New Looks

Looks like my concerns about the Rangers were mostly unfounded. The team's acquisitions, for the most part, seem to make sense. The Rangers may have overpaid for Wade Redden, but he fills a definite need for the Blueshirts as a No. 1 defenseman and a quarterback on the power play.

The biggest concern I have is that the Rangers will be relying on Nikolai Zherdev for a lot of offense next season, and of all the adjectives that could be used to describe Zherdev, "reliable" is not necessarily one of them.

I like the signing of Markus Naslund. Yes, he's on the back end of his career, but so is Brendan Shanahan, and he's been a real asset to the Rangers the last couple of years. Besides, he's getting the $4 million per year that Sean Avery wanted, and if I have to choose between two years of Naslund and four of Avery - much as I like Avery - I take Naslund. He's a leader and a veteran, and he'll produce more than Avery without wearing out his welcome in the locker room. All that for less than the Oilers are paying Dustin Penner (speaking of which, memo to Gary Bettman: let Kevin Lowe and Brian Burke have at each other all they want. It's summer, we need the entertainment).

And yes, I know that Avery was a vital part of the Rangers' chemistry the last couple of years, but this is going to be a different team. Jaromir Jagr is gone to Avangard Omsk of the KHL, Martin Straka is playing in the Czech Republic, and we still don't know if Brendan Shanahan is coming back (probably not). This is going to be a different team, and if we're lucky, it won't be a team that needs Sean Avery in the lineup for the other guys to play like they give a hoot.

As Jagr goes "To Russia with Love," Ray Emery is going to Russia with glove, signing for $2 million, tax-free, with Atlant Mytishchi, also in the KHL. So, basically, with the exception of Jagr, who decided that exile in Siberia was preferable to Edmonton, the major KHL acquisitions out of the NHL are, for all intents and purposes, real exiles.

Of course, Emery only signed a one-year deal with Atlant, so he may be back someday soon. Still, when I think of Emery, and the fact that I am sorry to see him go, I'll always be reminded of this classic.



Of course, with Emery going to the suburbs of Moscow, he won't be going to Los Angeles, where I anticipated him being a holdover until Jeff Zatkoff is ready for the NHL. They may still go with Gatorade pitchman and "yo mama" joke master Jason LaBarbera, although it could also be a destination for Nikolai Khabibulin, whom the Blackhawks will likely need to move with Cristobal Huet coming on board. Of course, the Kings still need a coach, too.

Finally, while I'm digging into YouTube, it is my opinion that every WCHA arena with video capacity - except the Kohl Center, of course - should make this clip a regular part of programming when Wisconsin comes to town.