Bittersweet Off-Topic

My wife enjoys watching reruns of "Will and Grace," and once called me into the living room to show me a scene in which Will, at his first hockey game, starts chanting "Here we go Strangers, here we go!"

These days the team looks a lot more like Strangers than Rangers. I'm brokenhearted that Jagr is leaving, especially as the team is opening its season in Prague. To say he was my favorite player on the Rangers is something of an understatement. He was my favorite hockey player before he came to the Rangers.

Losing Avery is really hard to accept. This guy won hockey games, plain and simple. The future hall-of-famer and all around great guy Brendan Shanahan most likely will not return. Marty Straka, one of the few short-handed threats the Rangers had, is gone. Tyutin played hard all season long and was a great linemate with Girardi. Hollweg added a lot of heart and soul to the team, even if he took some knuckle-headed penalties.

Hard to figure out some of the new acquisitions; it seems like Redden's and Naslund's best years are behind them, and some of the younger guys they've traded for are unproven. A lot is riding on their big pick-ups from last season, Drury and Gomez.

And an oddity: the Rangers are only playing only one afternoon home game all next season! I don't get it. My soon-to-be eight-year-old son is going to be disappointed that with so many late games his chance to see them play at the Garden will be severely limited.

Memo to Slats: Keep Jagr

With the NHL trade deadline fast approaching, teams are scrambling to make deals, and much speculation has centered on the future of the Rangers’ captain, Jaromir Jagr. Whether it ends this month or after the playoffs, this may be Jagr’s last season as a Ranger.

Which would be a pity, and a mistake. Visitors to the Garden are now hearing Jagr booed, or the word “superstar” shouted derisively. It’s true that he’s not scoring, although scoring has not been a problem for the team this past month. It’s true that he’s probably too introverted to fill all the duties of a team captain, although the Rangers are lucky to have Brendan Shanahan as a spokesman. It’s true that he can be overly demanding of his teammates. It’s true that his style of play may not entirely mesh with the team’s current direction.

But his contributions to the team go beyond scoring goals, and anyone who wants any insight into Jagr should take a look at these pieces from the Times and News. Jagr may be the most intelligent player out there. He studies the game relentlessly. His work ethic is amazing. He is gracious towards younger players (look how his early-season faith in Brandon Dubinsky has paid off). He is candid with reporters and has a sly sense of humor. And he sincerely wants to bring the Cup back to New York.

So Mr. Sather: Keep Jagr. The team needs him.

(Photo of Jagr courtesy of the Daily News.)

A Happy Sports Day in New York

So yesterday everyone in this great city was cheerful and excited. They were all talking about Sunday's game. And what a game! Down 3-0, the Rangers came back with five--count 'em, five--unanswered goals against le Tricouleur. And ...

Wait, what's that? Oh, there was a football game, too.

Off-Topic: Shanny is a Mensch

Brendan Shanahan has brought class and leadership to the Rangers since he arrived last season. In an interview with a Czech reporter, Shanny talks about his relationship with Jaromir Jagr as one of mutual support and complementary styles--in both how they play and how they lead. There is no resentment, animosity or envy. Most touching of all are Shanny's comments about his collision, in a game last year, with Philadelphia's Mike Knuble:

"Whether it’s speaking for Jagr in public or standing up for him on the ice, that’s just the way things are supposed to work for Shanahan. 'That’s how it works on the best teams,' he explained. 'Everyone cares for each other. It’s beautiful when I achieve something and I see that my teammates are happy for it. I score, take a look at the bench, and see Jaromir, a huge NHL superstar, smiling happily with his hands up. Or another example: Last season, I was knocked out after a collision in the Philadelphia game and I was taken out on a stretcher. I watched the replay and I saw Jaromir standing above me the whole time. He even came to visit me in the hospital. This gets people closer.'" (via BlueShirt Bulletin)

My son, then six, and I were at that horrible game. Seeing Shanny lying motionless was terrifying. You can watch the video yourself: Jagr did keep a vigil over Shanny. You can see Jagr, on at least two occasions by my count, bending over to try to communicate something to his fallen teammate; at another point he helps to secure the stretcher on the ice. I guess I'm just sentimental, but watching this video brought a tear to my eye. Hockey players are really something.

Off-Topic: Why Jagr is Great

I don't think this photo from Wednesday night's Rangers-Devils game is from the moment I'm thinking of, but at one point during the game, Jagr was all alone in the Devils' zone while his teammates where shifting. He had five guys in red sweaters swarming around him. And he somehow managed to hold onto the puck.

Off-Topic Update

After extensive video review, the NHL has determined that the winning goal in Monday night's Rangers-Lightning game should be credited to Brendan Shanahan, whose skate deflected Jagr's slap shot. Not as good a story, but it still attests to Jagr's toughness.

(Related post is here.)

Off-Topic: Why I Love Hockey

In the second period of Monday night's game against the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning, something knocked out two front teeth of the Rangers' Jaromir Jagr. (It wasn't clear if it was a puck, a stick, or an elbow.) That came after his skate broke in the first period, and his glove broke earlier in the second.

Jagr didn't miss a shift, and wound up shooting the winning goal in the third period. You can't beat the work ethic of a hockey player.