1. ofcourse Jaromir Jagr. He does have a messed up groin and is 70% healthy and yet scoring goals in just about every game. jagr is one of the most talented hockey players in the NHL. Great team guy, has played very well as a ranger so far.

2. i gotta say Bobby Holik. he is a checking center, hasnt done much of it but this season he has played very well. he is a big huge guy that can score, play good defensive hockey,take the body and piss the hell out of goalies and get them off there game. This season he is turning into one of my favorite rangers.

3. Fedor Tyutin, yes Fedor Tyutin. this kid is young, thick body. physical player, has a heavy shot and his play in the NHL so far this year has been extrmely impressive. He is the rangers best defensive prospect, plays a extrmely well-rounded play, i like him.

4. This was a tough decision so i gave it to 2 guys:

brian leetch and/or danny blackburn. i had trouble with this one because leetch is old and currently blackburn is injured. tonights game JD mentioned blackburn is getting better very slowly and probaly wont need surgury on the damaged nerve in his shoulder. But Brian Leetch is a true Ranger, over this drought of no playoffs brian leetch is the only player to be on the rangers throughout all of the years.

i hope he does not get traded, it will be a damn shame if he does, there is no1 that could make up for his absence. none of the naslunds or tanguays or broduers could make up for brian leetch, my personal favorite ranger, and in 10 years i hope they have his #2 right next to Richter’s #35 up in the rafters.

ok…

5. must be alexie kovalev. i recently thought the rngers have 2 trade him but i change my mind. kovalev has had a rough year, thats fine with me, he has ben back checking and lately he is shooting the puck starting to score a little more. if he keeps this up he could be a valuable asset to this team in the near and long future.

Some other guys i would like to stay with the Rangers are: Ruchinsky,Barnaby,Mirinov and all of the kids they got are good.

Did anyone see the Poti fight? that was awesome…by the way.. i dont want to see him as a ranger in the near future. i rather see bryce lampman be there.

Alot of rangers are just “having one of those bad years”

So i am guessing we supposed to say The Rangers are “Just having one of those bad decades”???

The following players are free agents:

Barnaby, Bure, Kovalev, Lindros, Malakhov, Messier, Mironov, Nedved, Pushor, Rucinsky, and Simon. That’s almost 3 lines of offence and about one line of D! Honestly I feel its a strong possibility that NONE of these guys will be resigned. now how do they go about filling all of these roster spots? YOUTH!

Players like Ortmyer, Lundmark, Murray, Tyutin, Heerema, Moore, and Nycholat will fill up most of the lines. sound like a plan for failure? it very well could mean another tough season. with all that money free i think they should bring in some older players to help out.

First they should resign Rucinsky. He is just starting to pick up his game again and i like his speed playing with Jagr. Bolstering the defense should be their top priority. They should start by signing atleast two of the following players: Zhitnik, Carney, Schneider, Numminen, Matvichuk, Therien, Baron, Klee, and Marchment.

Now on offense they have to be smarter than they have in the past. first let me just say that there is NO CHANCE Sather will be in ny next season. not in this city, not with these fans. someone smarter would consider the following players as replacements: G. Murray (this should be the only big one), Perrault, and Mellanby. That could even work as a great 2nd line if they were lucky enough to get all three.

And now for the situation in goal. Dunham needs to be traded or bought out. Jussi is good, but not “starter” good and Blackburn is burnt out. if the Fernandez rumors are true then i’d be very happy. Unfortunately it might not be the goalie they need. khabibulin will be available and I expect the rangers to make a strong push for him. Salo is available also, but again I don’t think he is the answer. my biggest prediction is Hasek. he is someone who can play another 2 years, and despite his age and injuries the rangers just might take the chance. god knows they got the money to do it.

as for coaching and the G.M. position, if coach q. gets the axe in St. Louis I would expect the rangers to be VERY interested. as far as the front office, Jim Dolan’s hiring of Isaiah Thomas (NY Knicks) might inspire a similar hiring with the rangers. Someone who can come in with an uncanny desire to do whatever it takes to win a cup. Someone who will use his ownerships resources wisely to trade for the right kind of guys.

With all the payroll leaving in the summer, the idea of the Rangers getting some quality FA’s is not unreasonable. Then again what is unreasonable in NY? I say they’ll push for the following guys extra hard: Murray, Hasek/Khabibulin, Kariya (just like last summer), and Schneider. Fill the rest of the lines with youth, a new attitude in the front office, and a coach with a game plan and you’ve got one hell of an organization! The Future is Now!!!

The complete (all though not completely accurate) list of FA’s that I used for this article can be found at http://www.geocities.com/floridapanthers2000/free2004.html

I don’t know who much Jagr will help a team with his lingering hammy injury. Its the same injury every year. I really think he is damaged goods and not a dependable acquisition for a playoff team.

I can see Leetch in St. Louis with big Al gone, would be a great pairing next season with Jackman.

I think the well has run dry in Colorado for young talent.

I would love Kovy in NJ, Gomez could make him a scorer again. He doesn’t have that in NY.

I love Barnaby and so does Muckler. Great fit in Ottawa. Simon….not sure if there is a market for him. Maybe Boston.

I could see Poti in Boston, pairing with ODonnell.

Ruscinsky would be a great addition to anyone, he has proven in the last two seasons he is a good all around player.

Nedved, maybe a bag of pucks. I dont’ see anyone interested in him.

I agree you have too just dump at this point, FIRE SATHER and get a GM that knows about DRAFTING talent.

I agree you have too just dump at this point, FIRE SATHER and get a GM that knows about DRAFTING talent.

I agree you have too just dump at this point, FIRE SATHER and get a GM that knows about DRAFTING talent.

No but seriously, I hate to bring up basketball but its a good compairison: several years ago, in the early 90′s, there was a team that sucked, I think it was Orlando, that got the 1st overall two seasons in a row because they got lucky with the lottery ball coming up in their favor. If im right about Orlando, they drafted Shaq and then Chris Webber in those consecutive seasons. And even though the Clippers where absoloutley horrible, Orlando got lucky w/ the lottery.

So I guess we should hope the Rangers get lucky for once and get the 1st pick overall……….. and then trade him for another 500 goal scorer in Ron Francis.

Sorry RangerSteve, I had to use that one.