Greetings and salutations everyone and welcome to another blog here on BlueCollarBlueShirts.com. What a time to be alive!
For all residents of Rangerstown, USA – men, women and children alike; mark the date of June 28th, 2023 on your calendar – as it feels like the Blueshirts’ fan base, and in an unanimous vote at that – are all in approval of Gabriel Perreault – who the franchise selected in the first-round (23rd-overall) during the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.
(And yes – this is an occurrence as rare as seeing Haley’s Comet. Need evidence? Go look at what other fan bases are saying about their teams right now – including the perpetually cursed Arizona Coyotes.)
While I can’t profess, nor confess, to personally knowing one thing about Perreault, as I have never seen him play before; according to the people who do watch these teenagers on a daily basis – the son of former NHL center Yanic Perreault, who was one hell of a hand at the dots, was as good of a pick as any, if not the best, considering what was available when Chris Drury and his crew hit the podium in Nashville, TN.
I’ll save everything about Perreault, and what the Rangers said about their newest “True Future Blue” star for the end of this blog, as up first – a few here-and-there comments, followed by my impressions, results and coverage of ESPN’s 2023 NHL Entry Draft broadcast.
Let’s roll.
Unlike others – I don’t want to get into a mad rush when talking about the Blueshirts’ 2023-24 season, especially since you know – we don’t know what their roster will be, nor do we know what the set rosters will be for the other 31-teams in the league either.
While admittedly, we largely know who will skate for the Rangers next season, due to all of the no-move-clause contracts on the roster; we still don’t know the full picture – a picture that won’t become crystal-clear until following the events of the six preseason games.
Furthermore, and as mentioned before on this site – I just can’t get up-in-arms about the regular season in the first place.
As you all know, James Dolan’s club is now operating under a “WIN-NOW” banner, and that was never more evident following the firing of “The Turk,” Gerard Gallant, and what his successor, Peter Laviolette, repeatedly mentioned throughout his introductory press conference – those three words that we have all been dreaming about for the past 29-years – “The Stanley Cup.”
I know I’ll probably mention this about 789678678967968976879678967896 times during the off-season, the preseason and into the regular season itself – but I DO NOT CARE about the regular season – with one assumption – the Rangers will qualify for the playoffs.
(And if they don’t – then there will be hell to pay.)
However, and assuming that the Blueshirts do qualify for the playoffs – then it doesn’t matter what seed they receive, nor who they play during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs either.
The only thing that matters is that they win the whole shebang.
In other words: Not even a Stanley Cup Final appearance will be suffice. Those days are long gone.
It’s “Cup or Bust” – and it’s my belief that’s also the mantra being echoed around the halls and walls at 33rd Street and 7th Avenue.
This preamble is my way of telling you that on Monday, June 27th, the Devils traded Yegor Sharangovich and a third-round pick to Calgary in exchange for long-time veteran, and a 2014 Stanley Cup champion to boot, Tyler Toffoli – where perhaps the former L.A. King may become the biggest name traded this off-season – and with all due respect to the former Hart Trophy winner, Taylor Hall*.
(The asterisk? Read my last blog for the explanation, which you can find here: https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/62723/ )
What’s next for the Devils? Signing a pair of unrestricted free agents this summer, Alec Martinez and Jonathan Quick?
Heck, Darryl Sutter, coach of those 2014 Kings, and also Toffoli’s former bench boss in Calgary, could be a nice fit for Lindy Ruff’s Devils’ staff too!
Oh the humanity!
Over in Pittsburgh, where the mantra is also “WIN NOW,” but not as loud, nor as desperate as it is in New York; just hours prior to the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, new Pens’ boss, Kyle Dubas, made his first trade, where in a salary-cap influenced trade, the style of trade that I hate the most; the 2023 Cup champs, the Golden Knights, sent Reilly Smith to the Steel City for the low, low, low cost of a third-round draft pick.
What both the Devils and Penguins did during these past 24-hours is trade for veteran experience – and where both players acquired also have a Stanley Cup to their name – as both teams, and much like the Rangers – prepare to make a run in 2024.
As a result, a predictable one at that – some Ranger fans are already calling the 2023-24 season a wash.
While it may be a wash for other reasons; I just can’t buy into that.
In my opinion (and this is my blog, so everything I say here is my opinion!); when it comes to the Rangers – I don’t think that the off-season is that big of a deal, especially when compared to years past.
As said, we know the core that’s in place – a core that unless Drury is going to wreak havoc upon and demand some of these guys to waive their NMC’s – a core that will remain.
While many fret and do the “woe is me” act at this time of year; for the Rangers and Drury – who again, will only be judged by whatever happens in the postseason (a postseason that they better qualify for) – the biggest period on the NHL calendar will be the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline.
By then, and fingers-crossed – the Rangers will be in the mix and also have their playoff spot firmly secured – and as they did during the past two seasons.
Come the trade deadline – that’s when the Rangers will have to make their move. That’s what will define their playoff fate.
But of course, it’s only June 28th, 2023 as I write these words, and that trade deadline, scheduled for March of ’24, is nine-months away. The playoffs are ten-months away.
Patience is a virtue – although I can understand why many fans have lost their patience – and I don’t blame them.
But as Tom Petty once said, and as a reminder, “Waiting is the hardest part.”
And finally, even if this is redundant at this point – the 2023-24 Rangers can’t be assessed now, nor during the regular season either.
They can and will only be assessed by how the season ends.
Grow old with me.
Let’s now get into the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, as I’m going to use my live-tweets (@NYCTHEMIC) to recap the events. After that, everything on Perreault.
As a general statement, and because I’ve been hard on ESPN in the past – I feel that in the same vein and to be fair – that I must also praise them when they do good work.
I thought that ESPN did a tremendous job with the broadcast – and where maybe part of the reason why was the fact that P.K. Slewban wasn’t around.
While it did get redundant and repetitive at points (but that was always going to be the case with a draft that ran three-hours and forty-two minutes); their crew, with Kevin Weekes, Brian Boucher, Meghan Chayka and John Buccigross at the desk, and with Emily Kaplan conducting about sixty interviews between players/draftees and general managers, put forth a strong effort.
As I recap both the draft and the broadcast, I’ll intersperse some thoughts about ESPN throughout – as I want to equally promote/credit their strong work in the same way that I bury what I perceive to be horrendous (Slewban).
I know that regular readers of this site know this, but for newer readers, a disclaimer:
I am not a prospects guy. History is my forte.
In other words, I don’t have any inside insight on any of these players that were drafted – but I do have initial impressions after seeing and hearing from them.
When I can, I’ll also work-in what the people who do watch these kids had to say.
Plus, and take this into account: I read about 40867867868968976 mock drafts – and where about 99.9% of them were busted, as if they were a “March Madness” bracket, after the second-pick was announced.
It’s just impossible to predict what these NHL general managers will do – and where in many of these mock drafts written by the people who actually watch these kids play – trading picks, which did not happen tonight, were also expected.
“The Walking-and-Talking Human Bobblehead,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, kicked off the festivities by performing a fellatio on himself at the podium – as he bragged about having a vision that hockey in Nashville (a non-traditional market) would be successful. Nothing about the Arizona Coyotes was mentioned here.
As was the case during the “NHL Awards Show;” Bettman brought out David Poile – as once again, the now retired GM of the Predators received his flowers and tributes all night long.
Listen, I get that Poile is a great hockey man and was excellent for the league, but c’mon – over forty-years spent as an NHL GM and not one Stanley Cup to show for it.
By the way that everyone was talking about him tonight, you’d think that he was one of those old legendary Montreal Canadiens’ GM’s from eras ago, such as Leo Dandurand, Frank Selke and Sam Pollock.
Instead, he has just as many Stanley Cups as Rangers’ owner James Dolan – and should the NHL Entry Draft ever take place in NYC anytime soon – then I don’t think that Dolan will receive as much praise and adoration as Poile received during these past three-days!
As the Blackhawks’ brain-trust took the stage, they, and just like Bettman, received a large round of boos.
While I’m sure that the crimes of Brad Aldrich is part of it (and the alleged rumors of the draft lottery being rigged too); the Blackhawks also play in the same Central Division as the hometown Predators.
If there was anything that truly bothered me during this broadcast, then it was the same thing that I bitch-and-moan about every year – each team took their full five-minutes before making their picks – including the first two teams, the Blackhawks and the Ducks – and where both franchises knew exactly who they were going to take.
But of course, this is a television event, and the talking heads had to get their stuff in; while later on, the advertisers, in the form of commercials, also had to have their face-time. Again, this is all understandable.
Kaplan, who kept it light-hearted but also asked serious questions when necessary (and in my opinion, was co-MVP of the broadcast along with Kevin Weekes); conducted her first two interviews following Bedard’s selection.
It’s not worth recapping all of these interviews, as all of the players said the same thing – “I’m happy, I can’t wait to get started, I’ll begin my career wherever my team tells me to, thank you to my family and yadda-yadda-yadda.”
But she did do a good job, as she knew when to go with the fluff, while also knowing when to ask serious questions.
Something worth mentioning about her first GM interview, is when “Kyle from Chicago” confirmed to the roving ESPN reporter that he is looking to replicate what Pittsburgh once did with Sidney Crosby – and put a bunch of veterans around Bedard to help with his NHL adjustment and development.
(She later got new Toronto GM, Brad Treliving, to talk about Auston Matthews’ contract situation too – one where the new boss said it would get done – but it may take some time.)
While Mr. Davidson didn’t say this outright; this also confirmed that Bedard won’t be beginning his professional career in the AHL either.
Also of note Part I: During this interview, it was mentioned no less than 9876789678678967896 times that ESPN will be airing the first Blackhawks’ game of the season, which then made me wonder if they’d reverse course on that should Bedard not be on their varsity roster to start the 2023-24 campaign!
Also of note Part II: Again, I understand it’s tough to stay fresh during a long broadcast, but after every pick, the ESPN crew pretty much said the same thing over-and-over, such as, “He has a high ceiling, has good zone entries, I like this pick, he knows how to play hockey, he has never sharted/has a good ass control and blah blah blah.”
The Pig Farmer, aka “The Little Ball of Hate,” Ducks’ GM Pat Verbeek, went off-the-board a bit and selected Leo Carlsson with his second-overall pick. In his post-draft interview with Kaplan, Verbeek, a former Ranger himself, didn’t guarantee that Carlsson would begin the season with the Ducks, as he may stay in Sweden.
As a result of this pick, the Blue Jackets, who have already been busy this off-season, and as previously covered on this site; then selected Adam Fantilli with their third-overall pick.
Again, I’m not a prospects guy, but of everyone that put on their new jersey and then put on a poorly made-and-designed hat from Fanatics – Fantilli was the only draftee that looked like both a grown ass man and a ready-made NHLer.
The people that I know who watch these players, including “site correspondents” Danny Mack and Ricky Otazu, said that this guy is the real deal. He certainly looked like it to me. No one looked more impressive in my eyes.
No joke, most of the players drafted looked like they had dabbed their faces with Stridex, Noxema and Oxy pads prior to entering the venue. In comparison, Fantilli looked like he had to use a chainsaw to shave off his beard.
And because of the former Ranger’s decision not to take Fantilli at #2; instead, another former Ranger, the two-time Team President in Columbus, and a man who has never met a red-light on a camera that he didn’t like, John Davidson, as a result, benefited – big-time benefited at that.
While I’ll do my 2023-24 season preview blog in the Fall, and despite what I said at the top of this blog too – outside of the rebuilding-and-blow-it-all-up Flyers – I don’t see many “easy” divisional games for the Blueshirts.
Once again, the Metro Division will reign supreme – and will continue its status as the best division in the league.
Two more things about ESPN:
1) It was great not to see that miscreant worm Greg W. there – as he probably would’ve asked every pick, “What are your thoughts on the pregame jerseys that players only wear 10-15 minutes a year?”
2) It was great to see all of the parents there. ESPN did a really good job of getting close-up shots of the mothers and fathers. You can’t fake stuff like this and these genuine emotions definitely struck a chord. In a way, Ranger rival or not, you were happy for the players that were selected and for their families.
With the fourth-overall pick, David Quinn and his SWAGGER Sharks took Will Smith.
Like everyone else who didn’t know him, I immediately thought of “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” – where funny enough – Kaplan had the 2005-born Smith sing the show’s theme song – a show whose original run ended way before he was born!
As I listened to Smith rap away to a song that he wasn’t alive for when it debuted; I thought to myself – “Well maybe it’s not that impressive – as I can sing the theme to the “Brady Bunch” – a show twenty-years before my time.”)
(I can also hum “The Three Stooges” theme song – a show/shorts that debuted over fifty-years before I was born!)
While this was going on; some idiot decided to troll Weekes on Twitter. Weekes, who has been entertaining while also being comically surly on Elon Musk’s app, soon replied.
Here’s Weekes’ response, an excellent one at that:
You can check my timeline, and the Millions of views on much of the news I’ve broken. Numbers and the Clock don’t lie my man. Hope you’re having a great night in ‘Berta tho ☺️.@NHL #HockeyTwitter https://t.co/a56b5bZ8N7 pic.twitter.com/qBEzZjrhCS
— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) June 28, 2023
Regular readers of this site know that no one thinks less of the Ranger beat reporters more than me; but when it comes to Weekes, now an American citizen – in my opinion, he’s the best American reporter in the league today.
No joke, and even when compared to his stiff Canadian competition – not many are as plugged-in, nor have as many sources, as the former Ranger goalie himself.
Enjoy him while he’s around, because unless it’s his goal to become this generation’s version of Bob McKenzie, then I think we’ll see him as an NHL GM or Team President one day.
In what was an embarrassing fiasco, Jeff Gorton and Martin St. Louis of Montreal (but without Jim Ramsay) took the stage next, and where Carey Price displayed why he’s still on the LTIR. The goalie struggled when announcing David Reinbacher as the fifth-overall pick – and as if Price was playing the Rangers in a playoff game.
The franchise without a home, the Desert Dogs, and with their front office all dressed in burgundy suits as if they were a new-age barbershop quartet, went off the boards themselves, when they selected defenseman Dmitriy Simashev with the sixth-overall pick.
After that, the Flyers took the podium, where they took the Russian that many believe can perhaps even challenge both Bedard and Fantilli as one day being the best player of this draft, Matvei Michkov.
Friend of the site, ECHLer Aaron Huffnagle (and a fan of the Flyers – and who should one day have a future in TV too), had this pick on lock, as he tweeted out the following at 11:30AM:
NHL draft tonight and the only thing Flyers fans should be manifesting is Mitchkov wearing the orange and black. this kid might be the best player in the entire draft…
— aaron huffnagle (@13AHuffnagle) June 28, 2023
The “knock” on the right-winger is two-fold.
One, he’s Russian and as a result, not a player that many scouts witnessed or saw first-hand, due to Putin’s war with Ukraine. Two, he also has a three-year contract in the KHL (SKA St. Petersburg) – a deal that doesn’t expire until after the 2025-26 season.
However, the Flyers, with their new brain-trust in-tow (Keith Jones and Daniel Briere) may be the best fit possible.
Put it this way: The Flyers are expected to suck a whole lot of ass next season.
Should Mitchkov remain in Russia and not help out his NHL club during the 2023-24 campaign, then who knows – maybe the orange-and-black win the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery.
And of course – none of this is good for the Rangers – at least not in the long-term.
In the interim, the Flyers may continue their status as a Blueshirts’ doormat – but that won’t be the case in the years to come.
During Kaplan’s interviews, Mitchkov said he’d be open to joining the Flyers sooner-than-expected, while Briere said that he’d have to talk to SKA about the future transition.
And who knows – maybe we’ll have a Petr Nedved defection situation here – because as noted, Mitchkov was in Nashville.
As we hit the one-hour mark of the draft, the team that didn’t want Peter Lateralette as their head coach anymore, the Washington Capitals, took Ryan Leonard with the 8th-overall pick. This was another off-the-board selection that ruined mock drafts.
The Red Wings then selected Nate Danielson with the ninth-overall pick – a player that reminded me of Scott Tenorman from “South Park”:
Up next were a few more off-the-board picks, at least according to the ESPN rankings that scrolled on the bottom of the screen, as the Blues, now with three members of the Rangers’ alumni on the roster, Pavel Buchnevich, Sammy Blais and Kevin Hayes, took Dalibor Dvorsky; while with the eleventh-overall pick, the Canucks, now 100% Vitali Krapsoft free, selected Tom Willander.
The Coyotes, with the 12th-overall pick, then selected Daniil But, who won’t be the butt of my jokes tonight – although many are laughing about the picks that Arizona went with on this night.
Zach Benson, rocking a Nashville mullet, a left-winger, was the 13th-overall pick, and as selected by the Sabres.
Kyle Dubas, in his first draft as the head of the Ice Birds, then selected Brayden Yager(bomb) with the 14th-overall pick.
As we neared the two-hour mark, the Predators drafted Matthew Wood (15th), where that Nashville draft hat, and I’m no fashionista, looked especially “pooish.” (Full credit to my niece Cayleigh for the usage of the word “pooish!”)
Coming in at #16 was poor Sammy Honzek, as the left-winger is now property of the Flames.
And what a course of events too: Following many years where both Winnipeg and Columbus were the least desired NHL cities to play in (and as voted by the players themselves); it feels like Calgary now holds this title. A lot of work will have to be done there in order to change that reputation.
Following this pick, and now at the 9PM hour – ESPN bombarded us with about ten-minutes of commercials – not exactly the wisest thing to do for a live television broadcast at the top of an hour.
Axel (Not Rose) Sandin Pellikka went next (17th, Detroit), while Colby Barlow (18th, Winnipeg), Oliver Moore (19th, Chicago), Eduard Sale (20th, Seattle), Charlie Stramel (21st, Minnesota) and Oliver “The Caveman” Bonk (22nd, Philadelphia) followed.
(Yes, “The Caveman” reference for Bonk refers to the old Atari game from the 1980s!)
When all of these picks were going down, I was wondering one thing, especially as Kaplan was interviewing all of these NHL GMs?
Would “THE PIZZA MAN” Chris Drury give Kaplan a slice of his time?
The answer: NO!
The Rangers then selected Gabriel Perreault with their 23rd-overall pick – and we’ll get more into him at the end of this.
(And if you love numerology – Drury once wore #23 with the Rangers and in the 2023 draft, he had the #23 pick. Isn’t that amazing Suzyn? Let’s just hope that the Rangers don’t finish in 23rd-place next season!)
Following the Rangers’ pick; Tanner Molendyk went 24th-overall (Nashville), Otto Stenberg went 25th-overall (St. Louis) and at the three-hour mark, Quentin Musty went 26th-overall (San Jose).
Rounding out the first-round were: Calum Ritchie (27th, Colorado), Easton Cowan (28th, Toronto), Theo Lindstein (29th, St. Louis), Bradley Nadeau (30th, Carolina), Mikhail Gulyayev (31st, Colorado) and David Edstrom (32nd, Vegas).
After starting at 7:00PM, the draft then concluded at 10:42PM, as the ever-shaky Mr. Bettman then told us that rounds 2-7 will be held tomorrow, starting at 11AM EST – and that’s where you’ll see some trades – or at the very least – trades featuring teams moving up in the later rounds of the draft.
For a complete draft analysis, check out the NHL version, where they also have videos of Kaplan’s interviews, here: https://www.nhl.com/news/2023-nhl-draft-complete-first-round-results/c-345072810
Let’s now talk about the Rangers and Perreault as we go home here.
Currently, the Rangers haven’t issued a press release about Perreault, but they do have two videos, one with him, and one with the Blueshirts’ Director of Player Personnel and Amateur Scouting, John Lilley, here: https://www.nhl.com/rangers/team/draft-central?icmp=int_web_nyr_draft-central_lp_DL_230628
(I’m to assume that the full press release will come sometime late Thursday or early Friday, following the completion of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.)
When it comes to Lilley, he was the lone man of a few words at the podium when making this pick.
Furthermore, while every other franchise seemingly had a roster the size of an NFL team hit the stage; the Blueshirts only had six men from their front office walk up the stairs.
Chris “ZOOM ZOOM” Drury didn’t speak once at the draft, not when this pick was made, nor to Kaplan, as he was the only GM not talk to the ESPN reporter. What a dick.
While Drury’s refusal to talk to anyone has become somewhat comical; it’s also ridiculous.
However, since the Rangers never have an issue selling-out M$G – he doesn’t have to do a damn thing – as business remains booming.
By using my own powers of detection and when reading an amalgamation of reports from Canada, NHL scouts and listening to ESPN too – this pick has been universally praised, where the phrase, “The Rangers took the best player available” has been featured in 99.9% of all assessments from the people who would know better than me.
If there’s a knock on Perreault, then it was when ESPN’s Brian Boucher said, “His skating is the issue, but much like his dad, Yanic Perreault, he slows the game down. The IQ is off the charts with this guy. He’s probably the smartest player in the draft and you think of NTDP single season point record, he shattered it by 15 points – and who did he beat? Auston Matthews. He’s part of that dynamic line with Will Smith and Ryan Leonard. He makes guys miss and he creates by while not moving and it’s so interesting to watch. Maybe the pace is an issue, but when you’re smart like that you find a way.”
Perreault will get plenty of time to work on his skating, as he will play for Boston College next season – a team that Drury is very familiar with, having played for their most-hated rival, Boston University.
As far as when you’ll see Perreault skate for the Rangers; Lilley said it’s up to the player, while Perreault himself brought up his dream of winning a college championship.
While every player is independent to themselves; at one point, Zac Jones, then a college sophomore, said that he wanted to complete all four-years at his alma mater, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. No less than two-weeks after saying that, and once winning the NCAA championship in 2021 too – he then signed with the Rangers – thus forgoing his education in order to turn professional.
Going into the draft, some experts had Perreault going as low as #10 and as high as #20. The Rangers got him at #23, where in a response, Weekes said on ESPN, “This is a steal for the Rangers.”
While this could just be happenstance; former NHL GM, Chuck Fletcher, when talking about this pick on SportsNet, said it felt like this pick fell into the Rangers’ lap – as they didn’t have a nameplate ready for him.
For what it’s worth, other late first-round picks did have nameplates provided to them by their clubs, thus strengthening Fletcher’s opinion.
Here’s what my long-time buddy, Ricky Otazu, had to say about Perreault:
@NYCTheMiC @JAGD94 @njraider93 @newyorkstyle24 @blakenastyy @JimBiringer @BSUShowJim pic.twitter.com/B6eSZFyACo
— Ricky otazu (@RickyOtazu16) June 29, 2023
While Perreault’s fate remains to be seen; from all accounts, this is a win-win situation – and it’s great to hear that everyone is happy about this.
The hockey gods sure know that Blueshirt backers need a break. I know that I can!
Presently, the Rangers have no room on their roster for a new rookie, especially since it’s thought that both Will Cullye and Brennan Othman will be competing for a spot this season.
Furthermore, other pundits also echoed Boucher’s opinions – so the more time in college for Perreault – the better.
Officially, the Rangers and the NHL have Perreault listed as a right-winger, but he did play at the left-wing position for the U.S.N.T.D.P. last season.
But hey, and unlike Alexis Lafreniere – it’s nice to know that Perreault can play at either wing – even if his father was dominant at faceoff circles!
Had Perreault been ready to join the NHL today (and based on his size, where he stands at 5’10” and weighs in at 160 pounds – he still needs time to grow); he’d find a logjam at the LW position, while perhaps being an option at the RW position. But of course, all of that talk, at least for now, is moot.
When it comes down to it – you never know how a draft pick will work out.
Sure, there are your Connor McDavid’s, your Sidney Crosby’s, your Alex Ovechkin’s and etc of the world; but there are also your Alexis Lafreniere’s, Kaapo Kakko’s and Pavel Brendl’s too – where for all of our sakes – let’s hope that both Lafreniere and Kakko can get it going next season – because if they can – it would be like making a big trade.
Of course, whether both Lafreniere and Kakko remain here next season also remains to be seen – but we’ll find out soon enough, as free agency, and the offer-sheet period, begins this Saturday.
Good luck to Perreault moving forward – and a word of advice too – get a restraining order on that salivating/drooling middle-aged European fan who stalks every teenage player that the Rangers draft known to man!
Already, I’m hearing that this overzealous fan is looking for Perreault hair samples, snot rockets and fingernail clippings!
Perreault, my new pal – learn from the mistakes of Lias Andersson, Nils Lundkvist and Vitali Kravtsov! You’ll thank me later!
I’m back to working on “The Top 100 Villains of New York Rangers History.”
I’ll be back tomorrow, where at the very least, I’ll give you the full 411 on whatever the Rangers do from rounds 2-7 – and should it transpire – trade talk too.
Then, come Saturday – free agency – and where hopefully by Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday of next week – a nice long break – and a chance to enjoy the summer before Labor Day hits!
PLUGS TIME! (Buy a book and support my Rangers’ induced therapy bills. After all, I don’t run ads on this site!)
My first plug of tonight’s blog – the mandatory plug for my book, “The New York Rangers Rink of Honor and the Rafters of Madison Square Garden.”
As mentioned previously, the book is now available in hardcover, in paperback and in Kindle formats. To purchase a copy of the book, visit this link:
https://www.amazon.com/Rangers-Rafters-Madison-Square-Garden-ebook/dp/B09CM5N2WD
For those still looking for signed paperback versions of the book, I have re-ordered more copies. I now have a few signed copies for sale at $25 a pop (includes shipping price) through me directly. Here is all the information on that:
Order “The New York Rangers Rink of Honor and the Rafters of Madison Square Garden” Book Today
My four-volume set of books, “One Game at a Time – A Season to Remember,” is a game-by-game recount of the Rangers 2021-22 campaign.
My second title as an author, “One Game at a Time – A Season to Remember,” is now available in eBook, paperback and hardcover formats.
To obtain signed copies, visit: https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/onegamebook/
To purchase all four volumes on Amazon, visit: Amazon.com – “One Game at a Time.”
The greatest volume-set of books on Rangers’ history today!
“Tricks of the Trade – A Century-Long Journey Through Every Trade Made In New York Rangers’ History,” a four-volume set of books that meticulously covers every trade made in franchise history, is now on sale.
All four volumes of the title can be purchased on Amazon.com and are presented in three different formats – eBook, paperback and hardcover.
To purchase Volume I: Conn Smythe (1926) – Craig Patrick (1986), visit Amazon.com
To purchase Volume II: Phil Esposito (1986) – Neil Smith (2000), visit Amazon.com
To purchase Volume III: Glen Sather (2000-2015), visit Amazon.com
To purchase Volume IV: Jeff Gorton (2015) – Chris Drury (2022), visit Amazon.com
To purchase signed copies of all four volumes, visit https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/tricksofthetrade/
Here are my last few blogs, in case you missed them:
Jim Ramsay Joins Jeff Gorton in Montreal; Roving Ricky O’s Scoop on Rammer’s Firing, Rangers Release 2023-24 Schedule; Lots of Saturday Games for Road-Trippers & More
NHL Award Voters/Media Make Fools Out of Themselves Again: Karlsson (-26) Wins Norris Trophy over Fox; Stamkos Blasts The Rainbow Media Mob Too, The One Award McDavid Lost, The Best 2023 NHL Awards Show Recap Around; SNL’s Chris Farley Honored, “Draft, Trades, Free Agency, Oh My” Ahead & More
Henrik Lundqvist Headlines the HOF Class of ’23; List of Every NYR HOFer (and the TRUE BLUES), Crazy Omissions/Canadian Bias, Goalie Floodgates Have Opened; Case For Mike Richter Stronger Than Ever, “Two Conflicting Things Can Be True,” Laviolette’s Generals, Praise For One Beat Writer, Preseason Schedule Announced & More
If you haven’t already, subscribe to this blog for the next update:
Don’t forget to order my recently released four-volume set of books, “Tricks of the Trade!”
If you don’t order through me, all four volumes are now available on Amazon.com
For more details, check out: https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/tricksofthetrade/
Thanks for reading.
LET’S GO RANGERS!
Sean McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com
@NYCTHEMIC on the Tweeter machine
