One of the most remarkable postseason runs in sports history ended Wednesday night when the Philadelphia Flyers lost 4-3 in overtime to the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. Chris Pronger, Mike Richards and the seventh-seeded Flyers overcame tremendous odds just to get this far.

Posted under Nhl

If you've been watching the Chicago Blackhawks ' playoff run on national television, then you've...

Posted under Nhl

July 1st isn’t just Canada Day, it’s also the first day of the NHL unrestricted free agency period. I’ll be updating this throughout the evening if the team does anything else. Later on, I’ll add more in-depth analysis of the moves.

9:00 PM – Looks like the Rangers re-signed Steve Valiquette, so he’ll continue to be Henrik Lundqvist’s backup. That’s one I can agree with. I’ll be back later with any further news, as well as some analysis of this…interesting day.

8:20 PM – Sam Weinman, beat writer from The Journal News, just posted on his blog that the Rangers were not done tonight and that other moves could be on the way.

7:45 PM – So let me get this straight…this team signed BOTH Redden and Rozsival, and also signed Rissmiller and Voros.

I don’t get it. Either they’ve lost their mind, OR, they’re going to pull off a move. Maybe they package a guy like Fedor Tyutin, who I believe will be overpaid under the extension they gave him, with a Nigel Dawes or a Petr Prucha or a Ryan Callahan, as well as a prospect or a pick for a better forward.

I don’t know. Where does this leave them as far as Jaromir Jagr and Mats Sundin are concerned?

I’m confused.

7:38 PM – Now, according to TSN’s Bob Mckenzie, the Rangers have also signed Wade Redden to a contract worth an average of $6.5 million per season over six years. Wow. More on this later.

7:30 PM – In other news, defenseman Brian Campbell signed with the Chicago Blackhawks, cashing in on a huge eight-year contract worth just over $7 million per season. Let’s just have a collective sigh of relief that the Rangers wisely declined to pursue this guy.

Meanwhile, Mats Sundin, who the Rangers still have eyes for apparently, has been offered a two-year, $20 million contract by the Vancouver Canucks, but don’t expect the Sundin saga to be resolved today. I wouldn’t be surprised if it took a week, maybe more, for Sundin to make his decision.

Never say never, though.

The Devils signed 35-year-old Brian Rolston to a four-year, $20 million contract, but they also re-signed Jay Pandalfo, as well as others, and brought back Bobby Holik for one season at $2.5 million.

7:00 PM – Well, the day isn’t done yet, but so far the Rangers have made three moves. For the record, I’m not particularly pleased with any of them.

The most notable move the Rangers have made so far was re-signing their own defenseman, Michal Rozsival, to a four-year, $20 million dollar contract, which averages out to a cap hit of $5 million per year.

I’ve said before that Rozsival is a decent defenseman, but not a top pairing defenseman and I really don’t think he was worthy of $5 million per season. I understand that a lot of guys are getting overpaid, but that just seems like a million dollars to much for a guy who, as this team has learned, is not the answer in terms of running a power play. Maybe if Jagr leaves it might have an effect on Rozsival’s game, I don’t know. More on him later.

The Rangers also signed two bruising wingers prior to the Rozsival signing, as they picked up Aaron Voros and then later Patrick Rissmiller.

Voros is a 26-year-old coming off his rookie year with the Minnesota Wild, where he was an early season call-up who was a scratch down the stretch. The terms of the contract appear to point to a three-year deal, with Voros earning $1 million per year.

Rissmiller spent two full seasons, and parts of two others, with the San Jose Sharks. The 29-year-old Massachusetts native has scored 18 goals and 45 points in 180 NHL games. The team also officially announced the signing of Swedish agitator Andreas Jämtin.

No terms are yet available for either Rissmiller or Jämtin.

I’ll have more as it happens.

Posted under 2008 Off-Season

No the Rangers didn’t get anyone big, but it’s still a trade. Here’s the release:

New York, October 11, 2007 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has acquired right wing Pierre Parenteau from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a conditional seventh round draft pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Parenteau, 24, skated in 68 matches with the Portland Pirates and Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL) last season, registering 30 goals and 49 assists for 79 points, along with 47 penalty minutes. His 79 points tied for ninth overall in the AHL last season. He also appeared in five games for the Chicago Blackhawks, tallying one assist, along with two penalty minutes.

A native of Hull, Quebec, Parenteau has appeared in 266 career matches with Cincinnati, Portland and Norfolk (AHL), registering 83 goals and 116 assists for 199 points, along with 167 penalty minutes. He also skated in 41 post-season matches with Cincinnati, Portland and Norfolk (AHL), registering 10 goals and 20 assists for 30 points, along with 40 penalty minutes.

The 5-11, 195-pound winger was originally Anaheim’s ninth round choice, 264th overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Madison Square Garden, L.P. is owned by Cablevision Systems Corporation, and includes the New York Knicks (NBA); the New York Rangers (NHL); the New York Liberty (WNBA); the Hartford Wolf Pack (American Hockey League); MSG Entertainment, which includes concerts and events at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, The WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, and the Beacon Theatre; MSG Media, which is comprised of MSG and FSN New York; fuse, the music television network; and the Madison Square Garden arena complex, located in the heart of the New York metropolitan area.

Posted under Blog