Offseason Time for the New York Rangers

The New York Rangers are now in summer. They were eliminated in a five series first round by the Pittsburgh Penguins and now GM Jeff Gorton, who's been on the job since July 1, is gonna have a busy offseason to keep the New York dream of chasing the Stanley Cup alive.

The first-round series loss to the Penguins signals the end of Glen Sather and the beginning of Jeff Gorton. Although it doesn't sound as famous or as eye-catching as Sather, Gorton has proven a little bit that he can find the right moves to get this team into the playoffs. But now he's got his work cut out for him. So what does this summer bring for a GM trying to keep this New York team in contention?

Well, Dan Girardi is one of them and he has not played well this season and into the playoffs and this could signal his end in New York. New York is a town where if play drops off, you could be hearing it from the fans and the front office. Problem is, he is difficult to trade. The Rangers need cap space and could potentially buy out the rest of his contract. Most importantly, are the Rangers loyal to him? We'll see down the road.

The defense will definitely be changed come next fall. Ryan McDonagh is the center of it, but both Dan Boyle and Keith Yandle will become unrestricted free agents. The Rangers are not planning on bringing Boyle back but they'll have to free up cap space if they want to keep Yandle. If they decide to buy out Girardi, they could have the money to sign Yandle long-term.

Chris Kreider, J.T. Miller, and Kevin Hayes become restricted free agents. Miller had a breakthrough season with 22 goals and my guess is he'll be a lock to stay on the Rangers. Kreider might also be part of the Rangers' long-term seasons, after having posted back-to-back 21-goal seasons. He is already a star in the making. Goalie Antti Raanta and forwards Viktor Stalberg and Dominic Moore become unrestricted free agents, but I could only see Stalberg or Raanta staying. Dominic Moore might be the odd man out if Gorton wants more cap space.

I talk about Kreider being star in the making, while Rick Nash is a star that has dropped off in production. Rick Nash only had 15 goals and 36 points in 60 games which is not good enough for a Rangers player of that caliber. Moving Rick Nash might also be part of Gorton's plans for the summer. Question is: What can they get for him?

The Rangers have a lot of issues to fix and a lot of stuff they need to find. The Penguins showed them that they're not good enough to win the Stanley Cup right now. If Gorton can find the pieces and change the way this team plays, maybe it will be. Right now, he's looking at possibly changing the structure of the team in a way that will help them be successful down the road. Looks like a long summer, Rangers fans.

Blackhawks or Blues in Game 7?

Well, puck heads, the NHL playoffs has been off to a tearing start. Several teams have showed up that they definitely deserve to move on to the second round, while other teams have choked and ended up eliminated from the postseason. But tonight's Game 7 between the Blues and the Blackhawks should show us who the best team might be going into the semifinal round.

As you may recall, the Blackhawks won two crucial games in Games 5 & 6 to make it to this point, while the Blues have shown us that they can't yet close out games when they matter most. While you may credit the Blackhawks for what they've done to get to this point, you also have to look at why the Blues can't seem to close them out, even in 2OT in Game 5.

The Blues no doubt what to end their streak of being out in the first round, while the Blackhawks would love nothing more than to keep that streak going.

Kevin Allen and Kristen Shilton of USA Today have picked the St. Louis Blues to finally get over the hump in this game and make it to the semifinal. Me, on the other hand, I'm not sure. The thing is I want to see the Blues make it to the second round and finally end their streak of being kicked out in the first round, but at the same time, you should never bet against the Blackhawks in the playoffs. Why? Well, does having three Stanley Cup championship in three years mean anything? The Blackhawks didn't just do this but being good in every single game. When they were down, they didn't count themselves out. They came back and won series and eventually won Stanley Cups. I'm having that feeling that the Blackhawks will do it again here in this series.

So while I believe Allen and Shilton are going with the Blues because of how well they have played going into the postseason, I'm not going to pick against the Blackhawks. When I pick against the Blackhawks, they have ended up winning. I'm not going to make that mistake this time. Blues, unfortunately, will have to wait another year to get off this streak. It would be fascinating if they could do it here, but I just don't see it happening, not with the way the Blackhawks have played of late.

Keith Gets Suspended 6 Games

Looks like the Chicago Blackhawks will be without one of their big defensive stars going into the playoffs.

Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith has been suspended a total of six games for his high-stick hit on Minnesota Wild player Charlie Coyle in Tuesday night's game. In the game, Keith swung his stick in a way that hit Coyle right in the nose and resulted in a match penalty.

Although Keith was offered an in-person hearing, he declined it and instead had an over-the-phone hearing. Keith probably should've chosen the in-person hearing.

Keith had been suspended twice already in his career, five for an elbow against Canucks forward Daniel Sedin in 2012 and one for high-sticking Kings forward Jeff Carter in 2013.

Keith will miss the last four remaining games of the regular season for the Blackhawks and Game 1 of the playoffs, which begin on April 13.

The Blackhawks have been a bit dreadful of late and it seems like Keith was trying to get his team hyped up and back in the game, but it didn't go the way he wanted it to.

According to what PTI's Tony Kornheiser and ESPN the Magazine's Pablo Torre reported, Keith used his stick in an ax-like way, which totally makes me believe that 6 games is the right punishment. Using the stick like an ax is definitely not the right thing to do and I'm glad he was tossed right then and there. I like the Blackhawks because of their recent success in the playoffs and winning the Stanley Cup but I don't like them in the fact that sometimes in order to get up for games, they have to attack other players in a way that makes it vicious. The punishment definitely fits the crime. I could've gone even seven or eight games as a result of this, but six games is absolutely fair as well. You have to punish a hit like that. I understand Keith wants to do whatever he can to get his team going, but taking it out on Coyle in the way that he did will be something that could cost his team come playoff time.

Unfortunately, the last four games don't really matter, and Game 1 can easily be forgotten if the Blackhawks win it. But Keith has to learn his actions from this hit. It will cost you big, and ultimately it did. Now the Blackhawks will have to figure out what to do now and if they can finish out the season strong and win Game 1 without him. It will be a tough pill to swallow, but being the Blackhawks, they'll probably find a way to overcome his absence.