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.

Reid Urban Pays a Visit to the Bakersfield Condors

So, as you may have noticed, I haven't been posting as of lately. Of course, I had put up my opinions on the teams that won and failed at the trade deadline, but other than that, nothing.

Well, I've been traveling and not just for work. I've been traveling for sports. Why, you may ask? Well, sports is my life. It's like a religion for me. It's a chance to escape the real world and those who oppress you. Well, watching it anyway. Maybe playing it could be a different issue, but either way, sports is something I enjoy. So I decided to do something I have never done for: Take Amtrak.

That's right. I took the Amtrak's San Joaquin line from the Richmond station in Oakland down towards Bakersfield to pay a visit to the Bakersfield Condors and watch them play the San Diego Gulls on a Tuesday night. The train ride wasn't bad. I managed to keep myself busy by listening to some ESPN podcasts, like PTI and Around the Horn, and checking on the day's news and opinions from around the league, from Peyton Manning retiring to how the Warriors are still rolling. But in about 5 hours or so, I managed to get to Bakersfield, no problem.

I checked into my hotel at the Best Western Plus just across from the Amtrak station. Nice place. It was good enough for what I paid and relaxed for a bit before I had to head over.

Since the Marriott was close by, I decided to get something to eat. Granted, that night they were giving out $1.50 hot dogs but I was already hungry and couldn't wait around any longer. So I had fish and chips, as well as a Stella, at the Marriott. I was there for about half an hour, chatted with a group of people (some of whom were going to a meeting that was being held there), and then afterwards headed next door to Rabobank Arena.

Surprisingly, these Condors fans come out in full-fledge to watch their Condors play, even though they only play in the AHL and frankly they are not paid attention to much by the rest of the world. Either way, they came out and they were screaming their hearts out to get the Condors a win.

I don't watch as a fan, I watch as someone interested in the AHL and how teams play there. The Condors have interested me for some time because at times, they play like geniuses and at other times, they don't do anything. I saw them play Sunday in San Jose against the Barracuda and it feels like they just came out with nothing. Now it could be that some of their players were called up by the Oilers. But these group of people, I saw on Sunday in San Jose, so there definitely was something there. Well, for the first part of this game, they did come out strong with a goal to start the game, before the San Diego Gulls got 3 goals. The Condors didn't give up, though, managing to tie up the game and send it to overtime. Unfortunately, for the Condors, they left a Gulls player wide open and he scored to give the Gulls a 4-3 overtime win over the Condors. And that still leaves the Condors three teams to last in that Pacific Division of the AHL. Only Stockton and San Antonio are worse right now.

But you know something. This was the most entertaining and energizing game I've seen in the AHL so far. Condors fans know how to come to the game, something I wish other AHL cities and teams, especially out here, would do. I understand that the AHL is part of a developmental league for the NHL, but they are also playing in a season too. They are playing to try to win the Calder Cup and to be competitive in a league that no one else seems to pay attention to. Well, either way, no one will probably give the Condors a chance, not unless they do something drastic, like win the rest of their games, but it's hard to see that happening.

Anyhow, after the game, I spent the night in Bakersfield, drinking water and watching the news. I went to sleep soon afterwards and woke up around 8 the next morning, had a little bit of a morning workout where I ran around 1.25 miles before my legs couldn't take it anymore, and packed up my car and headed back to my 10:05 train back up to Northern California.

Overall, a good experience and being a fan and a spectator of hockey, it was definitely fun to see the Bakersfield Condors. I don't know if I'll do it again, since I blew a little bit of money trying to get down here and my hotel room and such, but I'll say this about the Condors: They know how to make things sound like they play in the NHL. See you next time, Condors. And keep an eye out for new posts coming soon, puck heads!

Posted above is a picture of Rabobank Arena after the San Diego Gulls won 4-3 in overtime against the Bakersfield Condors.

The NHL After the Deadline

Well, the NHL's trade deadline has come and gone. Many teams got better while others are giving up players in order to move on to next season and free up money for players they could potentially sign next season. With that being said, there are many teams and many GMs that helped themselves and then there are those who didn't help themselves. So let's take a look at a couple of players and GMs that might or might not have helped themselves at the trade deadline.

First, let's look at one player who is going to do the most to help his new team. To me, I believe that is Andrew Ladd of the Blackhawks. He can help Chicago's forward lines and have the right balance, but he is also a good mix on the Toews-Hossa line.

Another big player that might help is Jamie McGinn of the Ducks. The Ducks are definitely going to be making some noise this March, and his style of play is a perfect addition to the way they play the game. He can play outside the crease and if you saw the way he scored against the Canadiens in his first game with the Ducks, I think he'll be able to help the Ducks when the playoffs come.

SI.com's Michael Blinn believes the Panthers getting Jiri Hudler from the Flames will be a good fit and I'm a little skeptical about this. Hurler hasn't had the puck much this season like he did last season when he scored 31 goals. However, if he can create some offense behind Jagr and Barkov, he could actually be a good fit with what the Panthers are playing. Not only that, but with the addition of Teddy Purcell could also be a big factor into how the Panthers play for the rest of the season and the playoffs.

So now that we've looked at biggest additions this season, I'm not going to look at some trades that might be the biggest fails. The Vancouver Canucks definitely fall into that list. Acquiring Markus Granlund for Hunter Shinkaruk might not be the smartest play, especially for the team we believe is a rebuilding team. Not only that, but not being able to trade away Radim Vrbata, Alexander Burrows, and Dan Hamhuis among others might not have been the smartest thing. Granted, they have no-trade causes, but Hamhuis was willing to save his. He could've gone to a better team.

How about the Boston Bruins? They didn't do anything! Last year, GM Don Sweeney didn't move picks to get any help at the deadline. Now this year, he's giving away picks to get rental players. There's nothing that bad about getting John-Michael Liles and Lee Stempniak, but this team is going nowhere, and they are wasting away their futures on rental players that might not come back. They shouldn't have held on to Loui Eriksson, who'll be overpaid on an extension or walk away. The Bruins are a disaster right now when it comes to trading and trading away their future is not something this team should be doing.

And if you had to look at the team that was in the mix, you had to look at the Dallas Stars. GM Jim Nill whiffed on the opportunity to grab Hamhuis from the Canucks. He did get Kris Russell, but Hamhuis could've provided solid borderline defense. Kris Russell has hurt his partner on defense a lot this season, and having him alone could prove disastrous down the road for the Stars.

Well, some teams got better, others could've gotten worse. We'll see if the final stretch run of this season can prove this teams are contenders or playoff-missers. It's bound to be an exciting final part of this season, puck heads!