Brianland

3 responses so far ↓

• 1 killerfish_73 // Feb 16, 2008 at 12:59 PM

  pov from nyc…the king has to step up. this team goes nowhere near or thru the playoffs without him at his best. avery should be in the long term plans too; they’re a different (and better) team with him in the lineup and just hope he’s back to his old self after off season surgery. word around the blueseats re: jags, well, tanx fo da memoreez. time to shift the focus of the team off the jags, straka, and whoever else can click with them and put it on gomer and a winger who better fits a speed, forechecking, up tempo north south kinda game that the rest of the lineup can play. search is for that forward or someone who can play quarterback for an underachieving power play. ps all that means much as i love sundin, that ain’t the move i wanna see. shoot i’d rather see that move they’re talking about for kaberle instead.

  is it funny that fergie’s an analyst on TSN?

• 2 Brian // Feb 16, 2008 at 1:55 PM

  poor old JFJ! He so reminds me of Dubya — got the job cuz of his name, perpetually looks like a deer in the headlights, and has English as a second language. Thank gawd Canadians only put its “Junior” in charge of the Maple Leafs and not the Green Berets!

  Interesting about the hardcores’ take on Jags! — that he never endeared himself to the fans — because the Rangers faithful are normally pretty loyal to their aging all-stars and happy to keep them around way past their “best-before” date. But Jagr’s never engendered that kind of love. I don’t know where he’d fit salary-cap-wise, but what an addition he’d make to any other playoff team! Glad Shanny’s still bringin’ it, though!

  and it’s funny how the Leafs are just perceived as an open store right now! and ya just know, knowin’ them, they’ll manage to trade their few good players (Sundin, Antropov, Kaberle) and be left with Darcy Tucker on the first line, and McCabe staying consistently good for 3 opposition goals a night in the back.

• 3 Brian // Feb 17, 2008 at 11:42 AM

  from killerfish in NYC . . .

  one of the reasons this season is a disappointment to ranger fans is the team hasn’t been able to build on what it did last year – establish itself once again as a legitimate playoff team. most of the the ‘06 – ‘07 season was spent at or among the top of the division, and until a last minute stumble down the standings (fueled by an impressive surge by the devils to clinch the atlantic title), the big apple was quietly chuckling about the possibility of finishing first. except in the blue seats; somehow malik and hossa would blow that chance for us.

  one of the reasons, if not the biggest, this season can be seen as a good season by ranger fans, is the continuing development of young and home grown talent displayed on garden ice. and nowhere is this more evident than in the play of second year center Brandon Dubinsky. matter of fact, yesterday’s spanking of a seemingly dazed and confused sabres squad may have been the most obvious exhibition of what the Dubester brings to this team. you don’t think he was looking to bring it in the first game back since last sunday, a game in which he’d find himself again seeing big #68 on his right side?

  considering all the talk about the future of JJ on broadway and the fact that he requested that the alaska native be moved up to the #1 center role for the second time this season, Dubinsky sounded pretty confident about the move prior to yesterday afternoon’s game. noting his ability (willingness i’d say) to drive the net as part of what makes his game successful, Dubinsky used this strategy to perfection to set up the fastest goal in MSG history and later add one of his own as the blueshirts scored 4 in the first period.

  looked kinda contagious too, as Ryan Callahan and Sean Avery (twice) would scored their goals with the same hell bent approach. at the end of the contest, it was Dubinsky who stood out as first star, over linemates jagr and avery.

  heck, the only thing missing from brandon’s performance yesterday was a completion of the Gordie Hhowe hat trick. his willingness to drop the gloves (and here i really am commending his willingness over his ability) is just another sign of his commitment to (oh jeez, here it comes: dubie-dubie) do whatever it takes to help this team win. there have been a lot of tough times for ranger die hards since the euphoria of ‘94, and if we look at fire sale of ‘03 as a turning point for the organization, adversity was met with hope that the team would turn things around to respectability and success.

  as important as jagr, straka, shanahan, etc have been to that turn around, it’s also been about the development of youth. from henrik lundqvist, peter prucha, blair betts, fedor tyutin, dan girardi, callahan, nigel dawes, marc staal, even last year’s moore and ortemeyer, (i’ll include hollweg but let me just say i got issues with the man), these youngsters have done just as much to define this generation’s New York Rangers. as Henrik’s reign as king continues, and the promise of staal builds, it’s Dubinsky standing out as #1 at his position.

  ps – to me this reinforces why the rangers don’t need to go out and find that center for j-mir. you got that center now and for the future with dubinsky (for jags and pretty much anyone else), and hey you also have scotty gomez and this drury guy how about that. what you don’t have is that big game stud of a winger in jags, now and not for the $$ you’d have to pay for him for whatever future he’s got left.

  so i still say move jagr.

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