A New Epidemic in New York

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Written on 10/16/2010 by Jim Cerny

You heard about the bedbug epidemic in New York? I'm sure you must have. You know, nasty little critters sabotaging hotels and closing down retail stores in and around Manhattan? Yeah, those bedbugs have become quite the story, so much so that my aunt in Iowa brought it up to me the second my plane landed out her way during a visit this past summer.

But I digress.

There is another epidemic sweeping through the New York area---one that has infiltrated Long Island and into New Jersey, as well. And it affects only hockey players.

It is called the injury epidemic.

It actually began on the Island, taking strong hold and wiping out numerous key members of the New York Islanders. Then the New York Rangers took a few hits in Manhattan as did New Jersey Devils in Newark. And last night the full force of this epidemic came crashing down on the Rangers during their home opener at Madison Square Garden when superstar sniper Marian Gaborik suffered a separated shoulder and team captain Chris Drury suffered the second fracture to his left index finger in the span of a month.

There is no end in sight to this vicious epidemic.

Here's a detailed look:

New York Rangers:

Drury broke his finger blocking a shot during the first scrimmage of training camp. He missed the entire pre-season, and first two games of the regular season, before returning last night. He lasted into the second period when he collided with teammate Michal Rozsival and fractured the finger in a new spot. He is out six weeks. "I am worried about him," said head coach John Tortorella. "He is fit to be tied." Gaborik was boarded by Toronto's Colby Armstrong, suffered a separated shoulder, and the 42-goal scorer from a year ago is out 2-4 weeks. The team's alternate captain Vinny Prospal missed all of training camp with a sore knee. He will undergo surgery Tuesday and is lost for an indefinite period without having played a single shift yet this year. So gone from the equation are three key veterans, including two of the Rangers top scorers from a year ago.

New York Islanders:

All-Star defenseman Mark Streit was forced to undergo major shoulder surgery after being hit during an intrasquad scrimmage that was opened up to the fans in mid-September. He is out six months. Gone is the club's minutes-muncher and power play quarterback. Winger Kyle Okposo---a 52-point scorer a year ago at the age of 22---also injured his shoulder before the season's first game. He is out indefinitely. Center Rob Schremp suffered a back injury, and the Isles lose another key power play performer. He's gone on a week-to-week basis. And just when it doesn't look like it can get any worse, John Tavares---the focal point of the Islanders and last year's first overall draft pick---suffered a concussion on opening night against the Dallas Stars. He likely will return tonight against Colorado, but still....this is The Franchise we are talking about...never good to put the word "concussion" next to John Tavares' name.

New Jersey Devils:

Now in the Devils case, one could argue that their injuries have been extremely timely because some of them have offered salary cap relief via the long term injured reserve list, of course made necessary by the Ilya Kovalchuk contract signing. But again, I digress. Defenseman Bryce Salvador suffered a concussion during the pre-season and is out indefinitely, placed on long term IR. Veteran forward Brian Rolston joined him on IR, and provided signifciant salary cap relief in the process, by undergoing a sports hernia operation earlier this week. He'll be out at least 4 weeks. Rugged defenseman Anton Volchenkov broke his nose on opening night and hasn't played since. Meanwhile the Devils skirt questions about whether or not Volchenkov, too, suffered a concussion. And another defenseman went down this past week when Mark Fraser fractured his hand.

OUCH!

We are a little more than a week into the 2010-11 season and that is a total of 11 key players injured on three teams loacted within a 30-mile or so radius of one another.

It's an injury epidemic.

Don't go drinking the water.

Follow Me On Twitter at: @jimcerny and @thenyrangers

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Tuesday Tidbits on Komisarek, HNIC, the Isles, Rangers, and More

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Written on 11/03/2009 by Jim Cerny


There are so many things I want to get to, and each one could fill a blog entry by itself, but instead I will provide a bunch of NHL quick hits, with a longer column on a singular topic---the Minnesota Wild---tomorrow.

First off, after a long, long day of travel, and travel delays, returning from Minnesota on Saturday, my Halloween night could not have been spent in any better fashion than watching the Canadiens and Maple Leafs duke it out at the Bell Centre on Hockey Night in Canada.

The game had everything you could want. Great rivalry. Back and forth action. Plenty of scoring. Mike Komisarek's first return to Montreal since departing as a free agent on July 1, with the home-town fans spewing their anger at him at every turn. Beleagured Leafs show no quit by scoring twice late in third to force OT. Numerous scrums, much vitriol, and 36 combined penalty minutes.

And finally a shootout victory for Les Habitants.

Great Stuff. Great Theater.

And great throwback candycane-striped jerseys by the Canadiens.

This was not an artistic gem, but it would be awesome if this type of battle was the norm as far as the NHL regular season goes.

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By the way, great work by the HNIC studio crew disecting the issues surrounding the NHLPA. There was good substantive debate, with Glenn Healy's passion for the topic at hand really standing out. I know most fans would rather tune in to Don Cherry's weekly segment, but this was HNIC at its absolute best and most compelling.

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Speaking of the NHLPA, I had a chat with Hockey Hall of Famer Andy Bathgate at Madison Square Garden on Sunday and he had nothing but contempt for how the current players ousted Paul Kelly as Executive Director.

"I bet you these players don't even realize the role Paul Kelly had in improving this player's association by prosecuting (former union head) Alan Eagleson years ago," Bathgate told me. "They have no sense of what has happened before. Just as long as they can count all their money at the end of the day."

Pretty strong stuff, though to be fair, many of the players from the '50's, '60's, and '70's are somewhat bitter that the current crop of NHLers is so much better compensated than the oldtimers ever were.

By the way, Bathgate will be joining me and Steven Gelbs on Rangers Radio over at the Rangers official web site, NewYorkRangers.com, this Friday afternoon. Don't forget to check it out.

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As for the Rangers, don't expect winger Enver Lisin to play tonight in Vancouver. His foot is still sore after blocking a shot Sunday against the Bruins. Christopher Higgins, reported to be on the trade block according to the Ottawa Sun, might get a crack to play on the top line with Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal tonight.

Prospal, by the way, has been named as an alternate captain, and very deservedly so, by John Tortorella. Prospal has emerged as a true leader and powerful voice in the Rangers dressing room, not to mention a strong presence on the ice. He joins Ryan Callahan as an "A" serving under team captain Chris Drury.

One other quick Rangers nugget: 19 year-old defenseman Michael Del Zotto today was named as the NHL's Rookie of the Month for October. Though scoreless in three straight games, Del Zotto closed out his first initial month in the NHL with four goals, eight assists, and 12 points in 14 games.

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And how about those Islanders? Winners of four in a row, after last night's 3-1 home-ice win against the Oilers, the plucky Isles find themselves tied with the Flyers at 15 points for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

In 14 games so far this season, the Islanders have won only five, true, but they have lost only four in regulation. This is a gritty, hard-nosed team, one that was decidedly tougher than the Rangers in a 3-1 win last Wednesday and the Sabres in a 5-0 shutout victory last Saturday.

Seeing Kyle Okposo---no heavyweight---fling Sam Gagner to the ice after a whistle in the final minute last night was awesome because it showed the fire, passion, and desperate nature of this young team. Seeing unheralded Jeff Tambellini notch a hat trick on Saturday, and veteran defensive-minded defenseman Brendan Witt pot a pair last night, makes you think that the Hockey Gods are finally smiling down on Long Island's team.

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Ok, enough for now, though I could go on and on....

On Wednesday I'll have a piece for you on the new-look Wild, featuring interviews with freshly-minted captain Mikko Koivu and long-time favorite Andrew Brunette.

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Torts' Shorts (Part One)

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Written on 9/11/2009 by Jim Cerny

On the eve of his first training camp as head coach of the Rangers, John Tortorella sat down with a group of hockey writers this morning to discuss many various topics, the most surprising of which might have been his admission that he took part in media training during the summer.

Never known to be a fan of the media---or as Torts clarified today, he doesn't necessarily dislike the reporters, he just doesn't like how the media interferes with what he is trying to accomplish with his team---Tortorella, nonetheless, was engaging and thoughtful today.

But it did not take him long to break---and continue to repeatedly break---one of the things he was taught in media training: don't curse when speaking to reporters. He literally broke that rule within his first couple of sentences today!

While there were quite a few laughs during his near-60 minute media session this morning, Tortorella did not duck any difficult questions, and answered each and every one in his usual passionate way. I'll share some of his quotes on player-related topics here, and will follow with another blog entry detailing his take on other issues a bit later.

  • Of a possible training camp holdout by restricted free agent center Brandon Dubinsky, Torts said, "This happens, and I'm not sure where this is going to go...it's not like we hold grudges....it's not going to affect our camp. We are going to go about our business as a team as we're supposed to."
  • Tortorella explained that he has spoken twice already with goaltender Henrik Lundqvist about limiting the number of games he starts this season. And Torts emphasized that this decision was not based solely on the fact that Henrik will also be taking part in the Olympics, tending goal for Sweden come February. "Even if it was not an Olympic year, I think we need to manage (his minutes) better. I'm not sure if Hank likes that...." Torts also said, "You look at some of the goalies that ended up in the Top Four in the playoffs and look at how many games they played...Hank will not play the amount of games he played last year. How many he does play, I don't know....He loves to compete and I love him for that. But we need to manage that better."
  • The Rangers bench boss also discussed how he reached out to team captain Chris Drury several times this summer in an attempt to forge a stronger bond between the two. He said that Drury was receptive, and that he believes they are on the right track. "I wanted to get to know him. I wanted him to get to know me because he is the captain of this hockey club. I think he is beginning to feel more comfortable with me, and I feel more comfortable with him." Tortorella also mentioned that he spoke to 3 or 4 other players this summer on a regular basis, though he refused to divulge any names.
  • Torts spoke quite a bit about Vinny Prospal, whom he coached in Tampa Bay and who just signed with the Rangers as a free agent. He believes that Prospal will be quite motivated this season, playing for a contract next year and also looking for redemption after being bought out by the Lightning. "It's good to have a player in that situation." Torts also said that having someone who understands his coaching and motivational style as well as Prospal does will be a benefit in the dressing room this year. "Vinny Prospal definitely understands me and will carry the message for me" despite a much-chronicled combative relationship with Tortorella, which the coach also tried to dispell. "Don't misconstrue all of that stuff that goes on. That's heat of the battle stuff. We have a tremendous relationship."
  • As for the decision to sign free agent enforcer Donald Brashear instead of resigning popular heavyweight Colton Orr this summer, Tortorella said that the decision came down to the fact that Brashear is a better skater and could possibly play in situations other than fourth-line duty, unlike Orr. "Colton did a lot of heavy lifting for this team, so I don't want to disrespect him at all. I just think Donald is a little bit better skater. Let's hope that's the case."
  • On inking free agent Marian Gaborik this summer, Torts said, "As I told Glen (Sather) when I first got here, I think you need a gamebreaker, that guy who can make that huge offensive play." But Tortorella is mindful that Gaborik has been injury prone throughout his career, and he plans on monitoring Gabby's health all season long and provide him the proper rest along the way. "It's about the games, playing in the games. It's not about pushing him too much in practice," noted the head coach.
I'll have more from John Tortorella, including his announcement that Rangers assistant GM Jim Schoenfeld will join him as an assistant coach this season, a bit later today. For more on Schoenfeld, check out my story on the Rangers official team site.

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