Latest news with #Blueshirt
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Connor McDavid And The Rangers, Plus Playoff One-Liners
1. Connor McDavid is not that far away from free agency and you know what that means to The Maven: Or do You? I'm wondering whether The Wonderman ever could become a Ranger. 2. If ex-Oilers Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Kevin Lowe and Esa Tikkanen – just to name a few – could don a Blue Shirt, why not McDavid? 3. Let's put it this way, if McD&Company do what they always do, NOT WIN THE CUP, don't you think an aging Captain Connor will start looking around. 4. There's no law against that but a performer of his immense talent might think like The Great One did; it's time to get out of town and play in a metropolis. Could be L.A. could be New York, could even be Toronto where they never hold Stanley! 5. Looking backward, one of the Rangers' biggest mistakes was not keeping Ryan Reaves as a Blueshirt. 6. Or as Bernie Rhode likes to say, "There are no lions in the Rangers lineup." 7. When the Oilers blew their third period lead last night, Sportsnets Mark Spector called it an "immature collapse." (Does that mean that there's something like a "mature collapse" in hockey?) 8. Brendan Shanahan as Prince of the Islanders kingdom is an intriguing prospect – if it happens. I interviewed Shanny after the Devils drafted him. He had confidence written all over him and the brightest green sports jacket as well. 9. We should have a better idea about what's inside – as well as outside – the Hurricanes. (Likely a lot. Then again so do the other guys." 10. If I was a Maple Leafs fan wanted my team to win The Stanley Cup next spring, I'd hope very hard that Brad Treliving unloads John Tavares. (By the way, that's not to suggest that the Leafs ever will win the prize. And I do mean EVER!)
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
A Special Playoff Tonic For Rangers Fans
The Maven knows how tough it is in Rangerville. No Blueshirt playoffs. No Sam Rosen. No Joe Michelleti. No NO QUIT IN RANGERS signs. But I have a momentary solution; the words of 1994 playoff hero Mike Richter. Here are Richter's exact words to author Ross Bernstein about what he learned – a life lesson – from the Rangers 1994 Stanley Cup-winning experience. Strange But True Rangers Tales: The Greatest One-Punch Win in Blueshirts History The greatest fight in Rangers history? It's all in Bernstein's superior book, "Raising Stanley – What It Takes To Claim Hockey's Ultimate Prize." It happens to be one of my all-time favorite books while Richter is one of my all-time favorite Rangers. (Take it away, Mike). "In 1994 we had two of our four playoff series go to seven games with a couple of games going into overtime. To survive all of that, to stay healthy and focused, requires a lot of preparation as well as a little bit of luck. "Aside from that, you have to be able to get past tough losses almost immediately. You can't dwell on that stuff, it will kill you. Great teams can overcome tough losses and rebound the next night. "It requires discipline and it's tough both mentally as well as physically, but it's paramount to success. You have to be internally motivated at this level; that is what separates those who have success and those who don't. "Skill only gets you so far in this game. It requires perseverance, dedication and focus – all things that you learn over time. Make no mistake, though, they are absolutely vital to success – not just success in hockey either, but in life!" One more thing from Mike: "Winning a championship is a fantastic thing, but being pushed in order to fulfill your potential is really the more satisfying thing at the end of the day!"
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Helping Mike Sullivan Pick A Captain For The Rangers
Robert Edwards-Imagn Images If the Rangers are to succeed in 2025-26 rather than fall on their collective faces, some significant changes must be made. One of the most egregious sins of the Chris Drury-Peter Laviolette general staff was in the area of leadership. EXCLUSIVE: A Ringing Endorsement of Mike Sullivan From A Penguins Reporter EXCLUSIVE: A Ringing Endorsement of Mike Sullivan From A Penguins Reporter The hire of Mike Sullivan as the latest Blueshirt coach has inspired all kinds of speculation in Rangerville. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Once captain Jacob Trouba was drop-kicked to California and never replaced. "The Rangers dearly needed new captain," says The Old Scout, "and the fact that they failed to do so is a major reason they lacked leadership – and missed the playoffs." We start this process by elimination. None of the rotten core deserve consideration because they either are too old, too slow, and just plain dead wood. Now The Maven is going to help Mike find the right guy for the "C." On paper, Adam Fox would seem to be an ideal candidate. He quarterbacks the power play, he's a local guy and he's an only-Ranger character. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement But as personalities go, Foxy has "negative charisma quotient," or the Square Root of Blah. (Sorry, Adam, but facts are facts." What the club desperate needs as a leader is one with the three V's – Vim, Vigor and Vitality. Now that the team aims to be younger and tougher, it tells me that Sully had better get off his tuchus, get it over with and name Young, Fighting Will Cuylle, the man of the house. He hits, he scores and he'd be the perfect pick in the new scheme of things. If there are any objections I want to hear them here and now!
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
EXCLUSIVE: A Ringing Endorsement of Mike Sullivan From A Penguins Reporter
Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images The hire of Mike Sullivan as the latest Blueshirt coach has inspired all kinds of speculation in Rangerville. And since The Maven believes in fair reporting, all sides of the story, I chose to get an X-Ray on Sullivan from a Pittsburgh reporter who has covered Sully throughout his tenure with the Penguins. How To Help Mike Sullivan Fix The Blueshirts How To Help Mike Sullivan Fix The Blueshirts The Rangers need help and that's why The Maven is here to aid and abet Mike Sullivan at no cost to Jim Dolan or Chris Drury for that matter. Vince Comunale is as fair-minded as they come so keep that in mind as you read his analysis. (Hint: By the end of this you'll be smiling.) Here's a complete analysis from Sullivan in Pittsburgh and how he'll do in New York: "Mike Sullivan coached parts of 10 seasons with the Penguins, amassing a 409-255-89 record, good for a winning percentage of .537. While a .537 winning percentage might not seem all that bad, consider that he had an average winning percentage of .642 in his first seven seasons in Pittsburgh. "However, the team's record was a paltry 112-99-35 the past three seasons with winning percentages of .555, .537, and .488, respectively, falling short of the playoffs in all three seasons. 'Did Sullivan forget how to coach? No, but he did show a bit of reluctance to insert younger players into the lineup to support the aging core of Penguins superstars. "Up until late this past season it was often the case that young players would be called up from the AHL, but then either healthy scratched or placed on the fourth line in a limited role.' It seems he had forgotten that young players like Bryan Rust, Jake Guentzel, and Conor Sheary had given the Penguins the boost they needed back in 2016 and 2017 to push them to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. "Additionally, after parts of ten seasons with Pittsburgh, it seemed as though Sullivan's message had gotten stale. Let's face it, players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson are more-than-likely just out there doing their own thing and not taking much coaching guidance. "That core four are, of course, mostly free from coaching criticism and reprimand, which also makes it difficult for a head coach. "There were numerous times the past two seasons where Karlsson should have been benched for his actions, but no coach is going to bench a three-time Norris Trophy winner. "By the close of this past season it became clear that the Penguins were in full blown rebuild mode and that Sullivan was likely not the head coach to see the team through a rebuild. Not that Sullivan is not capable of guiding a team through a rebuild, but he is a veteran head coach that is one of the most in-demand coaches in the NHL, so the mutual parting of ways did not come as a surprise. "It also did not come as a surprise that Sullivan landed a new head coaching job about a week after his tenure in PIttsburgh came to an end. "While Sullivan is inheriting a bit of a complex situation with the Rangers, he is the right person for the job. He is used to coaching superstars and used to coaching big personalities." "Additionally, he is used to coaching teams with immense talent. The situation he is inheriting with the Rangers is very similar to the one he inherited in Pittsburgh during the 2015-16 season. "The Penguins were loaded with talent and a preseason Stanley Cup favorite, but found themselves well out of a playoff spot when they made a coaching change in December of 2015. "Similarly, the Rangers are one season removed from winning the Presidents' Trophy and many of the players that contributed to that Presidents' Trophy-winning season are still on the roster. "Sullivan will get to the root of what was/is causing the discord in the Rangers' locker room and fix it. He might not guide the Rangers to a Stanley Cup Championship in his first season as he did with Pittsburgh, but it is a safe bet he will have them back in the playoffs. 'The Penguins and Rangers franchises are in two very different situations, but it is clear that it was the right time for the Penguins and Sullivan to part ways and the right time for the Rangers to hire him!"
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Incredible But True Blueshirt Tales: How The Rangers Squandered a Stanley Cup In 1950
This week those Rangers fans who were around to remember are celebrating the 75th anniversary of a major Blueshirt accomplishment – and failing. The following is the why and how of it:
