Well if I had to guess, I'm gonna say its the stomach bug that's going around. I had it, and think I have a permanent toilet seat impression on my ass. Freaking horrible.
- mdw7413

With the luck he has had so far, it could be anything...

Don't take offense to this but thats easy for you to say when your team is among the best every year and we are always in that in between area. When you have 2 or the best 3 or 4 players in the universe its easy to say that.
- Blueshirts4ever

I've been a Pens fan since I was 8/9 yrs old in the early 90's. I know how lucky we are to have players like Malkin and Crosby. Some fans go their entire life without seeing one player of the caliber and i've been lucky enough to see 4 (Mario, Jagr, Crosby, Malkin).

Still, I think GM's should view their team less as an entertainment complex and more as a business. Sometimes that means facing a hard truth that you have to step back, re-capitalize, and then make a big push forward. Losing a Top-4 Dman playing 22min/night and your Captain for nothing is just too rough for my blood. I believe very strongly in a GM always needing to be smart in asset management, no matter what. Losing Callahan and Girdardi for nothing would be terrible asset management in my opinion.

Pat Leonard ‏@PLeonardNYDN 3m
Rangers say Marc Staal's wife had a baby girl this morning. He's more than OK for tonight #NYR

Pat Leonard ‏@PLeonardNYDN 3m
Rangers say Marc Staal's wife had a baby girl this morning. He's more than OK for tonight #NYR
- jimbro83

Congratulations to Marc and his wife!!

I wonder if a team would pony up and try and adquire them both to take a real run at it by shaking up their rosters and tryign to slide into the playoffs in the hopes to make some noise

Jets or Sens maybe?
- DDM-Coga

Jets? It'l cost them Evander Kane and a great draft pick, or two...or three.

Problem with that is the Rangers are in playoff position and could possibly come out with a first round home ice advantage. Not sure why anyone would tank a season and load up on prospect at this point in the year.
- mames11

The question I would ask myself if I was Glen Sather is "Do I truly believe that my team will make the Playoffs and can beat the Penguins, Bruins, and/or Lightning in a 7-game series?"

If the answer is 'Yes,' I hold on to both Girardi and Callahan even if I lose them as UFA's for nothing as anything can happen in the Cup Finals against, say, the Ducks, Blackhawks, Kings, or Blues. If the answer is 'No,' I move them as for whatever assets I can get.

Jets? It'l cost them Evander Kane and a great draft pick, or two...or three.
- mames11

I wouldnt put it past the Jets, they are playing great hockey without Kane, who has been a band-aid this season. If they are getting the job done without him, maybe they look at moving guys like Kane and Buff who dont seem to have a role under the Maurice coached jets.

The question I would ask myself if I was Glen Sather is "Do I truly believe that my team will make the Playoffs and can beat the Penguins, Bruins, and/or Lightning in a 7-game series?"

If the answer is 'Yes,' I hold on to both Girardi and Callahan even if I lose them as UFA's for nothing as anything can happen in the Cup Finals against, say, the Ducks, Blackhawks, Kings, or Blues. If the answer is 'No,' I move them as for whatever assets I can get.
- s0rcerer1984

Anything can happen in a 7-game series. Plus, the Rangers play those teams rather well; even when their game was a mess. The way they are playing now, they can beat anyone in a 7-game series.

Pat Leonard @PLeonardNYDN
Rangers say Marc Staal's wife had a baby girl this morning. He's more than OK for tonight\

Why do I even try to compete!! I am in the lottery when it comes to quick posting lol

I wouldnt put it past the Jets, they are playing great hockey without Kane, who has been a band-aid this season. If they are getting the job done without him, maybe they look at moving guys like Kane and Buff who dont seem to have a role under the Maurice coached jets.
- DDM-Coga

Obviously picking up an Evander Kane helps but I'm one of the few that doesn't like Big Buff

Pat Leonard @PLeonardNYDN
Rangers say Marc Staal's wife had a baby girl this morning. He's more than OK for tonight\

Why do I even try to compete!! I am in the lottery when it comes to quick posting lol
- Blueshirts4ever

I am like the Blackhawks of posting

Obviously picking up an Evander Kane helps but I'm one of the few that doesn't like Big Buff
- cranford93

I agree with you, Kane would be a nice get, but Buff has many holes in his game, he's regressed since leaving Chicago.

Obviously picking up an Evander Kane helps but I'm one of the few that doesn't like Big Buff
- cranford93

Im not sold on Buff either, but I think they move him to obtain a forward .
They have a boat load of Dmen right now, and Morrissey is their prize D Prospect as well. I think they have the D assets to make a move like that

Anything can happen in a 7-game series. Plus, the Rangers play those teams rather well; even when their game was a mess. The way they are playing now, they can beat anyone in a 7-game series.
- mames11

I see this kinda stuff as exactly the wrong thing a GM should think. In a cold caclulating way I think Sather needs to look at his team and decide if they can with 7-game series against the likes of the Penguins, Bruins, and Lightning. If not, then move the assets. If yes, retain them and lose them for nothing via UFA. No "Anything can happen in the Playoffs" or "They can beat anyone they way thet are playing now" as a GM.

I have a different take on this. I'll preface by saying I could actually be callahans biggest fan. Lol. (And i really havent seen this said) But I say this about most athletes so its not bias. But if I'm Callahan I'd be demanding the same thing. He sees what these players get...it's the owners fault anyway. He's got one big contract his whole life coming to him..he's worked his whole life to get it. That time is now..He's taking way to much heat on these blogs in my opinion. He's not the bad guy in this. Alot of venom thrown his way. Anyone that says anything negative about cally right now should put themselves in his skates. He's done alot for this org and he feels the same way...rightfully.

People saying sh!t like "good riddance"? (Not here) Gimme a break

Edit: I donot think he deserves what he's asking...but that's a completely different argument
- Slimtj100

Few people here have said anything resembling "good riddance," that I have seen. I agree with you that Callahan has every right to ask for the moon knowing he's going to get it. However, I also think the team is smart for not caving in to those demands.

As fans of Callahan and the Rangers we of course want them to come to an accord on an extension. Ideally for us fans we would see Callahan demonstrate his loyalty to the team and take less money to allow the club flexibility to surround him with more talent. That's what we would like to see because we are fans but I for one understand Callahan for not doing that for all the reasons you mentioned.

Coyotes could be an interesting team too. They are sputtering and with finally gettign ownership, they need to make the playoff to show they are committed to winning.

Yandle always gets talked about being moved, have good prospects like Gormley an Domi. They could make a splash and open up their wallets. Realistically they wont but that would be a good landing spot for the Duo

Lost in all this trade talk is that it seems like every team around us is winning. So, despite the Rangers excellent play, they can't create any comfort in the standings. The East doesn't suck anymore, and just making the playoffs will be an accomplishment.
- Pete V

The East still sucks but all of these three point games are allowing bad teams to stay in the race longer.

Pat Leonard ‏@PLeonardNYDN 3m
Rangers say Marc Staal's wife had a baby girl this morning. He's more than OK for tonight #NYR
- jimbro83

So Marc Staal will be running on no sleep tonight...

Coyotes could be an interesting team too. They are sputtering and with finally gettign ownership, they need to make the playoff to show they are committed to winning.

Yandle always gets talked about being moved, have good prospects like Gormley an Domi. They could make a splash and open up their wallets. Realistically they wont but that would be a good landing spot for the Duo
- DDM-Coga

I think the Coyotes might make a trade but I'll they will traade the like Of Murphy, Rudblad, Stone etc. They are gonna keep Domi, Samuelsson and Yandle.

I've been following the Callahan & Girardi rumors and I have to say I can certainly understand why each is unwilling to take a discount. Jan did a nice job laying out how the NYR have been willing to throw money at FA's (Richards, Gaborik, Gomez, Drury), but not their home grown talent outside of Lunquvist. After seeing those guys get paid & having earned only $19M in 9 season (Callahan) and $17.5M in 8 seasons(Girardi) I wouldn't be willing to take a discount either.

That being said, I'd let both of them go rather than hand out the contracts they are looking for. The money is too big and the length is worrisome. And in the end its not like they'd be breaking up a dynasty or a Cup winning team or losing generational talents; re-load and go at it with some fresh blood.
- s0rcerer1984

I don't think it is necessarily fair to look as far back as Drury and Gomez; that was practically a lifetime ago. With Gaborik, he is/was one of the purest goal scorers in the league and the Rangers desperately needed a player like that. As for Richards, the team needed a top-line center and he was the best by far on the market. They needed to throw a bunch of money to bring him here. The fit was obvious and he helped them get to the ECF. And let's face it; often you have to overpay a player to convince him to leave their previous team and to choose yours.

Callahan, and part of this is the fan in me talking, is a homegrown Ranger who came up from being a 4th round pick to being a key player and team captain for an original six team. I'm not saying he owes them anything but by the same token he's going to make a lot of money, a raise over what he is making currently, and if he takes a little less than market to stay he gives the club the chance to use that money to improve elsewhere and to ice a team better positioned to possibly win a Cup. If I had to guess, I would say the vast majority of players would sacrifice some cash to win the Cup.

Pat Leonard ‏@PLeonardNYDN 2m
Marc Staal only Ranger not on ice this morning at the Garden. Not sure why


- jimbro83

It's an organized protest of all the trade rumors involving Callahan!!!!

The East still sucks but all of these three point games are allowing bad teams to stay in the race longer.
- gkmkiller

I think the East is rising. When you have teams like the Flyers and Jackets go on the road to San Jose and Anaheim respectively, and come out with Ws, I think that shows how well the teams in the hunt are playing. There are alot of teams playing very good hockey right now.

Here is what I want the Rangers to do. I want them to do what ever is necessary to try to win within the next five years. I think there should be a five year plan, where the organization's decisions are motivated primarily by what gives them the best chance to win in that time period. They have a goaltender that they just signed for $8.5 million a year, who will be in his prime during that period. Personally, I can care less what happens in 2019 or 2020, and if the Rangers are going to have to take their medicine in those years, be terrible, and obtain high draft picks that is fine with me. I'm not saying that being able to compete now, and 6-7 years from now, are mutually exclusive, but I would also not be supportive of any decisions that do not place the current interests of the team (over the next 3-4 years), over the concern that a player might be done in the backend of his contract.

With the above said, this does not diminish my concern about Ryan Callahan's contract, because I believe that any cap hit over $6 million will effect the team's ability to compete for a Cup almost immediately. The Rangers are going to have to make difficult choices, even in the short term, because they are not going to be able to afford to keep everyone.

I don't think it is necessarily fair to look as far back as Drury and Gomez; that was practically a lifetime ago. With Gaborik, he is/was one of the purest goal scorers in the league and the Rangers desperately needed a player like that. As for Richards, the team needed a top-line center and he was the best by far on the market. They needed to throw a bunch of money to bring him here. The fit was obvious and he helped them get to the ECF. And let's face it; often you have to overpay a player to convince him to leave their previous team and to choose yours.

Callahan, and part of this is the fan in me talking, is a homegrown Ranger who came up from being a 4th round pick to being a key player and team captain for an original six team. I'm not saying he owes them anything but by the same token he's going to make a lot of money, a raise over what he is making currently, and if he takes a little less than market to stay he gives the club the chance to use that money to improve elsewhere and to ice a team better positioned to possibly win a Cup. If I had to guess, I would say the vast majority of players would sacrifice some cash to win the Cup.
- gkmkiller

The reason I mentioned Drury and Gomez is that both contracts were given out by Sather and 07-08 is about when Callahan and Girardi both kinda became full-time NHL's with the NYR. They played with them and obviously knew how much they were getting paid. And Sather had his reasons for paying Drury, Gomez, Gaborik, and Richards. If they didn't get those deals in NY, they'd have gotten similar ones else where.

I'm just saying I can see why both Callahan and Girardi are looking to get paid like UFA's. Neither had big rookie contracts and they haven't exatcly broken the bank up to this point in their careers. For all I know Callahan and Girardi could be thinking "I gave Sather a discount last time & now its time the team takes care of me with the new Cap space, not some out of town UFA this offseason."

I think the East is rising. When you have teams like the Flyers and Jackets go on the road to San Jose and Anaheim respectively, and come out with Ws, I think that shows how well the teams in the hunt are playing. There are alot of teams playing very good hockey right now.
- Pete V

Columbus is scary now. Bobrovsky has being playing great over the last 15 games. Johansen is putting up really good #'s and Jack Johnson is finally playing better for them. If Gaborik can give good productivity they become much better.