The New York newspapers already are calling him "Frodo from Modo."

Also known as the Norwegian Hobbit, 5-foot-7 Mats Zuccarello Aasen, a 22-year-old scorer from Oslo who won MVP honors last season in the Swedish Elite League, agreed to a two-year contract worth $1.8 million with the Rangers on May 26.

"It just seems like the best opportunity for me," Zuccarello Aasen told Newsday. "The Rangers told me I would have a good chance to make the team and that's what I plan to do. I'm going back to Sweden to train with MoDo and then come to New York for camp."

In 90 games over two seasons with Modo, Zuccarello Aasen netted 35 goals and totaled 104 points, including a league-best 64 points in 55 appearances last season.

Posted under Nhl

Tom Renney looked loose as a goose today as he spoke to reporters before the game.

First he mused about a “N/R’ ron the wall at the Prudential Center looked like a “NYR”

Then he spoke about the goalies he played with joking they used to drink more than the defenseman [his position].

Finally he said he was a fan of the Western Conference meaning he could watch the games and enjoy them instead of worrying about coaching.

I guess it’s good to be up 3-1, and not getting relieved of his duties, unlike his counterpart at the Garden. Mercifully Isiah Thomas was relieved of duties and will go onto his next job as a popcorn maker. [Patrons still have to pay for the food at Ranger games.]

But it will be worth it in the second round if the Blueshirts can pull of the game tonight. It won’t be easy and Renney did warn about taking the game for granted like what happened in Montreal last night.

Should be interesting and the puck drops in an hour.

Posted under Blog

Ok, after a few weeks of covering the Mets and some other personal stuff going on, I am back.

Tonight we get the Devils in New Jersey, which should be a blood war if the first five minutes is anything. Sean Avery is already out with a five for fighting and the hits are coming.

But the Rangers are 5-0 this year against the Devils and need this game if they hope to win the division or the East.

More later as it comes in….

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by Patrick Hickey, Jr. | Senior Writer – NY Sports Day | Thursday, February 7, 2008

«FULL STORY»

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Is it me or are these recent Ranger games starting to become formulaic like the sitcoms of the early 1980?

Look at the sitest perios. The Rangers played great and have nothing to show for it and now, is history holds true, Carolina will score and take the lead, deflating the Blueshirts.

Just an observation, but it just seems like it’s going in that direction.

Where’s Silver Spoons and the Facts of Life when you need them?

Posted under Blog

The Rangers look to make their holiday wishes come true tonight with a win at home against the first place Carolina Hurricanes.

The Staal Brothers will take center stage with Eric facing off against Marc [In case you were wondering all three bothers spent Christmas in Carolina with Eric and Marc coming up here together].

Tom Renney is scratching Nigel Dawes, Marcel Hossa and Jason Strudwick, all have good reasons.

Hossa is still ill, but you would have to believe could play if he was contributing more. And Dawes and Strudwick may be sitting because the team may be showcasing Petr Prucha, Paul Mara and/or Marek Malik. The latter two will be paired up together on the third defensive set, while Prucha will slot back in on the third line.

According to Larry Brooks in today’s Post, Columbus is looking at those three in a possible trade. They have has scouts at the last few games with the Rangers looking at some help as the team has struggled over the last 10 games [going 2-6-2].

In the Post story, the Rangers are looking at defensemen Adam Foote and Rostislav Klesla with others may be in the deal as well, depending on how much Columbus takes back from the Blueshirts.

None of this can happen until tomorrow anyway, since the NHL roster freeze goes until tomorrow.

Posted under Blog

If you go to www.newyorkrangers.com right now you would see that it now part of the NHL network. As you may know, the Rangers were fighting the league over the control of the site and last month lost their case.  

John Dellapina reported last week the Blueshirts signed an agreement with the NHL to turn it over by the 26th, even though their injunction is in appeal.

To me, it’s pretty much the same site with all the same bells and whistles.

Also, if you now look at the game stories, they are written by Jim Cerny, who is a former New York Times scribe and former radio voice of the Islanders. His summer job is spent as the assistant general manager of the Newark Bears and if you follow the Atlantic League, you know the Bears won the championship last season.

Cerny is one of the good guys in the business and helped me get my start back in 1994 by credentialing me for Bears games and letting me interview the players, including Rickey Henderson who was playing for Newark that season.  

Posted under Blog

Here in Beantown with the GF. They moved the game to 4 p.m. not to compete with the ALCS.

The Rangers are looking to get off the snide after their 2-4 start and if they can get a win here it will help with games against Pittsburgh, Jersey and Toronto next week.

But it won’t be easy as the Bs are off to a good start and the Rangers are still looking for their first road win.

Thanks to our friends at Hallmark Tickets I am six rows off the ice for the game, so I will be both up close and birdseye for the game.

Posted under Blog

There were two scrimmage games at the MSG Training Center this morning. The more interesting of the two – and the one I was there for – took place around noon when the Blue team, with Jaromir Jagr, Scott Gomez and Marcel Hossa, took on the Green, with Sean Avery, Brendan Shanahan and Chris Drury.

In the end, the 3-2 Blue score didn’t really matter with Henrik Lundqvist in goal for the Blue [Chris Holt netminded for the Green], but Gomez scored his first goal as a Ranger. Actually he scored two, but the ref didn’t see the other one.

What made this interesting was the immediate chemistry between Jagr and Gomez. It looked like they really could play together and Tom Renney said he wanted to try the combo most wanted first, although things couls be changed up in the upcoming weeks.

Also, after practice Drury modeled the new uniform. Outside of it being smaller on top and the leggings made of a different material, it looks the same. Drury gave his approval of the change saying he used to swim the the old ones.

And the funny note of the day over Henrik Lundqvist’s locker, his placard read “Hankenstein,” which is something the equiptment managers call him.

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After sitting out last season deciding what to do, Brian Leetch finally made it official and retired from the NHL after 18 seasons.

The Daily News reported today the Rangers all-time leader scorer for a defenseman finally packed it in. He finished up with 240 goals, with 741 assists in 1129 games as a Rangers, while winning the Calder, the Norris twice, and Conn Smythe trophies. He was a 10-time All-Star and won the Stanley Cup with the Blueshirts in 1994.

He is second only to Rod Gilbert in overall scoring for the franchise.

Leetch spent most of his career with the Blueshirts, but when sent packing to the Toronto Maple Leafs in March 2004 and then, after the lockout, played for the Boston Bruins in 2005-06.

It was rumored Leetch would come back to the Rangers last season, but that never materialized.

Yet, just remember the good times.

[youtube AR3RT6tgmb8 nolink]

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