Buffoon Call On Boogaard By NHL Referee Could Have Cost Mats Zuccarello his Career

Sometimes when I watch hockey nowadays, I know why the over forty crowd for the most part feels so disenfranchised with current day NHL hockey.

The game has now become a shell of it's former self as far as the physicality and intimidation part of the game goes. Most of the time the game is downright unrecognizable to what I and the over forty fans grew up with and embraced.

Gary Bettman has directed his insane clown posse of referees to basically neuter the NHL player from engaging in the rough and tumble gamesmanship that has made this sport incredibly fun to watch.

It particularly he has put the testicular clamp on the NHL player himself who wants to stand up for his teammates when he feels his fellow player is in trouble on the ice, the third man in penalty levy's heavy fines and missed games for all players that dare to come to a teamates aid when things get heated.

Now that the Mouth himself has finished his own editorial, lets get down to the incident in question that got his ire up yet again on this subject.

Last week, during a game between the Rangers and the Devils that took place at Madison Square Garden, Derek Boogard was given a misconduct on what amounted to a bump on Pierre LaBlonde before a face-off just outside the Devils Zone.

It was a silly penalty called by a silly referee named Chris Rooney. The video evidence of the horrific call below still has the Big Mans head shaking.

Ultimately and inadvertently as the video shows. Chris Rooney's buffoon call could have ended Mats Zucarello's NHL career when Pierre LaBlonde blatantly went for a knee on knee hit on the diminutive Norweigan forward.

Lablonde knew full well that Boogaard was still serving his ridiculous ten minute misconduct penalty, so decide to take liberties knowing their would be know repercussions.

The Mouth shares his passionate take on the play in the video below :

Blueshirt Banter Radio A Cut Above The Rest : Tonight Special Tuesday Show 8PM !

On Saturday we did a live remote front of the Prudential Center and gave away a bunch of fantastic prizes to  Ranger fans in attendance including this Marc Staal jersey to Kristen, a rabid listener of the show as well as autographed pucks and other Ranger swag to other diehard fans of the show.

We did this all in celebration of the Wade Redden banishment to the AHL and also to show our appreciation to the loyal listeners of Blueshirt Banter Radio who simply put, have made the show the Internet Radio juggernaut that it is today.

Tonight we will be airing a special Tuesday edition of the show because of  tomorrows Rangers game against the Red Wings at the Garden.

Tonight's show starts at 8 PM

Jim and myself and more importantly you fans will be talking about the recent cuts of Mats Zuccarello and Evgeny Grachev and using our crystal balls to project who will be cut from the club after Wednesday's game.

We would love to hear from you on who you think will be cut or sent down to Hartford, so join the show which airs live over the Internet at 8 PM tonight.

The Phone Number to call in is  (646) 478-4692      

We also have the Blueshirt Banter Chat Room, a forum which is chock full of Ranger fanatics that really adds more punch to a broadcast that is already a bit "punchy." 

The Chat Room is the perfect forum to follow along with our two hour broadcast that streams live, commercial free, and uncensored. 


Blueshirt Banter Radio is the true voice of the New York Ranger fan so make sure you're there !


To Listen to the show live or podcast just click below :


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Mouth Invades Prudential Center AKA : The New York Rangers Home Away From Home

The Mouth had a chance to visit The Prudential Center or as "The Pebble" as he likes to call it for a preseason game between his beloved Blueshirts and the New Jersey Devil Dogs.

Now The Big man isn't so hot on preseason Hockey but The Mouth wanted to be there for the first game in several years that Wade Redden wasn't on the clubs National Hockey League roster.

This is certainly was a cause to celebrate with other Ranger com padres, so if the Rangers arent playing at MSG, the best way to immediately commiserate with other Ranger fanatics is go to a Devils Home game when the are playing The Rangers !

It also served  as The Mouth's  first chance to get a look at the Devils at their semi- new building in Newark.

Once he arrived the chaos ensued, and it was all captured by The Big Man's unsteady camera work.

Tonight On Blueshirt Banter Radio Hockey's Future NYR Prospect Expert Leslie Treff

Last week Hockey's Future own Leslie Treff released her much anticipated and updated Fall rankings of all New York Ranger prospects.

On top of that prospect list was Chris Kreider who can be seen above pictured with The Mouth.

Leslie will give us her always informative and frank take on other hot prospects such as Stepan, McDonagh, Grachev.

Jim and The Mouth will do their best to get to your favorite prospect as they work down Leslie list of Ranger hopefuls.

Plus the fellas will talk about the first week of training camp, Chris Drury's injury as well as the emergence of the kinder gentler John Tortorella.

As always we take your calls and have a live chat room that make the wheels of the program go round and round as the show streams live..

 The Call in Number is (646) 478-4692

 Join us Live at 8 PM Tonight !

To listen click the Box below :

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Rod Gilbert : Formerly Part Of The Canadian Mercury Meteor Program

The Mouth certainly is no gear head, as a matter of fact when it comes to anything mechanical he is about a useless as teets on a bull.

So when he started to do some research on Rod Gilbert being the focus of a 1970 Television ad launching the Mercury Meteor automobile, The Big Man was forced to do fact finding on a unfamiliar subject.

Upon further investigation, he found out that in 1970 that there were absolutely no Mercury Meteor's available for purchase in the United States.

So the mini-mystery began.

When things like this happen The Mouth in a paranoid state will usually listen for clues in the audio of the commercial  for something he misheard originally.

But after about 20 minutes of watching this one minute commercial like a mental patient, The Mouth was convinced that the ad was from 1970 and the car indeed was a Mercury Meteor.

Riding further down into the information super highway via his PC, The Big Man found out the Mercury meteor was discontinued in 1963 by Mercury in the United States, but was still available to Canadian drivers until 1976.

So by brilliant means of deduction this is a 1970 Canadian Television ad for the Mercury Meteor, featuring none other than Ranger great Rod Gilbert.

Avery Picture Leaks Rangers Third Jersey For 2010-2011 Season

The news is a bit old in Rangerland but last week a Sean Avery picture surfaced with him wearing the much anticipated third jersey at a photo shoot that was suppose to make it's debut later this season.

Avery who is pictured above sporting the third jersey in The Mouth's opinion could be a dead ringer for Rivers Cuomo from the band Weezer.

The new third jersey is pretty much a replica of a uniform the Rangers had worn for many years up until the late 1970's.

The Blueshirts this year will be celebrating their 85th year in the National Hockey League,

Ranger Prospects At Traverse City : Land Of Gargantuans Or Lollipop Guild ?

There is no question the Rangers have a truckload of raw and talented prospects who are developing nicely. The majority of praise has to go to Gordie Clarke and his scouting staff for hand picking these promising young players,

If there is one thing that is particularly curious about the Ranger picks and prospects that are participating in this years Traverse City Tournament is the desparity in the height ranges of the smallest group of players and heights the biggest group players on the roster.

The Rangers have THREE players listed at Traverse as 5'9 ( Ryan Bourque, Christian Thomas, Kelsey Tessier) along with the diminutive Mats Zuccarello-Aasen who is not at Traverse but attending regular Ranger camp back in New York.

On the flip side the Rangers have FOUR young gargantuan prospects at the Tournament all listed at 6'4 (Dylan Mcilrath, Evgeny Grachev, Lee Baldwin, Randy McNaught).

But Regardless of height, this is a truly talented group.

Ryan McDonagh has been given the captaincy, which may be an indicator that he is going to be given a real shot at making the big club and Derek Stepan who also is making a serious run for a spot on the Rangers roster this year, so far at Traverse has shown great poise and at this moment is the tournaments leader in overall points.

The Mouth addresses the above and much more in the video below.:

Did Brandon Dubinsky Have a Good Year Last Season?

When The Mouth prepared himself for this video he had to ask himself this important question: "Do statistics lie?"  Because if we were to judge Brandon Dubinsky's 2009-2010 campaign purely on numbers, Brandon had a pretty good year.

Despite being injured and missing 13 games, and a self induced camp holdout Brandon managed to bang home 20 goals for the first time in his NHL career, despite playing in all 82 games the two previous years. He also led the Rangers in game winning goals with five.

After reviewing the stats Mouth has decided to take a second look at his assessment of Dubinsky's play last year, which at season's end The Big Man concluded was uneven and dispassionate at times.

On many occasions it seems Brandon elevates his games against division rivals but seems to disappear for stretches at a time against teams where there is no competitive ill will.

But after a few months of The Mouth distancing himself from the disappointing end to the Rangers season and the multitude of players who failed to produce offensively, perhaps Brandon Dubinky just might have had himself a good year and The Big Man missed it.

The Mouth hashes his thoughts out loud in the video below. 

Dale Weise Joins The Mouth and Jim on Blueshirt Banter Radio Tonight 8 PM

Dale Weise is the type of player Ranger fans are clamoring for. Dale is a  north-south player who has grit and determination and most importantly can put the puck in the net.

Dale scored 28 goals last year on a Wolf Pack team that really struggled with injuries.

Both the Mouth and Jim are looking forward to having Dale on the show before he heads to training camp with the Rangers.

Update : Dale Weise will not be joining us, Unfortunately he had to cancel.

The show starts at 8 PM.

The Call In Number  (646) 478-4692


To listen to the show Live or on Podcast Click Below :

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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

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.