“We can go as far as to pinpoint the precise moment when perhaps (though hopefully not) the fortunes shifted dramatically in the Rangers season: The start of the third period in Pittsburgh last Wednesday (Jan. 28).”

As it turns out, that loss in Pittsburgh turned out to be the start of its present slump (the “last eight games” referred to above). I point this out partly mainly largely because I want to demonstrate how brilliant I am and that you absolutely should stick with me here, even if I disappear for weeks at a time (not by choice but due to my various other obligations, including my wretched day job). More importantly, however, this demonstrates just how desperate the Rangers are for a change in momentum if they are to salvage the season. Can the current coaching staff deliver the goods? Tonight should give us an idea, but the signs are not encouraging. Many of the players, chief among them Scott Gomez, appear to have quit on Renney. With Sean Avery not yet available, management simply does not have many other options to provide a spark. If the Rangers lose at St. Louis tonight, the Renney era at Madison Square Garden could be over.

Lost in this equation is the fact that Renney is not the biggest culprit for the team’s current malaise. That honor goes to Glen Sather, who saddled the team with overpriced free agents (Gomez, Chris Drury, Wade Redden). Ironically, Sather will be the guy dropping the ax on Renney’s stint as Rangers head coach. I’m not saying Renney doesn’t deserve some blame (why oh why does he refuse to play Petr Prucha for example?) but the larger problems with this team are a reflection of Sather’s moves as general manager. If anybody needs to go, it’s him. But there’s no justice in this world. Everybody knows that.

• It did not commit any penalties at all in the Buffalo game or in the first period of the Ottawa game
• The Rangers defense did not give up any goals in the Ottawa game or in the final 28 minutes and 34 seconds of the Buffalo game (including five minutes of overtime). That’s a stretch of 88:34 going into Tuesday night’s game at Nassau.

What do these two points tell us? They tell us this team played with discipline. And that, in turn, tells us they are well-coached.

Say what you will about Renney’s four year (and counting) reign behind the bench at Madison Square Garden, he has always preached defense and discipline as vital parts of any winning team’s makeup. If his team is true to that, he has to be doing something right as a coach.

Granted, “something right” is not enough to guarantee a coach’s success in this town. And we have plenty to fault him on scouting and player development, a system that in four years has produced few bonafide stars (that list starts and ends with Henrik Lundqvist, pretty much). And of course this team has at times also failed at the very principles Renney has said to preach, such as in the embarrassing 5-4 loss to Washington and more recent 6-3 drubbing at home to the Canadiens. But this weekend, at least, it took a step in the right direction.

Finally, consider just how short this team is on real talent: no Jaromir Jagr, no Sean Avery, a first line offense that has a combined age of 96 and a nucleus of largely untested players. Sorry folks, but this is not a team you can realistically expect to challenge for the Eastern Conference top seed. If they make the playoffs as one of the top four teams I’d consider it quite an achievement. If they do so by incorporating Renney’s system and demonstrating that it is jelling into a cohesive unit that gives us reason to hope for the future, then the coaching staff will deserve even more credit. We’re not there yet, and there is a lot that can still go wrong, but firing Renney should be the last thing on anybody’s mind after this weekend.

As pleased for me as you must be, you’re likely far more pleased about the fact that the Rangers just acquired forwards Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche from the Columbus Blue Jackets, in exchange for defensemen Fedor Tyutin and Christian Backman.

I wasn’t happy with Glen Sather’s work yesterday, but I’m ecstatic right now. I absolutely love this trade. The Rangers gave up a decent, but underachieving defenseman in Tyutin, as well as a talented but inept blueliner that doesn’t belong in the NHL in Backman, and in return acquired a young, talented, potential 30-35 goal scorer and a serviceable young forward. That’s quite a deal.

Nikolai Zherdev, the fourth overall pick in the 2003 NHL Draft, is one of the most talented offensive players in the National Hockey League. He’s a wizard with the puck and he has a terrific shot. He’s the type of guy that’s capable of creating an end-to-end rush that…well, ends with the puck in the other team’s net before anyone can figure out what just happened. He’s young, he’s fast and he’s exciting.

That said, he does come with his fair share of flaws.

His attitude has been questioned multiple times, as has his dedication to the game. He was a training camp holdout prior to the 2006-07 season and his performance defensively has been criticized often, for good reason. He’s a cherry picker.

Right now, though, I don’t care about any of that. The New York Rangers needed an offensive player and now they got one. They got a 23-year-old whose game can still develop, and one has to hope that the smart and supportive staff that Sather and Tom Renney have compiled can have a positive impact on Zherdev. This kid has all the potential in the world and with the proper guidance, he should be able to harness it.

If there is one point of concern, it is how Renney will treat Zherdev on the ice. The biggest reason Zherdev was probably traded is because he isn’t a “Ken Hitchcock” player. Ken Hitchcock, he Blue Jackets’ head coach, has always admired gritty, two-way forwards, something that Zherdev is not.

Renney too has a preference. His is defense. We’ve seen it these last two years and we’re bound to see even more of it. Renney is all about defense, so it will be interesting to see how much freedom he allows Zherdev. Renney is a smart coach, though. I imagine he’ll find the correct balance.

Because of his defensive mindset, Renney might miss Tyutin, but I think he’ll get over it. Tyutin definitely has some likable qualities. For one, he’s physical and he’s hard-hitting. He’s also very intelligent and calm when it comes to getting the puck out of his own zone. Still, it just didn’t seem like Toots’ game was going anywhere. The Rangers had high hopes for the former second round pick, but he didn’t seem like he was ever going to achieve them. His offensive game wasn’t developing, and he wasn’t good enough defensively to be a significant shutdown defender. There’s no doubt that Tyutin had a nice chemistry with Dan Girardi, but of the two, I expect Girardi to develop into the better player, and I’m sure he can find some chemistry with Rozsival or Redden.

Additionally, I was never a fan of the contract Slats gave Tyutin. I guess the deals that guys are getting yesterday and today may prove me wrong, but I don’t think Tyutin is worth $2.84 million a season. It wasn’t a drastic overpayment, but it was overpayment. In my opinion, at least.

As for Backman…where do I even begin. I really, really dislike the way he plays. Sure, Backman has some talent offensively, but that talent rarely shines through due to his absolutely atrocious decision-making. For that short period of time that Backman wore Ranger Blue, every time he touched the puck in his own zone, I had to hold my breath. He coughed up the puck in front of his own goal more times than I can count, and when that did occur, one of two things was sure to happen next. Either the opposition scored, or Backman took a horrible penalty.

How the Blues ever gave this guy a salary of $2.3 million per year is beyond me.

I don’t even want to think about Backman anymore. Positive thoughts, positive thoughts.

All right, I’m good.

Along with Zherdev, the Rangers acquired Fritsche, a center who is currently a restricted free agent. Fritsche, almost 23, is a speedy two-way player who can chip in 10-15 goals, but he has battled shoulder injuries.

Honestly, I’m not sure where Fritsche fits in with the Rangers, as they seem more than set at center. Similarly, with the signings of Pat Rissmiller and Aaron Voros yesterday and the number of young guys in Hartford like Dane Byers and Greg Moore that seem ready to step up to the NHL, there aren’t many openings on the third and fourth lines.

The team’s plans for Fristche remain to be seen, but quite frankly, that’s rather insignificant. Zherdev is the story here.

Still, this positive transaction aside, I’m guessing the Rangers aren’t done yet. I have to imagine that another scoring forward will be brought in, though I have no earthly idea who it might be. So far, they’ve got Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Zherdev, Fritsche, Petr Prucha, Nigel Dawes, Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Blair Betts, Freddy Sjostrom, Rissmiller, Voros, Colton Orr, Ryan Hollweg, Lauri Korpikoski, Greg Moore and Dane Byers. First of all, obviously not all of those guys will make the team, but those are the possibilities.

Second of all, though, they need some more experience there. There’s a lot of young guys in that group and I’d be shocked if at least one, if not two more veterans were brought in.

Jaromir Jagr and Mats Sundin are still possibilities, as are Pavol Demitra and Markus Naslund. Other names include Kristian Huselius, Ladislav Nagy and Miroslav Satan. I hope it’s Jagr or Sundin, as none of the other free agents are very appealing, but we’ll see. Maybe they make another deal.

On the blueline, the defense is taking shape with Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, Marc Staal and Dan Girardi, but that leaves two spots. The team signed minor league defenseman Brian Fahey today, and for what it’s worth, “rumor king” Eklund claims that Fahey, who spent the last few seasons with the Chicago Wolves, one of the AHL’s best teams. is going to play in the NHL next year because he is highly underrated.

Whether it’s Fahey or Tomas Pock or Bobby Sanguinetti or Corey Potter or another defenseman from Hartford, I think one of them is going to grab one of those two spots. I don’t think Paul Mara or Marek Malik will be re-signed, which means there’s still one spot. I think it’ll be filled through another signing.

My guess, the Rangers will sign former Oilers captain Jason Smith, who spent last year with the Philadelphia Flyers. There’s nothing to this, it’s just a hunch.

But remember, I was right about Toots.

Now, Sather may have finally solved that problem. Or he might have created an even bigger one.

Yesterday, the Rangers signed former Ottawa Senators defenseman Wade Redden to a six year contract that will pay the 31-year-old an average of $6.5 million per season. That’s a lot of money to pay a guy who, by all accounts, has been on the decline for two seasons. Especially when you consider that, just hours earlier, the team re-signed their own defenseman, Michal Rozsival, to a four-year, $20 million dollar contract.

Twice an All-Star (in 2002 and 2004), Redden’s stock in Ottawa dropped dramatically over the last two seasons. Some point to the death of Redden’s mother, Pat, as the beginning of his decline. Pat passed away after struggling with brain cancer in April of 2006. Others point to the seemingly wrong decision made by the Senators’ brass in choosing to re-sign Redden while allowing Zdeno Chara to walk away and sign in Boston before the 2006-07 season as the event that led to Redden’s downfall.

Over the last two seasons, the Senators, in very public fashion, tried to deal Wade Redden a number of times, but Redden refused to wave his no-trade clause, claiming that his desire was to win a Stanley Cup in Ottawa. Those instances probably didn’t do much for his on-ice performance, either.

Now, some will say that all Redden needs is a change of scenery, and that may very well be true. In fact, I actually feel the same way. It’s also been mentioned that Redden has a good relationship with assistant coach Perry Pearn, once an assistant with the Senators. Who knows? Maybe he can find his game. I sure hope he does. I’ve seen Redden play a lot of times, and he used to be a pretty good defenseman. He was solid in his own end and adept at moving the puck up the ice. He’s certainly a better option on the power play than Rozsival, too.

But, and this is a pretty big but, what if the change of scenery doesn’t do it? If Redden can’t return to form, what then? If this guy continues to play the way he has the last two seasons, then this will turn out to be a humongous blunder. Most of the times I saw this guy play the last year or two, he was skating like a zombie, avoiding physical play and just showing a total lack of emotion and desire.

This guy is going to be earning $6.5 million a year until he’s 37. He’s under contract through the 2013-14 season. That’s a long time to pay a guy when you’re not sure he’ll ever be the player he once was.

But if you’re going to go out on a limb and take that risk, why would you also overpay Rozsival? It doesn’t make sense. Rozsival is a decent player, and at the age of 28, he’s just entering his prime, but he’s a second pairing defenseman. He’s not worth $5 million a year. No way. He’s not a good option to run the power play, he’s not particularly great defensively and he’s prone to making horrendous gaffes with the puck. We’ve all seen Rozy cough up the biscuit at the most inopportune time on more than one occassion. Rozsival’s blunders will be giving Henrik Lundqvist nightmares for four more years.

Do you really need both of these guys, especially when you’re already paying Fedor Tyutin almost $3 million a season, too? Not in my eyes.

Plus, you’ve already got Chris Drury, Scott Gomez and Lundqvist earning about $7 million a year. Each. So, for the next four years, when Rozsival’s contract expires, this team will be paying about $33 million dollars to five players. In case you haven’t heard, this year’s salary cap is set at $56.7 million.

Meanwhile, with Sean Avery signing in Dallas (more on this later), and the questions surrounding Mats Sundin and Jaromir Jagr, what the Rangers will do with their forwards remains unclear. So far, they’ve signed Patrick Rissmiller and Aaron Voros, a couple of third or fourth liners from the San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild, respectively. Neither figures to light the lamp very much, though they may prove to be affordable replacements for Avery.

This all leads me to believe that the Rangers are planning to make a trade. This is merely speculation on my part, but I just don’t see them standing pat, whether they sign Sundin or bring back Jagr or whatever they decide to do with that whole thing.

I can see the Blueshirts packaging a guy like Tyutin and his salary, along with a Nigel Dawes or a Petr Prucha and perhaps a prospect or draft pick for an upgrade on forward. I thought they might pursue Michael Ryder, but he signed last night with the Boston Bruins.

All in all, a lot of questions remain for this team. But look at it this way, at least one thing is clear.

The Rangers re-signed Steve Valiquette to be their backup goaltender next year.

It’s a relief, I know.

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New York, February 8, 2008 – The New York Rangers’ Blair Betts, Dan Girardi, Colton Orr and Marc Staal join alumnus and honorary chairman Adam Graves at the 11^th Annual Family Dynamics fundraising event on Tuesday, February 12^th from 6:00 – 8:30 PM at the “Play by Play” restaurant at Madison Square Garden. Family Dynamics, a member of SCO Family of Services, is dedicated to strengthening families and preventing child abuse and neglect. Rangers team members will host a series of activities, including kids games, a live Rangers sports memorabilia auction, an autograph session and a street hockey clinic.

Family Dynamics is supported by the Rangers and the Garden of Dreams Foundation, a non-profit charity that works closely with all areas of Madison Square Garden to “make dreams come true for kids in crisis.” Attending children will receive goodie bags from Garden of Dreams and the Rangers.

For more information, please contact Family Dynamics at (718) 895-2555, ext. 113 or the New York Rangers at www.newyorkrangers.com and 212 465 6486.

 

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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.