Now Is a Good Time to Subscribe

The May issue of Blueshirt Bulletin went out into the mail today for subscribers and should be arriving in mailboxes in the New York area within the next two or three days, a little longer for other destinations around the U.S. and the world. As is so often the case, events outpaced our abiility to prepare stories -- most of the articles were written after the elimination of the Devils, but the issue went to press after the Rangers themselves were eliminated in the next round. Nevertheless, we feel confident that we have come up with some good reading that is fresh regardless of the results.

Here is what we have: two pages on Sean Avery (pre-injury), including John Dellapina of the Daily News on how Avery helps promote hockey; two pages on the impact of the Rangers' rookies, one page specifically on Marc Staal and another by Dan Rosen of NHL.com on the group as a whole; two pages on what worked for the Rangers this season, which will be same next season -- Andrew Gross of the Record on Jaromir Jagr and Henrik Lundqvist, Sam Weinman of the Journal News on how team's off-ice chemistry translates onto the ice; a two-page review of both playoff rounds; and Bruce Berlet's two-page review of Hartford's season.

That's ten pages of wall to wall information from some of the great sportswriters in the New York area who cover the Rangers. But that's not all, far from it. Jess Rubenstein has a player by player review of Ranger prospects as well as Prospect Park's year-end awards, Scoop Malinowski has Biofiles on Michal Rozsival and Steve Valiquette, John Halligan skates Around the Rink With the Rangers, and Ron Boesgaard has his popular Views From the Blues. There are the usual three pages of Rangers news and notes, the Rangers timeline, and Blueshirt Bulletin reader Bill Cummings lauding the Rangers' version of the Flying Frenchmen.

All of this is illustrated by great photography, some of it exclusive to Blueshirt Bulletin thanks to David Perlmutter (including a series of shots of the Rangers and Avery running Martin Brodeur), and beautifully put together by our art director, John Coutihno -- David and John bring more than their artistry to the project, they also bring the eye of the Ranger fan, being fans themselves. You can see the combination of their work along with a sampling of some of this month's writing in the collage at the upper left -- but you'll have to subscribe to actually be able to read it and see it close up in all its glory.

It's not too late to subscribe and get this issue. And in the process, you also help make sure that we get a reporter on site at the upcoming draft in Ottawa. We are going to need several hundred new subscribers to fund live coverage from the draft of the type that we have provided the past couple of years, coverage that included a rare exclusive interview with Glen Sather by Jess Rubenstein as well as exclusive interviews with Ranger draftees and scouts and one with Jim Schoenfeld, in addition to coverage of press conferences by the top draftees and Rangers' staff members like Sather and Tom Renney.

Subscription will soon become the only way to access our premium content, including our coverage of Prospect Development Camp and Ranger training camp. This summer, we will migrate the site to one where premium coverage will only be available to magazine subscribers (there may also be an option to subscribe separately to premium online content for those who don't get the magazine). So get a head start and subscribe now to get the current issue of Blueshirt Bulletin and get the June issue, which will preview the draft and summer free agent season. Click here for information on how to subscribe.

Just some light reading on the Rangers today -- Henrik Lundqvist backstopped Sweden to an easy win (recap here -- NYR.com has the lowdown on all Rangers in the World Championship), Perry Pearn has thrown his name into the hat for the Florida head coaching job (report here), Kenny Albert looks ahead at MSG.com, and Prospect Park has part IV of its look at the Rangers.

Comments

[oleosmirf]

rangerbill

i don't want Straka and Shanahan back either but not i'm not in favor of overpaying for Ryan Malone just b/c he is supposedly best player available. If the decision is between Shanahan and Malone i'm taking Shanahan. He will give you the same production at a cheaper price plus Shanny is a leader despite all the BS about him defying Renney...

In fact i'd rather not sign either one and give the spot to Callahan or Parenteau and use that money WISELY to solidfy the blueline and let the forwards play a little bit instead of playing defensively to compensate for the holes we had on defense this year...

[zengolfguy]

I can't reco BB printd version enough. I skim and spead read when it first comes in and then devour it at leisure in the reading room. Or as much leisure as I get b4 my wife wants to...erm...use the reading room.

I'm slowly getting over the season being done, and while it's a disappointment, I feel really positive moving forward. I really can't ever remember having so many terrific young players, and more on the way (thanks to Jess for keeping us apprised on the future NYR).

I hope that Sather takes a page from Jerry Reese's book (continuing the Giants analogies) and doesn't overpay for UFAs just because they are all that is there. Be patient, save cap space and assets until the right pieces can be found and gotten.

Last thing: I read about a week ago in one of the columns a mention of Thomas Kaberle's name in conjuction with our boys. Any thoughts on that?

[ThisYearsModel]

DUBI:

Happy to hear of the changes to the site. I have long been an advocate of your moving in that direction. One question.....with the entire print version be available through the site? By the time the print version gets out here to SoCal, it is pretty messed up most of the time. I would be delighted to be able to read it online. Thanks!

[joeymole]

grrrrr....how i hate the versus coverage. the announcers are just friggin' terrible together. always yappin' about this or that while the game goes on without them. "doc" is a devil announcer which makes it worse. and where did the nickname come from anyway? was it from the 7 dwarfs? and eddie o, despite being a former ranger, is also hard to take. sometimes he speaks just to fill space or is it to hear himself speak? he talked over a goal (again) during last night's game. sorry, but i just have to vent on this issue. instead of the playoffs being enjoyable these versus broadcasts are becoming more and more painful to watch.

and speaking of last night's game, how friggin' painful was it to watch red wings gain a 3-0 second period lead and then hold off the stars attempt to swing the momentum back their way. of course the mind wandered back to rangers game 1 vs. pens and how rangers (again) melted under the pressure of the pens and essentially lost the series in the first game. pens had no fear of rangers after that comeback.

final thought: want the pens to beat philly, because i hate philly the most, besides the islanders. and then i'm hoping red wings meet pens in the finals and then marc-andre fleury (sounds like a hairdressr's name?!) comes back to reality as the red wings swarm his net and score many goals, and wings sweep pens 4-0!!

[ant]

I want philly to win i want Cindy to go vry like a lttile bitch after they lose the finals.I dunt wonna see another round with him in it

[TonyM]

I want to take this opportunity to urge any one that comes to this site , to subscribe to The Blueshirt Bulletin which is one of the best reads of any out there on our beloved Rangers.
I thoroughly admire the hard work, professionalism and thoughfullness of Dubi Silverstein. One of the best Ranger followers and writers in the history of the Rangers. I ought to know. I have been following the Rangers since 1965.

[njaco1215]

I plan on subscribing once i get out of this unemployment phase. i read this page daily tho

[Matty *Happy Birthday to me*]

I like the proposed site changes ... I think it will cut down on the trolls and the people who only appear to trash the team but can't seem to be bothered with the team when things are going good ...

[ant]

Matty happy birthday

[zengolfguy]

Tony:

I got you by a couple, saw my first at the old Garden in '59 (at 4 yrs old, still have the program).

[Matty]

ant,

Thank you ... but Oops, my birthday was on Tuesday, I just forgot to take that title out lol

[kovazub94]

For people who advacate bringing Malone, they should do a comparison to Nylander & Straka stats from the last year and the year before that. These two years Jagr's numbers were somewhat comparable to Malkin's stats this year. As you can see both of these players were at a point per game clip. Malone's 50 + points this year are simply not good enough to command his signing by the Rangers at the $$ that he's expecting at that someone sure would be willing to pay him.

With respect to Shanahan, his current situation reminds me of the last years of MM with the Rangers. As you remember Messier would also get his 20 + goals and about 40 - 50 points. However, his production was mostly generated in October through December, and after that (when each point would become so much more valuable in order to make the play-offs) his production would drop off significantly. As well as his effort, I might add but it's besides my point. The point is that Shanahan this season showed almost exactly the same level and rate of production. So if you'd like to pensil him for the 2nd line duty - his production is not going to warrant it. I like Shany as a player and person off the ice(and I didn't lose my respect for getting compensation that he got - if someone was willing to pay it he shouldn't be blamed for taking it),but I don't think that Rangers should ask him to come back next season.

[Alan]

i hope pearn throws himself (not just the hat) at that job but knowing what teams know about his work on the PP probably won't get him too much consideration, dontcha think?

all in all, with every shortcoming documented here and everywhere, we still should be at msg tonite for game one against the flyers. sorry to bring that up, but i'm still pissed!

[Alan]

just read the piece at nyr.com about our boys in the worlds. esche and craig anderson in goal for the u.s.? think that tandem will take them far?

[jason]

Alan,

Tim Thomas was the starter but suffered an injury in game against Canada (I think it was them)

[Chris QCT]

So, this will become a pay-only website this summer?

Did I read that correctly?

[ant]

Better late than never :)

[Alan]

thanks, jason, for that info. so he's out the remainder of the tourney?

[jason]

Alan,

He is out for the remainder of the touney. He suffered either a Knee or Groin injury,depending on who you hear what from against Canada.

[Mark W.]

USA probably won't go far with that tandem, last night against Germany Anderson allowed 4 goals on 10 shots, but they still won 6-4. They would have beaten Canada too if only someone had bothered to make a save or two because they dominated territorially.

And if you guys think NHL refs are bad, these international guys are worse. Trust me. They redefine ticky-tack.

[the poster formerly known as John]

Maybe Shanahan should pull a Selanne and sit out the first 2/3 of the season and then hop on fresh for the stretch and the playoffs.

[ant]

former john

we seen how that one playd out

[rangerbill94]

oleo

While Malone, Sundin, Hossa, Satan and a few more may be possible for consideration, my focus in on good, solid, physical defensemen. I'm not looking for a Scott Stevens, just somebody who will actually check somebody and do it consistantly. Our opponents need to know they are going to get hit when they get near these players. Orr, Hollweg, Callahan, Dubinsky and Avery send that message. Two of those guys only get 5-7 minutes/game. We need players like that who get 18-23 minutes.

As you say, if Parenteau, Korpo and Byers or Moore are "ready", then we need them in the lineup. Renney will require two-way play, so they better get that AHL mindset out of their minds. At this level you have to be ready at every moment.

[Jameson]

Oleo,

I still don't understand why it's ok to overpay for a past prime Mats Sundin but not spend less or the same kind of money on Ryan Malone, even if its true that he won't put up the same kind of numbers he did with the Pens(even though I don't see why not, it's not like we're an offensively challenged team at least skillwise).

[Jameson]

Also, from the last post:

And how about Rob Blake for a 1 or 2 year contract? I'm not sure we could pry him away from LA, but he was still plenty productive last season. 9 goals, 22 assists in 71 games. Prior to that 14 goals and 20 assists in 72 games. And that was with the Kings... put him in our lineup and I think those numbers could be even better. And he could definitely QB the PP. And he can clear the crease. I think something we're lacking isn't just a d-man to QB the PP and to clear the crease, we don't really have veteran leadership on defense. Blake would provide that too. I k now it would cost money, but you have to spend to win. We can't be hesitant, and we need to spend big money on defense. Can't be scared to spend it because the guys that will get the money are old..

I mean Blake is still probably equal or better defensively to all of our UFA defenseman, and he's got more offensive skill than any of them.

[Jameson]

Korpokoski looked good in the defensive zone in the limited time he played in our last game. That's the only game I saw him play but his name had been mentioned for a call-up a lot during the season and for him to get the nod in an elimination game the coaching staff must think pretty highly of him. Parenteau might make it if he has a good camp, same goes for Byers. Obviously it depends on who we bring in too

[ant]

Umberger got hooked on a breakaway and no call.Its horrible

[Mark W.]

And big brave Malkin takes jabs at Hatcher only when Sykora is holding him. What a punk, just like him and Crosby against Girardi.

[oleosmirf]

jameson

please explain to me how Sundin is past his prime???

[jack]

Jess,

Can you tell me why we threw Umberger to the street? Was it because he has an ego? Who has a bigger one then Slats?

Slats, if your reading...sign Orpik and any of the following in order of my preference Vandermeer, Hainsey, Carrot Top, David Hale, Matt Walker and Alexei Semenov.

I like Malone but Ruutu is also free...can u see it..avery and ruutu...lets make life miserable for everyone. Also guys like Patrick Rissmiller, Zenon Konopka and Krys Barch, I know not household names but all bring grit and with the later two the ability to defend teammates.

The theme I am going after is that all of these guys can bring it. Remember this is a contact sport. The Rangers will go no where with all of these small guys and I love them all...I really do..but we need grit and determination. Shart, the we get called for everything...might as well earn it.

Let me know what you think.

Peace.

[ant]

Avery and Ruutu would not be able to play with each other

[Jess]

Jack

Can you tell me why we threw Umberger to the street?

In my eyes it was BOTH Sather and Maloney who blew the call on Umberger. Sather because he thought was doing his pal Burke a favor and taking the headache that they thought Umberger was. I have checked and rechecked and if asking for a contract that was close to equal value of what Calgary paid Chuck Kobasew and Carlo Colaiacovo received which at the time.

Sather and Maloney kept playing games with Umberger and his agent, practice with the Rangers no go down to Hartford. They tried to make it look like Umberger had issues but all he wanted to do was play hockey.

The Rangers never made any real attempt to sign Umberger, they were looking simply for another draft pick (Sauer). I like Sauer but if you want to look at mistakes that could have turned the system around this has to rank at the top.

Oleo

In fact i'd rather not sign either one and give the spot to Callahan or Parenteau and use that money WISELY to solidfy the blueline and let the forwards play a little bit instead of playing defensively to compensate for the holes we had on defense this year...

There remains hope for you Oleo as I agree with you here. FYI though Parenteau is heading to the DEL so scratch him.

[Mark]

Dubi,
I love your site. Thanks for the wonderful reads and the "on the money" insight. With that said, I wish you luck with your pay site. Everyone should get paid for their hard work. I will not be subscribing. You have mentioned countless times that you make money off of every hit that your site receives. I've also heard from your subscribers that if you do not live in the NY area than the subscriptions arrive too late to be useful from a fan perspective. I live in NC and already live with an out of date Hockey News. I hope you decide to leave some information available to a dedicated site hitter. If not, than thank you for all of the wonderful info that you and your staff has provided me.
Mark

[i]

amazing how fans react to what happened this season. Bright side, dark side, real side. Sather did zilch at the deadline thereby letting a wide open shot at the finals slip away. He needed a D man. He got a $3.4 mil salary dump for a 4th round pick that could turn into a star, just as some NYR later round picks have. He traded away a #1 pick ( Montoya) for? He has another #1 Jessimen ? And another Cherry ? The call of D first wins in the playoffs died down. Looks like malkin slewfoot offense wins first. Like someone tried to say, they not only building for next season, but for 10 years. That's until they become the present season, and a BIG deal is made that they got their act together after floundering for 50 games each of the last 2 seasons to make the playoffs. And they made them 3 years in a row, a 1 and done, and 2 two and dones. That's progress, that's building for the future? Just because there were 7 dark years, the light seems bright. How bright or dark is it? How hard did management try to make the finals this season? How hard will they try next season or the next or the next? Take your pick on positive or negative along with real, and woulda, shoulda, coulda. The NYR are playing GOLF. WHY? Spin away....

[gravey]

I get a little crazy when I see all the suggestions to sign these over 35 over-the-hill players...Sundin, Blake, etc.

I would be delighted if we do not sign a single over 35 player with the possible exception of Jagr. In sports, it's all downhill after 35 and we have signed more than our share of overpriced, on-the-downside guys over the years.

If we're going to overpay (and it feels like any UFA will require overpaying), I'd rather overpay for young talent and let other teams spend their money on past their prime, injury prone (by definition when you get older) players.

It's the scourge of all NY sports teams, it seems -- having enough money to waste it on big over the hill names. It drives me crazy when I see most of my NY teams go that route time and time again. Please Rangers, don't do it!!

[Jameson]

Gravey,
There are plenty of exceptions to the rule, we signed Shanahan two years ago and it was an excellent move. As long as you sign the right ones to the right contract, it's not a big deal. Age is just a number with some guys, I mean Gary Roberts is 41 and he's contributing in Pittsburgh. It's about the right fit, and if the right fit is an older player for a year or two until a young guy is ready to take his Place(enter Rob Blake for 1-2 years, then enter Bobby Sanguietti in his place) so be it. Owen Nolan and Curtis Joseph both contributed in positive ways for the Flames this post-season. Jeremy Roenick for the Sharks. Heck, Jagr for the Rangers. Mattias Norstrom has been great for Dallas. Mike Modano is still playing a major part in Dallas. Sergei Zubov. Hockey's a unique sport, when some guys take care of themselves and get lucky then it's great.

On that note, do I prefer overpaying a younger player with upside rather than an older player who can only get worse? Of course. But on defense I honestly don't see anyone except maybe Brian Campbell in the FA pool that would be a better option than a Mattias Norstrom and Rob Blake and in my opinion we definitely need to add someone on the blueline via free agency that can clear the crease, QB the powerplay, or in the ideal situation do a little of both. And like I mentioned in another post, I really believe something we've been lacking the past 3 yeasr that hasn't been talked about is leadership on defense. Sure Strudwick's provided a little bit of that but it's hard when he doesn't come close to playing every night. Such is the only reason I am throwing names like Adam Foote, Rob Blake, and Mattias Norstrom out there. Not only would their talent improve our blueline and give us things we are lacking but it'd provide us with a solid mentor for all these young defenseman. The things a guy like Marc Staal or Dan Girardi could learn from a guy like Rob Blake..it'd just make them that much better and make them develop a little bit faster.

[Jameson]

Oleo,
I know the numbers are pretty close to being on pace for Mats Sundin, but nagging injuries, the decline of the Leafs, and if you just watch him actually play he's not a star in this league anymore, he's simply a guy that might hit 30 goals again. When you play the Leafs you don't say "alright we've gotta worry about Sundin" when I feel that was once the case. I'm sorry he just does not seem like a good fit here especially with all the money he'd cost and the fact that it'd probably mean no more Jagr or Straka. I'd much rather dish out the cash for Marian Hossa or Ryan Malone if we're going to go spend a ton of money on a big name UFA forward, which I really don't think we should anyway.

[Laserman]

I think our #1 & #2 priorities are to get a physical dman (Jason Smith, Brooks Orpik, both?) and a PP specialist. I think Rozsival at his present salary is way overpayed, and we are going to give HIM 5 million??? Watching Rozsival trying to poke check (which never, ever worked for him)the puck away from a player in the slot makes me crazy, and he got beat bad in the playoffs more than once only because he won't (can't) move people out of the slot ! It will be interesting to see a clearer picture of who's available when July 1st rolls around but the Rangers without Malik, and Rozsival would be infinitely better IMHO...

[Laserman]

BTW Jameson, Rob Blake will not play on the East coast as him and his family love it out west! A younger version of him would have been awesome for our team though!!!

[Effigy of the Forgotten]

Sundin was the only think keeping the Leafs in the playoff hunt. He had one of his best years last year. The person who said he's no longer a star must not have watched him play or taken a look at what he contributed this year.

[Dubi]

Jess -- Slight correction: Sauer was taken with the draft pick obtained from Toronto in the Brian Leetch deal. The Umberger compensation pick was traded to Calgary in order to move up in the first round to select Korpikoski, packaged with the first round pick also obtained from Toronto in the Leetch deal.

Mark -- We've tried a model of having the print publication subsidize the web site, but that doesn't work, so we have to try something else. We get 5,000-8,000 unique online visitors per day here but we have only 1,000 subscribers, so obviously you are part of a large majority who utilize the web site without subscribing to the magazine.

I wouldn't expect everyone who visits here to subscribe. If we had a 25-40% rate instead of 12-20%, we would double the subscription rate to 2,000 and everything would come up roses all the way around. For lack of just $30 a year (less with multi-year discounts) from 1,000 out of 4,000 to 7,000 daily online visitors, we have to find another way to stay afloat.

By the way, it doesn't matter where you live, whether you get the magazine the day after it comes out or a week after that, the material is always fresh -- it takes two weeks to produce an issue after all the writing is in, and it takes the writers some time to gather material for their stories and write them up. So there is a lag time no matter what. So we try to come up with stories that are fresh, not time-sensitve. It's not always possible, of course, to avoid the course of events, but so far the feedback we get is that it works.

Anyway, the whole idea is for the web site to keep things up to day while the magazine acts as a kind of forward-looking retrospective. They're supposed to work together to provide a compelte picture. Folks like you who are only interested in the day-to-day stories are being subsidized by those who are willing to support the magazine. That hasn't worked, so the time has come to switch it up and balance things out.

[rangerbill94]

TO ALL OF YOU WHO DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO BLUESHIRT BULLETIN:

Sign up now and you'll be rookies next year. So, while the Rangers will be relying on rookies, the BB will also be relying on rookies and we can grow to a championship team together! I think I've been a subscriber for 3 years now. This is the best thing Rangers fans can get. The articles are very well written, there is a depth to the articles as well as a depth in the subject matter. I would love to see a "coaches corner" page, I think Dubi is still working on that. It's also great to go back a few years and re-read some of the reviews on the youngsters that are now with the team. GREAT STUFF, A MUST FOR A REAL RANGERS FAN.

[rangerbill94]

PS

Even in our current economy, a subscription is CHEAP!!! So just do it!

[Laserman]

I have to agree about the BB. Very informative magazine on everything Rangers. IMO well worth the cost per issue, and then some...

[LI Joe]

I'll like the new model. will keep the trolls from other teams away. and keep some troll like alleged Ranger fans away too.

[Mark]

Dubi,
Thank you for responding. I have been contemplating getting a subscription and wish to support BB. Much like Pronger, I will talk it over with my wife. I do, however, still wish the online forum would not change. Life isn't always as much fun without the countless Habs, Devs, Pens, ... fans visiting with their attempts to "talk". Keep up the good work.
Mark

[rangerbill94]

Mark, I hope your wife is a Rangers fan! But if not, the good reading could make a convert out of her.

[rangerbill94]

Also, Mark

I live in Whittier, NC; the mountains of Western North Carolina and this is one beautiful place. My BB is a sure sign of "contact" with the outside world!

[ant]

Mark

Not to knock on you or anything but if u have to talk over with your wife about spending $30 on a magazine maybe its time for u to grow a little set of cajones.

[Ros]

where can we see the WC Sweden vs. Russia game today? I'm getting a "WC8_GAME_35 Region is blocked" message from the iihf website when i try to view it off their site. Is it being shown on TV here in the States somewhere? Why is it blacked out in the US?