First of all, thank you to Eklund for allowing me to return to world of the blogosphere. For this return into blogging on the site, I will rehash some previous info about me that I first posted on my initial foray two years ago along with an update, what I will be blogging, why I am blogging about them and give you some insight as to what I will be covering in the future.

I will be taking over as the mainly full-time Rangers blogger from Scott Gallof. As Scott did when he took over from the fine hands of Patrick Hoffman, I too hope to make the transition seamless. While I do not possess the photo shop skills of Scott – so those who looked forward to his photos accompanying his articles will be disappointed – I hope that the content and insight will be enough to keep you coming back. While I am the “Rangers blogger,” I will freely admit that I don’t necessarily know everything and hope to learn as much or more from you than I impart to you the readers. While we won’t always agree, I hope to spark solid conversation with the blog to either Rangers’ lovers or haters.

For those who ask, why is a Long Island native who lives 10 minutes from the Coliseum and who grew up 15 minutes from the Meadowlands blogging on Rangers, and not the Isles or Devils? On the Rangers, my first hockey recollection was watching the 1972 Stanley Cup Finals against the Bruins on a black and white TV with my grandparents as a four-year old. From there, my interest grew and I became a Ranger lifer, or as we call it, a masochist, given the pain the Rangers have inflicted on us over the years, including the Ron Francis 75-footer through the five-hole. To give you further indication of my fandom, I was married two days after the Game 7, Matteau-Matteau-Matteau goal. I told my fiancée, now wife, that I would be wearing my Leetch jersey at the end of the reception, as this is something that might not happen again in my life. (If anyone wants pictures and does not believe me, let me know).

Post marriage, I moved to Long Island, and even though I am closer to the Nassau Coliseum – or Mausoleum as Rangers fans still affectionately call it - than the Garden, my loyalty never transferred from the Red, Blue and White to the Blue and Orange even during that long streak where the playoffs were but a sweet memory. My only hope for the Islanders is that the Lighthouse plan or something similar gets approved, so that the only real local LI team , other than the Ducks, remains here and not in Kansas City.

Even though I grew up in Jersey, no more than 15 minutes from the swamplands, aka, the Meadowlands, I was never a Devils fan, as the Devils did not yet exist when I became a hockey fan, as they were still the Colorado Rockies, and prior to that, the Kansas City Scouts.

In addition, at times, I will be throwing in some fantasy info from time to time. In terms of fantasy, why me? Well I have worked for Rotowire.com for the past seven years covering their Hockey Cheat Sheets and weekly Barometer, which covers the Risers and Fallers. I have also been a guest on the Calgary Flames radio channel every third Saturday night during the season taking fantasy hockey as well as Team 990.com in Montreal prior to and post the trading deadline to talk hockey. In addition, last year I had the chance to make my first TV appearance on the NHL Network. Does make me an expert? No, but believe I can provide some valuable information to the readers and also provide some interesting ideas to keep in mind.

Well enough about me, now on to the team for which the fans are known as True Blue. In the upcoming articles, I will take a look at the NHL Draft and some free agency ideas, but given the timing, think the focus needs to be on Brian Leetch as he awaits the potential call to join the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Leetch, selected ninth overall in 1986, is arguably the best American-born defenseman of al time. He won the Calder Award, became the first U.S born d-man to score 100 points, a season in which he won the Norris Trophy. In 1994, he scored 34 points in 23 playoff games to become the first American to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Rangers restored the Cup to its proper location for the first time in 54 years. In 1996, he was a key component as the USA won the World Cup and he finished his stellar career with 1,028 points. When he crossed that 1,000-point threshold, he was the 71st player and just the 7th defenseman in NHL history to do so.

So while it would appear to be a lock that Leetch will get the nod, not so fast as the potential class he will go in with and previous holdovers waiting to get in are very impressive. The apparent no-brainers, who will go in as first ballot Hall of Famers, are former Red Wings captain and the face of that franchise for years Steve Yzerman, who won three Stanley Cups and sits sixth all-time in scoring with 1,755 points, along with sniper extraordinaire Brett Hull, who tallied 741 goals, third all-time. This leaves two remaining spots and even though Leetch appears to be the favorite to be the third member of this class to enter the Hall, we will point out who else is in this class and see what you think.

The other first-time members who are up for election are Luc Robitaille, Alexander Mogilny and Dave Andreychuk. Salient arguments could be made about the merits about each and every one of them. From Lucky Luc’s ability to light the lamp, as he is top-scoring left winger of all time the back-story on Mogilny’s defection from Russia and way he paved the way for others along with his offensive ability and Andreychuk’s scoring prowess, especially on the man advantage and his leadership skills.

In addition to those worthy first-timers, the prior year holdovers hoping for the call of the hall include: Pavel Bure, Doug Gilmour, Adam Oates, Dino Ciccarelli, Phil Housley, Tom Barrasso, Mike Richter, Guy Carbonneau, Esa Tikkanen, Sergei Makarov, Mike Vernon, Claude Lemieux and Dale Hunter. Several of these names are very deserving in their own right, and if one of them ended up as part of the Fab Four, while there would be arguments it would not be that difficult to refute them.

So what’s my prediction? As the Rangers blogger and one whose favorite player was Leetch, it’s not as if I don’t have a biased view, but given his offensive ability, and at times, underrated play defensively, I believe Leetch will be the third member to get the call Tuesday. The fourth is a bigger question. While all the holdovers are very deserving and likely will see their names in the Hall at some point, I don’t believe this is the year. Andreychuk has the pedigree to get in as well but I believe he too falls short this year. It’s between Robitaille and Mogilny. While the Mogilny story is more compelling, I think his overall numbers, even though a knee injury shortened his career and he averaged more than a point a game, pale in comparison to those of Robitaille, who gets that coveted fourth spot among the immortals of the sport.

Update: 3:36 PM Tuesday, it's official Leetch is in. It will be great to see him go in with John Davidson, who is being be given the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a broadcaster. Maybe we can get one more Oh Baby!


Coming Up: The Draft and Free Agency

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