Mike Ribeiro Is Everything The Rangers Need But…

By    |  
Jul 15, 2014
Rangers must stay away from Ribeiro - Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Rangers must stay away from Ribeiro – Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Ribeiro is a talented center ice-man. He is also available and possibly very cheap. Ribeiro would fill a need for a veteran down the middle of the Rangers roster, depleted after Brad Richards buyout and Brian Boyle’s departure.

He is exactly what the Rangers need.

Mike Ribeiro is also a man with personal demons. The center is now 34 and was bought out by the Arizona Coyotes. GM Don Maloney said “Mike had some behavioral issues last year and after looking at everything that occurred I just felt there were certain levels of behavior that we could not accept.” WOW!

Is that what the Rangers need? The answer is no.

When Ribeiro was playing in his hometown of Montreal, he was just a kid. He had money and women galore. While partying, he met his first wife in a Montreal bar and soon after she was pregnant. In an article by Sarah McLellan of USA Today, he was quoted as saying “The life that I lived in my 20s and having a kid and deal with girls after you, it’s hard. It’s a hard life.”

Mike Ribeiro mug shot

Mike Ribeiro mug shot

Still, the party went on. After being moved to Dallas he was arrested in 2010. He and his wife were arrested with another couple for public intoxication. The incident blew over, but demons reared their ugly head.   

Eventually he and his first wife would divorce and he talked about maturing and changing. As he moved on to Washington he told the Times, “It took me to get divorced to really realize what’s important and what’s not important. At the end of the day, when you grow up and be old, the only people around will be your family,” Ribeiro said. “A lot of your friends will get on with their lives and move forward. I think to get divorced last year, it just was a rough year for me and just [a chance] to put things in perspective and really realize what’s important. That’s why I made the decision to come back and try to be a better man.”

It was a short stay, and then it was off to Phoenix (now Arizona) where he answered questions about misconceptions about him. Specifically he addressed his attitude, “That I’m just a douche, I guess. Then they come to know me, and I’m really funny and I joke around and sarcastic jokes. I really like to relax and just enjoy my day.”

I guess the Coyotes didn’t find Ribeiro very funny.

This is a talented player that once put up 83 points for the Dallas Stars in 2007-08. Teams are shying away, but now it appears two teams have actually made offers. The rumored teams are the Nashville Predators who are dying for a center with offensive ability and of course, the NY Rangers.

For the Blueshirts, this is one contest I hope to lose.

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