NOT EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGHT

So, Marty St. Louis got his wish and is now a NY Ranger. Frankly, I'm happy for him and his family which is what this is about. But I'm confused. What do the Rangers get out of this. Since it been a little while since trade deadline day my thoughts are quite clear here. I expected another all out "Going For The Cup" trade and picking up a 7th D man is NOT all out.

This means one of two things. Slats had a move planned and it didn't work out (my guess) or 2, this was his only planned trade. I don't think moving Cally for MSL straight up is a bad deal. My problem with the trade is that we didn't do anything else that makes us a contender. I know, that's easy to say this far out.......I can see the same stats you can and Marty has yet to put the puck in the back of the net. We weren't one guy away from a cup unless you added Marty and KEPT Cally. I also hate the draft picks given up. A # 1 in 2015 which is by all accounts a very deep draft is a hefty price.

Bottom line here is of all the trades Slats has pulled off, this one is his worst. That's not to say it's horrible. It's just that Slats has done much better and I think the Bolts win this one. Cally will resign somewhere this year and if the Bolts make the playoffs and win a round guess where I predict he will sign? The owner there has bucks and will spend them if he thinks he'll get a return. Cally will give a return no matter where he goes, that's his DNA. The likelihood of him resigning in NY is about as high me scoring in the 70s on a legit golf course. It could happen but I wouldn't want to bet my kids life on it.

I also haven't seen enough from this team to suggest they are peaking at the right time and will run deep to the finals. Again, it could happen. But I love my kids too much to bet 'em here. So I'm going to go with scenario number one. Slats had additional moves in mind but couldn't pull the trigger because the deals as asked for, cost way too much and would have left the Rangers unable to compete in future seasons or they didn't make the Rangers good enough to feel good about a finals appearance.

I no longer get the inside info that was once enjoyed here back in the heyday of Hockeybird. Living in Florida and not being at the rink every day tends to do that. It's OK. I'm now a fan like most of you are. I root like hell for my favorite team and enjoy the great hockey that is now available on our TVs like never before. But I'd love to know what Slats had in mind and why it didn't go down. The window for a NY CUP is not getting wider.......it's the other way around.

See ya for the playoffs

----}- Bird