Just came in to say not to expect much from the Monarchs today. Ty Rimmer, who has never seen any AHL action, is in net. It's also the Monarchs' third game this weekend.
Shame they didn't make it, wonder if they will keep a few guys skating in the area in case of injury to the Rangers.
Wouldn't be surprised to see a few recalls now that the season is over.
I'd be happy with either, Jeep especially.The Whale or whatever they will be called need a new head coach. James Patrick. Former Ranger. Current Sabre assistant coach. Jeep was with Lindy Ruff in Buffalo for a long time. Ron Rolston was given the opportunity to replace Ruff over Jeep. Rolston was their AHL coach. Jeff Buekeboom and Jeep played together so Jeff can be retained. Jeep might need to run his own team before he gets a NHL job. Maybe Scott Gordon. He worked for Jeff Gorton in Boston. Gordon coached the B's AHL team in Providence. Former Islander coach. Current Leaf assistant coach.
Expect to see some callups. I don't know how happy Torts is going to be with so many extra bodies around though. I'm sure they'll stay off the ice then get some work in with Schoney and the scratches if it comes to that.
Miller, Newbury, Thomas, McIlrath, Bourque, Hrivik should all come up. Among others, I'm sure.
When you talk about shots against and too much time in the defensive zone, it’s not unreasonable to look at the loss of Blake Parlett as having turned out to be a big blow.
I have to admit, I liked Parlett’s game, for the most part, this year and thought he had come a long way as a player, but I didn’t think that taking him out of the Whale mix was going to hurt the team nearly as much as it seemed to.
Sometimes, particularly with defensemen, you have no idea how important a guy really is, and how many key minutes he takes care of, until you don’t have him anymore, and the Whale’s record since the April 3 Ranger/Columbus trade is a good illustration of that.
Connecticut actually won the first two games without Parlett, but were outshot (there it is again) 64-36 in the process, before the season-ending losing skein began with a 1-0 loss to Providence in the home finale two Sundays ago.
No reasonable hockey observer could argue against the trade the Rangers made to move Marian Gaborik, and New York’s record since the deal, 7-2-2, clearly confirms that it was a smart move. I would have thought, too, that the Whale had enough collective depth to weather the loss of Parlett, especially with Stu Bickel coming down from the Rangers, but that seems not to have been the case.
I have been saying the whole season that the Whale needs more, not fewer defensemen. Losing Parlett sucked. It's also absolutely true that he made a major step forward this year as a player. He went from a bottom pair AHLer who was on the verge of getting sent down to the ECHL to being a top pair AHLer.