As Mika Zibanejad tries to take the reins as the Rangers’ No. 1 center, he has worked on his mindset, on how to be more engaging and open in his competitiveness on a nightly basis. It’s what the Blueshirts need to fill their void down the middle, and it’s exactly what Zibanejad wants to bring […]
Read MoreThe Devils signed 23-year-old defenseman Damon Severson to a six-year, $25 million contract Monday, carrying a hefty annual salary-cap hit of $4.167 million. The righty blueliner, who was a restricted free agent without arbitration rights, spent his first complete season in the NHL last season, registering three goals and 28 assists for the Devils. General […]
Read MoreThe biggest change the Rangers made this offseason was to their backend, and the biggest reason they were able to make such drastic adjustments is because they believe Brady Skjei can carry quite the heavy load. The 23-year-old defenseman played 80 games for the Blueshirts last season, and has 87 total NHL regular-season games under […]
Read MoreIronically enough, the thing that kept Jean Ratelle from earning his rightful place with his No. 19 sweater up in the rafters of the Garden for such a long time was loyalty. But it was a loyalty to the Bruins, the organization that employed Ratelle for 26 years, starting with that infamous trade from the […]
Read MoreAt the beginning and end of every season, there is that word again — window. Unprompted, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault brought up the window of opportunity to win a championship during his opening press conference Thursday on the eve of on-ice training camp. Now in his fifth year behind the Blueshirts bench — the first […]
Read MoreWASHINGTON — Capitals star Alex Ovechkin released a statement Thursday night through the NHL team expressing frustration about the league’s decision to skip the Olympics. “I wanted to make this statement so that my words are clear and nobody misunderstands what I am saying,” the Russian forward wrote. “The Olympics are in my blood and […]
Read MoreThe transformation from old to new accelerated this summer following the Old Guard’s Last Ride second-round elimination by the Senators. The Rangers sent away 1,791 games of institutional memory in buying out Dan Girardi and trading Derek Stepan while Kevin Klein retired from the NHL. Change was necessary. The core of the deep runs from […]
Read MoreThis was another summer of change for the Rangers, even more so than in the recent past. Yet general manager Jeff Gorton made it clear he is not done revamping, even if he’s preparing to go into training camp to see what happens before making any rash decisions. “I’m never comfortable with anything,” Gorton said […]
Read MoreFor those who believe the Rangers winning the Stanley Cup constitutes a miracle — with one in the past 77 years supporting that proposition — then the club’s scheduled preseason team-building trip to Lake Placid bodes well for 2017-18. The Blueshirts, who have eight days to fill between their final exhibition game in Philadelphia on […]
Read MoreAs Vigneault did in May during his post-playoff briefing, the coach on Saturday referred to Chris Kreider’s imposing third period of Game 6 against the Senators when asked about No. 20 ascending to another level. “He was a beast,” Vigneault said of Kreider, who scored 53 seconds into the third to narrow Ottawa’s margin to […]
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