1) As you can see, the Moose we're referring to is Hall of Famer Mark Messier. What has been amazing (wonderful) thus far this season is we haven't seen/heard very much from 'The Bald One'! In the 3 or so seasons since his forced retirement (The Rangers refused to offer him a contract and he didn't want to go elsewhere after the 2nd Bettman lockout) we would see his visage almost everywhere. He seemed to be interviewed daily. Was seen at many games. Did TV commentary, and most recently had his name linked (well paid endorcer) with idiotic messier-award for leadership. (Yes, that picture is creepy!)2) If we had to guess the reason we haven't seen any Moose sightings recently is either:
a) He doesn't need the money. or
b) He hasn't been offered enough money to appear. You see, Messier rarely misses an opportunity to make a buck. Including some very lame commercials-messier/3265817000, and here---->http://video.aol.com/video-detail/mark-messier/1242056692/?icid=VIDURVSPR03. Which brings us to today. Its no secret that Messier wants to get back into hockey like his buddy Wayne Gretzky did. He also hasn't been shy saying where he wants a job; with one of his former teams, The N.Y. Rangers. Problem was that he was a bit vociferous in petitioning for a job last year. Going very public in that pursuit. Pissing off his former coach/mentor Glen (Slats) Sather and upper Ranger management(Dolan) in the process. We're told that Glen told him he that if he kept his mouth shut for a year or so that he would see what he could do.
3) Fast forward to today. Despite the Rangers deceptively decent record, they are NOT a particularly good team right now. Ask any Ranger fan and they will NOT be overly happy with their team, or optimistic about their chances with the roster as is. As we wrote in our Power Rankings, the Rangers have won but a handful of games in regulation in the past 2 months. Going from tops in the East to now 3rd in the division/6th in the East. Without Henrik Lundqvist things might even be worse. No one is scoring. The PP is invisible, and the team plays without passion. Enter our buddy Messier. Would Sather make the bold move to remove Renney and insert a rookie, albeit a well respected former player in Messier, as coach? It would be a gamble, but at this point with their salary cap issues a player trade that would change the team dynamic would be tough. Unless Sather really wants to gamble and brings back Sean Avery! ; ) That might seem far fetched, but that IS possible!
4) We at Fauxrumors2 have long expected that Messier would find his way behind an NHL bench someday. We could picture Mark walking up and down behind his team wearing a snazzy suit and a 'Punch Imlach fedora'. He probably would be best served to be an NHL asst coach or do some time in the AHL first, but this isn't just any player. This is a man with an immense ego. As one NHL person told us, "its like the guy feels entitled or something". That said, this team might benefit from Messier's immense will to win. Like him or hate him you have to give him that. It also doesn't hurt that in a big town like NY, Messier is an equally big name. So it seems to be a good fit. The only question is will Sather/Dolan call on the Moose to save their season? Stay tuned.
8 comments:
Sounds like an interestig possibility. I was a fan of Mark when he played here, but haven't been a big supporter of what he's done since. I would think he'd need some seasoning to become a head coach. It ight be even more hard to start in the middle of the season. It could work, but like you said it would be a gamble
If the Rangers need to get a new coach why not Jim Schoenfeld? He has coaching experience and he's already with the team.
Messier in the short term would nostalgically benefit the franchise, but the realities are we are out of cap space, have very little chance of substantial February trades and a coaching and management that aren't going anywhere (for now...). Slats wouldn't give him anything.
Faux..it hurts to see in writing, but beyond your post- and the fans know it, 'the writing is on the wall'....
The NY Rangers are a mediocre team. (and I am reluctantly a lifelong fan).
The Dark Ranger
I love the picture, Faux!
TDR says, "The NY Rangers are a mediocre team."
While certainly not a Ranger fan, I think you are being prematurely too critical of your guys... While I think you have the MOST OVERRATED player in the league (Scott Gomez), I believe its just a matter of time before the Blue Shirts get their act together and begin to look like Cup contenders... Playoff matchups often dictate who goes on and who gets dumped early... Look at my Caps for a second... As good as we THINK we are, a first round battle versus Philadelphia will send us home quickly... Be patient - King Henrik will steady the ship and you'll be fine...
Moreover, Renney has a knack of motivating this team in the second half and finishing strongly... While the Messier talk is interesting, its not the answer at this time...
This guys giant ego will accept nothing short of co-owner or general manager. He has no respect for coaches and used to fire anyone who got in his way.
Trottier had it right, he wanted the team to pick a captain and wanted him to be a fourth line mentor, he would have none of it and would not even attend the press conference.
His last contract pays him until 2010-2011. My guess is eventually he will come in to give the invisible Rangers in NYC some pr but it will all come down to how much cash he can spend.
Cablevision will buyout anyone or offer a frontloaded deal for anyone to gain an edge regardless if the team losses big money in an old building.
No team lost more entering the lockout.
Post a Comment