Battle Of Hudson

Through the innovation that is Islander TV, I was able to see the presser where Billy Guerin was given his brand new jersey complete with number 13 and the captains “C” to boot. I was surprised with the appointment and apparently Guerin was too. In his introduction speech Guerin mentioned that Garth Snow informed him of the decision at lunch yesterday, but Guerin was still “completely surprised, but thrilled about this tremendous honor.” Honor indeed. Guerin will follow the lineage of former great Isles captains like Bryan McCabe, Trevor Linden, Kenny Jonsson, and of course Alexei Yashin.

Of course I’ve never played in the show and I am sure there is a certain equation when a captain is named to an NHL squad, but is it just me or should’ve Snow and Nolan maybe waited until training camp to see how Guerin interacts with his teammates before giving him the leadership role? Let’s look at some other candidates for the captaincy that could have been chosen instead. Mike Sillinger wore the “A” last year and is a veteran player, but he’s bounced around a lot and probably has a spare suitcase already packed just in case Garth calls him up and says he’s been traded for the 6,391st time. So Sillinger fits in as a good choice for the “A” but not the “C.” Next up is Brendan Witt who also wore the “A” last year. He’s served as a captain before in Washington, but he also wears number 32 to honor the player he looked up to in Washington, Dale Hunter. As an Isles fan, I’m gonna have to pass on the Witt as captain campaign. After that its slim pickings in the veteran leadership department, maybe Trent Hunter but he doesn’t exactly have a captain-esque resume but for the future he could mature into an NHL captain.

With that being said, I guess Bill Guerin as captain makes sense, there really is no other quality choice. Guerin’s a veteran in the league, well respected, and puts up good numbers. Now his playoff performances leave a lot to be desired but before we discuss those merits, well the Islanders will need to make the post season first.

Larry Brooks of the Post reports:

The Rangers and Brendan Shanahan are on the verge of completing a one-year
deal, with the club seeking league approval on the structure of the bonuses that
will be included in the 38-year-old winger’s contract, The Post has learned.

It is believed that Shanahan, who told The Post on June 20 he would
work with the Blueshirts in order to grant the team as much cap maneuverability
as possible, will sign for a base of approximately $2.5M with an additional
$1.5-2.5M in readily attainable bonuses.

“Glen [Sather] has been really good in communicating with me while he
was dealing with the [Henrik Lundqvist and Sean Avery] arbitration issues,”
Shanahan told The Post on Saturday. “I said all along I had no desire to test
the market or accept other offers.”

This is leaving less cap room to resign Lundquist, Avery, Hossa, and possibly the still unsigned UFA Sheldon Souray. The Devils signing of Vitaly Vishenevski would seem to indicate that the Rangers may have won the Sheldon Souray Sweepstakes, which could only come about by clearing a significant amount of cap space. The only way the Rangers can do so at this time of the year is via trades, which is what I’m seeing as a stronger possibility each day.

As for the Sidney Crosby contract extension, I guess that prayers and pin dolls weren’t enough to keep him out of the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. Looking at the bright side, at least we get to watch the superstar display his breathtaking skills all season for at least 6 more years – even if some of it is at the expense of the Rangers point totals.

So it’s indeed true. The Devils have added Defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski to compete with a bunch for spots on their 2007-08 Roster.

Right now, you have to assume that the Top 3 is White, Martin and Matvichuk.

The last 3 will be filled out by either Rachunek, Greene, Oduya, Vishnevski, or Corrente. There’s a case to be made for any of them.

He signed a 5-year extension with the Penguins today, somewhere in the area of $9 Million a season. It’ll kick in for 08-09.

Good for the Pens.

Reportedly, the Penguins will be in Buffalo at Ralph Wilson Stadium for an outdoor game on January 1st, tentatively titled “The Ice Bowl”.

Remember, the official schedule is released tomorrow, so we’ll find out if it’s true.

According to…sigh…Eklund.

I usually wouldn’t give this any thought, but it’s an (e5), or for those who don’t know, likely a done deal.

Yet, usually his (e5)’s don’t come through until’ after TFP or TSN announces it.

On another slow news day for the Rangers, I offer up this speculative tidbit.

With Carolina reportedly seeking a third line center and former Hurricane, Matt Cullen, one of the three most likely Rangers to be traded (along with Marek Malik and Paul Mara) in order to free up cap space, could Cullen be headed back to Carolina? There are no specific rumors out there (other than this one) regarding this potential trade, but depending upon the priorities of GMs Glen Sather and Jim Rutherford (who apparently is shopping a defenseman to acquire the center), it could make sense for both of them.

Sam Weinman, the Rangers beat reporter for The Journal News, expects the Rangers “to close in on something fairly soon”. However, it remains anyone’s guess as to which one of the known “somethings” is closed first.

Todd Fedouruk has signed a 1 year, $875K contract with the Stars.

Meanwhile, the Canucks deal with Aaron Miller was announced at 1 year, $1.5 Mill.

Former King Aaron Miller signed a deal with the ‘Nucks. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Interesting.

No no no…we’re not proposing a calendar of America’s best hockey bloggers (although…).

We’d like to know who you consider must read every day.

For me personally, Eric McErlain, Paul Kukla and James Mirtle are 3 people who’s sites you absolutely cannot ignore if you are a serious hockey fan.

2 Man Advantage is easily the best Devils blog out there. (Yes, I’m hoping to get quoted).

Also, Mike Chen’s (Seprate from BoC) blog is good.

Of course, BoC, BoA and BoO are great.

What do you guys like to read?