On Thursday, longtime Rangers beat reporter Larry Brooks of the New York Post emphatically shot down a story that Blueshirts owner James Dolan wants the team to keep the pick. Darren Dreger reported the previous day that Dolan wants to “protect” that pick because the 2024 NHL Draft is being held at the Sphere in Las Vegas, which is also owned by Dolan, and he wants to make a big splash.

“The concept is ludicrous,” Brooks wrote Thursday. “More to the point, it has zero validity.”

These conflicting views notwithstanding, each reporter is highly respected and reliable.

Related: Rangers owner wants to keep 1st-round pick for 2024 draft at Sphere: report

Rangers expected to be busy ahead of 2024 NHL trade deadline

What’s most important is what the Rangers accomplish ahead of the trade deadline over the next four weeks. They’ve won three in a row for the first time since Dec. 15-19, opened up a six-point lead for first in the Metropolitan Division and appear in go-for-it mode this season, even with goalie Igor Shesterkin not quite on top of his game.

The Rangers could use a top-line right wing to play alongside Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider and a third-line center, now that Filip Chytil is out for the season with an upper-body injury.

A reunion with Frank Vatrano makes sense. The Anaheim Ducks All-Star right wing has 22 goals this season. Vatrano said “Playing in New York was the biggest thing that’s happened in my career to this point” in Toronto last week.

Vladimir Tarasenko is also a familiar option. And Anthony Duclair is probably the least expensive choice to fill that hole.

Down the middle, the Rangers could do a one stop shop in Anaheim if they could swing a big trade that would net Vatrano and center Adam Henrique. On a smaller scale there’s Sean Kuraly, who, like Vatrano, has another season to go on an affordable contract. Veteran Tyler Johnson is likely in play again now that he’s off injured reserve.

A Vatrano trade, or certainly a large-scale Ducks deal, likely would cost the Rangers their top pick in this year’s draft. Brooks reported “the Rangers first-rounder is in play.”

This should come into sharper focus in the coming weeks. Perhaps sooner rather than later what with top trade targets like Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan already moved way ahead of the deadline.

After Tuesday’s game, Forever Blueshirts was joined by legendary reporter Larry Brooks of the NY Post, who gave his knowledge and opinion on this iteration of the Rangers.

“Their bottom six just does not score, but they’re only getting scoring at 5-on-5 from one of their top two lines,” Brooks said when talking about the team’s struggles. “This is a perfect example of why teams just cannot be so dependent on special teams. You have to be able to play 5-on-5 because 48 to 50 minutes of a game are played at 5-on-5.”

For a team that has been so reliant on their special teams for what feels like three years now, the Rangers have struggled in that department as well. Since the calendar turned over, the Rangers have just seven power play goals and are rolling at 19% on the man advantage, a far cry from their 31% clip through the first 35 games.

Related: Nick Bonino on waivers

Larry Brooks on New York Rangers struggles

One of the players who has seen a dip in production offensively due to the struggling powerplay is Mika Zibanejad. His seven powerplay goals this season put him on pace for his second-lowest total in that department since joining the Rangers. Mika has a single goal since the New Year and it came when his team was down 4-1 against Vegas last week.

“Mika has gone through stretches where his five-on-five production is down. One thing about Zibanejad is that when he is not scoring, he’s generally playing pretty well away from the puck and he is still this year he does an awful lot,” Brooks said mentioning that he and Chris Kreider are an outstanding penalty kill tandem.

Kreider and Zibanejad have seen their fair share of struggles this season. The duo has run through a string of right-wingers since Pavel Buchnevich was traded in the summer of 2021. Brooks did say that the lack of a consistent right-wing option should not be looked at as a crutch for why the two haven’t found as much success this year. A place to look would be shooting percentage.

Since the start of 2024, Kreider and Zibanejad have been shooting 9.8% and 4.2% respectively. The team as a whole has struggled in that department as well, shooting just 7.9% since January 2nd, after shooting 11.3% through the first 35 games.

“They’re the senior players on the team. They’re counted on. They do an awful lot for the team but they have to do more,” said Brooks.

Brooks on Rangers defense and goaltending

Last week I wrote an article titled “Rangers Could Use the 10-second Memory of a Goldfish”, talking about the team’s issue with allowing back-to-back goals in a short period of time. On Tuesday night in San Jose, that ugly trend reared its ugly head again as the Bluehsirts allowed a pair of goals in 2:04 to get the Sharks back into the game. That was the 21st instance this season in which the Rangers have allowed multiple goals within three minutes of each other and it’s something that has head coach Peter Laviolette perplexed.

“I actually asked Laviollete this question two weeks ago before they left on a road trip, I think it was before they went to St. Louis, in fact. And I brought it up to him and he said, ‘that’s a question I wish I had an answer for. I don’t know.’ Well, if he doesn’t know, I don’t know.”

The team’s defense and goaltending have been scrutinized heavily since the New Year, and for good reason. Through the first 23 games of the season, the Rangers were 18-4-1, allowing 2.61 goals per game with a team save percentage of .920. In the last 24 games, the Rangers are 11-11-2, allowing 3.13 goals per game and a team save percentage of .897. Shesterkin’s .901 save percentage this season is the worst season mark among Rangers goalies with at least 31 starts since 2007-08.

“You go in the season with two pillars being your goaltender and your Norris Trophy candidate, and neither one has been quite where they need to be,” Brooks told Forever Blueshirts. “And Shesterkin hasn’t been close to where he’s needed to be on a consistent level. He’s had a lot of highs, but he’s had too many downs.”

Larry Brooks feels Rangers need to be tougher

Many Ranger fans look for what trades the team can make that will make them better, and most of the time the names can be outlandish. Players the team can’t afford even if they want to, or guys that simply don’t fit the system the team plays. But with 13 games until the trade deadline, and no sign of any type of course correction, Rangers fans may be in for a very underwhelming trade deadline in March.

“I think it would be a mistake for Chris Drury to throw Hail Mary’s,” Brooks said when discussing the Rangers deadline plans. “My overarching observation from game one to game 46 is that they’re not hard enough to play against, and that’s what I would be looking to fortify between now and the trade deadline.”

Despite the Rangers struggles for the better part of two months now, the team still sits with a decent lead in the Metropolitan Division with two games left before the NHL All-Star break. A complete eight-day hiatus from hockey could be exactly what this team needs to shift their focus back to the style they played through the first 23 games of the season.

Forever Blueshirts would like to thank Larry Brooks for joining the show and giving us some of his time.

For the full interview, please check out our YouTube channel, and remember to hit the subscribe button.

Gerard Gallant can connect with stars and kids

Larry Brooks of the New York Post recently conducted an interview with Jaromir Jagr to discuss Gallant. The biggest takeaway from that story was Jagr’s emphasis on how well Gallant connects with the players. He made it clear that this ability to connect isn’t limited to veterans or younger players but actually encompasses both. On a Rangers team with a conglomeration of players at different stages in their careers, this will help them all respond to Gallant’s coaching and grow together.

“It’s going to be good for the players, and the star players are going to like it because he knows how to relate to them,” Jagr told Larry Brooks of the NY Post. “And the reason for that is that he was a very good player, he was a star in the NHL, playing with a star like Stevie Yzerman in Detroit. So he knows what the stars need. Nobody can really tell you that. It’s something you have to feel. It’s something you have to know. You need the personal experience. That’s a big advantage.”

Praise for Gallant

The coach needs to be able to effectively communicate with every player on the roster. That’s something that David Quinn seemed to struggle with. Towards the end of the season, Brooks pointed out an obvious “disconnect” that had occurred between Quinn and the top players. Gallant needs to avoid having this same problem. Based on Jagr’s review though, it shouldn’t be an issue. The Rangers seemed to develop a stronger sense of community this past season, but not necessarily due to Quinn. A head coach should establish a culture and help unite the group. From Jagr’s evaluation, it’s reasonable to conclude that Gallant can strengthen the relationships even more. This not only applies to relationships between players, but to his relationship with the group as well.

As mentioned in the press conference, Chris Drury wants to name a captain this season. Leadership keeps a team on track, and both the coach, captain, and assistants are included in the leadership group. Miscommunication or lack of communication can lead to animosity and prevent progress. So overall, Gallant must make communication with all players a top priority. Not only will it help individuals, but it will help the team to establish a culture and develop into a winning team.

“We can keep moving this thing forward, a big piece of that for me would be getting a captain. For me it’s a priority. At the end of the day, it has to be the right person. I’m not interested in giving it to someone to just say we have a captain. I think we have a lot of leaders in our room and leaders that have taken big steps, including the second half of last season.”

Drury on naming a Captain

Gerard Gallant knows how to win in the NHL

Gallant has coached nine seasons with three different teams in the NHL. His campaign with the Las Vegas Golden Knights was possibly the most impressive three year period. In the Knights’ inaugural season, Gallant was able to coach them to a .665 points percentage in the regular season to finish first in the Pacific Division. He also took them to Stanley Cup final. The Golden Knights ultimately lost to the Washington Capitals, but immediately established themselves as a force in the NHL that season.

Gerard Gallant was handed a group of players who hadn’t necessarily played together prior to being selected in the Vegas expansion draft. He was able to unite this diverse group and quickly develop a successful team. This characteristics are exactly what the Rangers need at this stage. Drury will be making a few additional changes to the roster, but the rebuild is otherwise over. The front office wants to start winning. Drury said each individual player needs to understand their role. Gallant is the coach that can help each to find and fulfill theirs. The Rangers do have a core group that has been together for a few years now, however there are other newer pieces as well. After leading a diverse and new Vegas team to the success they had with him behind the bench, it would make sense that he could lead the Rangers in similar fashion.

Why was Gallant only with each team for three years?

Gerard Gallant has spent three years with the Columbus Blue Jackets, three years with the Florida Panthers, and three years with Vegas. These three-year periods are certainly curious. While there is no clear evidence that this distribution for be cause for concern, it does raise questions.

The most surprising of these firings is the one from Vegas. After the success they had all three years with Gallant there, it seemed strange that they would get rid of him. Again, there is no clear reason to be concerned, but it’s not exactly normal for a strong and consistent team to fire their coach. So what went wrong? It’s very possible that nothing went wrong and management just decided it was time for a change. But the three-year periods might make one wonder if there’s a specific reason he can’t seem to stay with one team. Gallant’s contract with the Rangers is for four years, so it will be interesting to see if they choose to keep him for the duration, longer, or if this will just be another three year stint.

Note: All stats come from hockeyreference.com

NHL News: Will Kucherov play Game 7?

Nikita Kucherov was injured against the Islanders. Will he play in Game 7?

The two have a “history” dating back to 2019 where Mike Sielski wrote an overly critical article on Voracek. There is also a litany of similar articles and tweets on top of that.

“Does it matter what I say, Mike? You’re gonna write f#@king shit every time so it doesn’t matter what you say,” Voracek answered back. “Uh, I wasn’t even gonna answer your question because you are such a weasel it’s not even funny.”

truly losing it at Konecny doing his best to hold it together. pic.twitter.com/uePOzxxvJ3

— Brad Keffer (@brad_keffer) January 16, 2021

Dan Boyle calls out Larry Brooks

The exchange between Voracek and Sielski was mild in comparison to other interactions between players and reporters. Anyone remember the Rangers Dan Boyle telling NY Post writer Larry Brooks to “Get the F#@k out!“? 

Back in 2016, Dan Boyle had a heated exchange at the end of the year break up with the hall of fame reporter. Both Brooks and his colleague Brett Cyrgalis were very critical of Boyle and some of his Rangers teammates for two seasons.

Here’s a sampling of Brooks writing about Dan Boyle to start the 2015-16 campaign.

But at this moment, there is essentially no debate that allowing Anton Stralman to escape as a free agent in order to sign Dan Boyle on July 1, 2014, stands as Glen Sather’s most regrettable decision of the final 10 years of the Rangers president’s tenure as general manager.

Boyle is a stubborn guy. He earned his no-move clause and has every right to stick to it. But he doesn’t seem to be a fit. Put aside Boyle’s issues in his own end and his difficulty winning battles. More to the point is that the predicate of Vigneault’s system is the quick first pass out of the zone, but Boyle still wants to carry the puck the way he always did. (Which he no longer is capable of, anyway.)

That’s as harsh as you can get of a player in ink.

Dan Boyle, “Get the F#@k Out!”

“I want you out of here, ” Boyle spoke directly to Brooks. “Nobody likes you. Nobody respects you. Just so you know,” the veteran defenseman emphasized.

“At least I’m leaving here with the respect of my teammates,” Boyle said with his voice starting to raise. “Instead of f**king someone like you, who tries to bury somebody. That’s all you do. It’s not a critique. I’m telling you I don’t want you here. I have no respect for you. I want you to get the f**k out.”

The exchange went on and is one of those YouTube videos that hockey fans love to watch.

Dan Boyle unapologetic for the heated exchange

After that heated exchange, Dan Boyle went on SportsTalk NY on WLIE 540 a.m. and was asked about the exchange. The defenseman wanted to make sure people understood why he did it.

“That negative stuff gets into the locker room. That’s what pissed me off. That negativity, that constant breaking down of individuals, gets through,” Boyle explained. “Not everyone has tough skin. Some guys get affected by that, and it really bothers me.”

He also revealed that his phone was blowing up with support from fellow players who felt the same way. And when it comes to having any regrets over the incident – yeah, there really was none.

“Now, I regret saying it in front of the rest of the media, because 99.9 percent of everyone there didn’t deserve to hear that coming from me, and probably made them feel uncomfortable, so I do apologize to them,” Boyle made clear.

“But I do not, for one second, take back what I said to Larry and Brett. I do not take that back for one second because the things that they have done and said over the course of the last two years.”

So was Dan Boyle wrong? Sound off in the comments below.

Furthermore; his reporting states they will maintain 4 alternates.

And as for what I was hearing this past weekend, I will lay it out again.

My thanks to all of you. If you don’t read, I’m not here. https://t.co/uEMWuC4Cy7 via @nypostsports

— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) June 1, 2018

I have long followed, read and admired Larry Brooks and his unmatched coverage of the Blueshirts. He is simply put the Rangers foremost insider on the daily beat. In honor of his HOF induction, we relive some memorable and classic moments with former Rangers fiery head coach, John Tortorella.

The Challenge

Who could forget the most memorable exchange between these two ever.

The Feud Continues

Things simmered down but got heated again in this classic exchange in the 2011 playoffs.

The Origin of the Feud

What most don’t recall is this feud didn’t start in NY, it started while Tortorella was in Tampa and Brooks was covering NJ in the playoffs.

Alls Well That Ends Well?

When Torts was hired by the Canucks, he and Brooksie made amends, although Brett Crygalis says Torts couldn’t be reached for comment on Brooks making the HOF.

No matter where they stand, amongst all in the hockey writing biz and many Rangers fans, Larry Brooks has been a HOFer and it is now official.

Congrats Larry!

With the NHL Expansion Draft just hours away, all kinds of leaks are going on. And based on reports from Larry Brooks, Darren Dreger, and Frank Seravalli, it appears that Oscar Lindberg will be leaving the bright lights of New York for the Las Vegas Strip.

Lindberg will be tough to replace for the Blueshirts. A young two-way centerman with a ton of upside, Lindberg will be very valuable to Vegas. He is a force on the penalty kill and looks like he can be a top-six forward in the near future.

In terms of replacing the young Swede, the Rangers are now in a bit of a pickle. They don’t have a lot of organizational depth down the middle. And now that it appears Lindberg is heading out the door, moving Stepan just became that much harder for Jeff Gorton. Within the farm system, the Rangers have Boo Nieves, who got a good look in training camp before this past season; and Marek Hrivik, who has had a couple cups of tea with the big club. Hrivik has been a good player when he was on Broadway, making smart decisions and playing strong defensively. Hrivik put up 40 points this year for the Pack, and can hopefully bring that scoring touch if he moves up the ladder to MSG.

Hello again! @NHLRumorsDaily here with another rumor roundup, this one coming with less than 12 hours until the Vegas Golden Knights pick their roster. As you could imagine, numerous trades with Vegas have been made, however, the Rangers have NOT reached a deal with George McPhee and the Knights, as per NYPost’s Larry Brooks. The Rangers were speculated to be working on a trade, to protect valuable backup goaltender Antti Raanta, as well as 27 goal scorer Michael Grabner.

Tradewinds with Vegas

Heading into the Expansion Draft, the Vegas Golden Knights were reported to have completed a “few” deals to take undesirable contracts and older veterans; as opposed to taking a younger, top-six forward, or a top-four defenseman. What wasn’t known however was how many deals Vegas did reach, until now. 

Teams that have been rumored to reach a deal with Vegas include Anaheim, Chicago, Columbus, Florida, Minnesota, the Islanders, Pittsburgh, and Tampa Bay. This morning, I also received information that Nashville could be added to that list, asking Vegas to lay off of James Neal. As of right now, that is only a rumor, but a reminder that all of the speculated trades are a rumor in one shape or another. Vegas cannot announce any deals until the Expansion Draft tonight. Another possibility is that Vegas has many secondary deals lined up to flip any draft picks that other teams may have an interest in.

Is Raanta as Good as Gone?

Sources tell me that once Stepan trade talks picked up with Arizona, the Coyotes also developed an interest in Antti Raanta and that GM John Chayka was interested in acquiring a package of both Stepan and Raanta. Speculation then began that the Rangers would try to reach a deal with Vegas to protect the 28-year-old netminder, in hopes of reaching a post-freeze deal with Arizona. However, if you follow Larry Brooks on Twitter, you’d know that this was never the case. 

It seems that the Rangers are complacent with losing one of their players to the Golden Knights, but at this point, it isn’t clear which one they will lose.

Who Does Vegas Want?

At this point, it would make the most sense for VGK to take Antti Raanta and flip him for assets in the form of picks and prospects. Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman reported in his pre-expansion 30 Thoughts that the Rangers stuck to a high asking price for Raanta, as they felt he did an excellent job last season. It is a done deal that Vegas will be taking Marc-Andre Fleury from Pittsburgh and appointing him as the immediate starter; and for a franchise just beginning to build, it would make little sense for the Golden Knights to have a back-up that is in such high demand across the league. If I had to make a prediction at this point, I’d say that Vegas takes Raanta and flips him to a team in need of goaltending such as Arizona or Winnipeg.

After tonight’s Expansion Draft picks are made and all trades with Vegas are announced, the picture should be much clearer for much of the NHL, and by extension, the Blueshirts. I fully expect the Rangers to be an active team as soon as the trade freeze lifts at 8 AM EST Thursday morning. In the meantime, stay up to date on the latest around the NHL and Rangers by following myself @NHLRumorsDaily, and any of the great members of FullTiltNYR. Cheers!

Author’s Note- As of writing this post, Michael Russo from the StarTribune is reporting that Vegas has taken Minnesota Wild center Erik Haula and will also receive prospect Alex Tuch and a pick in return for staying away from d-men Matt Dumba and Marco Scandella

With the tweetstorm that followed, it got me thinking of just what a Kovalchuk trade with the Rangers might look like. Would the price be higher just because they’re the Rangers? Who would the trade revolve around and just what would the Devils want from the Rangers in a Kovalchuk trade?

The Devils need help all over and the Rangers due to their depth could help them in some areas. Forget about sending them defensive help because that’s one area we can’t afford to lose any talent in but as for our forward group, there could be some players that the Rangers could afford to look at trading. A further complication of a possible Kovalchuk trade is the looming expansion draft where a player the Rangers could think about trading may get claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights.

With all that being said just which of our forwards would be good to build a package around for Kovalchuk? Brooks believes that Oscar Lindberg would be a “legitimate candidate for a top-six role in New Jersey.” Lindberg is a fantastic player who I feel could even play a top six role for the blueshirts if need be. There’s some nights where he looks preferable to Kevin Hayes or Derek Stepan. Of course there would need to be more added to this deal, possibly some combination of picks or prospects. Maybe the Rangers throw in someone like Ryan Gropp to sweeten the pot. One of the few big reasons this trade may never come to fruition though is that Lindberg may get claimed in the expansion draft.

Could Ray Shero also end up charging the Rangers more simply because they are the Rangers? Fans would say yes but at the end of the day hockey is a business and the Devils and Rangers are simply two teams that play in close proximity. The rivalry is there yes there’s no denying that but you have to believe if a trade can be struck that benefits both teams then there’s no reason Gorton and Shero won’t do business. Would the Devils prefer not to trade within the division and have Kovalchuk hurt them? Sure but if the Rangers give them the best deal there’s a possibility it could happen.

With that being said, just where will Ilya Kovalchuk end up if he dosen’t come to the Rangers? According to Brooks “more than half a dozen” teams were and possibly still are interested in acquiring the former Rocket Richard trophy winner. Those teams are believed to include the Toronto Maple Leafs, the San Jose Sharks and the St. Louis Blues. All three of those teams have the assets and reasons to trade for Kovalchuk. This saga may drag on for awhile but as always Fulltilt will have the latest for you all whenever news is released.

Most Rangers fans are aware of all the subtractions and additions to the roster for the 2016-17 season, but what many may not be aware of are the changes to coverage.

Here’s what you need to know:

Everyone remember Pat Leonard of the NY Daily News? Yes you do…jump to 1:04 in the video below.

[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLELH8IJ_A4″ rel=”no”]

Well, he is now covering the NY Giants and Justin Tasch has taken over. You can follow him here on Twitter.

Those of you who followed Andrew Gross for The Record and Ranger Rants is now full-time NJ Devils. Taking over for him is Rick Carpiniello and he can be followed here on Twitter. 

Larry Brooks and Brett Crygalis handle the hockey duties for the NYPost. Click on their names to follow them on Twitter also.

Steve Zipay still handles the duties for Newsday. Please follow him here.

Farewell Jim Cerny

In a bit of shocking news, Jim Cerny who ran BlueshirtsUnited for the Rangers was let go by the organization. We learned this all on Twitter by this sad tweet.

No replacement has been announced. Good Luck Jim and thanks for the coverage.