracts. He was also fired that off-season for not submitting offers to their restricted free agents before the deadline, which cost the organization millions.

Of course this post is about what he’s done in Miami, which has been under scrutiny by the 26 people who go to Panthers games.

Tallon signed Tomas Fleischmann – a guy who scored 23 goals once – to a 4 year/$4.5 million per year contract. He also gave the enigmatic forward a no-movement clause. Tallon then traded for Brian Campbell, the most overpaid defensemen in the league ($7.1 mill per until 2016), and he signed oft injured Ed Jovanovski to a 4 year deal worth $16.5 million. Jovanovski signed this contract at age 35, meaning his cap-hit will remain for the next 4 years regardless of what happens to his position on the roster.

But hey, at least they gave up picks for Kris Versteeg!

Chuck Fletcher – Minnesota Wild

There is no franchise that disappoints me more than the Minnesota Wild. They play in arguably the best hockey market in the country, yet year in and year out they play .500 hockey, despite an abundance of resources. This summer they finally got aggressive, and to say the moves they made were risky is an understatement.

Fletcher traded Martin Havlat for Dany Heatley. On paper this seems like a fairly even swap. However, Heatley’s cap-hit is for $7.5 million vs. Havlat’s who’s cap-hit comes in at $5M. Plus there is also the fact that Heatley burns through coaches and organizations like Amy Winehouse burned through an eight ball of…yea you’re right, too soon.

Fletch also traded away all-star defensemen Brent Burns (he of 17 goals) to San Jose for Devin Setoguchi. Sure Seto scored 31 goals in 2009, his second year in the league, but he’s average 20 goals and 39 points since then. A change of scenery may help the kid, but do you really give up one of the best offensive defensemen in the game for a guy who needs a change of scenery?

What may save this trade and ultimately Fletcher’s rear-end, is that he managed to also get Sharks prospect/B.U. sophomore Charlie Coyle and a 1st round pick (Zack Phillips), while giving up just a 2nd rounder.

Paul Holmgren - Philadelphia Flyers

Paul Holmgren is either a genius or a fool. There’s no middle ground when you trade your 26 year old franchise player (Mike Richards) and turn the team over to a 37 year old (Chris Pronger). It’s a ballsy move. Trading one dimensional sniper, Jeff Carter to Columbus was probably the right move. But missing out on Tomas Vokoun, who signed with the Caps for 1 year/$1.5 mill, makes the 9 year contract Philly gave to Ilya Bryzgalov look silly. Especially since Vokoun is a much better goalie than Bryz.

Greg Sherman – Colorado Avalanche***

Sorry folks, I forgot to add this bum (I write these posts at like 1-2am). Thanks to our readers for pointing it out.

Sherman traded away Chris Stewart, a rare combo of goal scoring ability and size along with Kevin Shattenkirk and a conditional second round pick, to the St. Louis Blues for Erik Johnson, Jay McClement and a conditional first round pick. 

Still that trade wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the move for Capital’s goalie Semyon Varlamov, whom he traded for with a first-round pick in 2012 and a second-rounder in 2012 or 2013. Varlamov is mediocre at best.

Close call…

I was going to nominate Bryan Murray of the Ottawa Senators, another team that just can’t ever put it together, but they finally woke the f- up and started to rebuild this past year. Somehow Murray got a 1st round pick for Mr. Carrie Underwood (aka Mike Fischer) and a 2nd round pick for Chris Kelly. So he escaped being branded for now…

Anyway, feel free to disagree. The choice is ultimately yours people, so let’s put one of these guys in The Sin Bin…

[poll id="56"]

The Sin Bin – Final Tally

So with the offseason nearing the end, so to is The Sin Bin. We decided to wrap this up for the summer, since we will have more pressing issues to focus on as we near the start of the season. Besides, how many times could we possibly put Section 121 into The Sin Bin anyway? Hopefully next summer someone else will step up and out-stupefy him.

Just kidding we bro. You know we love ya!

The final best comment winner was Matt J, so he will again have a crack at a guest post. The quote…

I was thinking (moving the Isles) to maybe the Yukon territories. Maybe the team could travel by dog sled or something…

Headed to The Sin Bin for the worst comment (his second nod) is Harlem Blue.

The PUNK ASS Mayor never put Yankee or Citi Field up for public vote. It never would have past!

Harlem Blue beat Bruce Garrioch, who called me out on twitter, by a single vote! Bummer. Have no fear, I will get under Brucey Boys skin again

Welcome To The Sin Bin Garrioch

If you’re not following me on twitter, you’re missing out on mediocre, but well known hockey writers throwing jabs at one of you’re favorite (and most likely best dressed) Rangers blogger. This week, Bruce Garrioch takes on The Suit in The Sin Bin. Loser has to give up covering hockey for Women’s Basketball…

More importantly, this past week frequent Sin Bin candidate, Mikeyyyy, finally climbed out of the dark hole of worst comments to take his first win in Best Comment Of The Week. Don’t forget to get us a post!

The quote…

And most players can’t play with broken testicles like Girardi did last year – Mikeyyyy

Headed to the Sin Bin is some dude named Dave, but not the Dave who has a trail of puck bunnies stalking him on the LIRR asking for his autograph. Oh the joys of creating Blue Seat Blogs…

Evil Dave’s comment…

90% of (Callahan’s) goals anyone with 2 hands can score right in front of the net either an open net off a rebound or a great pass right to him!

Twitter Giveaway!

So Chris and I find ourselves with a lot of memorabilia that we want to share with fans of the blog.  After all, it is you all that keep us “in business”.  So if you want free stuff, here’s what you need to do.

1. If you don’t have Twitter, sign up for free.

2. Follow Chris (@NYR_Jugs88) and myself (@BlueSeatBlogs)

3. After following us, tweet the following messages (minus the quotes):

“RT and follow @BlueSeatBlogs for a chance to win an 8×10 autographed photo of Sean Avery.”
“RT and follow @NYR_Jugs88 for a chance to win a game used puck signed by Petr Prucha.”

4. Remember, you must tweet BOTH messages AND follow us both to be entered. These are two separate competitions, so if you only follow and tweet one message, then you are only entered into one contest.  If you tweet and don’t follow, you aren’t entered.  If you follow and don’t tweet, you aren’t entered.  Fairly straight forward.  Both contests will end at 5pm EST.

5. A little about the prizes:  Both prizes are purchased through Steiner Sports, thus come with a certificate of authenticity.

Suit unfortunately has no memorabilia, but he does have a spare tie if you ask him nicely.  Make sure you follow him on Twitter as well (@thehockeysuit) and ask him about pleated pants.