I think you are much more beautiful on the inside then you are on the outside. I would love to just have one opportunity to meet with you one to one for dinner.

David

So embarrassing.

I remeber game 7 like it was yesterday. Had to listen to it on the radio as it was blacked out in NYC until a tape delayed airing at 11:30 PM. Marv Albert’s unforgettable call of Reed coming out of the locker room and then of Willis’ hitting his first two shots is legend. Reed’s performance is one of the gutsiest ever in NY!

Even if we get LeBron and win ten titles they won’t equal the 2 we won with the teams that Red Holzman coached!

First off, I am stating that an inability to judge a move in a vacuum would impair your credibility. It’s up to you to decide whether or not that description fits you. I am simply saying that it seems you refuse to do so, but maybe your pessimism belies a savvier evaluator.

As for my ability to judge moves, it’s a fair criticism, if you want to make it, but my record on this blog is peppered with points of reference you could have used to support your case instead of distorting the context of our disagreements in the summer of ‘08, an offseason in which I begged and pleaded for the Rangers to push Jagr out the door, and you balked because you loved the guy. Truly I pity the fool who would attempt to put words in my mouth when my own words are recorded in perpetuity in this blog’s archives.

For instance, if you’re interested in my thoughts on the Wade Redden signing, no need to scour your email – I wrote about it right here.

Redden’s 38 points last season tied him for 21st among NHL defenseman with Atlanta’s Tobias Enstrom and – guess who – the Rangers’ Michal Rozsival. Those aren’t numbers that cry out ‘SIX YEARS’ or ‘39 MILLION’ to me. Still, the Rangers had a need and it seems they’ve been aggressive here in addressing it. The money only becomes a factor if the offseason progresses and the team finds itself struggling to squeeze under the cap.

I don’t love it, I don’t hate it. Most of all, I’m anxious to see what’s coming next.

Sounds like I’m head over heals, huh? Or how about what I wrote a day earlier, when the Rangers resigned Michal Rozsival?

Needless to say, this move doesn’t please me. The fact that Rozsival is now being paid like a No. 1 or 2 defenseman reduces the chance that the Rangers will go out and acquire a legitimate first pair d-man, whether via trade or free agency. Moreover, in my mind, Rozsival is not a top-pair defenseman, and in fact, following the Blueshirts’ season-ending postseason loss to the Penguins, I cited Rozsival as one of the more overmatched players on the ice. In Rozsival’s defense, he clearly played the Pittsburgh series though injury and underwent hip surgery in the offseason. To me, however, injury doesn’t excuse timid and undisciplined play.

Pinch me, pinch me! I must be dreaming. Long live the King! SA-THER, SA-THER, SA-THER!

But I’m trying to be fair here, and yes, clearly I was more upset that Rozsival was returning than angry that Redden was on his way. Even so, to imply that the Redden signing was the fruition of my offseason dreams is a weaselly misconstruction.

You’re not entirely mistaken, however. I was pretty coo coo for Sather’s ‘08 offseason. In fact, just a day after the Redden signing, I referred to Sather’s maneuverings as a “dream scenario for yours truly.” Of course, if you were to revisit what I was actually talking about, you’d find it had nothing to do with Wade Redden but rather the trade for Nik Zherdev, an enigmatic 23-year-old whom I was convinced would blossom into a cap-friendly, 30-goal scorer for this team. Said I, at the time:

Without question, Zherdev is the first-line scoring wing that the team so desperately sought to partner with center Scott Gomez. Does this mean the end of the Jaromir Jagr Era on Broadway? It sure looks that way, though the team technically still has the cap space to squeeze Jagr in – that is, if his feelings aren’t too badly hurt.

It certainly appears as if the team is moving on, however – a season too late, in my opinion. Jagr’s ticket out of town was punched the day he proved incompatible with Sather’s free agent prizes from a year ago, Scott Gomez and Chris Drury. Neither pivot was brought here to watch Brandon Dubinsky assume the role of first line center. With Jagr now out of the mix, the team can resume its efforts to build around the pair, with Drury presumably assuming the team captaincy, and Gomez shouldering the offensive load along with the newly acquired Zherdev.

Whoops. As I said, if you’re looking for instances where I’ve missed the mark, there are two to three years worth of material to draw from in these pages. You should simply think twice before again attempting to misrepresent my opinions.