The Tim Kennedy Cap Space Maneuver Is A Go !

Out of all the acquisitions the Rangers made this off season, perhaps even including the Frolov UFA signing, The Mouth believes this move might have been the best.

The Rangers obtained a young, emerging LW in Tim Kennedy, who has some real potential for what really amounts to as a song.

Kennedy went to salary arbitration with the Buffalo Sabres who are limited in cash and shackled by budget restraints, being that thay are from a small market.

In the end, the arbitrator ruled against the Sabres and awarded Kennedy a One Million dollar contract.

Buffalo was not willing to pay Kennedy his million and immediately bought out 1/3 of his contract and placed him on waivers. Kennedy did have a say so in which team he was willing to go to and he picked the Rangers.

The Rangers will pay Kennedy $550,000 for this upcoming season. The Big Man feels this could  prove to be the shrewdest moves Glen Sather has made this summer.

Kennedy is young, talented and super cap friendly to the Blueshirts who don't have much wiggle room salary cap wise.

For The Mouths vociferous opinion as well as some local coverage of the trade in Buffalo watch below:

Old Skool Ranger Internet Radio Tonight At 8 PM : Emile Francis and Rod Seiling

Tonight's going to be a stroll down memory lane as former Ranger head coach Emile Francis and former Ranger defenseman for over a decade Rod Seiling are the guests on Blueshirt Banter radio tonight with The Mouth and Jim.

if you have any interest in the history of Hockey or Ranger hockey specifically, this really is a must listen.

Emile "The Cat" Francis is as sharp as a tack and is the undisputed reigning expert on New York Ranger lore.
This will be Emile's third time with us and it's always a an absolute blast.

We are surprising Emile live on air with Rod Seiling, who played with the Blueshirts under Emile Francis from 1963-1974.

This show promises to be a dandy and we hope you catch it live or on podcast.

To Listen Live or on Podcast click the box below

Listen to internet radio with Blueshirt Banter on Blog Talk Radio

Ranger Hockey Fan Summer Summit I : The Aftermath

In what The Mouth hopes to be the first of many Ranger Fan Summits, the Big man got a chance to meet and greet friends of both his Ranger Crisis and Blueshirt Banter Radio programs.

The inaugural summit took place at Bar Nine in Hells Kitchen, NYC on Saturday, August 21st.

The event showcased a panel discussion about The Rangers upcoming season.

The panel consisted of our boy Mouth, Russ Cohen and Adam Raider both of whom are co-authors of the book 100 Ranger Greats.

The discussion covered everything from Boogaard to Frolov as well as predictions for the Rangers upcoming 2010-2011 season.

The die hard Ranger fans in attendance reacted vociferously to both players names and the opinions of the speakers.

The Mouth even managed to give away some prizes to his Crisis loyalists, one which was a Marc Staal jersey and several err.. hmm signed Petr Prucha pucks.

A good time was had by all and The Mouth is looking forward to doing it again.

To listen to the podcast of the panel discussion visit 100 Ranger Greats.com

Erik Christensen : The NHL Life You Save.... May Be your Own.

The Mouth wholeheartedly believes what Ranger fans need for a more positive and more enjoyable 2010-2011 season are two things.

The first one lies in the banishment of Wade Redden to the Hartford Wolfpack and secondly, that the Rangers need to become a more bearable team to watch offensively.

The Blueshirts as a team finished 20th in the NHL in total goals and frankly for most of last season were an absolute snorefest to watch.

The Big Man feels that Eric Christensen could be the guy to help pitch in and help alleviate Ranger fans from falling asleep with TV remotes in hand.

The problem The Mouth feels is that Erik Christensen needs to know this himself, that he has the power and offensive potential to just not make a wacky addicted Ranger fans season more enjoyable, but that he himself can start shaping and solidifying himself a NHL career by elevating his offensive game

At age 27 this really may be Erik's last chance at living the NHL Life. Christensen has the speed and has the hands but his mental state is a work in progress, mainly concerning his confidence.

The Mouth addresses this as well as some other issues in the video below which also has an Erik Christensen Hi-Lite video following it done by the great Ranger video editor LoFFen.

It's An Amazing August For The Internet Savvy Ranger Fan : Blueshirt Interviews & Fans Meet Up !

The Internet is a wonderful thing, especially for Ranger fans like The Mouth. Because of MSG's utter futility to have a clue on what the modern day Ranger fan would like to see covered. People like The Mouth get to do it,.

Combine this with James Dolan's paranoia in dealing with any media and absolutely no Hockey coverage in the metropolitan area, Blueshirt fans have hit The Internet to get their fix of Ranger news and views.

As you know, the web is a virtual wild wild west of uncensored, unbiased Blueshirt information and entertainment.

We also know that when it comes to Ranger entertainment The Mouth tries his darndest to provide both  info and laughs for his fellow Ranger fans

So with that said here is your Amazing August of Ranger Entertainment Schedule :

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Wednesday August 18th  8-10 PM - Blueshirt Banter Radio -  Guest : Ron Greschner

Saturday August 21st 2 PM  FREE Ranger Fan Summer Summit I at Bar Nine Manhattan 

Hosts : The Mouth & 100 Ranger Greats Authors Russ Cohen and Adam Raider

Wednesday August 25th 8-10 PM - Blueshirt Banter Radio  Guest : Emile Francis & Rod Seiling

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The Mouth Meets A Blues Fan In St.Louis

Last summer The Mouth visited both Chicago and Detroit and had a chance to talk to some rabid hockey fans of both the cities NHL teams.

You can find those videos here :                          

Chicago Blackhawks:                                                                             New York Ranger Crisis Show #73
                                                                                                                                                             Detroit Redwings :                                                                                                                                  New York Ranger Crisis Show # 81

This year The Big man stopped off in St.Louis in search of Blues fans that were willing to talk some Blues puck.

It's pretty hard to find identifiable Hockey fans in the middle of August in the United States so it took awhile for the Mouth to finally catch up with a local fan of the hometown Blues.

It's always interesting what other fans think of their teams and as we know The Mouth likes to keep his ear close to the ground as far as other NHL squads go, especially what the dedicated true blue fans are thinking.

The video below captures The Mouth's exploits as he searches for a Blues fan to chat up.

Good Riddance To Bad Garbage : Todd White For Dummies VIdeo

Glen Sather once again has unloaded another UFA pickup from last summer when he traded the utterly useless Donald Brashear to the Thrashers, along with another feckless UFA pickup from two summers ago Patrick Rissmiller.

The only player besides Gaborik remaining from Glen Sather's 2009 summer of free agency woe is Brian Boyle.

The Mouth feels that it's kind of ironic that the player who the Rangers received from the Thrashers, Todd White, for the two buffoons mentioned above, might be guy who will eventually send Brian Boyle packing.

Todd White is an older player, but he can supply some scoring occasionally which Boyle can not.  White is a 35 year old center who had a ton of injury problems last year, including a dislocated shoulder and knee problems.

White did however score 22 goals two years ago.

The trade was made as a salary dump by the Thrashers, who immediately placed Brashear on unconditional waivers and will buy out the $1.3 million left on the last year of his contract, should he not be claimed. The Thrashers cleared about $850,000 in cap room with this deal.

For the Rangers this was basically a good riddance to bad garbage deal for a player that might or might not be up with the big club this year.
 

The Mouth feels that if Todd White has an impressive camp, and John Tortorella's first impression is a good one, we might be seeing another 2009 UFA in Brian Boyle shipped off or demoted and Todd White playing in his place.

The Mouth of course lends his warped thoughts to the video below. 

Ranger Hockey Fan Summer Summit I Saturday August 21st in Manhattan

A meeting of the loudest and the proudest Ranger fans will be taking place in Manhattan on Saturday August 21st, 2010.

This is your chance to meet and greet other Ranger fans both old and new, pound some beers and talk about the only thing that really matters , New York Rangers Hockey.

There will be a panel discussion about Rangers hockey past and present that includes two of the authors of the book 100 ranger greats Adam Raider and Russ Cohen as well as our very own The Mouth.

This promises to be tremendous fun for everyone, as ranger fans gather for the the inaugural Ranger Hockey fan Summit, to discuss their feelings on the upcoming Ranger season as well as the Blueshirts future.

Plus you get to meet the Mouth !

The Event will be taking place Saturday August 21st 2 PM at Bar Nine

Bar Nine Website w/ directions

Skillz To Pay The Bills & Lack Of Will To Make Fans ILL : Alexander Frolov For Dummies Video

The Rangers made what appears to be a shrewd move in The Mouth's opinion by acquiring UFA Alexander Frolov's services for the sum of Three Million Dollars for this upcoming season.

Inherently as a Ranger fan, after a Glen Sather UFA transaction, you automatically first look at the new acquisition not with promise or optimism but with a dysfunctional type of pessimistic guile.

The main focus automatically and ironically shifts to exit strategies on how to get rid of the newly acquired player even before he laces up his skates for New York.

If Blueshirt fans think Ranger brass can eventually unload the newly obtained players contract easily when things inevitably go horribly wrong, it's already considered a winning move.

This is the case of Alexander Frolov. Frolov is very cap friendly to the Blueshirts, and one year is perfect. The Rangers are in desperate need of scoring and Frolov could supply that.

The only knock on Frolov is from a fans perspective is that he is frustrating as hell to watch.

Skeptics such as The Mouth feel that he needs to bring his game every night and not take games off.

But where the Rangers are sitting salary cap wise beggars can't be choosers and so the Rangers inked Frolov.

Let's hope the change of scenery and departure from a rigid L.A King defensive system can jump starts his offensive game and make Sather look smart.

Below The Mouth lends his commentary to an Alexander Frolov 2009-2010 Hi-Lite Video