Showing posts with label Brandon Dubinsky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brandon Dubinsky. Show all posts
Monday, October 25, 2010
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Rangers win again...make it 7 straight
Graig Abel/NHLI via Getty Images)
Another great performance by Henrik and the Blueshirts tonight in Toronto. They pick up their 7th straight win and are now 7-1 on the season. Their win also continued Toronto's dismal winless streak, who actually didn't look too bad at times in this game.
In much of the first period and part of the second, Henrik kept the Rangers in it stopping the flurry of shots coming from the Maple Leafs. Through the first 15 minutes, the Leafs outshot the Rangers 11-4. The turning point of the game, in my opinion, came when the Leafs had a 5 on 3 after Del Zotto and Boyle picked up penalties. Killing the 5 on 3, Ryan Callahan chased a puck in the neutral zone after clearing the zone and was slashed by Ponikarovsky. This ended the 5 on 3 and just thirty seconds later, Brandon Dubinsky scored to make it 1-0.
From this point on, it seemed that the Rangers picked up their game. They showed more control in their offensive zone and were better defensively. Not to say that the Leafs didnt keep the shots coming, they did. But King Henrik stood tall, only allowing one goal on 35 total shots which came during the second period after making the initial two saves on the play. Cant fault him on that one, he made the stops he needed to make but the Leafs were able to pick up a rebound a put it in the back of the net.
In the third it was all Blueshirts after Enver Lisin scored his first goal as a New York Ranger and seemed to take the life out of the Maple Leafs. Both the crowd and the Leafs seemed out of it at that point and the Rangers controlled for the rest of the third.
A few thoughts from tonight:
**Nice to see Dubinsky continuing to rack up points. I know we saw his hot start dwindle last season, but something tells me that being on the line with Gabby and Prospal will keep his scoring up for quite a while.
**Congrats to Enver Lisin for picking up his first goal as a Ranger. Hoping for more to come.
**Redden seemed to have turned his game around drastically from last season, nice to see that money put to good use somewhat. Rozy is also improving slowly, key word there, slowly.
**Interesting stat: The oldest goal scorer tonight for the Rangers was just 23. Enver Lisin, beating out Duby in age by just 7 days. Its nice to see that the future of this team is in good hands.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Waiting for Dubinsky
Over these past few weeks the issue of Brandon Dubinsky's signing has been at the forefront of Rangers news. Supposedly, Dubinsky definitely wants to return as a NY Ranger and Glen Sather and the Ranger organization shares that same desire. So the back and forth between Sather and Dubinsky's agent, Kurt Overhardt, has been and still is about the money involved. From what I understand, Sather has the upper hand in this case, as Dubinsky is still a youngster and is a restricted free agent. So, Sather has the right to low ball him and try to get him for cheap at least for this year.
The only thing that puzzles me is how this whole negotiation situation could be taking so long. I always thought that a negotiation starts with one side presenting an offer, the other side providing their counter-offer and then a compromise is made somewhere in the middle. Obviously I understand that its not exactly that simple, but it shouldn't be as complicated as it has been made up to this point. This whole process has been going on for so long that obviously both sides (Sather and Dubinsky's agent) know what they want and what the other side wants. How much more negotiation can be going on?? It has come to a point, so late in training camp, that each side should be coming to a breaking point. If the Rangers can't get him for the price they want and Dubinsky cant get what he feels he's worth, why even bother with the further "negotiations", lets just all move on.
Dubinsky is the one getting the short end of the stick here, because if he does end up settling and signing with the Rangers, he would have missed Tortorella's world famous training camp and will be that much more behind his teammates in his readiness for the upcoming season. Likewise, if he ends up on another team, he will have missed their training camp as well.
It seems as though there is something we aren't being told...simple contract negotiation between two very interested parties should not take this long...
The only thing that puzzles me is how this whole negotiation situation could be taking so long. I always thought that a negotiation starts with one side presenting an offer, the other side providing their counter-offer and then a compromise is made somewhere in the middle. Obviously I understand that its not exactly that simple, but it shouldn't be as complicated as it has been made up to this point. This whole process has been going on for so long that obviously both sides (Sather and Dubinsky's agent) know what they want and what the other side wants. How much more negotiation can be going on?? It has come to a point, so late in training camp, that each side should be coming to a breaking point. If the Rangers can't get him for the price they want and Dubinsky cant get what he feels he's worth, why even bother with the further "negotiations", lets just all move on.
Dubinsky is the one getting the short end of the stick here, because if he does end up settling and signing with the Rangers, he would have missed Tortorella's world famous training camp and will be that much more behind his teammates in his readiness for the upcoming season. Likewise, if he ends up on another team, he will have missed their training camp as well.
It seems as though there is something we aren't being told...simple contract negotiation between two very interested parties should not take this long...
Friday, September 11, 2009
What to expect from Rangers Camp
Tomorrow morning marks the first day of training camp for the Rangers. According to today's interview with John Tortorella, the team is in for a grueling first few days. Check out Blueshirt Banter for a rundown of the training camp schedule released today. It seems like Torts wasn't kidding when he said he takes conditioning very seriously. Camp will really set the players apart in regards to who is in shape and who may not be up to par. Just about the only thing set in stone so far for this season is the conditioning expectations. There are a number of things which are still up in the air and we can simply wonder about...
Today when Torts was describing the workout routines, he mentioned that Marian Gaborik and Ales Kotalik would not be participating in the evening 3-mile runs. He said that although they are healthy according the the Rangers doctors, they are staying on the safe side by allowing them to skip the long runs. Instead they will take part in some other conditioning exercise. What does this say about Gaborik and Kotalik's health? I thought that when the contract signings went through, we were all told that they were 100% healthy. Gaborik's health has been all thats been spoken about by the media as far as the value of his big ticket contract. Will his fragility stop at 3-mile runs, or will he also be wearing the "no contact" practice jersey during camp? Once the season gets going in just a few weeks, Gabby has to be ready to fill the role of the Ranger's #1 forward, and being the target of every hard hitting goon on opposing teams. Seeing how Torts is as a coach, I do not think that he will keep Gaborik in his porcelain case all throughout camp, he will make sure that he's ready for full time, full impact hockey.
All in all, im hoping that this is just playing the safe card and not the beginning of another Sather contract blunder.
Whats with Duby?! I know that everyne is sick of hearing about Dubinsky's contract or lack thereof, but according to reports today from Steve Zipay at Newsday, both sides were unable to reach an agreement and Duby will not begin training camp with the rest of the team. How much longer will this go on? Sather needs to accept that Dubinsky is the future of the league and pay him what he is worth and what he deserves. Attempting to pay him less than he made last year is truly a slap in the face. They need to agree on a long term deal, in which case the Rangers would be able to lock him in at a reasonable price. If they sign him for a low one year deal and he has a breakout year, his price next year wont be too favorable for Glen. How can Sather have no problem spending millions on big name players, but not decide on a fair contract for a player who demonstrates so much heart and talent. I just don't get it....hopefully a favorable decision will be in the works soon.
A few closing questions...
How will the new players gel as a unit? Most of these guys have not played together yet and with the limited scrimmage time Torts is allowing in the first few days, how long will it take for the lines to come together and click. Hopefully Drury and Kotalik pick up from where they left off in Buffalo and can make something work...Hopefully Duby can get on the ice as soon as possible and start clicking with Gabby....There are a number of hopefullys that can finish this paragraph, but we will just let time tell.
How will Henrik Lundqvist prepare for this season and the upcoming Olympic games? Will he fall in line with Torts opinion on sitting a few more games this year? Will he come back tired and sluggish after the Olympics? My thoughts are that Henrik will be able to handle it. He has played 70+ games in the past 3 out of 4 seasons and knows what it takes to be conditioned. This will be his second Olympics, so hopefully he will be more prepared this time around and will know what to expect.
With all these questions, there is nothing else to do but wait and see....
Today when Torts was describing the workout routines, he mentioned that Marian Gaborik and Ales Kotalik would not be participating in the evening 3-mile runs. He said that although they are healthy according the the Rangers doctors, they are staying on the safe side by allowing them to skip the long runs. Instead they will take part in some other conditioning exercise. What does this say about Gaborik and Kotalik's health? I thought that when the contract signings went through, we were all told that they were 100% healthy. Gaborik's health has been all thats been spoken about by the media as far as the value of his big ticket contract. Will his fragility stop at 3-mile runs, or will he also be wearing the "no contact" practice jersey during camp? Once the season gets going in just a few weeks, Gabby has to be ready to fill the role of the Ranger's #1 forward, and being the target of every hard hitting goon on opposing teams. Seeing how Torts is as a coach, I do not think that he will keep Gaborik in his porcelain case all throughout camp, he will make sure that he's ready for full time, full impact hockey.
All in all, im hoping that this is just playing the safe card and not the beginning of another Sather contract blunder.
Whats with Duby?! I know that everyne is sick of hearing about Dubinsky's contract or lack thereof, but according to reports today from Steve Zipay at Newsday, both sides were unable to reach an agreement and Duby will not begin training camp with the rest of the team. How much longer will this go on? Sather needs to accept that Dubinsky is the future of the league and pay him what he is worth and what he deserves. Attempting to pay him less than he made last year is truly a slap in the face. They need to agree on a long term deal, in which case the Rangers would be able to lock him in at a reasonable price. If they sign him for a low one year deal and he has a breakout year, his price next year wont be too favorable for Glen. How can Sather have no problem spending millions on big name players, but not decide on a fair contract for a player who demonstrates so much heart and talent. I just don't get it....hopefully a favorable decision will be in the works soon.
A few closing questions...
How will the new players gel as a unit? Most of these guys have not played together yet and with the limited scrimmage time Torts is allowing in the first few days, how long will it take for the lines to come together and click. Hopefully Drury and Kotalik pick up from where they left off in Buffalo and can make something work...Hopefully Duby can get on the ice as soon as possible and start clicking with Gabby....There are a number of hopefullys that can finish this paragraph, but we will just let time tell.
How will Henrik Lundqvist prepare for this season and the upcoming Olympic games? Will he fall in line with Torts opinion on sitting a few more games this year? Will he come back tired and sluggish after the Olympics? My thoughts are that Henrik will be able to handle it. He has played 70+ games in the past 3 out of 4 seasons and knows what it takes to be conditioned. This will be his second Olympics, so hopefully he will be more prepared this time around and will know what to expect.
With all these questions, there is nothing else to do but wait and see....
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