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NAHL Press Release -- The New York Rangers are enjoying a truly tremendous season, they currently sit at the top of the NAHL Eastern conference, tied on points with Stanley Cup champions Boston Bruins and with a game in hand. A Far cry from May 2003 when the Rangers finished up 11th in the conference, and had a wage bill they couldnt pay. Basically, they were screwed.. The General Manager was fired, he brought in some good players, but neither he, nor his coach, Bryan Trottier could get the best out of them. The Entry draft was held, in came Ryan Suter, a D-Man for the future. But then, Glen Sather and Steve Mills decided that it was time for a change, in came Ant McKeown as General Manager, the only English/European General Manager in the league. He came in with optimism, a fresh approach, and part of that approach was a new head coach, former Jack Adams winner Ted Nolan. A man he speaks very highly of.
"Ted Nolan is, in my opinion one of the best coaches ever to grace the game of hockey. You only have to look at the job he did in Buffalo back in 97, when he won the Jack Adams..and something which ill never understand..they offered him a one year extension, he declined it and then he was fired. Fair enough.. but noone else employed him. Thats something thats really had me wondering for 5 years or so.."
Ted Nolan is rumoured to have had a fistfight with former Sabres GM John Muckler and cost Muckler his job.
"If that happened, Im yet to see that side of him" Said McKeown "Ted is a great guy and thats part of why I decided that he was right for the New York Rangers. Ted is a talented coach, who gets the best out of players, a glance at our league position and that shows you just how good he is, even our pre-season. Trottier was in charge for around 15 games, We released him, Ted came in and we won 6 of the last 7. I heard from some guys around the place, stories about Ted, but I decided, Forget the stories.. screw the stories, and find my own truth, I wanted to see if Ted Nolan could still do it. The payoff could have been huge. In sports, the end justifies the means.. thats the point.. Its about the payoff, the wins, the tickets sold, the trip to the playoffs, the big cup and the little ring."
That "Little Ring" is the biggest prize in sports.. even in Europe?
"Its the biggest prize in the hockey world, but not in Europe no.. I think football has the biggest prize, but for me personally the Stanley Cup is the biggest prize in sports. Im not getting ahead of myself, ohh the Rangers are gonna win the Stanley Cup! The first set of power rankings put us in at 24th overall. One quarter of the way in and were 3rd overall. First in our division ahead of the champions.. that.. I dont think anyone saw that coming. I didnt, Ive always said, I had an awesome set of players here, and theyre proving me right.
Brian Leetch, the guy is 34 years old, I said to him as soon as I got here, Brian I need someone to show this team how to play the game, be my captain, he said 'cool', it went from there and hes scored 25 points and hes the top defensemen in the league, an already candidate for the Norris Trophy, thats not forgetting Scotty Niedermayer with 19 points, my first pair of defensmen have 44 points between them. Awesome! We dont have anyone whos head and shoulders above the rest, what we have, is a team. Alot of guys dont have that anymore, Im gonna use Carolina as an example, if someone said to me at the start of the year, you�ll be taking on a team with the line of Jagr, Bure and Yashin.. I�d have said oh god were screwed. But Carolina dont seem to have any sort of bond there, they dont seem to be playing for eachother, thats what we do, we play for eachother and the eighteen and a half thousand fans that come to Madison every game. The Rangers are an infamous hockey club, this club has won 4 Stanley Cups, okay so we have an awful long way to go to catch up to Montreal, but its not about that, its about being the best NOW. Kinda ironic that the Islanders are supposed to be New Yorks best.. and it turns out that we�re the ones flying high. But I and the rest of the team are under no illusions.. we could lose every game from today..but I doubt very much that that will happen.."
And Finally.. is there a fifth Stanley Cup coming their way?
"Never say never..Were taking one game at a time, thats why we are where we are, and the playoffs will be a great experience for all these guys, from Dan Blackburn, right the way up to Claude Lemiuex". And Lets not forget that Brain Leetch was part of the club when we beat the Vancouver Canucks in 1994. Leetch played so well for us he was our MVP and after the series he was named the Conn Smyth Trophy winner. Us in New York havn't forgotten that, we even have a poster in the locker room with Brain Leetch holding the Conny Smyth. Thats our inspiration before each game and so far it's working perfectly. We think that Brain Leecth has exactly what it takes to bring a group of players to the ultimate prize. The city is counting on him and he hasn't let them down!
New York Rangers take on the New York Islanders at the Nassau Colisseum tonight on ESPN2
The Vancouver Canucks are dont look to be the same team as the 2002 season. Last year, Vancouver finished 1st in standings with 106 points for a 50-24-6 record. Markus Naslund was on fire all season long and was the team' leader and MVP. Cloutier played great and alot of the players had career seasons. The Canucks were the best team since the begging of pre-season and had 3 players to the all-star game. Everything was working perfectly for head coach Marc Crawford, team chemistry was the Nucks no.1 force last year.
This season, its a totaly different storey. Vanouver is on a huge slump and the whole team is pethetic. In 33 games so far this year the Canucks are 14-17-2 only good for a .454 winning percentage compared to last season' .662%. This season, the team is too gritty and is just so un-diciplined. They rank 1st with penalty minutes (19 minutes per game approx.) Having this probleme leads to other one's aswell, like penalty killing. Vancouver is 27th on killing penaltys (79%) out of 28 compared to last year' 86.3%, 4th in the league.
So basicly the Nucks are always in the box and killing penaltys instead of being in the offensive zone using all the fire power necessary to score goals. Last year Vancouver ranked 1st in the NAHL for goals scored averaging 4 goals a game, this season they rank 18th with 3.12 per game. This is one department where the Canucks are really sucking it this year! If only they could stay out of the box and spend more time on the offensive territory having Naslund, Morrison, Bertuzzi, Sedin and Yzerman shooting on all cylinders, they would be at the top of the league where they are supposed to be.
This years edition of the Vancouver is Canucks is much more superiour then last season. The addition of Hall a Famer Steve Yzerman and with veterans like Thomas, Buchberger, Barnaby, Worrell, Domi and Stevens is a big plus to the team, one thing to note is that they didnt lose anything for all theses players except for 2nd-3rd class prospects and brother Henrik Sedin (who was involved in the Steve Yzerman trade with Detroit). With theses guys, the club should be better and have as much sucess.
But one thing that general manager, Rob Blake, did wrong since his arrival was to pick up or trade for too many goons. This problem has caused the team to callapse. Domi and Worrell do not have a good influence on the team or in the locker room, its a big distraction. On another note, the Canucks were doing fine and were steady jumping from first to fourth at season begging, but as soon as gm Blakey pulled a trade with the Atlanta Thrashers for Mathew Barnaby the team just wasnt the same. Was that move a coincidence or is it all Barnaby's fault? No, i dont think its one individuals fault. The whole team is distracted and falling apart.
What Blakey did to make sure this problem would stop in a hurry was to bring in some veterans from Manitoba like German Titov and Keven Stevens. Right after they were called up, Steve Thomas was signed as unrestricted free agent. Theses three guys would help make the locker room a decent place again and not a playground for Matt Cooke, Domi, Worrell, Stock and compagnie to fool around in. Did team captain Steve Yzerman lose controle of the locker room? Did former captain Markus Naslund lose interest? Did Trevor Linden have less influence in the dressing room? Did Marc Crawford lose the respect of his men? Thoses are surly the questions that team general manager, Rob Blake, is asking himself at this point of the season.
Vancouver just has too many goons on the roster, players like Worrell and Domi should be traded as fast as possible. The team must regroup and get the confidence back. The club has enough veterans and leaders to turn the table around and get back to the top of the Western Conference.
One bright side of the Canucks season this year is that they rank 1st for shots against. Their defensemen are so talented at blocking shots and at taking out the opponent. They hit and block shots with ease. But they are incredibly slow, guys in the likes of Marchment, Malik, Ference are too slow to compete in the west this year. They are tough and gritty but as for the puck controle, speed and getting the puck out of the zone to the forwards, they just cant cut it. This is one area where the Canucks must work on and improve because this year the Sharks, Flames, Avalanche and Ducks are just too fast and have too much speed to play against the Nucks rugged defensmen. They just fly past them, even though Brad Ference is leading the league in the hits departement he sometimes gets the pants deked out of him.
The Vancouver Canucks have the talent to get to the playoffs but all they need is the confidence and chemistry back. As soon as the PIM are down and they stop killing penaltys, the top lines will break out. Markus Naslund is on a slump, Todd Bertuzzi hasn't played to expectations this year and needs to take it to the next level, Steve Yzerman aswell needs to jump out of the closet.
Yzerman has been brought in Vancouver for his passing and leadership skills. So far he has been doing just that except that he should get more assists and especially needs to work on his defensive stats. Dont blame him for always being on a penalty killing each game since the start of the regualar season. At least Daniel Sedin has broke the leach, his impressive stats are confusing the coach, once a night he's hot and the other night he's cold. He definalty needs to work on that part of his game. I heard that Marc Crawford told him once "do you want to be a Pavel Bure or the next Martin Ruchinsky?" If Sedin meets expectations, he will develop into an elite goal-scorer. He possesses all the tools needed to be a dominant sniper. Now, he needs to take the next step in his progression. Playing with Yzerman and Sedin with certainly help make it happen.
The Vancouver Canucks play a very important game tonight, the Avalanche visit the General Motors place in Vancouver to try and demolish the struggling Canucks. It will be broadcasted on SportsNet Pacific starting at 10:30pm.
This report was brought to you by KFC... Its finger lickin' good.
Darren Dreger hosts Hockeypacific Saturday, Labatt Blue Game Night, and countless other hockey programs and events on Sportsnet. Tune in!
The Philadelphia Flyers have finished two months of solid play last night
with a win over Washington. The Flyers aren't playing spectacular hockey,
but sitting fifth in the conference and within striking distance of first
place, GM Dustin Branam can't complain. Or can he?
"Yeah I'm not pleased with our group's standings. We had to make some deals to lower our wage bill, but we did that in a way to keep a competitive team on the ice. But I guess that's all we have. Just a competitive team. Our forwards aren't helping out on defense and our second and third lines are just leaving it to our first line to score all of the goals. While our first line is producing night in and night out, we need our third line in particular to start chipping in with the scoring, and if they can't do that, then play better defense.
Our first line guys are in the top 5 of their respective positions with Nolan the 5th best left winger, Allison the second best Center and Kovalev the best Right Winger, but guys like Handzus, Roberts, and Arvedson are just not doing their job. Nikolishin has picked it up of late and therefore redeemed himself, but his fellow line mates are dragging their asses.
I don't know what our problem is. In pre-season while I shuffled defensive pairings, ALL of my forwards were producing no matter where I placed them. But now, only four or five of them are producing. I don't know if they were worn out during the pre-season or they just had false preconceptions that they would do as well in the regular season as in the pre-season. Either way, we need to perform better. Boston is already 8 points ahead of us and while that is within reach, the way they are playing that 8 point lead looks more like a 16 point lead. We have a slight winning record against our own Conference so that has to change considerably as well or else we'll be in a fight for a playoff spot more than just playoff positioning.
Our squad can get it done and has been doing well. We just need to get our third line more involved to make us a legitimate contender in the East. Right now our first line along with Roman Cechmanek and Kyle Calder can't win us every game. Cechmanek is playing great for us so far. He is in the top 5 for goaltenders in almost every category. His 19-13-5 record makes him the 5th best netminder in the league for goalie records. Roman's two shuouts ranks him 2nd in the league and he logs so many ice time. Cechmanek has started every single game of the Philadelpiha Flyers this season. In Philly's 38 games this season, Roman has played 2164 minutes in the Flyers goaltender crease this year.
But yeah I am VERY pleased with our first line unit. Nolan has 39 points, Kovalev 47 and Allison 52. I knew these guys could score, but the combined line, with Johnsson and Weinrich thrown in have 180 of the team's 371 total points. We've also been pleasantly surprised with the two guys we acquired from Chicago in Kyle Calder and Steve Sullivan. These guys have been a joy to coach and seem to have brought over their chemistry from Chicago. Kyle is scoring close to a point per game and when a 2nd liner scores a point per game, that's great production and just what we were looking for.
Steve was a little slow to get out of the blocks, but with his energy and grit, we don't need him to be an 80 goal scorer. The only problem spot is Gary Roberts and our defense. We have an overload of capable Defensemen who are all playing well for us, but we just can't use them all. Sean Hill, Sean Brown, Stephane Quintal and Brooks Orpik have all been rotating games leaving only Johnsson, Weinrich, Therien and Klemm with regular playing time. This unfortunately hurts our youngsters as well. We have Jason Crain who is ready for some playing time and Stehlik, our number 1 pick in this past draft who has done well in the one game he played in with us.
Vandermeer is also getting productive minutes in on the farm but he probably will not see any time in the Bigs any time soon. We have already dealt Berenzweig who is a very capable D-man, but he just wasn't playing very good defense. He had the worst +/- on our team with a -9 rating in just ten games. So we dealt him to Conference rival New York for another youngster in Alexander Daigle.
Some GM's have asked who is available on our team and I just want to let all GM's know that Gary Roberts is definitely on the block. I also would like to package a few D-men in a deal for a #1 D-man or youth. I always welcome trade offers and will give every one of them serious consideration."
you would expect a team like the Stars, who are used
to being contenders in the playoffs, to be very frustrated. The frustrated Coach and new GM have finally decided to make a change. The previous GM of the Stars, to be left unnamed for his own safety had dealt away Marty Turco to San Jose in exchange for Miikka Kiprusoff and others. After that a new GM was hired and he made one move wich was acquiring former Hurricanes netminder Arturs Irbe through free agency to be Dallas's no.1 goaltender. Better numbers could have been put up by a well-placed donut. Irbe would have been dealt before this however he has very low trading stock, so other moves were made. 
At the first of the week a deal was made with the Philadelphia Flyers. The deal saw veteran defencemen Darryl Sydor, Sergei Zubov and goaltender prospect Jason Bacashihua on a plane to Philly. In return the Stars have acquired 3 young defencemen in Richard Stehlik, Brooks Orpik, and Jason Crain. As well as the Flyers first round pick in 2004 and goaltender Robert Esche. The deal saw a greater amount of talent leave Dallas than Philly but by next year Dallas management feels that they will see great returns in the players acquired from Philly. 
The Stars are now officially rebuilding for a future run for the cup and with the trades made earlier this week and a few more to come, it could very well be possible. In these three trades Dallas has managed to relieve approximatly $9.9 million in salary and with the $2.4 million bonus from the all-star game (for having 4 players on the all-star roster) Dallas has regained almost $13 million however they have paid a huge price in the loss of talent. Will it work out in the end? Only time will tell.
There are no astounding statistics�. Everyone within the Canadiens organization has their role, and everyone involved knows exactly how to play it out� Prior to the beginning of this season, there was one goal set forth by new Head Coach Al Arbour. That goal, of course, is to win the Stanley Cup. After a great 2002 season where the Canadiens finished atop of their division, there were many questions going into the off-season� None bigger than the firing of their former General Manager. Current GM, Mike Osterloh, was brought in by ownership with exactly ZERO experience. On one hand, this was a huge opportunity for Mike, but on the other, a tremendous risk for the fans, and ownership of this storied franchise. Montreal is a city that lives and breathes for its hockey club.
When Mike took over as General Manager, some swift changes for made. First, Coach Michel Therrien was let go, and 4 time Stanley Cup champion coach, Al Arbour was coaxed out of retirement in order to further advance the cause. When asked about how he felt about getting back into coaching after all of this time, Al Arbour had this to say. �As you know, I have not coached for quite some time. When Mike was hired by ownership to run this club, he contacted my within an hour of getting hired. He asked me for a meeting, and took that time to come down to Florida to meet with my wife and me at our home. He outlined exactly what his plans were and explained that he felt that I was the coach that could make his plans a reality. Mike conveyed a real �winner attitude� during our meeting. After talking with Mike for about 5 hours, I looked at this team and felt like coming back to coach was something that I had to do. I got hungry to coach again. Heck, who wouldn�t?? Look at the line up! With the likes of Koivu, Theodore, Palffy, Selanne, and a great young defense, there was no way that I could turn it down.�
Though Arbour has a reputation for being a tough coach, All-Star Goaltender Jose Theodore had this to say about his new coach: � Al coaches with a hunger and passion that I have never experienced before. He is a great motivator, and makes you want to run through brick walls for your teammates. The guys in the room have never been closer. Al has made the desire to win, contagious!!�
Captain, Saku Koivu couldn�t agree more. �Al has us in great physical and mental condition. Every guy in the room feels like we can win. We all have each others backs. I have never played in such a �Team Atmosphere� before!! Our conditioning is much better, and I cannot even begin to express how much healthier I personally feel this season. Al and Mike have been a great team. We are looking forward to the second half, so we can keep things rolling!!� Koivu also had this to say: �Mike is a normal, everyday guy that really wants to do what�s best for this club. I will admit, that when I heard he had been hired, a bunch of the guys, myself included thought that ownership was crazy!! We said, �Who??� After seeing what Mike has done, no one questions his commitment toward getting this team to the cup. We like the direction that Mike has taken us. We all believe that this team has what it takes to win it all.�
The next big move that GM Osterloh made was to make certain that goal scoring machine Teemu Selanne, a huge component of the Canadiens top unit , was immediately resigned to a 3-year deal. After it was certain that Teemu was back in the fold, GM Osterloh wasted no time in trading for sniper winger Ziggy Palffy. Palffy would make up the remaining �3rd� of the Canadiens top line of Koivu /Selanne/Palffy. There were a couple of other deals that were made by the rookie GM as well. Clutch playoff performer and goal scorer, Chris Drury (25 Goals 41 Assists, 66 points in 78 Games last season) was added, as was LW Dean McAmmond who contributed to the Kings last season with 57 points while playing in 81 games!
GM Osterloh knows that he has made some rookie mistakes already, but, I think that if you were to ask Mike today to comment on his deals, he would be the first to tell you that as a newcomer, he may have given up too much to get what he wanted. The first year GM has learned a lot during the first half of the season. Would he nullify any of the deals that brought the likes of All Star winger Ziggy Palffy, young clutch performer Chris Drury, or crafty veteran LW Dean
McAmmond to the Habs?? �Absolutely Not!!�, says Mike. �In giving up Zednik, Bulis,
and a couple of real good youngsters, we feel that we are closer to winning a cup today,
then we were last season. Talent like Palffy�s is a premium, and comes at a price. Palffy was the 5th top scoring leader in the league in 81 games he scored 42 goals and had 57 helpers for a total of 99 points.� As Habs fans know, it remains to be seen whether these changes will actually bring Montreal the coveted Stanley Cup.
What this reporter can tell you is that the Canadiens defense is one of the stingiest in the league. They are tied with the Avalanche for the least goals allowed at 113. Lone All Star participant, Jose Theodore�s goaltending has been superb as expected, and needs to remain superb in order for them to advance in the playoffs.
Scoring?? Well, as mentioned earlier, there are no Rocket Richard trophies in the near future for any of the forwards on this squad, but with a first unit of Koivu, Palffy and Selanne, the likes of Zhamnov, Drury, and Lehtinen in the line up. Scoring should not be an issue. Another tremendous strength that the Canadiens posses, is depth. Right now, 3 key players are injured, and yet the team continues to roll. Alexei Zhamnov has been injured for the past few weeks with a wrist injury. The team�s top 2 d-man are both on the shelf right now. Sheldon Souray has a torn groin muscle and Andrei Markov has an ankle injury.
Temporary replacements Mikko Koivu (F), Mike Ribeiro (F), Robert Schnabel (D), and Nick Schultz(D) have been outstanding. Rookie Mikko Koivu has 6 points in 5 games since being recalled. Ribeiro has been shining while taking on the additional responsibility of 2nd line center. Schultz, and Schnabel continue accumulate very important minutes on the blue line.
At the midway point of this season, it looks like the Canadiens are poised to make a long run into the playoffs�. Perhaps even destined to meet �Lord Stanley�. Time will tell. Time, will tell.
The Leafs have made big trades in the past, but the biggest of them all may
have taken place a few days ago. For the second time in two weeks, the Leafs
trade core players in hopes to improve and fill wholes. The Leafs are currently
in the hunt for the 8th and final playoff spot in the East and that begs the
question, why make such a big move when the team is winning?
True the Leafs have been playing well, but they still needed a more reliable
netminder if they are going to make the playoffs. True that former team captain
Mats Sundin, was the teams top scorer, but the power play has been struggling
all season. The time was right to make changes.
1st, the Leafs went out and aquired veterain goaltender Sean Burke from the
Coyotes in exchange for young forward Alex Ponikarovski, defensive center
Stephane Yelle and goaltender Jani Hurme. The Leafs know they gave up alot for
the potential un-resricted free agent, but felt it was neccessary to make a run
at the playoffs.
Then, the Leafs stuned the hockey world when they traded captain Mats Sundin
along with right winger Mark Parrish and defenceman Ric Jackman to the provicial
rivals Ottawa Senators in return for center Radek Bonk, winger Anson Carter and
defenceman Chris Phillips. With better goaltending in place thanks to the
recent addition of Burke, the team had more confidence in the teams ability to
get over the loss of Sundin and the team never thought twice about it an made he
deal. The addition of Bonk and Carter is a step in the right direction for the
Leafs power play. Bonk and Carter have a combined 11 power play goals this
season. The Leafs powerplay meanwhile has been ranked near the bottom of the
standings all season and that was just not exceptable according to team
management.
It's also important to mention that Toronto improved their defence in this
deal. Phillips is a physical guy who is responsible at both ends of the ice and
adds speed to the blue line. Phillips who is only 24 years old is going to play
a prominent role with the organisation for years to come.
Toronto now has one of the deepest rosters in the East as far as youth. With
minor players such as Boyes, Kolozvary, Weinhandl, Healey, Rourke and others on
the verge of breaking into the pros. The success or failure of these deals will
go well beyond this season, but anything short a playoff spot this year will be
a big disapointment.
Issue # 2
The season is at mid point and the New York Islanders have been a complete bust all year. This monthly newsletter will update Islander results, transactions and other news within the organization.
The Isles 25th pick Igor Mirnov, has been a pleasant surprise. He has been added to the pro roster and was chosen to play in this years YoungStars Game. New Yorks 27th pick, Denis Ezhov, has been developing nicely in the farm and has been called up twice to play on the pro team. Overall the Islanders are feeling good about the future in these two Russian youngsters.
Free Agent Signings Here is a list of some key players that are in need of a new contract by seasons end.
Jaroslav Spacek: currently making $1.3 most likely will not be returning next season.
Garth Snow: current $1.5 million. Great backup given the chance to start this season. Just couldn�t get the job done. Most likely will not be returning.
Fred Braithwaite: $1.05 million. Brought in to back up Snow. Couldn�t backup or start consistently. Probably not returning.
Slava Kozlov: $2.35M Great scoring potential, never given a chance in NY this season. Did however contribute greatly in last years playoff run.
Donald Audette: $3 million. Not enough ice time this season to score 40+ goals like last year. A huge factor in the Islanders deep run in last years playoffs. Will not be returning.
Daymond Langkow: $1.95M. The future on the Island. Daymond has played extremely well in a losing effort this season and continues to put up great numbers. New York must resign their franchise player.
Trying to drop payroll and look to the future, New York has made the following trades in the past month.
To OTT: Joe Juneau
To NYI: Brian Gionta, $600,000
To SJ: Peter Sykora
To NYI: Barrett Heisten, John Erskine
Also in a minor deal with the Sharks, Islanders sent Jonus Hoglund to San Jose for Future considerations.
Adrian Aucoin, purging his 7 game suspension. 3 more games remaining to complete suspension.
Other NewsDesperate times call for desperate measures, as the Islanders continued to endure loss after loss they decided that a coaching change was in order. Peter Laviolette was fired as more experienced head coach, Andy Murray was brought in to try and turn things around.
Islanders also released Andreas Karlsson and Ken Sutton from the farm team to get some young prospects more ice time. New York has replaced their coach and moved some key players.
-Ryan Coke is a free lance
writer and GM Scott Hoskins�s
3rd cousin who is on payroll
out of family obligation.
