Cohen and Stearns Are Taking a Huge Risk

"The hard part about playing chicken is knowing when to flinch." 

- The Hunt for Red October

If the reports we're hearing are to be believed, the New York Mets have decided they're not going to flinch at all. Their "final" offer of three years, $70 million to Pete Alonso was rejected by his agent, Scott Boras. They have now pivoted to Plan B. Part One of Plan B was the re-signing of Jesse Winker yesterday to a one year, $7.5 million contract. Winker hit .253 with 14 home runs and 58 RBIs last season. He will platoon for the DH spot with Starling Marte. The second part of Plan B is addressing the bullpen. With the signing of A. J. Minter to a two-year, $22 million contract, pending a physical, they appear to have done that. Minter was 5-4 with one save and a 2.62 ERA. He should make an ideal set up man for Edwin Diaz. 

Look, do I think Boras overplayed his hand here? Without question. He gambled that the demand for Alonso would be so great that the Mets would have no choice but to acquiesce to his demands. Obviously that didn't happen. And now with pitchers and catchers only a few weeks away, Alonso appears to be on a desert island with few, if any suitors.

That's not the Mets fault. It's not their responsibility to manage the financial affairs of one of their own free agents, even if he is an overall good guy who's popular with his fellow teammates. And it's not the obligation of Steve Cohen to overpay for an asset that the market has already determined isn't as valuable as the player's agent thinks it is. How do you think Cohen got to be so rich in the first place?

But that doesn't mean that Cohen and his GM David Stearns aren't taking a huge risk here. They are. Let's face it, while Juan Soto is a much better hitter than Alonso, without the Polar Bear in this lineup, the Mets are ostensibly repeating the same mistake the Yankees made last season when Soto and Aaron Judge were the primary run producers on the team. That worked out so well that Soto couldn't wait to get the hell out of the Bronx.

Mark Vientos had an outstanding 2024 season. In his first full year in the majors, he batted .266 with 27 HRs and 71 RBIs playing third base for the Mets. There's no guarantee he'll be as productive in his second full year; there's also no guarantee he'll be able to make the transition to first base. Alonso may have had his shortcomings but he was a good first baseman who could be counted on to hit 40 plus honers per season. Even in a down year, he still managed to hit 35 dingers. His production will be missed.

Maybe all this is just a ploy to get Alonso to reconsider. Get him to realize that the ship is leaving port with or without him, and maybe he'll come to his senses. With Boras as his agent that isn't likely to happen. The only thing old Scott thinks about is his wallet. If he could get a $500 million contract for Alonso to play on Mars he'd ink it in a heart beat. That's the problem with choosing agents like Boras. They never consider the interests of their clients; only their own bottom line.

Then there's the rumor - and let's be polite and call it a rumor - that Stearns is pursuing a trade for Vladimir Guerrero, Jr from the Toronto Blue Jays. The 26 year old first baseman batted .323 with 30 home runs and 103 RBIs. He signed a one-year, $28.5 million deal to avoid arbitration. Forget for a moment that any team looking to land him would pay a king's ransom in prospects, he's a pending free agent after this season. And while he probably won't command the same money Soto did, he's not going to be cheap. Think $500 - $550 million over 12 -13 years. And keep in mind, before Soto hit the market, I thought his contract would come in around $600 million. I was off by $165 million. To paraphrase Bill Murray in Ghost Busters, "No salary is too high" when it comes to baseball.

For now, this is the Mets projected lineup for the 2025 season:

Francisco Lindor - SS
Soto - RF
Vientos - 1B
Brandon Nimmo - LF
Winker / Marte - DH
Jeff McNeil / Luisangel Acuna - 2B
Francisco Alvarez - C
Tyrone Taylor / Jose Siri - CF
Brett Baty - 3B

Not bad, but hardly the 1927 Yankees. And if the starting rotation doesn't pan out, or if Soto struggles in his first season with the team just like Lindor did in his first season, the Mets will have a tough time competing for a Wild Card spot, much less the division.

Far be it for me to tell Steve Cohen how to spend his money, but I think he should reconsider his offer to Alonso. Maybe Pete isn't worth what he's asking for, but let's be honest, was Soto really worth $765 million? You and I both know the answer to that. If Boras rejected $70 million over three years, try upping the ante to, say, $90 million over three, with an opt out after the first year. We're talking about a home grown player who's third in team history with 226 home runs. That has to count for something, even in these cut throat times.

Bottom line, the Mets lineup is stronger with Alonso hitting behind Soto than Vientos. Cohen knows it, Stearns knows it, Boras knows it, Carlos Mendoza knows it, and Pete knows it.

Re-sign the Polar Bear. It's the right thing to do.

Knicks Hit a Road Block

When the New York Knicks beat the Utah Jazz at the Garden on New Year's Day, it was their 9th win in a row. They were 24-10 overall - 19-4 in their last 23 - and only a half game behind the Boston Celtics for 2nd place in the Eastern Conference. After a rough start, they were finally "rounding into shape," as I wrote at the end of December.

Well two days later they played the Thunder in Oklahoma City. For most of the game the Knicks were the better team. They led 66-54 at the half, 88-80 after three, and 97-92 with 6 minutes to go in the 4th. They were on the verge of a signature win that would catapult them into legit contender status. Even their most ardent skeptics would have to take them seriously now, right?

And then all of a sudden the wheels came off; the Knicks, who had their best quarter of the season in that first half, missed shot after shot, with their captain Jalen Brunson the prime culprit. OKC outscored New York 25-10 the rest of the way to win the game 117-107.

Though disappointed, the Knicks remained confident. It was just a bad ending to what was an otherwise strong game. They decided to put it behind them. Then came the game against the Bulls in Chicago. Like the game against the Thunder, the Knicks were ahead at the half. Only this time, the collapse didn't occur in the final six minutes; it happened much earlier. The Bulls ran roughshod over the men in orange and blue 41-17 in the 3rd quarter and won the game 139-126.

Words like "low energy" and "fatigue" were used to describe what the problem was. Not to worry, the Knicks reassured us, now that they were home, they would be fully rested and ready to go. Then the Orlando Magic - a team that more closely resembled a MASH unit than a basketball roster - came to town and beat them 103-94. The losing streak was now three. Alarm bells were starting to sound at the Garden.

What was happening? I mean losing to the best team in the Western Conference was understandable; even losing to the Bulls could be chalked up to a team simply running out of gas after a long road trip. But how do you explain losing to a team that was missing four starters from its lineup on your home court? You can't. 

When then Knicks defeated the lowly Toronto Raptors 112-98 two days later, the fears were temporarily allayed. Everyone was eagerly looking forward to the rematch with the Thunder at the Garden. New York had some unfinished business with OKC. This time, they would close the deal. 

But it was the Thunder that closed the deal, and decisively. They raced out to a 31-17 lead after one, and 70-43 lead after the first half, on their way to a 126-101 rout. It was the most humiliating loss of the season for the Knicks, and it was as baffling as it was thorough. 

All of a sudden this team that Kendrick Perkins thinks is the second best in the East looks very pedestrian. While they are still in third place in the conference, there are some major concerns that aren't going away.

Ian Begley shared some of them on Twitter after the game:

With tonight's blowout loss, Knicks fall to 0-5 vs. teams that entered play tonight w/a better overall record than their 25-14 mark. They are 9-11 vs teams that entered play tonight w/record of .500 or better (including 3-1 vs ORL). NYK is 1-6 vs top 8 teams in NBA standings.

While contenders don't always beat other contenders, they typically don't go 1-6 against them. For example, the game before they beat the Knicks, the Thunder lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-122. The Cavs had a one-point lead going into the 4th quarter and actually increased it.

So what's wrong? In a nutshell, the Knicks are struggling on both ends of the court.

On defense, while they still have the league's 8th best points against average at 110.5, there have been huge lapses in their coverage on the court. Way too often, opponents are left wide open to hit three pointers, or convert back-door plays under the basket. Last season's team was relentless on defense. Opponents generally feared playing the Knicks because of the way they made them work for their baskets. This season, opponents rarely break a sweat looking for an open shot.

On offense, while there's no doubt that this starting five is better than last season's, there have been inconsistencies. Over the last 10 games, the Knicks are shooting only 29 percent from downtown. They normally shoot 38 percent from three. When the Knicks are winning, they excel at ball movement. They are 7th in the NBA in assists with 1060. However, when they lose, it's usually because they hold onto the ball too long, making it easy for opponents to double team them. 

The lack of depth on this roster is another cause for concern. Without Deuce McBride the last few games, and with Mitchell Robinson still several weeks away from returning, Tom Thibodeau only had two players he could count on coming off the bench: Cam Payne and Precious Achiuwa. At this point Jericho Sims is practically an afterthought. What this means is that not only are the starters playing more minutes than they should, when they are on the court they have to produce. There's no way the Knicks can win with Mikal Bridges scoring zero points and OG Anunoby scoring only four.

Look, the Knicks are not the only winning team that's struggling right now. The Boston Celtics are just 6-6 in their last 12 games. I'm sure there are concerns in Beantown, but I doubt they're panicking. And neither should the Knicks. There's plenty of time to correct what's wrong. If Leon Rose has proven anything it's that he won't hesitate to make changes if it will improve the roster. With the Knicks up against the second apron he will have to get creative though.

Bottom line, the Knicks aren't quite where they want to be, but they're getting there. Trust the process.

Will the Real New York Rangers Please Stand Up

For most of the 2024-25 season, the New York Rangers have been a shell of the team that won the Presidents' Trophy and came within two wins of advancing to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 2014. After getting off to a 12-4-1 start, the Blueshirts went 6-16-1 over their last 23 games going into last night's game against the New Jersey Devils at the Garden. They were 5-10-1 against teams that made the playoffs last season, and two of those losses came against the Washington Capitals - the team they swept in the first round last year.

The numbers were growing alarming. The goal differential over this stretch was a league-worst minus 31. How bad is that? The Chicago Blackhawks were a minus 21 over the same stretch, and they're one of the worst teams in the NHL. The once vaunted power play converted on only 8 of 62 attempts for a putrid 12.9 percent. The penalty kill wasn't that much better. In 56 times shorthanded, the Rangers successfully killed off the opposing power play 77.8 percent of the time. And as if to add insult to injury, the team's save percentage - the one stat that they could always point to with pride - was a woeful .881 - 7th from the bottom.

Talk about slumming. The wheels were rapidly coming off on the season. Titanic? Try Lusitania. It was looking very much like Chris Drury was going to be a seller at the trade deadline.

And then the Rangers did something peculiar; something we haven't seen them do in a very long time; they played their best, most inspiring game of the season against a team that in the last two meetings outscored them a combined 10-1. Last night's 3-2 OT win over the Devils was as exciting as it was unexpected. The power play went 2 for 3; the penalty kill 4 for 4. And even though they didn't score at 5v5, they dominated most of the play - especially in the 3rd period - outshooting New Jersey overall 32-23, and out chancing them 29-25; 10-8 in high-danger chances.

I don't want to get too carried away here; after all, it's only one game. But I don't want to minimize it either. It's one thing to get outplayed and have to rely on Igor Shesterkin to save the day, which pretty much has been the formula the last three seasons; it's quite another when the 18 skaters in front of him collectively hold one of the most explosive teams in the NHL to two goals. To put this in perspective, the last time the Rangers played the Devils in December, they managed just one HD scoring chance to New Jersey's 11. To say they phoned it in would be putting it mildly.

Even before last night's game there were signs of life. Against the Dallas Stars, the Rangers were less than 3 minutes away from a 4-3 win before K'Andre Miller turned the puck over in the defensive zone and the Stars tied the score, eventually winning in OT. Apart from Miller's mistake, they played well enough to win that game. Indeed, the Broadway Blues have played only one bad game the entire month of January. After a horrific stretch, the Rangers are slowly beginning to resemble the team that gave millions of its fans hope they might actually see another Stanley Cup in their lifetime.

What is responsible for this turnaround? Put succinctly, the core is producing. Mika Zibanejad has awakened from his season-long coma. He has a five-game scoring streak, with two goals and three assists. Artemi Panarin has a goal and three assists in his last three games. Vincent Trocheck has three goals and two assists over that same stretch. Alexis Lafreniere finally broke his 13-game goal drought with a pair against the Stars. And Adam Fox scored his second goal of the season; his first was an empty netter against the Sabres in Buffalo on December 11.

Now for the sixty-four thousand dollar question. Is this turnaround for real, or are we simply in the eye of a perfect storm that was in the process of destroying the entire season? After all, even bad teams are capable of having good stretches, right?

I suppose we'll know soon enough. The Rangers hit the road to play the Vegas Golden Knights, the Colorado Avalanche and the Utah Hockey Club before returning to the Garden to face the Columbus Blue Jackets. Every one of those teams has a winning record; Vegas currently has a league-leading 59 points. They finish the month at home against the Avalanche and the Carolina Hurricanes. If the Rangers are going to make a push, they will have to do so against some of the toughest teams in the NHL. As Steve Valiquette said after last night's win, the easy part of the schedule is over.

The problem with digging a hole is that sometimes you can't climb out of it. You eventually run out of runway, to use another analogy. But for now, at least, this team has apparently decided to put up a fight. They look nothing like the team that slept walked through December and most of November. 

At the half-way mark of the season, the Rangers record stands at 19-20-2. They currently sit in 5th place in the Metropolitan Division, four points out of the second wild card spot, with four teams ahead of them. Their task is indeed daunting, but it's one they brought on themselves.

As a friend of mine once said: "How do you deal with a sink full of dirty dishes? One dish at a time."

John Mara Stays the Course

Doug Pederson's record over the last three seasons:

2022: 9-8
2023: 9-8
2024: 4-13
Total: 22-29

Brian Daboll's record over the last three seasons:

2022: 9-7-1
2023: 6-11
2024: 3-14
Total: 18-32-1

Guess which coach got fired Monday?

The below attachment will answer that question.

As a rule, I don't subscribe to the theory that the first arrow out of ownership's quiver should be firing the coach or manager. The fact that it has become the default option for so many underperforming teams over the last couple of decades explains in large part why some franchises succeed while others continue to spin their wheels. 

But for the life of me, I cannot comprehend the reasoning behind this decision by Mara. It makes absolutely no sense. Anyone who was paying attention knew full well that Daboll had lost the locker room. For all intents and purposes his players quit on him weeks ago. Think about it: Had the Indianapolis Colts not been so inept last Sunday, the Giants would've lost their last 12 games of the season. You don't keep coaches who preside over that kind of collapse. You thank them for their service and show them the door as quickly as possible.

To be fair, Daboll is not solely to blame for this disaster. He had some help. The guy who hired him, Joe Schoen, took a team that was already bereft of talent and somehow managed to make things worse. It pains me to admit it, but the 2022 team that beat the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card game consisted primarily of players drafted or signed by Schoen's predecessor, Dave Gettleman. If it's ok to criticize Gettleman for taking Daniel Jones with the 6th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, it's equally ok to ask why Schoen elected not to take a quarterback in a draft that was loaded with QBs.

Whoever said you can't draft a quarterback if you already have one obviously never bothered to check in with the Atlanta Falcons. They took Micheal Penix Jr with the 8th pick in last year's draft after they had already signed Kirk Cousins to a lucrative free agent contract. Well, after Cousins struggled over the first 14 games of the season, Penix took over. The rookie competed 58 percent of his pass attempts for over 700 yards, with 3 touchdowns and 3 picks. And if his coach was a halfway decent clock manager, his team would've been mathematically alive for a playoff spot going into week 18. 

Bo Nix was taken by the Denver Broncos with the 12th pick in that draft. He threw for 3775 yards with 29 TDs and 12 INTs. In his rookie year he managed to get the Broncos into the playoffs for the first time in nine years. As good as Malik Nabers was this season, who would you rather have, him or Nix? The point is Schoen blew it by not taking a QB last year. The fact is neither Shedeur Sanders nor Cam Ward are as talented as Nix. And Schoen would have to trade up from the 3rd pick in order to get a shot at either one of them. 

This is the group Mara wants to keep intact? These two guys? I'm all for keeping the faith and showing patience, but this is ridiculous. Rewarding Schoen and Daboll with another year at the helm is an insult to the fans who have had to endure more than a decade of humiliation. Since the Giants last Super Bowl title in the 2011 season, they have had three winning seasons and two trips to the playoffs. For a franchise that has been in existence for 100 years that is simply unacceptable.

And keep in mind, I'm not even blaming Schoen for his decision to re-sign Jones over Saquon Barkley. We've been over this, but the fact is there was no way to franchise tag Jones and still keep Barkley. There just wasn't enough cap space. But even allowing for that, as a talent evaluator, Schoen leaves much to be desired.

The sad truth is there isn't one position on this roster that doesn't need serious attention. Kayvon Thibodeaux, who was supposed to be the next Carl Banks, took a major step backwards this season after an impressive 2023 campaign in which he recorded 11.5 sacks. While Brian Burns was a nice addition, the defense as a whole was terrible. They had only 5 interceptions on the season. Only the Cleveland Browns (4) had fewer. Offensively, the 273 points the Giants scored was the second worst in the NFL. Again, only the Browns (258) scored fewer. They had only three first quarter touchdowns the entire year. Shameful doesn't begin to describe this season. If this is the process Mara was referring to in his statement, I can only imagine what he was smoking when he wrote it.

I'm old enough to remember the Andy Robustelli Giants of the 1970s. They never finished higher than 4th in the NFC East. Wellington Mara was the owner back then, and he was as tone deaf as his son when it came to the boo birds. It wasn't until "The Fumble" in '78 that Wellington and his nephew Tim were finally shamed into making a change. Pete Roselle convinced them to hire George Young as GM, and it was Young who assembled the roster that eventually went on to win two Super Bowls. 

By the way, Young's first pick in the 1979 Draft was a little known quarterback out of Morehead State by the name of Phil Simms.

Knicks Finally Rounding Into Shape

Wednesday, November 13, represented a low point for the New York Knicks. They had just dropped a 124-123 decision to the lowly Chicago Bulls. Their record stood at 5-6, hardly the start they were hoping for. The doubters and the "I told you so" contingent were having a field day.

With last night's 108-85 win over the Orlando Magic, the Knicks are now 16-4 over their last twenty games. At 21-10, they are 3rd in the Eastern Conference, only two games behind the reigning NBA champ Boston Celtics.

The turnaround has been nothing short of astonishing. The starting five that looked so good on paper but struggled early, has come into its own over the last few weeks. Mikal Bridges, the player Leon Rose gave up five first round draft picks for, went from averaging 14.7 points per game in November to 22.3 points per game in December. His 41 points on Christmas Day, helped the Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs 117-114. Karl-Anthony Towns leads the NBA in rebounding with 13.7 boards per game and is second on the team in scoring with 24.3 points per game. O.G. Anunoby, in his first full season in New York, is 5th in the league in plus / minus with a plus 256 and is contributing 16.5 points per game. The balanced attack means that Jalen Brunson no longer has to carry this team on his back like he did last season.

Defensively, the Knicks have gone from being one of the worst teams in the league to one of the best. They currently rank 7th in the NBA, allowing an average of 109.3 points per game. But in the month of December, they have allowed an average of 103.6 points per game, while scoring an average of 115.8 points per game. That's a 12.2 point differential. To put that in perspective, the Celtics had a 11.4 point differential last season on their way to a league-best 64-18 record.

Not everything has been a bed of roses for the men in orange and blue. The Knicks have had issues with slow starts all season long. In a game at Charlotte on November 29, they trailed the Hornets 23-15 after the first quarter before finally eking out a 99-98 win. Against the Detroit Pistons at the Garden on December 7, they trailed 39-23 after the first quarter; this time, however, they would not be able to overcome their deficit. 

Despite his dominance on the boards, Towns has had a propensity for getting into foul trouble of late. Over his last four games, he has picked up five personal fouls three times and fouled out once. Until Mitchell Robinson returns from the injured list - hopefully sometime in January - KAT must show more discipline. 

And the free throw shooting has been a recent cause for concern. Last night against the Magic, they shot only 70.6 percent from the line; the other night against the Toronto Raptors, they shot only 69 percent from the line. Fortunately for the Knicks, neither game was close. Against a tougher opponent, though, it could've cost them a win.

But that aside, the Knicks are finally becoming the team everyone thought they'd be before the season began. Offensively, they are spreading the ball around, making it difficult for opponents to double team any one particular player. One night it might be Brunson who's the hero; the next it might be Towns, or Bridges, or OG, or Hart. Without question, this is the most talented roster the Knicks have had since the glory days of Red Holzman in the 1970s. And once everyone is healthy, defensively, it'll be the toughest to play against since the days of Pat Riley in the 1990s. In his wildest dreams Tom Thibodeau could never have imagined coaching a group of players like this.

Go ahead, scoff if you want, but I'm more optimistic now than I was in October when I picked them to win 55 games. As of now, there are only three teams in the NBA that could beat the Knicks in a best of seven series, and one of them - the Oklahoma City Thunder - is in the Western Conference. The other two are the Cleveland Cavaliers - who nobody saw coming - and the Celtics. If Rose can somehow manage to tweak this roster a bit further, who knows, they might be the team to beat come April.

It took 54 years for the Rangers to finally end their championship drought; so far, the Knicks drought is closing in on 52 years. Whether it comes to an end this June remains to be seen.

Rangers Finally Call It a Night on Kakko

To fully appreciate what happened with Kaapo Kakko, we need to go all the way back to that letter then GM Jeff Gorton sent out to the fanbase on February 8, 2018, informing them that the New York Rangers were going to be sellers - not buyers - at the trade deadline. 

It was an extraordinary acknowledgment, one seldom seen in professional sports. Typically franchises don't go public with their plans regarding rebuilding; they just go ahead with it. But this was different. The Rangers, after going to the finals in 2014 and winning the Presidents' Trophy the following season, were clearly on a downward trajectory. To continue investing in this core would've been fruitless. Credit Gorton for being able to read the tealeaves.

There was just one tiny problem. The Rangers didn't actually do a formal rebuild in the traditional sense of the word; that is they didn't tear it down to the studs. Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller, Rick Nash, Michael Grabner and (later) Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes were all sent packing. But Gorton elected to keep Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Pavel Buchnevich, Marc Steal and Henrik Lundqvist. In other words, what the Rangers did was more a retool than a rebuild. 

Lady luck then shined on the franchise. The Rangers wound up with the second overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, which they used to select Kakko, a player generally viewed by many scouts as a future star in the league. Fans already had him pegged as the next Jaromir Jagr. 

Of course on any other rebuilding team, Kakko would've gotten a top six forward spot, including time on the power play. Unfortunately for him, Gorton had other plans. Over the summer, he signed Artemi Panarin and traded for Jacob Trouba. He also acquired a little known defenseman from Jericho, New York by the name of Adam Fox. The formal announcement in May of that year that the Rangers had hired John Davidson to be their President ostensibly meant that the rebuild was, if not officially over, at least unofficially put on hold. Two seasons in the tank was enough for owner James Dolan. It was time to start winning again. 

For most of the 2019-20 season, the Blueshirts were fun to watch. Panarin led the team in overall scoring while Zibanejad led them in goals. They flirted with the playoffs. Then Covid-19 hit and the NHL, like everything else, shut down. When play resumed over the summer, the Rangers somehow managed to qualify for the play-in round, where they were swept by the Carolina Hurricanes. Their reward for failing to advance to the playoffs was to wind up with the number one overall pick in the 2020 draft, which they used to select Alexis Lafreniere. 

Lafreniere, like Kakko before him, should've gotten a top six forward spot. Instead, he was buried, for the most part, in the bottom six. And he rarely, if ever, got time on the power play. Think about it: the Rangers, in consecutive years, landed two elite prospects in the draft only to treat them as if they were checking forwards. 

And it wasn't just Kakko and Lafreniere who were consigned to the back of the bus. 2017 first-round pick Filip Chytil was also having a hard time getting ice time. This reluctance by the organization to give their young players the attention they badly needed meant that their growth was stunted from the beginning. Between the three, though, Kakko was the one most snake bitten. The closest he came to realizing his potential was in 2022-23. He scored 18 goals and added 22 assists that season. 

But before you get the impression that this was all the fault of the Rangers, it should be noted that both Chytil and Lafreniere eventually had breakout years: the former scoring 22 goals as the third-line canter in 2022-23; the latter 28 goals last season playing on the second line with Panarin and Vincent Trocheck.

The bottom line was that even with Peter Laviolette as his coach, Kakko was never able to come into his own. It was not for lack of effort; God knows the kid tried. He was one of the hardest working forwards on the team. He just couldn't finish around the net. And when you're the second overall pick in the draft you're expected to produce.

So yesterday, Chris Drury finally pulled the plug and traded him to the Seattle Kraken for defenseman Will Borgen and two middle-round draft picks in 2025. To say it was a disappointing return would be an understatement. Borgen will likely replace Victor Mancini - who was sent down to Hartford - on the third pairing with Zac Jones.

Already the Monday-morning quarterbacks are at it. The prevailing sentiment is that Drury could've had Jake Guentzel last season in return for Kakko, a first rounder and a couple of prospects. First off, we don't know if that was true; second, even if that was true, it's likely those prospects would've consisted of Will Cuylle and Gabe Perrault. The former has been arguably the team's second best forward this season; the latter is one of the most talented players in college hockey today. Drury would've been a fool to give up that much for what amounted to a rental. Besides, what did Guentzel do for the Hurricanes last season? Oh yeah, they lost to the Rangers in the second round, and Guentzel is now a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Hindsight is always 20 / 20, especially in sports. The Twitterverse is replete with shoulda, coulda, woulda trades that always seem to work out for the prognosticators. In the end, though, I can't blame Drury for wanting to hold onto Kakko as long as possible. It's obvious the skill is still there. Hopefully he will develop into the player everyone thought he'd be when he was drafted five years ago.

As for Drury, he met with the players this afternoon in Dallas to clear the air over the way the Goodrow and Trouba moves were handled. It couldn't have come at a better time, because according to Vince Mercogliano, the core is not exactly thrilled with their GM. But here's the thing: the longer this team continues its slide - 11 losses in the last 14 games - the more likely it is that the trades will continue. It's a vicious cycle that only they can stop. As long as Drury has the backing of Dolan, he isn't going anywhere. And there doesn't appear to be any appetite within the organization to make a change behind the bench. 

So for the time being, both the players and management are stuck with one another. And as is usual with situations like this, the onus is on the former to change the narrative.

Rangers In A Free Fall

I have watched the New York Rangers since 1971. Trust me. I have gone through my fair share of downturns. 1976-78, 1987-89, 1998-04 & 2018-21. The 1998-04 period was particularly rough. No playoffs and some of the worst trades in franchise history. But in all that time I have never seen what happened Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. The team I have followed since I was 10 years old did the equivalent of a lay down in front of 18,000 loyal paying fans. It was a pathetic performance from a group of players that last season won the Presidents' Trophy. 

I have tried as hard as I can to wrap my head around what is going on here and quite frankly I'm stumped. Not only is this team not playing well, it doesn't appear to be even trying. Against the LA Kings, they looked listless and uninspiring; as if they didn't give a shit. Small wonder they were booed off the ice after the game.

The Rangers have lost 9 of their last 12 games. At 15-13-1, they are currently in 5th place in the Metropolitan Division. Not only would they fail to make the playoffs if the season ended today, with 31 points, they are actually closer to the bottom of the standings in the Eastern Conference than they are to the top. Thank God for the Montreal Canadiens and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

I've heard all kinds of explanations for the dumpster fire currently residing at Penn Plaza. It's Chris Drury's fault for mishandling the Barclay Goodrow waiver and the Jacob Trouba trade; it's Peter Laviolette's fault for not being tough enough with his players. I call bullshit on both. 

True, Drury could've done a better job with both situations, but what was he supposed to do? The Rangers needed cap space badly and, let's face it, Goodrow and Trouba were the logical choices to be moved over the summer. The same people who are now bemoaning the way Goodrow and Trouba were treated couldn't wait to send them packing a few months ago. It was nothing short of a miracle that Drury got every penny of their cap hit off the books without surrendering anything of value in exchange. But by all means let's make him the bad guy.

Did you see what happened down in Tampa Bay? Julien BriseBois did everything except drive Steven Stamkoss to the airport; then turned around and signed Jake Guentzel to replace him. Stamkoss had played his entire NHL career with the Lightning and BriseBois showed him all the love and respect of a worn out lightbulb. Last time I checked the Bolts were in 4th place in the Atlantic Division, currently holding onto the number one wild card spot.

Spoiler alert: players get waived and traded all the time in professional sports. It's part of the business. Yes, Trouba was the captain. Guess what? Captains get traded too. Ask Brian Leetch what being a captain means. He was traded to the Boston Bruins literally on his birthday, two weeks after he asked Glen Sather not to be. General managers aren't paid to be guidance counselors or therapists; they're paid to put a competitive team on the ice. And in a league that has a hard salary cap, sometimes they have to make tough decisions about who stays and who goes.

Regarding Laviolette, yes, I'd like him to be tougher on his players. But last season this head coach, who, it should be noted, guided three different teams to the Stanley Cup finals and one to a Cup championship, was principally responsible for this team not only winning the Presidents' Trophy but setting a franchise record for most wins and points in a single season. Had they not faced the Florida Panthers, they would've made it to the finals. All of a sudden he's fucking Jean-Guy Talbot? Please spare me. 

David Quinn was too tough; Gerard Gallant wasn't tough enough. What's the excuse with Laviolette? He parts his hair on the wrong side? I agree with Larry Brooks: this core doesn't get to fire another coach. Besides, the way this team is playing, Scotty Bowman wouldn't make a difference. If you're looking for someone to put the blame on, how about the players? Last time I checked, they're the ones wearing the uniforms. Is it Laviolette's fault that Mika Zibanaejad can't hit a wide open net? Or that Ryan Lindgren can't back check worth a damn? Or that Chris Kreider has become a statue on the ice? Or that the only goal Adam Fox has scored all season was an empty netter? How is it that on a team with this much talent, its best player is Will Cuylle?

Enough with the excuses; enough with the rationalizations. It's time this group of players took a long, hard look in the mirror and manned up. It is inconceivable that a team that went to the conference finals twice in the last three years could've fallen off the cliff this quickly. So the answer must lie elsewhere. 

What isn't the answer is firing the coach and/or GM. The truth is there's more than enough talent on this team to still make the postseason. Whether there's enough pride is another matter.