Mike Sullivan Era begins, J.T. Miller Named Captain & Training Camp Battles! | Up in the Blue Seats

Mike Sullivan Era begins, J.T. Miller Named Captain & Training Camp Battles! | Up in the Blue Seats

Welcome back to Up in the Blue Seats, your sorely missed Rangers podcast for the New York Post. The gang is back together again. As always, it’s Molly Walker, Hall of Famer Larry Brooks, and former Ranger Brian Bole. We are so excited to be back. We are so excited to be at the rink for seven hours every day in training camp. And we are happy to have plenty of hockey to talk about, guys. New season, new coaching staff, new faces, and a lot of confidence. It can’t be worse than last season. Am I right? No, you’re right. Um, and I think actually with the new coaching staff, there has been a total break from last year. I I I you know, I don’t think there’s much talk about, well, what happened last year? Everyone knows that something broke last year as as Eagor Shurken said like in his exit day interview. We all knew that that it was a environment and the main actors of that are gone, right? Um so this this is this is a brand new start for me. Um, I know every time there’s a coaching change, it’s a fresh sheet. Fresh sheet. But it it seems to me that there like last year has almost nothing to do with what’s going to happen this year. That’s that’s that’s the way I see it because there there there were just so many different off ice factors that generated last season that are, you know, are are not here this year. That sounds like it makes a lot of sense just knowing what I know about Mike Sullivan and how he sort of approaches every day. And you know, I don’t know where you guys wanted to start, but I guess that’s probably the big the big uh the big news. Anyways, that’s the I would say the biggest change. Players change every year. Uh what happened this off season, how that all went down, it was just a in my mind, it’s a no-brainer, right? And there’s going to be tremendous amount of pressure on whoever the coach is going to be. Maybe a touch more with Sully. He’s been there. He knows what’s going on. uh he knows there’s pressure on the guy that hired him in Chris Drury and that’s I think they have their guy though and this guy I’m telling you Mike Sullivan just being around him in Pittsburgh where I thought things were going to go off the rails on you know you’d lose two in a row or we had some injuries the way he approached meetings his demeanor and when we’re hot and playing well the way he approached individual players who might not have been holding up like he was detailed and nothing got by him but it wasn’t over coaching and it wasn’t too much. He just has a real good understanding of how to sort of write the ship when it’s off and how to make sure everyone’s motivated, pulling in the right direction even when things are going well. And he does have individual players and in the team collectively. And now it’s just a matter of these players learning how to understand like five or six different Boston accents that are going to be in the room because they’ve brought down everybody from God’s country to help coach this team. Yeah. I feel like Yeah. I specifically asked Sullivan if even despite the fact that he wasn’t in that room last season, had nothing to do with last season, do you address it, you know, or or do they want to pretend like last season never happened, burn it, forget about it? But Svin said it would be foolish of him not to address it, which I really appreciated him being candid about that because while while it really is apparent that the team is not allowing last season to have any power over this one, they want to learn from it as well. Vincent Troche, I asked what he feels like the team attitude should be towards last season and he said, you know, your knee-jerk reaction is kind of you want to burn it, but you have to learn from it. So, I think that it’s in the rear view, but I think that we’ve talked about how embarrassed this team was by last season, that they’re not going to forget it and they’re going to learn from it, though. Um, with Mike Sullivan, I mean, Larry, what have your impressions been of him to start training camp? detail oriented his approach to the game and I think detail oriented in his approach to the players where he made it his priority to try and get to know each of them as well as he could before camp started. And and I think so, you know, this season started probably the day after Mike Sullivan was hired, right, when he started to reach out to the leaders on the team. Um I thought and and u um the guy who’s looking over your shoulder there, Ma. Yeah. Um, you know, and and Mika said how how important it was for Sullivan to go, you know, to travel to Sweden and and meet with him. I I think how much it meant to him, how much it meant to him. And and I think that he made certain that Mike Sullivan made certain to check in with Ma, Adam Fox, uh you know, Troche, JT Miller, you know, the the veterans, you know, the key guys on the team and he he wanted to start the conversation as early as possible. So I I think that’s that that was a building block even before they got onto the ice the first day last Thursday. So that, you know, it’s been very impressive to me. We always talk though, you know, the first couple days, oh, this is so different than last year, you know, and it’s kind of like, you know, there only so many there only so many variations of training camp. Um, but I I I do think there’s there’s a different sense of uh sort of camaraderie between the players, the coaching staff, and maybe even the management. I think that’s Yeah, that’s not far off from what you’ve seen from him, right, Brian? Yeah. And and there’s a lot that’s going to go into, you know, Quinny and Sacko and Ty Hennis and these guys that look say whatever you want about this generation of athlete and every former player will come on and say we had it way harder. Just like every everyone’s grandpa’s story is a story of I mean this has literally been going on since we would be careful about their grandpa stories. Listen, the fact of the matter is, Larry, it was it was different and harder in a lot of respects and it was it was different and easier in a lot of respects for different generations. So, you can’t compare them. And I think what this coaching staff can understand is the athletes now are different. And before whereas you’d just be like, suck it up and deal with it and figure out a way to get better. Sully understands and he’s coached for a long time. You know, he’s in in early 2000s. He’s the head coach of the Bruins and had some big personalities. You just have to manage each individual and try to get the most out of them. That’s your job whether you like it or not. That’s that’s a huge part of that job description rather, you know, over the fore over the what what’s going on. You can delegate certain things to those assistants like I said and then those assistants have to sort of be uh not buddy buddy but maybe psychiatrist sometime or just like let let me know what you’re thinking and he can go back to the coach. There’s a lot more to between the ears and the attention to that with this generation of athlete really. And every athletes had an ego. You don’t I don’t think you get there without it. But and people are probably going to be mad at this comment that I’m saying. And whether they think it’s right or wrong, it just is. So don’t yell at me. I didn’t, you know, uh you want to feel appreciated in some respect. You want to feel understood, I guess, is the best way to put it, uh, in some respect from your coaches. Well, understanding that there’s 23 of you, so you don’t get the coach’s ear every day. But if you’re understood and then the coach, you have that respect, you’re going to do a lot of things for your coach that you could easily quit on if you feel like you’re just getting overlooked or being disrespected. And I think Sully’s already started the right way with that. It’s not easy to just hop on a plane and go to Sweden. Um, and he did that because he knows how important Mika is, Fox, and Lafrenir. I think those three guys, they bounce back. You’re looking at a much different season. A real good manager of egos is how Sullivan was described to me. And I think another part of one of his availabilities that really stood out to me in that same response to the question that I asked about last season and is he said, “I can assure you we are going to be a forwardthinking group. This team will not be living in the past anymore.” And I think that is a mantra that the Rangers for sure needed this season. Um, but let’s pivot to some other news for the Rangers. uh they decided to name JT Miller the 29th captain in franchise history just a couple of days ahead of training camp actually. I think for me, player aside, doing it when they did was the most important thing, I think certain players came into that locker room last season and didn’t know where they stood with management and that got things off to a pretty bad start. By naming JT Captain before they even get on the ice for real, everyone knows their roles. Everyone knows where they stand and what their job is. And I think that that was a really good way for the Rangers to start. I mean, Brian, what makes you think that JT is the right man to wear the sea for this team? Well, I I kind of adore Ju JT and how he how he just he just is. This is this is who he is as a person, as a player. He’s a tremendous hockey player with, you know, certainly a high competitive nature in him and you could just get in an argument with him and realize realize that uh the humility has certainly grown with JT. I was with him the Monday prior to I think they announced him last last week on Tuesday. Um and I was with him at the uh the alumni event at Westchester and you know not a word about it. He probably do. He probably had an inkling and he’s the same old JT and got to spend a little bit of time with them. You know, they all they all look fit. They’re all in shape. They’re all ready to rock. And when the puck drops, he’ll find a way to, you know, if he’s not going, he’ll bark at a ref or or an opponent to get himself into the fight. And he does. He brings people into the fight. And I think that’s used a lot more now than it used to be. But people are going to follow him because he produces, because he does things on the ice with that high level of skill that, you know, I had to do just to stay in the league, the grinding and the yapping and the just being a part of the game in some aspect. Well, he does that and produces a at a high level. And ultimately, he just wants to win. And I think the attitude that he brings is what they didn’t have last year when it started going south. That attitude can get you out of a lot of slumps. I think there’s a certain group of team and I think of a lot of of the Penguins really who just didn’t say a word between whistles really and just kind of were all business and they won and that that’s just a that’s their personality. This personality will be a little bit more abrasive. I think they were missing that last year. I think that is a you know and you take Trouba out as well and for whatever you know his faults were he was he was a physical emotional leader in that room they knew he was going to be the captain when they had to name a new one but you’re bringing a little bit of that back plus you can have you know a potential 100point guy playing in all situations that’s an easy guy to follow they they traded for him essentially knowing that they right? That like his identity is the identity management wants the Rangers to have. So to me it was like I advocated for him. I you know I know there were you know you know Vincent Troek I’m I’m sure would have been a good captain too but I think they you know they traded for JT Miller to be the you know to to to be the mast head you know to be on the mast head and and and take the lead. What I thought was really interesting too is um when Drury talked about appointing uh JT as captain um he you know he referenced without saying it his his experience as the captain and how important having a leader how having you know having a captain is important to the team instead of Well, you know, we we’ll go a year. Let’s see who grows into it. You know, Mike Sullivan is learning these players. And, you know, I think that would have been a copout. Um, but but Jury, you know, was was very clear that he said, “Listen, you know, we’re at the stage where we should have a captain. That’s that’s important to me.” So, I I thought that was um I thought that was very interesting. And we didn’t we didn’t have one in our run, right? that that 2014 run, but we traded Cali because they traded Cali and we got in we got a Hall of Famer back. But just thinking and talking about I’ve seen some of my old teammates in the last few weeks. Anyways, we got together. We’re just talking about how like that room was so much different because it was it was the Callahans, the Gerardis, the the Stalls to these guys that came up all together through hardford. I was, you know, I was in a trade later, but it didn’t matter who you were. Like, we knew we needed Hank to be at his best. And we kind of gave Hank a hard time in the locker room sometime sometimes, not all the time, but just just to make him part of it because he was so here and we were, you know, working our, you know, butts off just to try to get through things. And, you know, we lost obviously we lost Kelly. That was a hard day. We brought in a Hall of Famer. But even like Richie, you had experience with with probably our de facto guy. I’ve got I’ve got we all ripped on each other. I’ve got to interrupt here. Um so now he’s traded and like a week or two later or whatever, I asked Richie, “Do you think you should have a captain here?” You know, do you know do you think you should appoint a captain now? You know, Richie said, “No, no, not no. Like, what’s the need for that?” He said, “Like it’s not like everybody was listening to Cali anyway.” That was the point. We all gave each other so much crap. Yeah. The team went to Winnipeg and there was like slew of reporters waiting for Brad Richards, you know, for him to explain what he what he said. You know, if we I mean, we did we did defer to him a lot. He won the cup. He had been with Torch. But it was just like nobody had We had egos, but if you if like even if Torch said or if AV said something like complimented you in a video, the next week you’re getting ripped to shreds by your teammates in that room because like you’re the coaches you’re the new coach’s toy, right? She did so great in that. It was almost like you didn’t want to be on video, good or bad. And that’s how that whole team operates. So, it’s different. This is this is important, especially coming after last year. They lost an identity. now they need one. And I I I agree. I just I like going down memory lane, too. That was funny. No one can blame me, Brian. Um, but I I really liked a lot of what JT had to say in his first scrum since getting named captain. I mean, he talked about how Chris Jury and Mike Sullivan really want him to be himself. And kind of going off that, he just sounds so self-aware of the player that he’s become in his career. He knows his flaws. he, you know, acknowledged how he wears his heart on his sleeve and that he’s an emotional player and, you know, that sometimes that can be a bit much, which was obviously the story coming out of Vancouver. But he almost sounded so reflective on it and just so aware of of the player that he is and how he can help this locker room. But I think it meant a lot to him also to hear from Chris Jury and Mike Sullivan that they want him to be exactly like that. They want him to be that be that way because like you said, Brian, they were so deficient in that department last season. So now you’ve just got an absolute rocket of emotion, you know, on the ice every night. So it should be it should definitely help in that department for the Rangers. Um, but kind of switching gears a bit, I mean, I think I think of all the players who I’m fascinated to see how their season plays out as Adam Fox, especially playing next to Gabriov after he signed a seven-year 49 million deal in the off season. Um, but for a for a few reasons. I mean, Larry, I think you wrote it best when you said no one’s reputation took a harder hit than Fox’s last season between an underwhelming season and a tough Fournations performance. I mean, Larry, you spoke to him. What was that conversation like with him and what kind of beer do you think Adam Fox needs to have? Well, I think there’s a direct correlation between his own disappointment of his season and we can separate that from, you know, the outside noise. Um, but I think he’s a pretty good self- evaluator. And I know when the season ended, he was in the gym four, five, six days a week. um this this off season he skated a lot. Uh he told me that, you know, he always wants to get better, that this is his mo every year, but I I think there was a little more to it. I I think he needed to get a little stronger at at this age. He needs to get a little faster. The game has become faster. Um and and I I think that was a direct reaction to the season and to fornations where um I I was told by a few people that he took it personally and um you know he’s an elite player who for the first time for the first time has his rankings have dropped you know from outside sources. He’s not a lock to make the Olympic team which a year ago you know everyone everyone would have um everyone you know would have had him as an automatic right so this is going to be an important year for him um and I and I think there are two things first of all I think Gabricov is going to be an immense help to him I think they’re going to have a very good first pair um and I think that having David Quinn there as a defense defensive coach is going to help Adam too. Um, he had a great relationship with David. You know, he was his first NHL coach. He basically by his, you know, the middle of the first year, he was on the first pair, you know, so he has always had a very good relationship with David Quinn. I I think that’s going to be a factor um this year, too. I I I think it’s going to um I think it’s going to have a very positive influence on on Adam. I find the Adam Fox, even not even just Adam Fox, but the Mike Sullivan Team USA head coach dynamic to be really interesting as well. Um, and Larry, you asked Sullivan about it, too. And I thought he I mean he he’s answered every question this training camp so headon which you could only appreciate as members of the media. But I feel like he has such a good head about it because it is a unique dynamic that you know here the NHL is returning to the Olympics. Yeah. The NHL is returning to the Olympics. When it becomes I think early January they’re naming the team. Late December, early January naming team. It could be a very tricky dynamic if Adam Fox is not on the team. It can be a tricky dynamic if JT Miller is not on the team, right? I mean, you know, they’re separate. I would be shocked if JT Miller’s not on that team. Okay. I’m just saying there can there’s always a tricky like yes, I think JT Miller will be on the team, but I don’t think he’s an automatic going into the season, right? Um but there’s there’s you know, there can be a sensitive dynamic there. Yeah. And you know, you know, you’re certainly going like Mike Sullivan’s going to have great influence on who who makes the roster, right? And he and he and he’s be watching he watches Adam Fox every day. So, you know, his recommendation, you know, is is is I think going to be is going to carry with with management. So again, I listen, I think there I think Adam’s mature. You know, he’s he’s a vet. He he understands the position he’s in. Everyone understands the position Mike Sullivan is in. But it can be can become tricky. Um the way the way you can um eliminate all the confusion is by Adam Fox having a great year, right? And then he’s there to your point. That’s and that’s what Adam and that’s what Adam said too and and that’s kind of what Mike Sullivan said too and and Adam also said that when he met with Sullivan uh Sullivan told him that his system is going to allow him to be at his best that you know that you know playing fast you know attacking it’s going to allow Adam to be at his best. So I I think I think you know from from what I uh what I glean from the conversation with Adam is is that their relationship has been very good and you know there’s very good communication between them. Well yeah and Mike Sullivan wants Adam Fox to succeed and be great and so Adam Fox should go into training camp prepared like all the reports have said in the best shape he can possibly be in because that’s all you can really control in the summer. You can watch some film if you want, right? You work on things and you get as prepared as you can. That’s how you prevent injury and build the engine. That’s that’s what offseason training is for. He needs to be in a comfortable headsp space like you said, Larry, because he is such a cerebral guy. He’s never going to be Mirror Hastin. He’s never going to be Kale Mar. He’s not that’s not how he’s built and that’s not what makes him, you know, those aren’t his superpowers. He’s got a computer brain and it’s really hard to teach things that you really can’t teach. And if he’s comfortable and seeing things the way he’s supposed to be seeing them with a consistent, you know, left defenseman as his par like that those are all the ingredients for the the recipe that we saw the first couple years of Adam Fox, right? That’s a Norris Trophy winner, right? He’s not in the top 50 of the rankings anymore from from the network I work on. He’s not in the 50. So it’s like, you know, that’s a that’s a pretty And it’s not like he’s 35. So understanding those things, but use them at motivation. The same as what the Olympic potential bid could be. You want to go play for a top two or three team that has a very good chance of winning a medal and potentially gold. Well, there’s a lot of guys that want to be on that team. There’s a lot of good players. You want to coach that team? Well, there’s going to be some hard decisions. And I think those I think if you have that perspective that it’s a challenge and and you get excited about it, you know, the the Rangers are going to take care of themselves. They’re all going to play well. they’re going to put him in positions to to play well. The trust factor should be there. Uh if it doesn’t work out, hopefully everyone’s mature enough and we don’t have a Tampa Bay Lightning situation in 2014. I I um and I remember we we talked about this last year or at least I did when Four Nations was coming up. I because I kind of equated it to the 98 Olympics in Nagono where Riptor and Leech went for Team USA and this was a down this was the first year without Messier. So, you know there you know Brian wasn’t having a good year, Ricky wasn’t having a good year and I remember wondering well will this be a new you know will the Olympics give them a new start? would be and it kind of wasn’t you know like you know they were okay but you know they they they didn’t star and then the US was you know was bad um and so like in the middle of last season was Adam going to be able to elevate himself out of the muck of the Rangers season and he didn’t right um but you know so I think that was kind of part of it um but I I do know he’s you know he is motivated and and um I also think that too not only Gabricov will help Fox. Um, but I I imagine there’ll be some substantial back pressure from the forwards this year where the D are just not left out, you know, left hanging out to dry, you know, trying to, you know, defend against oddman rushes and, you know, you can’t you can’t stand up on the line because there are turnovers and, you know, over the blue line. I I think that when we talk about defense, you know, the the responsibilities of the forwards are as important as as as you know, the six guys playing D, right? And and that couldn’t have been worse last year. That just could not have been worse. You know, the structure, the system, whatever it was, the effort, the commitment, whatever it was. Um, so I think, you know, from that foundation, Adam Fox is already improved from last year. 100%. Yeah, Troche said that it’s going to be very very different in the defensive zone this season. Um, but Brian, I’m curious what you think Gabrielle could do for Adam Fox, too. So, and not I think the world of Ryan Lindren and what he has put together for himself in terms of a career really a body of work, his fearlessness and and really just warrior. Yeah. that you can’t not respect that guy, but he’s limited and if he’s paired with a 65 right shot bruiser or even like a Luke Shen on the other like who know and they could shut down 18 minutes, whatever. I think Averov just knows how to play big boy hockey too. He’s played out in the west and done fine there. He’s not fun to play against by any means. He’s in the way. He does all the things you need to do. It’s just when you know like terms of building chemistry with a line or a D partner or whatever and we did it a lot with just you know me and me and Brandon Press was an example. We played a lot together and Torch liked having pairs and he’d mix up the lines but he’d only move one guy. Two guys would normally stay together for a while and that guy could kind of implement work in because two guys can read off one and adjust rather than everybody’s just kind of a tire. I think this guy, you know, with all of Adam Fox’s strengths and his hockey IQ and the things we just mentioned, what he might lack in terms of just physical ability, things he can’t even control, I think they complement each other well. He you know, Kaov is longer, he’s he’s bigger, and he can he can end plays. And that’s if you can end plays and then get it up to fours, then Fox can come and be that fourth guy in that’s the NHL now. It’s fourman rushes. If you have a three-man rush, you’re not scoring any goals. All right. Well, pivoting to maybe some roster compilation for the opening night. Are we making lines? No, no lines yet. Let’s talk about some bubble players. Please, no lines. Oh my god. I I can’t even bring myself to tweet out the lines in training camp cuz I’m like, they don’t really mean anything, especially in the first couple days. But we know you guys love to hear about that, so I try to do it anyway. Um, but, uh, I think some of the standout guys for me, or just not necessarily that they’re standing out in training camp, but that they’re, you know, in the conversation for for making the roster out of training camp, but Brett Bard, Brennan Oman, Connor Sheiri, Scott Maro. Um, I think everybody knows who I want to talk about. Um, UMass alum Connor Sheiri. Uh but in in reality, I had a really interesting conversation with him uh a couple days ago just about his AHL assignment last season with the Lightning and just how much his perspective really changed after experiencing that. I mean, here’s a two-time Stanley Cup champion who’s been in the league for years, hasn’t, you know, been in the AHL at all, and suddenly he’s getting sent down after signing this deal with the Lightning. and he admitted to me that at first he really didn’t have the best attitude going down. He was messing around a little bit, but once it became clear to him that he was going to be there for a bit, he really really tried to buy in and and kind of threw himself into being a leader in that locker room and lending a hand to all the younger players. and being around these young players who are just trying to break into the league, which he said to me he did 10 years ago now, uh really gave him a new perspective on his career and and what he’s trying to do here. So, um I think he’s got such a great attitude about it and he said that the Rangers were his number one choice and they were the first team that he asked for a PTO um and he scored a goal in the in the first game against the Devils. So, he looked he looked really good. He looked like an NHLer amongst AHLers, which I think was a big thing for him to prove to not only to the Rangers, but to himself. Um, I mean, Larry, what do you think about Connor She’s chances of making this team? I think he has a really good chance. Um, it’s it’s really interesting. Like, we can talk all about the communication and putting last year behind and and it’s all good. I I think they’re going to start from a a good base, but it’s a mar it’s kind of a marginal roster, right? And what’s so interesting to me is if you if you believe that Rempy, Carrick, and Edstrom H are are going to be the incumbent fourth line. And I think Matt Rempy is has had a terrific camp. Matt Rempy won over Mike Sullivan in Newark. That was my takeaway. So, so if if that’s the default fourth line, if that’s the default fourth line, there’s really only one or two spots, only one or two forward spots open on a on a really kind of margin, right? Um, right now it’s a, you know, it’s kind of a marginal, you know, maybe maybe a wildcard contender, you know, whatever. Um, and so there’s going to be that really that one spot on the left on the third line, right? Because I like figure that Parson is going to be the third line center. Yep. Radish will be the third line rightwing. And so there’s that one spot and then there’s the that 13th forward spot. Yep. Right. And so it’s it’s Connor Sheiri, it’s Brennan Hoffman, it’s Brett Bard, it’s Gabe Perau pretty, you know, pretty much and it’s Johnny Brzinski and Johnny. So are Brzin, you know, are Bridzinski and Sherryi competing against each other? um as as you know veterans as as a veteran who can be the 13th forward and you you know you won’t um you won’t regret you know scratching them you know three or four games in a row where you don’t want to do that with a guy like Bard or a guy like Hoffman certainly Perau so I I think that’s you know that’s going to be part of the dynamic and and will one of these young guys grab it you know Connor Sherry grabbed it on Sunday like he did he is an NHL player playing in an AHL game on Sunday. Y and and when you’re that you have to you have to prove that and he did. Right. So, so Connor Shiri made his statement on Sunday. He’s going to have to make it over and over again. But did Brennan Hoffman? No, he he didn’t. Did Brett Bard? No, he really, you know, he didn’t play, right? Or or maybe I don’t think I don’t know. I I don’t think he was Perau had you know Perau had a nice game but um one of these young players is going to have to earn the spot ahead of Sherry. Um they all other than Brjinski they all still are waiver exempt. So that you know so it’s not going to be oh if we if we put uh you know if we want to send Oman to Hartford he’ll be claimed that like that’s that’s not going to be an issue but you know do they want Sherry and Brzinski I like you know these are the next uh two weeks of training camp that will decide that the the other thing too is guys on PTO are guys are on PTO’s are so motivated you know They know how to earn a spot in training camp. They do. Sometimes it works out well. Like Rousin Fedenko came came to the Rangers on a PTO. He was terrific for a couple years. Um but I’ve also seen guys earn spots on PTO’s and within like 3 weeks they’re done. They just, you know, they put everything into making the team. They knew how to make the team. they they were going 100% when every other veteran is going 60 or or trying to work on things and and kids aren’t really, you know, in their class yet. So, you have to, you know, you you have to be careful, I think, too, you know, evaluating training camp performances. But listen, we’ve talked a lot about Connor Sherry and he has the trust of his head coach, right? So, so you have to factor that into the equation, too. And and not all, excuse me, not all PTO’s are created equal. There are guys who just get me to camp and all right, I’ll do you a favor. You can come to camp and we’ll get you a game. Maybe maybe you bring that intensity level up for those veteran guys and spook them. Or it’s like, you know, you you have a spot unless you’re a complete train wreck. We need to make a roster move. We can’t have another NHL contract. There’s so many things that go into play here. But you’re right, Larry, until you have that ink dried on that contract, you don’t have a job. So, you need to go out and earn one. And I’ve been there. I did that with Pittsburgh. And all the talk leading up to it, whether I mean, it ended up being true, but whether it was just to put my mind at ease so I could just try and focus on playing, um, I was assuming, but I I didn’t know. And it’s like, not that I wasn’t going to give everything I had. the last few training camps, I realized that, you know, the end of the tunnel was rapidly approaching. So, put what you have into this. There are different cases on different things. And and yes, it’s in a case like Sherry, he’s got some offensive upside. Did he learn a lesson last year? He played four or five games, he got sent down. I remember John Cooper saying, you know, this isn’t the last we’ll see from Sherry. And then it was pretty much the last they saw from Sherry because as his interview with with you said like he didn’t you know obviously he was probably just waiting for that call and when it doesn’t come it can be humbling. There’s still some there and I think the roster as constructed is I don’t know if you maybe you want to call it topheavy and that’s not necessarily a terrible thing if you see Ma and Arti and Lafrener play like he did all year like he started the year. These guys, if they carry the weight like that, what kind of players do you need for your bottom six? Because there’s two power plays. One plays 75% of the power play time, one plays, let’s say 90. It’s essentially one power play. So there’s your offensive guys. You need guys that can score five on five. You got the Will Coolies of the world. Maybe Connor She’s that guy. And then you have younger guys you need to implement that might need some puck touches on a power play. And it’s like this going to be a tough spot for a Gabe Perau to break through. Now he has high hockey IQ. Can he get adapted to the pace? He got a little taste last year. Who knows? But a guy like Sherry is he’s going to come in on the minimum. It’s not a huge commitment and you can wait. You don’t even have to sign him before the opening day roster. So, it’s it’s a fun story. He’s just going to have to keep proving it over and over and over like Larry said. Yeah. What do you guys say to those who feel like if Connor Sherry signs a contract and makes this team out of training camp that it’s taking away a spot from a younger player? He earned it. So, and this is what every coach says, you guys are going to decide the roster. You guys are going to decide which direction we go. You guys are going to decide where you play. They always say that, and it’s partially true, but in this case, I think it’s true. If he goes out and without a doubt earns it, the people at home that aren’t at every single practice or at every single game or understand what the actual team needs, they just want to see the young shiny toy come up and play. They’re always going to say that, but they’re always pretty much wrong. Always pretty much wrong. Sometimes they’re right, but most of the time they’re wrong. No, I And again, um, it is up to Offman. It is up to Bard. It is up to Perau. And in a slightly different sense, I I you know, I think that people kind of think Perau is going to start in Hartford. um that there’s really no reason to rush him. But I think, you know, Offman and Bard are different. You know, they they’ve been in the league, you know, right? So, it’s up to them to beat out Connor Sherry, you know, you like again, like I said, Connor Sherry is playing for his career. There’s there’s no doubt about that. But so’s Brennan Hoffman, right? So is Brett Bard. So, you know, if if if they if if if they earn a spot, they’ll get a spot. You can’t you can’t give a player a spot. And that’s it’s interesting to me uh that Brennan Hoffman, who did not have a good game on Sunday against the Devils. Um actually, I I talked to him this morning. Um he’s playing he’s playing against the Bruins on T tonight at the Garden. Um, and I said, “Well, you know, what did you think of uh what did you think of your game on on Sunday?” I actually said, “I I thought you were going to get a call from the league.” He said, “Oh, it was close.” Um, I thought he was get a suspension. Really? I I did. I thought he was going to get suspended for No hitting anymore. But anyway, hitting anymore. But anyway, I was close. That was close. No. So, uh, so borderline it was. So, Aman, so I said, you know, what did you think of your game? came and he said, “Well, I don’t like to curse, but it was effing terrible.” And that’s unawareness. I said, “Well, that’s a good good self assessment.” Know thyself. He said, “But I’m not going to let this game, you know, define like, you know, gonna so he’s listen, the Rangers are going to give him opportunity to make the team. It’s not like, oh, he played bad, you know.” Yeah, that’s it. Yeah. No, you know, he he’s going to get chances to make the team and he and he has to make it, right? Yeah. Well, I for one think that it is hard. I for one think that in the wake of Zack Jones’s departure, we need a little bit more UMass blood. So, I think Connor Sherry can really can really fill that for everybody, primarily myself. But it’s true that before there was Kale Mar, it was Connor Sheeri was the UMass guy to know cuz Quick it was such a blip on the radar for Jonathan Quick. Like who actually remembers that Jonathan Quick was but Conor Sherry I barely do but Connor Sherry was like you’d have to shoot on him. You should see that that hallway that they’ve got there at UMass. It is a shrine to Connor Shiri and Jonathan Quick, which I very kindly told Connor Shiri about how I used to stand there and stare at it for days on end. Um, all right. Well, that that sounds like a pretty good place to stop. Uh, we’ve got so much more to talk about. We are going to get into so much more in the coming weeks. We haven’t even scratched the surface. Haven’t gotten into plenty of players that we need to. So, make sure you tune in again next week. Thanks again for watching today. Give us thumbs up down below. Leave a comment. What do you think about the training camp roster battles? What are you expecting from the Rangers from this season? Let us know. Thanks for watching. [Music] [Applause] [Music]

The Rangers are back — and so is Up in the Blue Seats!

In this episode, Mollie, Larry and Brian dive into the fresh energy around training camp under new head coach Mike Sullivan They also discuss J.T. Miller being named the 29th captain in franchise history, what it means for the locker room, and why his fiery personality could be exactly what the Rangers need. Plus, a closer look at an important season for Adam Fox and some news and notes from training camp!

#nypostsports #sports #hockey #nhl #rangers #newyorkrangers #hockeypodcast

Subscribe and don’t miss out on all the key news, highlights, and interviews about the Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, Knicks, Nets, Rangers, Devils, Islanders and what’s buzzing in the sports world too!

Catch the latest news here: https://nypost.com/sports/
Follow The New York Post Sports on:
Twitter – https://twitter.com/nypostsports
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/nypostsports/