The Mouth Heads To Kansas City To Expedite Move For Failed Long Island Club

The Mouth will be away for two weeks as he heads to Las Vegas and then onto Kansas City and St.Louis.

His Las Vegas visit is purely for leisure, but The Mouth who considers himself a hockey ambassador of sorts cares so much about the NHL and it's image he will be heading to Kansas City on a mission of mercy.

He visits K.C with the specific intent of finding the failed NHL franchise New York Islanders a new home where fans can truly appreciate NHL hockey..

The Big Man in this humanitarian effort will try to relieve Islanders owner Charles Wang of his financial albatross as well as alleviate the misery of all players who currently are on the Islanders roster.

At present most experts agree that Islander players are lamenting every humiliating minute they play at home in Hempstead in front of empty seats and while a dragon mascot named "Sparky" walks the empty aisles.

The goal is to instill some hope in these NHL players that better days are yet to come.

In Kansas City these NHL players will have the opportunity to play in a state of the art building at the Sprint Center in front of enthusiastic crowds who will be far more hockey knowledgeable and needless to say, more well groomed.

The Mouth will be trying to drum up support by talking with Hockey fans in Kansas City and help them lure
the failed Islander franchise team there.

It's a grass roots effort and lets hope the people of K.C are receptive to the Big Man's push to find a floundering franchise a new home with supportive and loyal fans.

To follow The Mouth and his wacky exploits while he travels America follow his tweets !

More Solids-Less Stripes : Henrik Lundqvist's New Gear For The 2010-2011 Season

Yes ladies and gentleman it's that time of the year again. Where Henrik Lundqvist tosses the most abused goalie pads in the NHL aside and gets himself a whole new set to be abused this year.

Henrik, who is entering his second year with Bauer recently was seen sporting his new gear at a Bauer photo shoot with Boston Bruin first round pick and the NHL's second overall 2010 draft selection (middle picture) Tyler Seguin.

The Mouth surmises that Henrik requested to Bauer official to have the high flying Seguin take breakaway shots for 5 minutes at a time to simulate actual Ranger game conditions.

The new gear is a bit more colorful, especially the inside of the catching glove as well as Hank's blocker, both of them are now decorated predominantly in red.

For a comparative look at the difference between last years and this years pads. The Mouth provides a picture below of the goalie gear that Henrik wore last year for the 2009-2010 season.

The Power Of Independent Editing : Rangers vs. Islanders November 13th 1979

A pretty important regular season game for both teams as the Rangers and Isles meet up at the Coliseum for the first time since the Blueshirts eliminated the Hempstead club at MSG in the 1978-1979 Semi-Finals.

The game features some new wrinkles both from the the ice and broadcast side.

Ed Westfall, the albatross who had been Hempstead's captain since the franchises beginning retired and was sent to the announcing booth to unleash his nasally drone to Hockey fans everywhere. Now with Westfall off the ice, the captaincy was given to Denise Potvin.

The Ranger in their second year under Fred Shero were battling big time injuries in this game and had such Ranger fly by nighters as Ray Markham and Warren Miller in the lineup in this game.

Doug Soetaert started in goal for the Rangers, but  gave up  TEN  goals before being replaced by backup Wayne Thomas. Billy Sieve along with his ridiculous toupee were between the pipes for the Nassau club.

On the broadcast end, this was the first regular season game that Rangers were allowed to broadcast from the Mausoleum with their own announcers. Jim Gordon and Bill Chadwick called the action.

The Rangers played a very good first period and that was about it in this contest. The Mouth never a fan of the Hempstead franchise or it's imbecilic fans uses the power of Independent editing and does not show the Isles six goal second period. The Rangers lost this game 10-5.

Lots of Jacks in The NHL Goalie Deck but only One King : Henrik Lundqvist 2009-2010 Hi-Lite Video

The 2009-2010 season ended in disappointment for both the rangers and their fans, but one thing that remained a constant throughout the majority of the season and that was Henrik Lundqvist's superlative play.

It's not really a new storyline for the Blueshirts to nightly ask Henrik to bail them out during some pretty epic defensive breakdowns, but the offensive support is even worse.

The Rangers offense besides Marian Gaborik can be a complete snorefest for monthly stretches at a time it seems.

Last year for example other than at the first 10 games and the last 10 games the Rangers couldn't score enough to make any fan stay awake or not want to reach for the remote.

So the Mouth decided to pay tribute to the King of New York and add his two cents on what he would like to see the Rangers do to try and help Henrik get at least 10 shutouts and bring home the Vezina in the upcoming 2010-2011 campaign.

The video below was edited by the great LoFFen and in the intro The Mouths once again espouses his skewed thoughts.

Ranger beat writer Rick Carpiniello Join Us On The Radio Show Tonight 8 PM

Tonight the Mouth talks with Ranger beat writer Rick Carpiniello of the Journal News and LoHud.com about what he thinks about this off season such as the Staal negotiations, ufa signings and if thinks the Rangers will be improved in the upcoming 2010-2011.

Should be a blast.

You can participate by either calling in at (646) 478-4692 or joining the live Blueshirt Banter Chatroom

Click To Listen

Listen to internet radio with Blueshirt Banter on Blog Talk Radio

Rangers Sign UFA Chaka from Land Of The Lost or Is that Land Of The Losses ? Martin Biron For Dummies Video

Glen Sather wasted no time in acquiring a back up goaltender in Martin Biron as soon as free agency commenced on July 1st and The Mouth feels it could be prove to be one of Sather's more lucid moves in recent memory.

It is however, a bit puzzling if you go back to Slat's press conference before the move when he said "We are looking for goaltenders that are Cadillac's but come at a Honda price."

The Mouth doesn't think Biron is a Cadillac at this stage in his career, but more of a Nissan Altima with 100,000 miles on it.

Biron was awful in the first half of last year, especially in shootouts, but did pick up his game late in the year and perhaps also being reunited with the goaltending coach of his youth will shore up his dependability between the pipes.

Benoit Allaire, who handles the Rangers netminders and who also coached Biron as a teen will hopefully help Marty find his once solid game.


Biron, who likes to chirp it up on the ice, comes at the right price at $900,000 per year so The Big Man says give him a whirl, albeit if it is just to negate the musical chair backup goaltending nonsense that we fans went through last year.


The Mouth as always gives his skewed version of the Biron signing in the video below :

Carnival Attraction w/ Zero Goals in Four Years Gets Four Year Deal : Derek Boogaard For Dummies Video

Glen Sather couldnt wait to unleash his stupidity on the free agency market on July 1st and although he didnt do anything too catastrophic (yet), the small dose of WTF he did dole out came in the form of the free agent signing of former Minnesota Wild goon and former Marian Gaborik teamate Derek Boogaard.

To understand the growing dementia let's rewind to last year enforcer debacle.

Slats in infinite wisdom decided "to get quicker" in last years UFA market by signing the horrific Donald Brashear and not re-sign a much younger and hard working Colton Orr.

Brashear ended up being a disaster, wound up in the minors and then enter Jody Shelley. Shelley, also a bit long in the tooth played admirably towards the end of the season.

After the season Shelley and his agent approached Sather about signing awith the Blueshirts. They were looking for a three year deal.

Always the shrewd negotiator, Sather felt three years for a 37 year old enforcer was too much at 1.1 Million per. So Instead, Mr. Magoo decided to go the enforcer youth movement route and sign the younger Boogaard who is 28 and lock him in for a ridiculous four years at 1.65 million per. 

Now the Rangers are saddled with 3+ million dollars of cap space dedicated to two players who will net about four minutes of ice time per game during the upcoming season.

The Mouth as always gives his verbose opinion on the video below :

Glen Sather Speaks About Sanguinetti Trade, The McDonagh Situation, and UFA Want List On Blueshirt Banter Radio Wednesday Night at 8 PM

The Mouth's partner on Blueshirt Banter Radio had a chance to both ask and record questions given by the media to Rangers GM and President Glen Sather following the conclusion of the draft on Saturday afternoon.

While The Mouth doesn't want to give away too much of what was said by Slats, he can say this, "You wont be able to decide to whether laugh or cry on certain answers."

Not only on the show will we get to hear from the Grand Poobah himself, but also a summation of each player picked by the Rangers by none other than head of scouting Gordie Clark also recorded live by Jim immediately following the drafts conclusion.

If that weren't enough Jess Rubenstein from the Prospect Park Blog will join us and weigh in on what he thinks of the Rangers 2010 draft.

Feel free to join our live Blueshirt Banter Chatroom as the show streams live to interact with other die hard Ranger fans.

Or you can call in and participate (646) 478-4692

To Listen Live or Archived.. Just Click The Box !

Blueshirt Banter Radio Ranger Draft Overview internet r on Blog Talk Radio

Willie Huber Former Ranger Dead At 52

Willie Huber one half of The Rangers "Twin Towers' back line from the 1980's died at age 52 of what seems by first reports is a heart attack. Huber was found dead Sunday in his bed at his home in Hamilton, Ontario shortly after walking his dogs earlier that morning.

The other half of the aforementioned Rangers "Twin Towers" back line was Barry Beck. 

Willie was a gentle giant with terrific offensive skills for a big man and he and Beck together made for a very formidable Power Play duo.

The Mouth Takes Manhattan : The Big Man Live At Rangers Draft Party 2010

The Mouth gives pretty good tip of the old hat to the Rangers for hosting a pretty good Draft Party shindig at the sports bar The Hill last Friday night.

The Hill was jam packed with psychotic Ranger devotees who were there frenzying and verbosely stating their cases for each his/her own personal favorites for the Blueshirts to pick at number ten.

Amidst the frenetic energy of the Ranger fans were also three of last years 2009 draftees Ethan Werek, Chris Kreider, and Ryan Bourque who were all in attendance being introduced to the fans.

All three young men were well received and terrific in their own right signing autographs and posing for pictures with the fans.

The video below gives the viewer a pretty good idea of how intense things were at the draft party, especially as the draft progressed and things reached a fever pitch when highly rated defenseman Cam Fowler fell right into the Rangers lap at the number ten spot.

In typical fashion the Rangers bucked convention and chose Dylan Mcilgrath, a selection which turned the happy go lucky crowd into a pitch fork waving mob.

All of it captured on video for your perusal.

2010 Post Ranger Draft Show : Live Wrap Up Party From Los Angeles at 8 PM

 















The Mouth and his partner Jim Schmiedeberg who has been live on the scene since the draft began, will be updating us on the Ranger picks and what New York beat writers he has been schmoozing with.

Jim will give us the full update and his impressions of what he thinks as well a couple special guests one of which includes Jess Rubenstein of The Prospect Park Blog.

This is the show to listen to if you want to talk Rangers draft and sound off about the Rangers first pick Dylan McIlrath and second round selection Christian Thomas.

It all starts live Tonight at 8 PM live on Blueshirt Banter Radio

Jim has assured us, that he is chock full of stories and The Mouth who attended The Rangers draft viewing party in NYC last night has promised is he also has some yarns to spin.

But most of all we want to hear from you the Rangers fan and hear your opinions on the Broadway Blues taking Dylan over Cam Fowler which still has a lot of the Blueshirt faithful reeling.


Feel free to join our Blueshirt Banter Chatroom as the show streams live.


We also take your calls : (646) 478-4692


To listen to the show live or archived click below :


Ranger NHL Draft Wrap - Up Show Wrinternet  on Blog Talk Radio

Impact Is Imminent : Henrik Lundqvist May Be Getting Married To Therese Andersson

At present Henrik is over in Öckerö, Sweden conducting his hockey camp that starts next week and wraps up around the end of July.

But what may be in the works is something even bigger when he returns back to the States.

Recently, Henrik sold his apartment on the Upper West Side that he was co-habitating with his girlfriend Therese Andersson, who some say was simply called Mrs. Lundqvist by the doormen and fellow residents of the building.

The rumors have been flying for months now about the two being secretly married already, but The Mouth just cant see a married man spending all his time with Sean Avery.

Now with the Manhattan bachelor pad sold, it's looking a lot like many female fans of Henrik will be heart broken in the near future.

Henrik Lundqvist And Sean Avery break bread With Ranger Season Subscribers

Best buds Henrik Lundqvist and Sean Avery had a chance to hang with some Ranger season ticket holders on June 10th, 2010. 

The meet and greet was held at a place that had fancy wine bottles displayed on shelves and where drinks were served in carafe's.

The Mouth was banned form the event because of his ongoing feud with the Rangers media relations department and even more importantly, he is not a season ticket subscriber.

The Lone Ranger Mask Strikes Again ! Rangers vs. Bruins March 2nd, 1980

 

What could be better for a Ranger fan back in the day ? The Blueshirts are hosting the Bruins at MSG, it's Eddie Johnstone's birthday and John Davidson is donning his wacky Lone Ranger Mask !  

This particular archival footage of the Lone Ranger mask took even The Big Man by surprise as he thought he possessed only one game with J.D wearing this bizarre piece of fiberglass face protection in his collection.

The Mouth was so ecstatic when he found this video gem, he couldn't wait to share the footage with HIS fellow Ranger fans of this fondly remembered goalie mask that eventually cracked and broke and probably now resides deep below some compost heap in Staten Island.

The video featured here also boasts some great New York Ranger hockey from March 2nd, 1980 as the Boston Bruins come to town in what turned out to be a tight knit battle. 

The game is a close checking affair despite some isolated defensive breakdowns which are shown in the video. 

It's also a game where Ranger Dean Talafous notches his 200th NHL point.

Chris "Knuckles" Nilan Drops the Gloves With The Mouth On The Radio Live Tuesday at 8 PM

The Mouth is extremely pumped to be interviewing probably one of the finest players to ever definitively fulfill his role as a hard nosed, no nonsense hockey player who every night on the ice gave his blood, sweat and tears to whatever sweater NHL he wore.

Chris Nilan only spent three years with the Rangers but still remains a fan favorite still till this day. Chris spent 13 years in the NHL and had the unique opportunity to play with only Original Six teams. Those teams being the Canadiens, Rangers, and Bruins.

On Tuesday June 22nd at 8 PM The Mouth and Jim will have Chris Nilan as their guest on Blueshirt Banter Radio.

The show airs live and we take your phone calls, you can even talk to Chris Live !

We also have a live Blueshirt Banter Radio Chatroom that you can join in while the broadcasts streams live.

To listen to the show Live or on Podcast :

The Mouth Interviews   Chris Nilan on Blog Talk Radio

Ulf Nilsson Joins Me On the Radio Program LIVE Thursday Afternoon 2 PM EST

Ulf Nilsson, one of Sweden's most talented players ever to play professional hockey in North America joins us live from Sweden to talk with myself and Jim Schmiedeberg on a special Thursday 2PM EST show.

Ulf has a lot to talk about as he was part of one of the greatest forward lines in Hockey history. centering a line which consisted of Bobby "The Golden Jet" Hull and Anders "The Swedish Express" Hedberg for the WHA's Winnipeg Jets.

As a New York Ranger Ulf  had some terrible misfortune with injuries, but what a lot of both hockey and Ranger fans don't realize is that Ulf averaged almost a point a game in both the regular season and playoffs during his four years with the Rangers.

A terrific player who took pride in all aspects of his game, Ulf will be joining us on a special edition of Blueshirt Banter Radio this Thursday at  2 PM EST.


Feel free to join our interactive Blueshirt Banter Chat Room as the show streams live.

To listen to the show just click the Box Below :

 on Blog Talk Radio
The Mouth and Jim talk with Ulf Nilsson on Blog Talk Radio

Ryan Callahan Drops His Greatest Hits Video. Debuts at #1 on Billboard Charts

Ryan Callahan as any Ranger fan worth his salt will tell you is a tireless worker and a player who will launch his body in the air to smash opponents into the glass, block shots like nobody's business, sacrifice his body during penalty kills and lead by example by giving it his all on every shift.

There is no doubt about Ryan's commitment to winning, everyone in the world got a chance to see that in these past Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The Mouth feels Callahan's work ethic and penalty killing were a key component to getting the USA into the gold medal game, which resulted in the USA taking home a silver medal.

The Big Man also feels this is a crucial year in Ryan Callahan's development as a NHL player. It is important for Ryan to take his goal scoring to higher plateaus.

Callahan needs to become and progress to a 25-30 goal per year NHL winger instead of a 15-20 goal player.

Ryan has the scoring touch to achieve this but he has to be consistent in putting pucks in the net as he is prone to both red hot scoring streaks and prolonged scoring droughts.

But one thing remains a constant Ryan's hustle, determination and obvious pride in wearing the Rangers sweater.

In the following video edited by LoFFen with a special intro from The Mouth himself we get to see why Ryan Callahan is so loved by Ranger fans.

Resilent Rangers Shock Islanders At Coliseum In 1979 Semi-Final Game 5

The Mouth cranks up the Ranger time machine Big time and unleashes one of the most epic road victory's in Rangers history. It all took place on May 5th, 1979 at the Nassau Veterans Coliseum in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Semi-Finals.

Although the Rangers eliminated the Islanders in Game Six at Madison Square Garden two days later, this game in particular was the one that crushed the Islanders spirit and left them doubting if they could ever win a big playoff series.

In this game the Rangers showed a resiliency and poise that  frankly only the 1994 Blueshirt team has been able to replicate.

The difference is that the 1979 team had a much more youthful core, especially on the back line, as The Mouth often points out the average age of Rangers defensemen on the 1979 squad was an amazing 23 years of age.

The game footage provided is a bit rough and taken from the Islanders broadcast, but it is the only video document of the game known to exist.

The Big Man would also love to stress that if you had any doubt that Stan Fischler is not a Ranger fan, which the Mouth wholeheartedly believes, listen to traitor Stan scream like a lunatic in celebration when the Islanders score.
 

James Patrick Former Ranger and Buffalo Sabre Assistant Coach On The Radio Show

Wednesday at 8 PM The Mouth and Jim will be interviewing James Patrick on Blueshirt Banter Radio.

James as most of you know is now currently an assistant coach for the Buffalo Sabres. "Jeep" was a terrific Ranger ,so much so he can be found in the must have book for all Ranger fans, 100 Ranger Greats.

James spent 11 seasons with the Rangers and Twenty years total as an NHL backliner.

While the show streams live we have our own Blueshirt Banter Chatroom where other James Patrick and Ranger fans will be gathering to talk puck and pose questions to both the hosts and guest.

You can even call in (646) 478-4692

To listen to the show live or on podcast just click the link below :

Mouth Interviews James Patrick on Blog Talk Radio

Go Smurfum Rangers ! : Rangers Beat Isles at MSG in Game Four of 1983 Quarterfinals

Go Smurfum Rangers ! The Mouth really can't fully endorse the slogan, but that slogan and sign certainly worked some magic that night on April 18th 1983.

The MSG crowd exploded as the Rangers upset the Islanders in game four of a series that most experts had written them off in, especially after the Islanders had taken a two games to one lead.

The Rangers eventually fell to the Islanders in the series but on this night, Ranger fans celebrated, and the Blueshirts shone.

A lot of Ranger supporters remember the smurf era as a time where the Rangers got pushed around, although they might have on occasion, they surely made it up with quickness and speed, a characteristic that few Ranger teams have ever possessed.

Blueshirt forward Mark Pavelich was an incredible example of this as he was a giant ball of energy with incredible scoring touch and play making ability,

The Mouth also gives mad props to the Rangers Finnish defenseman Reijo Ruotsalainen.

Reijo who at times had some defensive liabilities and affinity to not hit the net, ranks up there with the top most five offensively gifted defenseman ever to put a Blueshirts sweater on.

The following clip shows what the Rangers and Islander rivalry was all about and also proves to be an example of what it is not all about now.

The Islanders were Goliath and the Rangers were always David and the fans always embraced that role.

Now with the Hempstead club almost 30 years later being a complete joke, with no fan base and no real history of playoffs, the hotly contested rivalry is now dead in The Mouth's opinion.

His point really strikes home after you watch this thrilling game between the Rangers and Hempstead from April 18th 1983.