Former Ranger Goalie And Renaissance Man Steve Baker Shows Off His 1982 Goaltending Gear

The mask you see pictured above can still be seen hanging around New York City to this day, if you happen to go to Sean Avery's bar Warren 77 in Tribeca you will see a nice looking facsimile hanging on the wall as part of the bars decor.

The Empire State Building mask was worn by none other than Steve Baker, a Ranger goaltender who in the annuls of Ranger history sometimes gets lost in the mix.

Steve came along when the Rangers in the 1979-1980 season when the Blueshirts were dealing with John Davidson's knee injury and couldn't get a netminder on the club to save a beach ball with a boat oar.

Before Steve Baker joined the club on December 9th of that year, the Rangers as a team were giving up an incredible average of 4.17 goals per game.

The Mouth feels that Steve Baker was the bridge to John Vanbiesbrouk era, kinda sorta.

The reason The Mouth had us go into such detail about Steve Baker, is that Steve will be joining The Big Man and Jim Schmiedeberg on Blueshirt Banter Radio this Wednesday night, to talk about his life as a hockey player and his pretty varied and interesting accomplishments post playing days.

You can hear all about Steve's post career life on Wednesday Night by clicking the link below the video.

The clip featured below was a in between periods segment that had MSG color commentator Phil Esposito visit Steve Baker in what appears as an electrical room that also doubled as the Rangers locker room at Rye Playland back in 1982.

Steve discusses the goalie equipment which now in 2010 seems so flimsy, it's mind boggling.



Listen Live Starting Wednesday May 26th At 8 PM or on podcast by Clicking link below :

Blueshirt Banter Radio w/ Guest Steve Baker on Blog Talk Radio

Leslie Treff Of Hockeys Future On Blueshirt Banter Radio With The Mouth Tonight At 8 PM

Leslie Treff Of Hockey's Future will be discussing the state of Ranger Prospects as well as giving us a good idea on who The Rangers may target in the upcoming June NHL draft. She will be visiting the NHL combine and scouting all the top prospects.

The show starts at 8 PM and we take your phone calls all night at (646) 478-4692

Feel free to Join The Mouth in Blueshirt Banter Chatroom while the show streams live and chat with other crazed Ranger fans

To listen to the show Live or archived :

Listen to Blueshirt Banter Radio w/ The Mouth on Blog Talk Radio

Gabba Gabba We Accept You, We Accept You, One Of Us !

When the Rangers lack of brain trust first signed UFA Marian Gaborik, most Blueshirt fans were skeptical of the move to say the least.

Broadway Blue fans had no doubts concerning his scoring prowess but with Marian's lack of durability as an NHL player, combined with perpetual Ranger bad luck, the overall outlook of the signing was grim to the die hard Ranger fan.

Gaborik's career previously with the Minnesota Wild  had been plagued with what it seemed like endless groin problems and reoccurring injury's up the yin yang.

That unhealthy trend had most Ranger fans predicting he would only play in 40 games or less in a Ranger uniform in the 2009-2010 NHL campaign.

Gabby proved a lot of people wrong by staying predominately healthy during an arduous NHL season which included his participation the Olympics but even more impressive was his performance night after night as the most productive skater on the ice.

The Mouth feels Gabby deserves tons of credit for making this season bearable for the exasperated Ranger fan as he gave us a lot of thrills especially on Madison Square Garden ice, where things haven't been offensively electric since Jaromir Jagr's departure to the KHL.

It is with this wondrous video edited by LoFFen that The Mouth pays tribute to Marian Gaborik for having his career year as a New York Ranger in a season that saw him miss only EIGHT games.

Rangers Beat Winnipeg Jets In Sloppiest Defensive NHL Game Ever Played

                                                                      

Now, The Mouth may be overstating things a bit but it looks like both starting goaltenders could sue their defenses for lack of support as some colossal back line buffoonery can be seen on both sides of the ice.

This game took place On November 8th 1985 in Winnipeg in front of a lot Rangers friends and family.

The main culprit for the Rangers is actually one of my faves Reijo "Rexy" Ruotsalainen who on this night was abysmal and equally putrid were the Winnipeg Jet's blueline pair of Jim Kyte and Randy Carlyle, who also played like they had blindfolds on.

This game was really a chore to watch in its entirety for The Big Man as it was a sloppily played affair full of bad defensive play and choppy action. But of course always caring about the Ranger Crisis viewer The Mouth edited it down nicely to 10 minutes of Whaaaa ?? 

The game took place at the Winnipeg Arena and by the looks of it, not many people liked to actually stand when the Jets would score a goal. 

I think they even knew half of them were gimmes.

Michael Del Zotto & Brian Boyle Attend House Party That Has Horrible Beer.

It's a good The Mouth isn't in law enforcement or he would have bribed his way to free Ranger season tickets by holding these incriminating photos as evidence that 19 year old Michael Del Zotto had been imbibing beer underage.

But what both MDZ and his wing man, fellow Ranger Brian Boyle should be convicted of is actually drinking one of the most heinous beers imaginable Natural Light.

Natural Light, which is the official beer of no budget frat parties everywhere, is a tasteless water-downed alcoholic beverage that most likely had MDZ crapping in his pants faster than as if he had Sidney Crosby baring down on him one on one.

Artem Anisimov : This Russian Jumbo Jet Is ON SCHEDULE

                                                                              It's an odd situation in Rangerland The Mouth feels when an organization like the New York Rangers actually excels at bringing along a good young player from draft pick, through the minors and onto the major league stage.

It's an anomaly akin to The Big Man saying no when offered a free slice of pizza.

This is the case with Artem Anisimov, who is right on schedule in his progression as a NHL player.

Artie's on ice time was a bit paltry in The Mouth's opinion as he could be seen skating predominatly with the third and fourth lines last season but showed real flashes of supersized talent nonetheless.

Imagine what he can do with more playing time, NHL experience and maturity ?

Anisimov really flourished playing on the fourth line last season with bruisers Brandon Prust and Jody Shelley.

This was mostly due because for the young Russian player the name of the game for transition to the North American style is familiarity.

Playing with the same line mates for extended periods of time is something Russian players especially take to.

Too bad John Tortorella didn't think of this earlier.

The following video is a testament to Artem Anisimov's progress.

The Last Time Phil Esposito Ever Got To Go Five Hole On His Brother. 12/14/80

The date was December 14th, 1980. The stage was the old Chicago Stadium. 11.000 fans unknowingly watched Phil Esposito facehis goaltending brother and fellow Hall of Famer Tony Esposito for the last time.

The Esposito's were different and still are. How many brothers get to fire shots and make sprawling saves on each other, no less in the NHL and for over 10 years ?

The Mouth with a few monkey wrench whacks to the Ranger Crisis Time Machine delivers to us the video of this noteworthy game,  a contest that certainly was not noteworthy at the time.

Nobody knew that Phil was going to retire after playing only 41 games in that 1980-81 season.

The game itself was a game where the Rangers couldn't get anything going until it was too late, which as we all know is still a frustrating trend that continues with this team thirty years later.

Besides the Espo and Tony O. final dance, there maybe even a more noteworthy gem captured in this clip.

The Crisis fan is treated to a rare viewing of an Ed Hospodar offensive foray that leads to him actually netting a goal.

Michael Del Zotto Is Loved By Attractive Women

 

The Mouth goes all TMZ on DMZ today as he features the women who have appeared in Michael Del Zotto's life over the past season. Apparently Michael doesn't do all his scoring on the ice but sometimes off it.

The first picture is of MDZ with figure skater Oksana Baiul who won a Gold Medal for the Ukraine in 1994. The two posed for a picture at City Ice Pavilion in Long Island City. 

The only thing that ruined that pic in the Mouth's opinion is that Blueshirts Divided banner in the background.

The black and white picture is of Michael featured in a fashion magazine with Victoria Secret model Raquel Zimmerman, the two had been rumored to have been together but since parted ways. 

But frankly, who the hell knows. 

The Mouth cant be worried about this esoteric fluff, he is hard at work trying to land Gene Carr (Ranger Player 1971-1974) as his next possible guest for his Radio show.

The third and final photo is Del Zotto locked in an amorous embrace with some unidentified young lady who looks a bit like Rachael Zimmerman, but with the naked eye the wanton woman seems too short to be Zimmerman, especially when you compare her to Michael.

At this point she remains a mystery woman, or it could indeed be Raquel Zimmerman. the height disparity could just be explained away by the fact MDZ is just wearing purple skates to go with that eye catching purple tie.

The Michael Del Zotto Hi-Lite Reel Of Extraordinary Magnitude

Michael Del Zotto at age 19 took his first step to becoming a premier NHL offensive defenseman this season, playing for a team who other than Marian Gaborik, didn't possess many creative players to pass the puck to.

Despite playing back line for a mostly inept Ranger offense, MDZ put up fantastic numbers in his first year in the big leagues.

Del Zotto scored nine times in his rookie NHL season and added twenty-eight helpers, finishing 7th overall n Rookie scoring and second overall in scoring for rookie defenseman.

The only D-man with better point totals is Calder finalist Tyler Myers who plays for the Sabres.

Now MDZ's game is not without it's flaws, his defensive play was at times erratic and reckless with positioning problems being the main reason for his somewhat worrisome -20 +/- rating.

Most of that was due to being thrust into the NHL earlier than expected combined with being saddled with a lot of ice time on a very troubled team.

The Mouth has no doubt Michael will improve and be an offensive asset for our Blueshirts for years to come.

The Mouth lends his commentary the video below until the action begins highlighting some MDZ's best work during the Rangers 2009-2010 season.

The Hi-Lite video was done by a terrific videographer and dedicated Ranger fan from Norway named LoFFen.

Rangers About To Sign Frodo From MODO.. Swedish Superstar Mats Zuccarello Aasen

                                                                         Through his network of contacts throughout the underbelly of the Rangers organization , The Mouth has learned The Rangers are about to cinch a deal with Swedish Elite League Star and 2010 SEL MVP Mats Zuccarello Aasen.

Most likely MZA will ink a modest deal with the Rangers, after the World Championships are over.

Now for the down side of the impending acquisition.

Aasen is small, as in HOBBIT small around 5'7 161 lbs. In the Mouth's opinion it's going to be extremely difficult to compete in the NHL being that diminutive

You also have to factor in that outlandish enormous rink the Swedes play on.

Mats may be more suitable for rod Hockey.

He surely wont dominate in the NHL, but with our Blueshirts so hard pressed against ceiling of the salary cap, you might as well give The Frodo from MODO a shot at making the team out of camp.

Also, Torts might need someone around him to make him look taller, so there's a good chance the deal will be finalized.

The Mouth lends his take on the Norwegian Hobbit Mats Zuccarello Aasen in the video..

Mouth Finds Perfect Ranger Man Cave to Hide In During NHL Playoffs

The Big Man needs a Big Ranger man cave to sulk in while his beloved team and it's hot headed coach are coming up with different accusatory excuses daily of why they slept walked through about 60 games this year.

This video is about a diehard blueshirt fan Joe Bellestri, who starts off with a drab unfinished basement then courtesy of some remodeling show gets his basement re-done in total New York Ranger motif.

The shows host is NFL useless sideline reporter Tony "Goose" Siragusa who walks us through what The Mouth believes is the ultimate New York Ranger fan man cave.

Brendan Shanahan Jilts Mouth.. But Offers Up Wayne Gretzky as Uber Replacement Guest !

Brendan Shanahan will NOT be on the Blueshirt Banter Radio program tonight with The Mouth but instead Shanny who was apologetic about his not making it, has hooked The Big Man up with Wayne Gretzky !

Holy Manoli ! The Great one will be talking to our very own Mouth. There must be something really wrong in this universe or something awfully right for these two to actually share a conversation.

We also know Ranger fans have a lot to get off their chest about who to blame for this years debacle of a season as well need a viable platform to vent your frustrations, that's why we are here !

We have a LIVE CHATROOM that goes on during the show.

Fans, make sure you register so you can get your unique screename and be part of The Mouths Role call as the show steams live !

The Show airs live from 7PM-10 PM.

 To listen Click here :

The Mouth Talks with Wayne Gretzky on Blog Talk Radio

Brendan Shanahan Talks with The Mouth On Wednesday Night April 14th at 7 PM

Brendan Shanahan will be The Mouth's Guest on Blueshirt Banter Radio this Wednesday at 7 PM.

The Mouth is just chomping a the bit to ask Shanny about what went down with the Devils at the beginning of the this season.

The Big man also wants to get Brendan's opinion on some of the key players on the present day Rangers roster that Shanahan had the opportunity to play with two years ago.

The Program should be loads of fun, especially hearing from a player that is viewed with a lot of respect and admiration from Ranger fans.

We have a LIVE CHATROOM that goes on during the show.

Fans, make sure you register so you can get your unique screename and be part of The Mouths Role call as the show steams live !

The Show airs live from 7PM-10 PM.

 To listen Click here :

The Mouth Talks with Brendan Shanahan on Blog Talk Radio

1995-1996 Sucker Punch Soiree ! Plus..The Scoring Touch Of Niklas Sundstrom

Before we get to the on ice violence part of this show description one must take a good look at the Ranger player who has the honor of gracing this posts title. Niklas Sundstrom.  Perhaps forgotten by some but surely not The Mouth. 

Niklas Sundstrom was the kind of player you could compare to a modern day Petr Prucha. Sundstrom was selected in the first round by the Rangers with the eighth pick overall in the 1993 draft.  

Niklas showed a lot of promise early on especially offensively but somehow never managed to put it together in the NHL.

After Sundstrom's offense slowly declined after the 1996-1997 season. His game became more focused on defense and he never developed into the good two way player The Mouth and some Ranger fans thought he would.

The Big man even remembers Mark Messier saying that Sundstrom " Could develop into a Forsberg type."

The second part of the clip contains two sucker punches delivered by both a Ranger player and Leaf Player during a game played between the two on October 14th 1995. 

The first one is a nice glove sucker by Ranger Wayne Presley on Leafs captain Doug Gilmour. The other one is an all-time Pearl Harbor job by Tie Domi on Ulf Samuellson.

What Really Went Down at the Mulcahy's Rangers Viewing Party Held Ten Miles From Mausoleum

The Mouth was on hand at this Ranger gathering that really was a slap to the Hempstead Club since it was held right smack in what they used to call Islander Country at a bar called Mulcahy's in Wantagh, NY.

Despite the bad weather, a nice crowd gathered to see the Rangers eventually beat the Hempstead Club but just barely, which enabled the Blueshirts to keep their dwindling playoff hopes alive.

Ex-Rangers Nick Fotiu, Ron Greschner and Pete Stemkowski were on hand and The Mouth got some interesting behind the scenes footage of Ron Greschner talking candidly to the super charged Ranger crowd.

Greschner also wholeheartedly endorsed the Potvin Sucks! chant which is captured on the video by the Big Man.

Another shining moment is that our very own Mouth made the live MSG broadcast as he can be seen showing his Ranger war face on the far right of the screen as the interview ends.

This Mouth sighting came following the Scott Lasky MSG interview of Fotiu and Greschner about the Denise Potvin hit on Ulf Nilsson.

If You Say Ryan Miller Sucks A Sabre Chick Will Fight You !

The Mouth knows he will be accused of filming filler on this show, but hey he provides this nonsense for free, so just deal.

But don't let that sway you from ingesting this little Madison Square Garden Lobby drama.

Apparently if you say " Ryan Miller Sucks!" not only are you Un-American but it is grounds for a drunk Sabre chick to act like an idiot and challenge male Ranger fans to a fight.

Always classy female Sabre fans had nothing to be mad at. Their Sabres got the two points that night while we Ranger fans and the Rangers got sent to Palookaville yet again in OT.

But you say nary a bad word about Ryan Miller, a shrilling Sabre shrew will scream at you like a banshee.

Rangers Get Off To Best Start Since FDR Was President ! Ranger vs Capitals October 13th 1983

Now that the Rangers season is unofficially in the crapper, The Mouth supplies us with some memories that will sure make the most jaded of present day Ranger fan smile.

Also, perhaps more importantly help them remember why they are a Ranger fan in the first place.

After watching this video, in which the crowd at MSG is rocking, The Rangers hustle for an entire 60 Minutes and battle back several times to eventually overtake the Capitals.

This all happens despite the other worldly play of Washington Capital goaltender Pat Riggin.

Mark Pavelich was terrific in this game for the Blueshirts and the Anders Hedberg backhand goal in the third period is a thing of beauty.

Tonight On Blueshirt Banter Radio Hartford Wolfpack Update with Howlings Blogger Mitch Beck

The Mouth has been away for about a week shoring up the video archives for this summer, because from the looks of it, it is going to be a long one for us Ranger fans. So don't fret Ranger faithful the Big Man is still on the scene, just working on videos for over the summer.

Tonight on Blueshirt Banter Radio at 8 PM The Mouth & Jim talk to Mitch Beck of Howlings.net.

Mitch is is the reigning King of everything Hartford Wolfpack related.

The show is always a blast when Mitch joins us. This will also give us the chance to catch up with sad state of the Ranger team right now with our fellow fans.

I think everyone has an opinion on th epic failure of Blueshirts this season and as always we will be taking your calls at (646) 478-4692.

You can also chat with us live in the Blueshirt Banter Radio Chatroom while the show streams live.

Listen to Blueshirt Banter on Blog Talk Radio

Irish Ranger Player Banners Fly At Old Maple Leaf Gardens : Rangers vs. Leafs 2/24/79

This is about as close as a St. Patrick day themed video as you're gonna get from The Mouth. In this case it might be a reach, but here goes.

In this game the Rangers fan club made the road trip to Toronto and the Blueshirt fans proudly displayed their banners all over Maple Leaf Gardens, showing their love for their favorite Ranger players.

The player banners just so happened to be dominated by Ranger players of Irish lineage.

Dave Maloney, Don Maloney, Don Murdoch, Pat Hickey

But besides the iffy St. Patrick's Day tie in of this video, the game is an interesting one for several reasons.

First and foremost. It's a Hockey Night In Canada broadcast featuring legendary Hockey announcers Bill Hewitt and his color commentator Brian McFarlane calling the game both whom have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame for their broadcasting.

The video has some neat shots of The Maloney Brothers serving minors together in the penalty box while their parents watch on from the stands.

Also, Don Murdoch after serving his 40 game suspension that year has a terrific game, scoring a couple of goals and notching an assist.

The Clark Gillies breaks Ed Hospodar's Face Game : Rangers vs. Islanders 12/30/81

The Mouth thinks this a prime example of how intense the Rangers and Islander rivalry once was. The video is from an frenetic confrontation between the two teams at MSG on December 30th, 1981.

Unfortunately this date in Ranger history is know for Clark Gillies utter destruction of Ed Hospodar's face. As much as we Ranger fans hated the Islanders, we all knew that Gillies was a destroyer of men akin to our own Barry Beck.

When it was all said and done Ed Hospodar wound up with a shattered jaw and several missing teeth after his pummeling by Gillies.

The game is a wild and wooly affair that sees a lot of up and down hockey as both teams go full throttle. Ten goals are scored by both teams combined when this is all said and done.