Battle Of Hudson

Yesterday, Rangers head coach John Tortorella joined WFAN talk show host Mike Francesa on Miked On to talk about the upcoming shortened season. Following two more days of intense training camp, the Rangers open 2013 at Boston Saturday with Pittsburgh visiting MSG Sunday.

Here are some of Tortorella’s thoughts on what to expect this year.

On Practice: “My biggest thought is recovery. … I looked at the team yesterday and they were ragged. … I think it’s just gauging your team and seeing where everyone is.

On Fitness: “There are some guys you can see who are in really good shape. Other guys are trying to find their way and other guys you can see there’s a lot of work to do. … I expect the first games to be sloppy. … My biggest responsibility coaching the team is to understand what we can give them.”

On Leaders: “I discuss with [Callahan] what I can do with the team. He helps me decide what kind of drills to do. … I trust this group. … I think our club here has done a really good job the past three or four days. … We have so many players back the last two or three years.”

On Ideal Camp: “I would like in the way we do it, two weeks is good for me. Our camp is set up where we don’t touch many pucks the first week. It’s strictly conditioning. … We have the middle of the camp where we push the team concept. And then you have the last five or six days.”

On Injuries: “I worry about that. You can tell. The trainers come to me. Their hip flexors. Their groins. It’s a big worry to me. I don’t think they’ve had enough time. … Try to keep them on the plane where they don’t lose their adrenaline.”

On Managing Minutes: “I want to win all 48. … I want to win every game. You don’t want to get in a jam. … I’m going to try to make the right decisions to win that particular game.”

On Lundqvist: “When he starts getting sloppy and that’s when he doesn’t practice much, his game tends to slip. … If we get the opportunity to play in the playoffs, we need a fresh goalie. … I think he realizes that he needs to practice the right way.”

On Schedule: “I look at my schedule right now. I have 23 days off. To me, you can fall into the trap ‘We need to practice. We need to do that.’ The most important thing to me is recovery.”

On Sloppy Play: “I think in the end zone. You’re going to see more penalties. And quite honestly, I’m just worried about the frequency to sustain the grinding.”

On Expectations: “I think a big step for our team this year is to handle the expectations. We make the Nash deal and everyone expects us to take the next step. … It’s a tough league. … We need to stay within ourselves. … Handle each game. Handle each day. Then everything will fall into place.”

On Last Year: “I think they believe. Before you can win, you need to believe you are going to win. … You have to really, it’s tough to win… it’s tough to win in this league. … I think the mental approach is the biggest thing that’s improved the last two years. … Tremendous leadership group that takes care of the room.”

“If we’re going to go where we want to be, I think all players need to improve. … We’re not sneaking up on anyone. … We lose a guy like Anisimov, Dubinsky, Prust, Fedotenko. It’s tough to replace. … We play as a team. I think that’s important so everyone contributes in more aspects.”

On Nash: “He hasn’t had the opportunity to play in the playoffs. … In the short time I’ve known him, he doesn’t say a lot. … He’s low maintenance. … I expect big things out of him. He’s a really good player in the league who goes about his business. No baggage here.”

On Being Favorites: “I don’t care what people are picking. We’re going to go about it one day at a time. And we’ll see where we’ll land. … I’m not worried about them.”

On His Approach: “I have a schedule for camp here and I’ve already made adjustments. … I have a foundation for how I want to go about it. I have to be open minded here in watching how our guys are. I like structure. … I need to listen to the athletes going forward.”

“I think it’ll be unpredictable. … I think the teams that stay with it and are mentally tough and get through it to where they want to be. But with this schedule here, I think some crazy things could happen.” 

In news that just came across the airwaves on WFAN in New York, the New Jersey Devils have re-signed Travis Zajac. The Devils’ top center reached agreement on an eight-year extension worth a reported $46 million. It averages out to $5.75 million per year.

“During his time in New Jersey Travis Zajac has become a solid, all-situation player and one of the core leaders of our hockey club,” said Devils team president and GM Lou Lamoriello in a team statement.

Zajac becomes the first player to sign a max deal under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. A player can re-sign with their own team for eight years. If Zajac had become a free agent this summer, he could’ve signed elsewhere for seven years. Teams have the edge in retaining players due to the extra year.

It was vital for the Devil organization to get this done. Especially in light of losing top scorer Zach Parise to Minnesota. They can now turn their attention to David Clarkson, who’s in the final year of his contract. He’s set to earn a pro-rated $3 million. Hasan will have more on this breaking story later.

According to a tweet from Newday’s Arthur Staple, there’s no timetable for his return. This comes a day after the KHL announced that they won’t allow Visnovsky to play in any more games for HC Slovan Bratislava unless the Islanders release him from his contract. A positive for the NHL with the Kontinental Hockey League cooperating under the transfer agreement.

SB Nation’s Matt Brigidi covered the issue in a post yesterday that included a full statement from the KHL. Here’s an excerpt that was posted over on Facebook by the KHL:

Day Four of Rangers training camp has been rescheduled. Coach John Tortorella decided to give his team a day off to recover. Instead, they’ll return to the ice tomorrow. MSG’s extensive coverage will air Thursday.

“Torts does a great job of checking in with the leaders to find out when the team needs rest during the season, and he is doing a really good job managing our ice time here in camp,” team captain Ryan Callahan pointed out to Jim Cerny on Blue Shirts United.

The Blueshirts will take part in two practice sessions. Today, they held team meetings and looked at video. Tortorella doesn’t want to overwork his team with a hectic 48-game schedule beginning Saturday in Boston. The Rangers return to Madison Square Garden Sunday for their first home game against the Penguins. That should be interesting.

Only one player skated today. Brad Richards missed the first three days of camp due to the flu. The first line center could start the season centering Carl Hagelin and Rick Nash. He was excited about the possibility of reuniting with Hagelin, who’s entering his second year.

“I’m excited to play with (Hagelin),” he said. “I think he’s already better just from what I’ve seen in the fall and what we did last week. Obviously he has the speed, but he’s starting to calm down with the puck and make plays. I think that’s a big step for him, and with that speed, he’s just so dangerous.”

It’s probably a wise decision to split Nash and Marian Gaborik up, giving the lineup more balance. With Chris Kreider struggling in Connecticut, the rookie out of Boston College was on the third line with Brian Boyle and Taylor Pyatt. A big checking line if that’s what Tortorella starts with. Gaborik is getting a look at left wing where he might play with Derek Stepan and Callahan. It’ll be interesting to see if he can adjust. The fourth line so far is Mike Rupp, Jeff Halpern and Arron Asham. A crash bang trio who should be an upgrade.

Tortorella heaped praise on former Ranger Brandon Prust yesterday. He’ll be tough to replace but Tort likes the additions of Pyatt, Halpern and Asham, who should make our team grittier. The fiery coach will join WFAN’s Mike Francesa at 5:30 today to discuss this year’s club. There are many expectations with many picking them to win the Atlantic and face Pittsburgh in the Conference Finals. The heat is on beginning Saturday.

If you love the Rangers, you’ll get your fill thanks to MSG later today. For the first time ever, they’ll broadcast Camp Tortorella from the team practice facility in Tarrytown, New York. It will air live at 11 AM with repeats at 5 PM and midnight.

It’ll be a chance for fans to get even more perspective on the team they follow. From my standpoint, it will show how hard players must prepare daily. Something I alluded to during the lockout. Nobody has it tougher than the guys we root for. Sure. We pay their salaries and they’re living the dream. However, they’ve committed their lives to hockey and being the best they can be. That means sacrifice and dedication.

I’m wondering if Tort will ratchet it up for the cameras. From Sam Rosen to Joe Micheletti to Al Trautwig, John Giannone, Dave Maloney and Kenny Albert, who had the memorable call of Brad Richards’ tying goal against the Capitals in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, they’ll be there covering the Blueshirts. I’m sure all the college students home for the break will be locked in. I’ll definitely catch some of it.

Aside from giving fans an extra treat, MSG will also have their full hockey preview Thursday night at 8 PM on Hockey Night Live. We really are lucky in this area to have such extensive hockey coverage from a network that gets it. Even I have to give Dolan his due even if the Ranger pom poms are out.

There’s also something else I’ll get to in the next post that involves the Rangers. A real eye opener that enthused me for the shortened season. Stay tuned.

It was a last chance for European fans to say goodbye to two of the most breathtaking players. Not surprisingly, the game didn’t disappoint with the two rosters combining for 29 goals. The East prevailed 18-11 thanks to Evgeny Kuznetsov’s four goal performance. The Cap prospect remains the best player not in the NHL. Just wait till he joins forces with Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson. Ex-Coyote defenseman Deron Quint added two markers in the East’s victory.

Kovalchuk didn’t disappoint recording a hat trick in a losing cause for the West. He also electrified the crowd during the Master Show Super Skills Competition by winning the Captains’ Duel over ex-Pen Alexei Morozov. It was one of the most interesting duels that had them banking shots into nets facing the opposite way along with target practice and was topped off with Kovalchuk and Morozov figure skating. He was so much bigger than the woman figure skater but showed flair like the showman he is.

Of course, Datsyuk took the Shootout with another of his magic tricks floating a puck into the net. I liked the Puck Control relay. Datsyuk nearly caught up but the East prevailed. The West won the marquee event, which featured a Fastest Skater Team Relay. Even the goalies took part which was classic. During the Super Skills, they also got to shoot pucks into the opposite net.

It was a great celebration of hockey in Eastern Europe.

Radek Martinek returned to Long Island for his second stint with the Islanders.

One of the first news items this morning once camps reopened was the Islanders bringing back vet defenseman Radek Martinek. The 36-year old Czech signed for a year with the club that drafted him in 1999 (8th Round). He spent his first nine seasons on Long Island before joining the Blue Jackets last year. He played in only seven games.

Martinek is not flashy but if healthy, he’s an experienced player who can be trusted by Jack Capuano. On a blueline that boasts captain Mark Streit, Travis Hamonic and Andrew MacDonald, he won’t be asked to fill a large role. Just a supporting one with the club taking a look at Ty Wishart, Aaron Ness, Calvin de Haan and Griffin Reinhart.

Team GM Garth Snow also traded for Lubomir Visnovsky, who wants to stay home in Slovakia with his family playing for Slovan Bratislava of the KHL. The likelihood of the vet Slovak showing are slim to none. The Islanders also signed physical pest Matt Carkner, who should add toughness to a soft blueline. That kind of edge will be needed to protect John Tavares and Ryan Strome if he makes the big club. Still a long shot for the gifted ’11 first round pick.

Considering Martinek’s injury history, don’t expect him to play daily. However, he’s still a decent addition to a defense in transition.