Alive At The Deadline

OK, I can't give too many specifics here, because it is a slightly sensitive situation, but Tanner Glass got me a job interview.

I'm assuming that will require some explanation.

You see, I was originally going to be unable to attend Sunday's Rangers-Panthers game because of a late night shift at CSTV, but...well, you know...

So I was a little late to the party acquiring tickets, and resorted to Craig's List. It so happened that one of the guys selling tickets in the blue seats was a media type, and when I contacted him, recognized my name from my former employer, and asked me if I could expense the tickets. I tell him of my situation, and we get to talking. He winds up recommending I get in touch with a former associate of his, who shares an alma mater with Your Humble Correspondent. I have an interview at a major paper in the area on Thursday.

And if it hadn't been for Tanner Glass, none of it would have happened.

I showed my gratitude by purchasing a personalized replica jersey from NHL.com today, taking advantage of their 20 percent off sale to get one of the old CCMs for 63.

Of course, there may be questions of how much we'll see of the Tan-Man after today's trades. I'm particlarly concerned by the Panthers' acquisition of Wade Belak, since fighting has been Tanner's specialty in the NHL so far, and that's presumably what Belak will bring to Florida.

The Rangers, meanwhile, acquired Fredrik Sjostrom, David LeNeveu, and Josh Gratton from the Coyotes for Marcel Hossa and Al Montoya, and also acquired Christian Backman from the Blues for a fourth-round draft pick.

Backman is a nice pickup: I don't know that he'll fill the blueline needs the Blueshirts have, but it's not like he could hurt the Rangers' power play any, right?

As for the Phoenix deal, Al Montoya had to go. It's unfortunate, because I would have loved to see Al become a star in New York, but King Henrik's contract extension meant the end of it for Al's hopes as a starter here. If I had to pick a destination for him, Phoenix would have been on the short list. I think that Al is in a unique position to help market hockey in communities that aren't naturally inclined toward it, and Phoenix certainly qualifies, as does San Antonio, home to the Coyotes' AHL affiliate.

It'd be nice to see Dave LeNeveu become the Rangers' backup keeper at some point. He was one hell of a netminder at Cornell, and one of my favorite college hockey memories not involving Dartmouth was watching Cornell beat Harvard in overtime for the ECAC title in 2003, the league's first year at Pepsi Arena (now the Times-Union Center). LeNeveu backstopped the Big Red to the Frozen Four that year and made the Hobey Hat Trick. His pro performance thus far has been disappointing, but Benoit Allaire likes him, and thinks he has potential.

And I'll admit it: I kind of have a soft spot for the Big Red. Few teams in college hockey are as much fun to cover. That was one great thing about being at Princeton on Saturday.

Goofy thing I do in the press box: gesture towards Cornell or RPI fans/band when they're about to shout, "Red!" during the national anthem.

I don't know as much about Gratton or Sjostrom, but I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do.

Meanwhile, we'll see what happens with Tanner. Let's hope his "good deed" goes unpunished.

I'm planning on checking out the Pack on Friday night - now that I know Hugh Jessiman isn't heading up I-91 to Springfield (I love how getting traded from New York to Edmonton means about a half-hour drive in the AHL) - so maybe we'll see something from LeNeveu and Gratton then.