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By Zach Schiff  November 4, 2009, at 12:21 pm  The last two times that the Edmonton Oilers faced the Rangers, the Rangers lost in a shootout. Last time, they fired 42 shots on net and scored on only 2 – on a backup goaltender. Ah, the Tom Renney era…
Well, tomorrow, the Rangers meet Tom Renney again, and while not many current players were there for a lot of his reign (Henrik Lundqvist and Michal Rozsival were the only ones there from his first full season in 2005-06), it should be an emotional night for him. Imagine if the game were at Madison Square Garden?
 While I rip on Renney a lot here, I do think he was a very good coach, and I’m sure he will be sometime soon. There are a few coaches who will “always be a Ranger,” no matter where they wind up coaching or working. Mike Keenan, though he only had 1 season, is one of them. Renney is another.
No coach could have done what he did after the lockout. He took a team destined to fail -at least according to the experts – and brought them into the playoffs, one point away from winning the division. He got 123 points out of Jaromir Jagr – a man who would have refused to return to the NHL if he wasn’t playing for Renney in New York, he once said. He turned a team of veterans – Rucchin, Jagr, Straka, Rucinsky, Kasparaitis, Nylander – and young no-names – Jay Ward, Ortmeyer, Dom Moore, Hollweg, Orr, Prucha, Betts – into a contender.
I still say that if not for the Olympics, the Rangers could have gone far that year. Jagr and Lundqvist came back injured – Jagr with hip and groin problems, Hank with headaches from grinding his teeth. And then there was Sandis Ozolinsh, who seemed like a good trade at first until he came apart in the Devils’ series and cost the team 2 games.
Still, Renney was a huge part of the rebuilding process. While they rebuilt, he brought them into the playoffs. He just wasn’t a good fit for the team last year and going forward. His style had stopped working, and he continued to play people based on their paychecks rather than skill (see: Wade Redden on the power play while Petr Prucha sat in street clothes).
For all the good he did, he will be remembered for 2 things: being fired when the team couldn’t score and for Game 5 in Buffalo, where Fedor Tyutin and rookie Dan Girardi were on the ice with 30 seconds left with a 1-0 lead. When they iced the puck, Tyutin and Girardi had to stay on, they couldn’t clear the puck, and Chris Drury scored.
Besides that being the one game that still upsets my stomach (and the only time I ever lost sleep over a sports event), you know that if they won that game and went up 3-2 in the series, they would not have lost Game 6 at MSG. I’m not saying they would have won the Stanley Cup – hell, they might not even have beaten Ottawa in the Conference Finals – but they would have beaten Buffalo. And maybe Chris Drury never would’ve been signed the following summer, and maybe everything would’ve been different.
But this is how it’s played out, and I wish Tom Renney the best in Edmonton – no matter how often I make fun of his healthy scratches or his power play.
By Zach Schiff October 19, 2009, at 10:43 pm It appears I’m alone over on this website as Islanders Writer Bryan celebrates the birth of Baby #2. He doesn’t answer any of his texts, no matter how funny I am, or how hilarious the picture I send him is. And no, rumors the baby being named Avery Henrika are greatly blown out of proportion.
Without further ado…
4 Reasons I Think Tom Renney Was Coaching Tonight’s Game vs. San Jose Instead of John Tortorella…
1) The first clue I had that Mr. Renney was behind the bench and not Mr. Tortorella was that Steve Valiquette wasn’t pulled after the 4th goal was given up. Mr. Tortorella would have put in Henrik Lundqvist at that point, regardless of whose fault the goal was. He would have switched goalies to wake his team up. This inkling that Mr. Renney was coaching tonight was only made stronger when the game became 5-2 and Valiquette stayed in net.
2) The 2nd clue was the Intermission Switch. Classic Tom Renney right there. Mr. Renney doesn’t switch goalies mid-period. He waits until the 2nd intermission, then sends the new goalie out. He doesn’t like to hurt anyone’s feelings.
2) Michal Rozsival and Wade Redden were defensive partners for much of the game, especially at 4-2 and 5-2. Mr. Tortorella would never do that, he has too much sense. However, Mr. Renney still seems to be relying on players’ salaries, not players’ skills, to win the game.
3) The 4th line was on the ice in the 3rd period. While Mr. Tortorella “shortens the bench” when he wants to win the game. In previous seasons, Mr. Renney often would use Colton Orr, Blair Betts, and whoever else was on the 4th line to “shut down the opposition” while they added no offensive value whatsoever. Notice tonight’s 4 shifts in the 3rd period for Donnie Brashear when they needed a goal.
4) Petr Prucha didn’t play tonight for the Rangers. That’s a staple of Mr. Renney’s reign.
No, of course, I jest. There are 3 reasons I know Tom Renney didn’t coach the Rangers tonight…
1) He works in Edmonton, and Edmonton won a 2-1 game. If that doesn’t scream Tom Renney, I don’t know what does.
2) Redden and Rozsival played a grand total of 0 seconds on the power play. If this was a Renney Game, they each would’ve had time at the point, passing up on shots, missing the net, and letting the puck bounce over their sticks and out of the zone.
3) Jed Ortmeyer scored tonight. He never scored in a Tom Renney game!
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Redden and Rozsival were especially atrocious tonight. Any good that Redden did in those games against Toronto was washed away tonight. He wasn’t physical (okay, he did land one check when he fell onto a Shark); he couldn’t pass the puck correctly; he let people fly by him. To those who say I’m too harsh on him, were you watching this game?
When either of them are on the ice, I want the Garden fans to chant “AHL! AHL!”
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That said, I did see two firsts at MSG tonight. One was my first Michael Del Zotto #4 jersey – the first of many, no doubt. (I saw my first Matt Gilroy #97 jersey Wednesday against the Kings).
The other first? The first time I ever saw a Wade Redden #6 jersey on a Ranger fan. Don’t believe me? Look!
Wade Redden’s cousin, or nephew, or some other family member, at Madison Square Garden. 10/19/09
By Zach Schiff October 5, 2009, at 11:59 pm Here are 4 reasons I don’t like when Ranger games are on Versus:
1) Doc Emerick annoys me. Not just his homer-ism for the Devils – I understand that, and he leaves a lot of it behind when the game is on national TV – but the way he talks, his phrasing, his know-it-all attitude. I know a ton of you will disagree with me, but it’s one reason I don’t like watching Versus games.
2) It’s one big advertisement. I didn’t notice it as much tonight, but last year, it seemed like every 10 seconds I was being force-fed a Bud Light or rodeo commercial.
3) My DirecTV doesn’t carry Versus anymore, so I have to find watch the game elsewhere.
4) It’s one big power play. It always seems that every game on Versus has more penalties called than regular games that are only on local TV. I would imagine that the referees are conditioned to call more penalties than normal for these games so that “fringe fans” can see more power plays and goals, but it really screws over the real fans who are only watching Versus because MSG or MSG+ doesn’t show the game. They make those phantom calls all game long, much like when a team is playing the Penguins.
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- I saw someone speed down the ice to make a defense play. As I tried to see the number on the back of the jersey, my mind only had 3 names in mind: Callahan, Dubinsky, or Lisin. magine my surprise tonight when the number read “22″ and the name on the jersey was “Boyle.” It’s looking like Aaron Voros will be the odd man out when Sean Avery returns.
- Speaking of Brandon Dubinsky, he looks like a beast out there. Besides his scoring, his skating looks excellent and he’s stronger on the puck this season than last. However, don’t get too excited. Remember how awesome he was last year in the beginning? He had 12 points in 13 games in October ‘08 before dropping off the planet. That probably won’t happen as dramatically this year, but it’s still something to think about.
- I wanted Alexei Semenov to be a Ranger this year, and I felt bad that he wanted to be a Ranger, Glen Sather wanted him to, and John Tortorella wanted him to, but his wife nixed it. However, I don’t think that a 7th defenseman is entirely necessary right now. Matt Gilroy has been playing great and scored his first goal tonight; Marc Staal and Dan Girardi aren’t lighting it up, but they haven’t been messing up; and Mike Del Zotto has looked great. He scored the past 2 games, and he had two open nets in the Penguins game where he just couldn’t get his stick on the puck. Plus, he’s manning the point on the power play pretty well considering he’s a 19 year old who was thrown into the fire.
- What happens if and when the Rangers do find a 7th defenseman? One would hope that Wade Redden or Michal Rozsival would take a seat, but would Sather let Tortorella do that? One of Tom Renney’s big mistakes was not only never sitting either of them, but relying on them for the power play. Tortorella isn’t relying on them, per se, but he is using them on the 2nd unit, which is a huge mistake. I know he said he didn’t watch many Ranger games before he took over last year, but didn’t he hear about why Renney got fired?
By Zach Schiff September 19, 2009, at 3:15 pm I’m back from Las Vegas (mid-September and still 100 degrees!) and I received a 2-for-1 in the week I was gone. Not only was Dany Heatley traded, but Phil Kessel was as well, leaving September only for training camp, and no drama.
I’m just brainstorming, but let’s say for argument’s sake, the 6 defensemen who make the Rangers roster for opening night are: Michal Rozsival, Wade Redden, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, Mike del Zotto, and Matt Gilroy. Not a huge stretch, right? Sure, you could possibly sub Bobby Sanguinetti in for del Zotto, but that has no effect on my point today.
The newspaper today said that Rozsival and Redden would be top pairing, like they were together for most of last season. My question is: Why?
Now, it’s well-documented that I am against having Redden and Rozsival on the team simply because this is a Salary Cap Era. If there was no Cap, then having a waste of space like Wade Redden on the team would simply be par for the course. They’d demote him to 3rd-line pairing or send him to Hartford, and spend big money on someone better than him.
Of course, since his $6.5M/year is looming large for the next 5 years, he has no choice but to play. And of course, it ultimately cost Tom Renney his job, as Renney’s over-reliance on him led to his downfall.
Same for Rozsival. While I may personally like Rozsival and think he is a decent defenseman, he in no way warrants $5M/year, Salary Cap Era or not.
So why pair them together? They were horrendous separately and together last year. Plus, by doing that, you are putting 2 pairs of “kids” on the blueline.
Girardi and Staal should be a tandem. They were last year often, they play well together, one is a lefty, one is a righty. Both broke into the league near the same time and both a re equally as good as the other.
So that leaves Del Zotto and Gilroy, two rookies together, no?
I say John Tortorella should put Gilroy with either Redden or Rozsival, and Del Zotto with the other one. That way the future top-pairing could learn from the veterans, who could (hopefully) cover the mistakes the rookies make.
Couldn’t hurt, right?
My ideal pairings…
Redden – Gilroy (Redden is a left-handed shot, Gilroy a right-handed shot)
Staal – Girardi (Staal, lefty; Girardi, righty)
Del Zotto – Rozsival (Del Zotto, lefty; Rozsival, righty)
I mean, it’s not like Redden and Rozsival were so dominant last season that breaking them up would be disastrous. They aren’t MacInnis-Suter, Leetch-Beukeboom, or Stevens-Neidermayer. Hell, they aren’t even Staal-Girardi. They’re one step better than the pre-lockout pairing of Vladimir Malakhov and Boris Mironov.
It worked 2 years ago when Staal paired with Paul Mara. Why not let the rookies learn from the veterans? At the very least, they could learn what not to do.
By Zach Schiff July 16, 2009, at 1:35 am Of course, no Ranger games will be played at the Coliseum next season. Got to save those for weeknights since they’ll close-to-sell-out anyway. No need to waste a Saturday where you’ll sell 14,000 tickets anyway, no matter who the opponent. I was right about that.
I was wrong, however, when I predicted that 80% of their last 10 games would be division rivals. In fact, only half are, and we get to see that always exciting “Florida road trip” in April. Whoa, Schedule Makers, I’ll make sure I take my heart medicine, because that’s one to get the blood pumping!
And of course, what season would be complete without a home & home versus Philadelphia?
When the Penguins won the Cup, an avid and eager reader of this website, Dan, sent a string of angry text messages. One of them predicted that the Rangers would be the opponent when the Penguins raise the Stanley Cup banner to the rafters. Indeed, a short month later, his Nostradamus-like prediction is in fact a reality. I’m not mad. First of all, it’s a crappy thing to get mad about. Second of all, maybe watching it will light an illusionary fire under the arses of certain Rangers players and get them going.
When the Rangers were awful in 2002-03, I wanted to send a mail to MSG. Specifically, I wanted to mail it to Gord Dwyer. I figured he never got any fan mail, so he would atleast open it, as opposed to sending it to Mark Messier or Tom Poti (it would have been lost in Poti’s hatemail). I wanted to send him the video tape of “Oh Baby!” which was the highlights of the 1993-94 season, from playing in Europe to winning the Cup in Game 7. I figured it would start a fire under him, and he would show it to everyone and they would then be inspired to reach for glory.
Alas, I never sent it, the Rangers missed the playoffs, and I’ve blamed myself ever since. So maybe the banner-raising ceremony in Steeltown will be the “Oh Baby!” that is still sitting on my desk upstairs in my room.
A few notes…
In 2005-06, the Rangers played a very short February also, due to the Olympics. They played 6 games and won all of them, 5 in regulation and 1 in overtime on a Jaromir Jagr goal (from Martin Rucinsky and Michal Rozsival… ah, to be Czech in America). This year, that’s do-able as well. Six games, 4 at home, including the Lightning and Predators.
With 24 games vs. the Atlantic, 40 vs. the rest of the East, and 15 against the West, that leaves them playing 3 Western teams twice this year. If I remember from last year, they played Chicago twice, Dallas twice, and the Ducks twice. This year’s repeat offenders are St. Louis, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.
No “California Trip” this year, since their only game out there is against LA. That trip sees them in Phoenix, Colorado, then LA. The “Florida Trip” not only happens near the end of the season, but the Rangers also make the same trip during Thanksgiving week, as they do every year (Panthers on Thanksgiving Eve, Lightning on Black Friday).
They do have a Western Canada trip, though, as they play Calgary, Vancouver, and Edmonton in early November. Mark that down as a loss, as they normally do awful on that road trip. That will also be Tom Renney’s first – and only – meeting with his old team. They also stop in Minnesota before hitting Canada.
Don’t bank on any romantic Friday evenings at the Garden. The Rangers have 6 road games on a Friday (including the opener in Pittsburgh) but if you want to see them in the City on a Friday, you’ll have to wait until the last home game of the year, 4/9/10 (looks weird to write!) against the Flyers.
Three home games that my girlfriend will kill me if I don’t sell my tickets: 11/21 vs. Florida, her birthday; 2/14 vs. Tampa Bay, Valentine’s Day; and 3/18 vs. St. Louis, our anniversary.
Possible road trips: October 24 & January 23, Montreal; December 9, Chicago; December 17, Philadelphia; January 9 & March 21, Boston; March 6, Washington; March 27, Toronto; December 21 & 31, Carolina. Sadly, no trip to Nashville is in the works, atleast not for a hockey game.
By Zach Schiff June 20, 2009, at 12:15 am With a 2-week lull between the Stanley Cup Finals and the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, it’s time to look back on what happened in March of 2004 during the week of the trade deadline. I wanted to post this around this year’s deadline, but there was a lot of action going around and it would’ve gotten lost in the flood.
It seemed every time I looked online, or at ESPNews, or in the newspaper, they made another deal. (Remember, no beat writers had blogs back then, and this delicious website wasn’t around for another 4 years.) In total, 7 Ranger trades were made in that week…
March 2, 2004
- Alex Kovalev to Montreal for Jozef Balej and 2004 2nd round pick.
:: A great move to dump Kovalev’s high salary before the cap was implemented, as essentially this was a cap-saving move. Balej should’ve been great. He had a goal and 4 assists in 13 games with NY and 16 points in 16 during the AHL playoffs, but his lockout year was very poor in the AHL. Balej was eventually sent to the Canucks for Fedor Fedorov, who eventually became a punchline and an empty roster spot.
The 2nd rounder became Dane Byers. Byers was hurt much of this year (7 points, 9 games) but his past season stats and scouting reports suggest he’d be a replacement for Blair Betts if Betts doesn’t return. He might have a decent NHL career but will never be a superstar. (I have also heard Byers’ name as a possible replacement to Colton Orr – a grinder with better hockey skills than Orr – but it was purely speculation.)
March 3, 2004
- Petr Nedved and Jussi Markkanen to Edmonton for Dwight Helminen, Steve Valiquette, and 2nd round pick in 2004.
:: Nedved did good in Edmonton but they didn’t make the playoffs and he never played there again. Markkanen played in Game 7 of the Finals in 2005-06.
Valiquette was a throw-in here. He was a big goalie with not much skill but he was re-signed as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup because he was cheap. Benoit Allaire also helped a lot with him, and he has become a dedicated Ranger and a solid backup when called upon, especially against the Flyers.
Helminen is now a bubble player with Carolina, being called up when injury strikes. Not a big loss with him not in the Rangers system.
That draft pick became Brandon Dubinsky, one of the bright spots in the Rangers’ future, regardless of his inability to hit the back of the net for long stretches at a time.
- Brian Leetch to Toronto for Jarkko Immonen, Maxim Kondratiev, 1st round pick in ‘04, 2nd round pick in ‘05.
:: A king’s ransom for the greatest American defenseman of all-time that didn’t really pan out for either team. Toronto traded their futures for Leetch (and Ron Francis) and lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs.
Immonen was slow and underutilized by Tom Renney, scored 8 points in 20 games (aka Chris Drury numbers, quick, sign Immonen for 5 years!), and now plays overseas.
Kondratiev was a bust and quite frankly not NHL material. He was traded to Anaheim in January of 2006 for Petr Sykora, which was a great move for the Rangers. Sykora went 15-16-31 in 40 games and loved his time as a Ranger. This would have been considered a strong move if he was re-signed, but despite waiting until August to hear from GM Glen Sather, he never wore Rangers blue again.
The 1st round pick in 2004 was Lauri Korpikoski, who shows some good moves sometimes, but is either too slow, too mis-used, or not 1st round material. He could be, and I might be wrong. Next year is a big point for him, as other 1st rounders that year are already materializing. Korpikoski was picked at 19th. Still available at that point: Travis Zajac (20th), Wojtek Wolski (21), and Mike Green (29).
The 2005 2nd rounder was Mike Sauer, a good AHL player who had a cup of coffee with the big club this year. He looks to be trade-bait with a depth of good D-men in the system already (Staal, Girardi, Sanguenetti, Del Zotto, Potter) and two big contracts taking up space in the NHL (Redden, Rozsival).
March 6, 2004
- Chris Simon to Calgary for Blair Betts, Greg Moore, Jamie McLennan
:: The Rangers needed a goalie to play out the season with Markkanen gone, and McLennan played in 4 of those games, going 1-3. After that season, he played 19 more NHL games in 2 years and retired after a season in the Asian Hockey League. Yes, Asian. He went 8-4 in the Orient and decided to hang ‘em up.
Moore probably won’t get a real shot in the NHL, but he is a good asset to have and has played admirably when called up.
Betts, well, you know Betts. Best penalty killer in the league, good centerman, not terribly offensive, good team player, never complains, took a cheap shot in the playoffs and broke his face.
- Vladimir Malakhov to Philadelphia for Rick Kozak, 2nd round pick in 2005.
:: Malakhov’s stats decreased from the Rangers to Flyers to Devils, and he eventually left the NHL. Kozak never did anything in any league, and now plays in England.
That draft pick got moved around a lot and eventually became Marc-Andre Cliche, who was traded to the Kings in March 2007 for Sean Avery.
March 8, 2004
- Matthew Barnaby and a 3rd round pick in ‘04 for David Liffiton, Chris McAllister, and a 2nd round pick in ‘04.
:: McAllister was a decent NHL player who played in the NHL for the last time in 03-04. Liffiton is currently playing in Denmark after 3 career NHL games with the Rangers.
The draft pick was traded to Florida and the Rangers eventually drafted Bruce Graham out of it, who is currently in the ECHL after never doing well in Hartford.
March 9, 2004
On the actual day of the deadline, the Rangers only made two moves.
- Greg de Vries traded to Ottawa for Karel Rachunek and Alex Giroux.
:: It was obvious that de Vries wasn’t going to be back after the lockout, and he had horrible numbers (15 points in 53 games, which by the 08-09 standards would’ve been phenomenal), so he was shipped for a roster player and a prospect. Rachunek played in Russia during 05-06, but came back in 06-07, and most Rangers fans agree he should’ve stayed. He had 20 assists but was absolutely atrocious defensively.
Giroux, however, was let go during the summer of 2006 and signed with Washington. He then went to Atlanta and was traded back to Washington, and he has lit it up in the AHL. He had 28 points in 22 games in Hershey’s march to the AHL title, and he had 60 goals in 69 games during the regular season. The Rangers probably should’ve held on to this guy instead of signing “talent” such as Mitch Fritz. Giroux broke Brett Hull’s record for most consecutive games with a goal when he scored in 15 straight games. He won the AHL MVP as well.
- Martin Rucinsky traded to Vancouver for R.J. Umberger and Martin Grenier.
:: Rucinsky was a true rental for Vancouver as he returned to Broadway after the lockout and had great numbers in an injury-riddled season (55 points in 52 games). He did nothing in the playoffs (2 in 7) for the Canucks. Grenier played in Hartford, Charlotte, and 3 games for the Flyers, and now is in the KHL.
Umberger, however, was another prospect who went away. In 07-08, he had 50 points in Philadelphia in 74 games before falling to 46 in a full season with Columbus this year. Still, he would’ve been good to have on board as a center and maybe the Rangers wouldn’t have gone out on 7/1/07 and spent $14M on 2 overrated centers.
Overall
Isn’t that how it always works with the Rangers? The crappy players stay and the good talent is let go. That explains why Marc Savard is now in Boston (he was traded for Jan Hlavac and the pick that became Jamie Freakin’ Lundmark). It also explains why, at one point, Dale Purinton was the most-tenured Ranger.
The best trades for the Rangers were getting Brandon Dubinsky and Steve Valiquette for Nedved/Markkanen, and ditching the dead weight of Simon for Blair Betts, who has helped offensively-challenged teams by keeping the other teams from scoring. Besides Henrik Lundqvist, Betts is the one most responsible for those 2-1 wins.
The worst was sending Barnaby away for Liffiton, McAllister, and Graham. Not that losing Barnaby was a huge disadvantage, but they basically got nothing for him – 2 mid-level prospects and a retiring veteran to play out the season.
I have no interesting way to end this, because it’s late and I’ve been working all day, so I will just like to remind everyone that the Rangers actually traded Brian Leetch for Maxim Kondratiev. Hell, I wouldn’t even trade a retired Leetch for Kondratiev!
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While I rip on Renney a lot here, I do think he was a very good coach, and I’m sure he will be sometime soon. There are a few coaches who will “always be a Ranger,” no matter where they wind up coaching or working. Mike Keenan, though he only had 1 season, is one of them. Renney is another.
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