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Wade Belak Found Dead

For the second time this month an NHL player was found dead. And for the second time the cause of death was an apparent suicide.

Earlier this month former Vancouver Canuck, Rick Rypien was found dead and today former Toronto Maple Leaf and Nashville Predator Wade Belak was also found dead.

According to the Toronto Sun, the cause of death was an apparent suicide by hanging although police officials did not comment on the issue.

This is the third time this summer that not just an NHL player has, but an NHL enforcer has died.

The NHL should definitely look into what’s going on in the lives of it’s enforcers because obviously something is happening to cause three deaths in such a short amount of time.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Belak family.

Rick Rypien Found Dead

For the second time this offseason an NHL enforcer has been found dead by a family member. Just a few weeks ago it was Derek Boogaard, and just a few hours ago it was former Vancouver Canuck and Winnipeg Jet, Rick Rypien.

Rypien, who was just 27 years old, was found dead in his home in Alberta. He had just signed a one year deal with Winnipeg Jets this offseason after playing the previous 6 seasons with the Canucks.

Rypien had battled depression and took a leave of absence from the Canucks this past season to deal with depression. Of course at this time it is unclear what ultimately lead to the premature death of Rypien, but Royal Canadian Mounted Police have stated that the death does not look suspicious.

Rangers Resign Callahan

The Rangers have signed their final restricted free agent and avoided arbitration yet again by resigning Ryan Callahan to a three deal worth $12.875 million dollars.

The cap hit for Callahan, who many assume will be the Rangers next captain, will be $4.28 million a year, which is just a tad higher than Dubinsky’s cap hit.

The deal covers Callahan’s final RFA year and two of unrestricted free agent years.

The roster for next season is pretty much set, but with another buyout period upcoming we may not have seen the Rangers last move just yet.

Rangers Resign Two Players

The Rangers have resigned two players from last season.

Defenseman Steve Eminger was signed to a one year deal worth $800,000. Last season Eminger appeared in 65 regular season games, and while his offensive ability won’t blow you away, 2 goals and 4 assists all season, his defense, grit, and “bite” as John Tortorella calls it, were certainly appreciated in the Rangers lineup.

Eminger will most likely appear on the Rangers third defensive pair or as the 7th defenseman behind Michael Del Zotto and Tim Erixon, should Erixon make the Rangers team.

The Rangers also resigned defenseman Stu Bickel, who was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in November, to a one year deal with a $600,000 NHL cap hit and an AHL $75,000 salary. In 54 games with the Connecticut Whale last year Bickel scored 2 goals and added 7 assists while amassing 135 penalty minutes.

Prospal Signs With Columbus

Well, one player from last years Rangers squad will definitely not be returning. Today, the Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they have signed the 36 year old veteran forward to a one year, $1.75 million dollar deal.

This is a good signing for both Vinny and the Blue Jackets. Vinny will bring a great veteran leadership to the Jackets and his enthusiasm will definitely be missed on the Rangers.

Vinny was a great player during his two year stint with the Rangers. His love for the game and the Rangers could never be questioned.

And who can forget his celebration when he scored his first goal of the season after missing most of the season due to injury. He immediately dropped to his knees with excitement. If you ask me the Rangers could use some more players with the same enthusiasm.

Congrats on the deal and good luck in Columbus, Vinny.

Boogaards Brother Arrested

24 year old Aaron Boogaard, brother of deceased Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard was arrested by authorities Friday for unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, a felony that also applies when narcotics are given away for free, which is the case here as Aaron gave his brother Derek a single oxycodone pill the night before Derek was found dead by Aaron. He was also charged with interfering with the scene of a death for allegedly flushing the rest of his brother’s drug stash — a mix of oxycodone and related drugs — down the toilet before police arrived, the complaint alleged.

Aaron Boogaard will not face a more serious manslaughter or homicide charge because authorities can’t prove the single pill he told police he gave his brother directly caused his death.

The prosecutor said Derek Boogaard had “a lot” of Percocet, OxyContin and oxycodone in his system when he died, and consumed “a lot” of alcohol that night — too much to fairly charge Aaron Boogaard with more serious offences given that Derek Boogaard may have taken the additional drugs on his own.

This is obviously the last thing that the Boogaard family needs at a time like this. The silver lining for the Boogaard family is that they will not lose another member of their family because assuming Boogaard has no criminal record, the state’s sentencing guidelines would call for 21 months of probation and no prison time, said Chuck Laszewski, a spokesman for the county attorney’s office.

Aaron Boogaard is currently out of jail on $10,000 dollars bail.

Rangers Resign Dubinsky

The New York Rangers announced a few minutes ago that they have avoided arbitration and resigned Brandon Dubinsky to a 4 year deal that will reportedly pay him $16.8 million with a $4.2 million cap hit.

I like the contract. It’s right between the $4 and $4.5 million that many people were speculating that he would receive. It locks up Dubinsky for the rest of his RFA years and two of his UFA years. Now it’s time for the Rangers to sign Callahan to a similar, probably a bit cheaper deal.

Quick Hits 7/19

Osgood Announces Retirement

After 17 seasons in the NHL and more than 400 wins and 3 Stanley Cups Chris Osgood announced his retirement today.

Osgood will remain with the Red Wings as a scout and a goalie coach.

With Osgoods numbers one has to wonder if he has the credentials to make it into the Hall of Fame. If you ask me I think he definitely has the numbers to make it into the Hall, maybe not the first time he’s on the ballot but I believe he will eventually make it into the Hall.

Lightning Resign Stamkos

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced today that they have resigned star forward Steven Stamkos to a five year deal that will pay him $37.5 million dollars or about $7.5 million a season.

I was a bit surprised at the length of the deal especially with the deal that Crosby and Ovechkin signed, and I definitely believe Stamkos is on par with those players. I assume that the Lightning will give him the long term deal once this new contract runs out or even sign him to an extension midway through this deal.

Devils Hire DeBoer

The New Jersey Devils announced today that they have hired Pete DeBoer as their head coach following the retirement of Jacques Lemaire.

DeBoer spent the last three season as head coach of the Florida Panthers. Before coaching the Panthers he spent time as a coach for the Windsor Spitfires.

During three seasons as the coach of Florida, DeBoer amassed a record of 103-107-26. Of course, the poor record isn’t entirely DeBoers fault as he was coaching a talent-strapped team in Florida.

I was a bit surprised that the Devils went with DeBoer especially with Michel Therrien, Ken Hitchcock and Guy Carbonneau still looking for work.

Back In Business

Sorry I have been gone since early April. I had to focus on school and whether or not I wanted to continue writing or not.

So after thinking about it for 3+ months I have decided that I will continue to write and I want to apologize for not updating the blog for ages.

Please forgive me and continue coming to BlueShirts and Pinstripes Blog.

I’ll start updating the blog with new content tomorrow.

-JC

Rangers Playoff Schedule

Game 1: at D.C., Wednesday, 7:30, MSG, Versus.

Game 2: at D.C., Friday, 7:30.

Game 3: at MSG, Sunday, 3 p.m.

Game 4: at MSG, Wednesday, April 20, 7 p.m.

Game 5: at D.C., Saturday, April 23, 3 p.m.

Game 6: at MSG, Monday, April 25, TBD.

Game 7: at D.C., Wednesday, April 27, TBD.

Obviously Games 5, 6, 7 are if necessary.

The TV schedule aside from game one is still up in the air, but I believe that MSG will air all games not on NBC.

The biggest thing I noticed about the schedule is the amount of time off between games 3 and 4. There are two full days off between those games which should give the Rangers time to heal up any bumps and bruises and give Hank a brief period of rest.