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FOOOOORREE! Says the Rangers


DevilMinder

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Thats just called Bad Management.

The Ranger$ were totally unprepared and Blackburn is just not ready to be thrown in the fire. Sather wanted to save face in light of horrible draft record by calling Blackburn, the next Grant Fuhr...as if the kid didn't have enough pressure.

Its funny a team with an estimated $84 million salary base and the ONLY player who came to play this week was TED DONATO.

So much for the infamous: "I will only play for a Stanley Cup contender"--BS.

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Isn't it true that because of his age, he can't be sent to Hartford to play regularly?

Perhaps next year he'll be old enough and they'll sign a backup for Dunham and let Blackburn play for the Pack.

That would be logical though, so don't count on it! :D

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Look at the bright side Derek, at least we will be getting our playoff money back.

As far as Blackburn is concerned, I think Hartford is a very realistic possibility for him next season. Dunham will be the number 1 and get 60+ starts.

I really think the JR rule hurts top players more than it helps them. Very very few players can play in the NHL at 18 or 19 and have a great deal of success. At the same time those playing with teenagers does very little for the development of those top players.

I think Pavel Brendl said it best a few years ago when he was sent back to JR. "I should be playing with men not boys."

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C'mon guys- mess guarantee is all they have left. Don't take that away from them. I mean, it's not like he nailed the last guarantee that he made two years ago was it, about making the playoffs? :D

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Its been a few years since your team has won as well...

...Game 7 in Colorado isn't close enough...nor is Game 6 in Carolinia. :evilcry:

Honestly I love the way you guys spin things. About a week or so ago after that big Philly win you guys were saying, bring on Toronto, all the pressure's on them. Call me crazy but a team that has its sights set much higher than getting in saying all the pressure is on another team in Round one is very interesting.

Hey, you guys are going to take shots at a guy with 6 cups, I'll bring up the past all day.

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bg even the loss to Carolina is a lot closer than the highest payroll in the league has been the last six years :P

And yes that was asinine what Cro-Mag said about Blackburn. It SHOULDN'T BE ON THE KID TO BEGIN WITH! Marty has much more of a pedigree than Blackburn and you'd never catch Stevens or Dano saying well it's all gonna rest on Marty's shoulders tonight. Not only was it undue pressure to put on the kid it's flat out admitting your team ain't good enough to do it.

And bg If you're gonna laud him for his Game 6 guarantee forever you have to give him crap for NOT delivering on his promise last year. Not to mention Sather this year :lol: .

I'm beginning to buy the overrated leader thing; the greatest leader in all of professional sports hasn't led his teams into the playoffs in any of the past six years.

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bg you are right. We should feel really sad for the Rangers. All these guarantees and nothing to show for it. I think it would be better if we show support for the Rangers for a good effort and a job well done. Maybe next year will be the year. See you next year Rangers and I hope you continue to play with heart, desire, passion and as a team worthy of a birth to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Good luck! We applaud your effort this year. :D

:clap::clap::clap:

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It's not like those 6 years absent from the playoffs have been on bad teams either. All 6 years, it has been teams expected to make the playoffs that did not deliver.

Messier is a non-entity now. I don't even hate him anymore, that's how pathetic he's become.

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Why do Rags fans hold Cromag's guarantee as damn near Gospel? Slats said the same and alot of other guys talk smack, too. He got lucky with a guess.

It would've been more impressive if he had like actually scored the game winning goal to back up his quote. Mess is done. Stick him back in ice until the next ice age thaw.

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Look at the bright side Derek, at least we will be getting our playoff money back.

But that's just it bg. I don't want my playoff money back. You can figure out what I mean here.

This team shouldn't be missing it's sixth straight postseason. Even with all the injuries, they still should have been able to win more games. It's sad how heartless they are. Like a bad disease that never has a cure.

As far as Blackburn is concerned, I think Hartford is a very realistic possibility for him next season. Dunham will be the number 1 and get 60+ starts.

I really think the JR rule hurts top players more than it helps them. Very very few players can play in the NHL at 18 or 19 and have a great deal of success. At the same time those playing with teenagers does very little for the development of those top players.

I think Pavel Brendl said it best a few years ago when he was sent back to JR. "I should be playing with men not boys."

Blackie clearly needs to be in Hartford next year. I agree that the JR rule hurts kids because it only leaves their NHL team with two options:

1.Send them back to Juniors where they might be too good to play.

2.Play them in the NHL where it's Sink or Swim. Guys can lose confidence this way if not brought along properly.

I think we've seen a few examples of this.

If Mess really said what he did about Blackie, he was wrong.

But for fans here to say he's not a leader is ridiculous. #11 might be 42 but he brought it most nights this season unlike his younger teammates.

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Zam, the board's missing the point on Messier. What a shock considering who he plays for?

Stevens isn't the same player anymore either but is he still valuable to the Devils as Team Captain? Sure.

The only difference is Stevens has a better TEAM surrounding him where there's a core nucleus (Daneyko, Brodeur, Niedermayer, Elias, Pandolfo, Madden, Rafalski, etc.) that understands what their roles are and how to go out and execute the gameplan night in and night out.

The Rangers have none of that kind of core that's been there other than Leetch and Messier (and Mess bolted for Vancouver in much the same fashion Holik bolted the Devils).

The Rangers have been overturned so much, that there's no chemistry whatsoever. It's individuals trying to fit into a chaotic environment. This probably sounds like something MaddDog would say. But it's true.

If more guys brought it every night like that 42-year-old Captain people like to diss, the Rangers would be in the playoffs without question. Instead, individualism conquered them once again with little chemistry on most of the lines.

Look how long it took Pat Burns to come up with his four lines. It took him more than half a year but when he finally did, it gave the Devils a consistency and a camaraderie.

The Rangers never had that consistency for various reasons (coaching staff changes, injuries to star players and chaos).

If you can keep a team intact and have a coach establish what your lines are and the roles are clearly defined, it will give the team an identity and they will jell. This never happened with this year's Rangers.

Messier can lead as much as he wants but if their best players (Lindros, Kovalev, etc.) are going in circles moving from line-to-line because of confidence issues, you aren't going to be successful.

Mess had a fine season. For all the criticism I had for him, he earned his ice-time and was a team player. He played hard on most nights and even was the 4th line center when the team reduced his role.

For a guy that was supposed to be washed up, he didn't play like it.

Now, getting back to Stevens. The Devils Team Captain struggled for most of the season and had quite a few off nights. But his team still needed him in the lineup for his presence. He's played better the past month and led by example. That's all you can ask from a leader.

This could be a good omen for the Devils.

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I believe the point is that is Messier was the greatest leader in the history of sports, why can't he motivate these guys to play better?

I think it's an overstatement to say Stevens struggled. The guy is still a plus player playing against the top lines most nights.

To say he should have retired before he went to Vancouver is revisionist history, the guy was still near the top of his game when he went West.

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The six Cups speak for themselves. Mess won his 5th without Gretzky in Edmonton and followed through on his promise when clearly, the Rangers had their backs to the wall against the Devils in Game Six.

That's why he gets lauded so much.

I am glad to see someone say that Messier was still near the top of his game when he left the Rangers for Vancouver (as huge a mistake as Holik leaving the Devils for similar reasons???).

Is Mess still a leader? Sure he is. Go ahead and look at the season he had. He didn't take many penalties either and played hard.

It's ashame some of his most talented teammates didn't follow his lead.

Well, time to watch the NCAA tournament.

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Points well made Derek.

Still at it, eh Triumph? Anyway....personal opinion that I think he should have retired and I am not the only one. Does not matter because he is still here and the fans love him regardless. He was given a hearty welcome his first trip back to MSG when he was a Canuck.

The main point of these tangent posts was to address the fact that he should not have publicly made that statement about Blackburn.

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No problem Zamode. I agree that what Mess said about Blackburn was wrong. That's not fair to the kid.

I felt sorry for him last night. Clearly, he needs some seasoning in Hartford next fall.

As for Messier being annointed the "Greatest Leader Of All-Time," that's debatable.

Is he one of the best? Without question. His career speaks volumes.

But to say he is the greatest leader ever is always open to debate. Look at Yzerman on Detroit. I'd have to say he took the torch from Messier in the category of best leader in the current NHL.

But that's what makes debates fun. Always getting differing opinions with good analysis.

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