The Rangers completed their trade for Olli Jokinen this morning, giving up the underperforming Christopher Higgins and Ales Kotalik for Calgary’s Jokinen and Brandon Prust.
Kotalik was strange for the Rangers. Brought in as a powerplay specialist, he became such a defensive liability, he found himself a consistent scratch, despite a booming shot. Also, presumably brought [...]

Over the break I read BALL FOUR, Jim Bouton’s famous tale of his 1969 season pitching for the Seattle Pilots and the Houston Astros.
The book is famous because it was the first one to destroy the mystique of the professional athlete. We learned guys like to drink and curse and look at women.
The book is [...]

When a GM supports a coach, that’s usually the surest sign the coach is about to be fired.
Down in Tampa, GM Brian Lawton is supporting coach Rick Tocchet, even as the team struggles to find consistency.
One thing that’s forgotten about Tocchet is that he’s a new coach with an inexperienced coching staff. Rookie coaches and [...]

Just to follow-up on yesterday’s Rangers post:
Last night against the Isles, coach John Tortorella decided to actually coach and scratched Ales Kotalik, a presence on the powerplay, but not really a top-six forward, and defensemen Wade Redden, who apparently freaked out about the scratch. Chris Drury was demoted to the fourth-line, although by the end [...]

Watching last night’s Rangers loss to the Islanders, I think most people were thinking the same thing: Coach John Tortorella seems to have lost the team.
Larry Brooks won’t rule it out, but doesn’t think it’s very likely.
I’m pretty patient with coaches. I don’t think it’s fair to fire someone after just a season or so, [...]

Adrian Dater points out Monday’s Avs-Flames game drew just 11,448 fans.
The comments on Dater’s post are interesting. Some say attendance is low because the Avs play the same teams over and over.
Other people said it’s a marketing issue.
One poster said Avs fans are still put off by last season’s debacles.
I’m going to throw out another [...]

I know this is hardly the most important story of the day, but I have to point out Jocelyn Thibault’s goaltending consultancy gig in Colorado:
Rather than being with the team full time, as goaltending coach Jeff Hackett was the past few seasons, Thibault still lives in Montreal and is spending occasional stretches with the team [...]

How shocking! Adrian Dater is hearing Peter Forsberg is a bit undecided about his NHL comeback. Although, this is actually a comeback from a comeback.
Dater thinks Forsberg is going to give the NHL another go once he’s extensively tested his foot.
Do they not get NHL news in Sweden? Has Forsberg not seen the laundry list [...]

Anaheim has a couple of issues right now, mostly that they’re 3-5-1 and have dropped four of their last five.
But their most pressing problem might be goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s groin.
Giguere is making $6 million this season and $7 million next season, even as the Ducks have a much stronger, cheaper goaltending option in Jonas Hiller.
It’s [...]

Arthur Staple writes about what everyone watching the Rangers has noticed: the team has undergone a dramatic reinvention.
Between the coaching changes and the personnel changes, the Rangers are almost completely different. And it seems like John Tortorella’s coaching is responsible for the success of the personnel changes.
For instance, previous coach Tom Renney religiously rolled four [...]