“Hello darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains within the sound of silence
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you.”
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence
And the sign said,
“The words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls.”
And whispered, in the sound of silence.”
— The Sound of Silence, by Simon & Garfunkel aka how every Ranger fan should’ve felt when Glass was waived on Friday.
On Friday afternoon, I opened up my twitter machine to see many fans and reporters alike, say the following words, “The Rangers have announced that Tanner Glass and Nathan Gerbe have been assigned to Hartford.”
What we found out afterwards is that Tanner Glass and Gerbe had to clear waivers. They cleared waivers on Saturday afternoon, which means Glass will open the 2016-2017 season as a member of the Hartford Wolfpack. For Nathan Gerbe, he can opt out and play in Switzerland. However, if you check Gerbe’s twitter, @nathangerbe14, Gerbe’s wife just gave birth on September 1st. With another young child at home, does he really want to move his family from his homeland to Switzerland? Does he want to leave his family here and take make money in Switzerland by himself? I don’t think so. I think Gerbe will hang around and hope to make the team, whether through someone getting injured, giving a guy a break, or just shining in Hartford.
However, this article is more about Tanner Glass and less about Nathan Gerbe. I wish Gerbe well, but he hasn’t been in New York long enough to feel the wrath of New York sports fans. While you always hear me go on and on about the horrible contract of a one Henrik Lundqvist, many Ranger fans take to social media to bitch about Tanner Glass. They don’t only bitch about the money of Glass, they bitch about the man, the player and wonder if he has some sort of pictures of Coach AV in a compromising position.
Tanner Glass had one of the worst seasons any player could really have in 2014-2015. Brought in to replace Dan Carcillo & Derek Dorsett from the 2013-2014 Eastern Conference Championship team, Glass brought no offensive firepower and was turnover prone. He wasn’t scrappy. While known for his toughness, he didn’t do much that season. However, the word around the beat was that he was a great teammate, liked in the locker room and had fans in the coaching staff.
Many wondered why Glass was even around last season. Glass started last season in Hartford, while Emerson “FUCKING” Etem made the team. Remember Etem? Fuck you Glen Sather for trading Hagelin. Just fuck you to Sather in general. It’s amazing how players he let go or traded has won a Cup the next season. Whether it be Gaborik, Richards or Hagelin, Sather always looks to be the fool. I wonder who gets the Cup this year – the Tampa Bay Rangers? The Yandle Panthers? The Brassman in Ottawa?
That Hagelin trade still pisses me off. That senile weasel Glen Sather trades Hagelin in the middle of the night. Doesn’t even talk to the guy. Gives him the Stralman treatment. Like Stralman, it would later be revealed that Hagelin wanted to stay & would’ve worked on money. Granted, money wouldn’t be an issue if Stralman & Hagelin’s countryman, Henrik Lundqvist, wasn’t a greedy hypocritical Swedish pig, but alas, I digress.
Anyways, Sather deals Hagelin for Etem and tries to sell Ranger fans on how Etem is younger and can replace Hagelin. Yea right. Etem doesn’t even last half a season in New York. Now, the Rangers sign Michael Grabner as they continue their poor man Hagelin signings. This is all very comparable to the defense situation. The Rangers had a great guy in Anton Stralman. So the Rangers stop answering his calls and sign the 39 year old Dan Boyle instead for the same money. Another failed deal. Senile Sather then deals Duclair and a number 1 for Yandle. His protege, Jeff Gorton, lets Yandle walk. The management of this team is fucking inept, but then again, when your owner is still trying to find ways to give Isiah Thomas a job, what can you expect?
But oh yeah, back to Tanner Glass!
Emerson Etem got injured in December of last season. The Rangers were forced to bring up Tanner Glass. For the rest of the season and I don’t care what anyone else says – Tanner Glass was PERFECT in his role. Was he a scorer? No. A threat on the ice? No. However in his role – no one else exceeded expectations like Glass did.
Whether it’s the CTE/concussion era or something else (I won’t say it’s NHL Player Safety, because after watching Radko Gudas get nothing after sending Vesey headfirst into the boards, you know NHL Player Safety can give two shits less), the enforcer is gone from the NHL. Sure, you got a few tough guys out there, but it’s not the hockey I grew up watching, certainly not your father’s hockey and there would be no such thing as legend Gordie Howe in today’s NHL!
That said – you still need toughness out there. As we’ve seen last year and in this year’s preseason, if a situation called for gloves to be dropped, Glass was there.
I mean, who could forget this from last season:
On another aside, just thinking about that “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” at MSG last season, man, that gives you goosebumps. That environment was louder than a playoff game! After that McIlrath/Simmonds fight, when Glass landed on Ryan White, you could feel the electricity in the building. What a moment that I’ll never forget!
You could argue that Glass brought some life to this team when he came up last season. He was arguably the best player on the ice for the Rangers, when he made his return against the Islanders. After skating well, producing and intimidating the fish sticks, Tanner Glass threw down against Colorado as well. Now, while I don’t want to oversell you too hard, there’s no denying that Glass played well in the minutes he saw last season.
It does frustrate me when I see Ranger fans dump on Glass. I know, that’s gotta be ironic coming from me, since I hate Lundqvist’s contract and think he’s a hypocrite. However, I got facts to back me up. No one can say that Glass played bad last season at all.
If you remember last season, I wrote an article that you can find by clicking here on why I thought Tanner Glass should’ve won the Steven McDonald “Extra Effort” award. Mats Zuccarello won it, and while I have no problem with Zucc winning it, it kinda was a popularity contest kind of thing.
I’m a fan of Tanner Glass, I’m not gonna lie. I like the gritty type of players. If you remember yet again, in a blog I did two weeks ago, I did some self-analysis and realized that Mats Zuccarello was my favorite player on the team. I just like those scrappy guys who give you everything. Talbot was like that as a goalie. He left it all out there. In my years as a Ranger fan, Messier, Leetch, Graves, Beukeboom, Richter, Gretzky, Fleury, Jagr, McDonagh, Martin St. Louis, etc, the names go on and on – all like that. Yes, this is probably the first and last time anyone has ever compared Glass with Gretzky, but you get my point!
The biggest hate I see on social media, mostly twitter, when it comes to Glass is his relationship with AV. It’s no question AV is a fan of Glass. AV had Glass on his teams in Vancouver. And do you know what? Just like in Vancouver, the Rangers won a President’s Trophy with Glass & AV. I fucking (I’m using the f-bomb here to stress emphasis) HATE fans who talk smack about AV. He’s a great coach. He’s only won a President’s Trophy (with the teams highest paid player out for 3 months), made a Stanley Cup appearance and has been in the playoffs every year that he’s been here. It’s not his fault he is saddled with some big contracts on his team. He’s found ways to win. He knows how to judge talent, and if he likes Glass, there is a reason for it. Trust in AV!
What I like about Glass and what I don’t think many fans realize, is that he’s a natural born leader. He captained his team in college. He wore the “A” in the minors. He’s worn the “A” during preseason games. Hockey is such a great sport with such a rich history. You just don’t get letters on the front of your jersey – you have to earn that respect from the locker room and your coaches. Make no mistake about it, Glass has been respected and has played well on every level in his career.
The Rangers were all over the place during this off-season. They are rebuilding some areas, such as the offense, but set with their failing goalie and defense. Every time I see Lundqvist’s contract, I just laugh and cry. Insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. While every other team wins Stanley Cups with cheap goalies, the Rangers do the complete opposite of that. I’m sure it will work this season too! LMAO!
The Rangers really don’t have an identity going into this season with changes in some areas and going with the same old shit in other areas. It’s like rebuilding a house and leaving the roof open. In regards to Glass, who was great last season, he goes to Hartford, as the Rangers (right now) carry 8 defensemen, looking for the next Keith Yandle or Anton Stralman. (Won’t happen.) The Rangers are also looking for the next Carl Hagelin/guy who can deliver on the PK & bring speed, and they think Grabner is that guy. (He’s not.) So while the Rangers play Dr. Frankenstein at their overpriced lab at MSG, a quality player toils on a what actually should be a great Hartford Wolfpack team. If the Calder Cup is the goal this season, the Rangers have done a great job in that department. Maybe they can float Lundqvist there once the regular season is over and the Rangers miss the playoffs?
To be honest, I was surprised no one claimed Glass off waivers, but I guess the salary cap affects that. Glass would be a good and cheap fit for young teams like Arizona, Toronto, Buffalo or Edmonton. He would be a good veteran physical presence for other Metro teams like the Islanders (lost Martin), the Devils or maybe even the Flyers. With Vancouver being a mess, the Canucks could even use him right now. He’s a guy that sets a good example and plays hard, which is an asset to any team.
I don’t think the Rangers have seen the last of Tanner Glass. Someone will inevitably bomb or get hurt and a roster spot will open up. Dylan McIlrath may make the team, but I think Glass is less of a risk on the ice. Glass, like McIlrath, could get starts against rival teams like the Islanders or Flyers and get starts against bigger/tougher teams, like the Kings or the Bruins.
Like last season, once Glass gets on the roster, I think he’ll remain there and AV will be wondering why he placated whoever he had to make happy, by not having Glass on the roster on opening day.
Most likely, after his contract expires after this season, Glass will move on from Broadway and land somewhere else, bringing his hard work to another team’s fourth line. However for this season, the Rangers are paying him and should have his style of play on the ice.
To have the respect of the locker room, your coaches and the league, for a long amount of time in the NHL, says something. Glass has all that. Just because people on twitter, who live in their mother’s basement, disagree, shouldn’t steer the Rangers from keeping Glass on this team.
The NHL season is a long 82 game grind. I eagerly await to see 15 back on the ice in a blue sweater. On the bright side – I’ll see him up close in Hartford when I go there the first week of November!
I’ll be back with another blog before the season starts. It will be a rare blog for me as it will be my “100% Positive” (Not the Magic Johnson or Charlie Sheen positive) Blog. In that blog, I will tell you how and why the Rangers will win their 5th Cup in their 90th year!
Stay live and stay tuned!
Glass 3:16 4 life! (Two wrestling references in one sentence!)
See ya on the flip.
Sean McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com
@NYCTHEMIC on the tweet tweet
GREAT article! I will also miss Glass on this roster this year and perhaps after he leaves to go where the organization appreciates him.