I never had the opportunity to say my goodbyes to Mark Messier (because I procrastinated in getting this site up), but I just wanted to take a moment to pay my respects. I think Mike Richter summed it up best January 12th, when he said:

"We are here to pay tribute to probably the most complete athlete to ever put on a pair of skates."

That really says it all. As a Ranger fan, he did everything and more for our team and city. There will never be another player, or more specifically a Ranger like him.

On a less serious note, I noticed something rather funny. During the retirement ceremony, while raising the #11 banner to the ceiling, the camera panned to a smiling Mike Richter, Eddie Giacomin, and Rod Gilbert, the only three Rangers to have their numbers retired prior to Messier. The image of these three men, reminded me of the final scene in Star Wars Return of the Jedi, where Luke Skywalker looked at the ghosts of Yoda, Darth Vader, and Ben Kenobi. Maybe I'm geeking out hard here, but admist 30 minutes of sniffling (yeah i got emotional) it provided a much needed comedy break.

This year has seen the retirements of Messier, Hull, Lemieux, Francis, MacInnis, and Stevens to name a few....as these greats wind down their careers, they do so as the future stars of the NHL continue to blossom. Kovalchuk, Iginla, Heatley, Crosby, Ovechkin, Staal, Lundqvist, Svatos, Phaneuf, and Prucha (feel free to add more) have all given us a lot to smile about. To think that we will have these kids around for the next 15-20 years is truly exciting. Look at what they have shown us so far and imagine what they will do when they mature as players.

The young guns of the league are truly prepared to carry this NHL on their collective backs. If there was ever a time for the NHL to market itself, and its product, this is it.

Last Nights Scores:

Montreal 5 at Philadelphia 3
Carolina 4 at Florida 3
Washington 1 at Pittsburgh 8
St. Louis 3 at Dallas 4
Edmonton 6 at Anaheim 3

Game of the Night:

Dallas at Colorado 9:00 PM

Will Marty Turco ever lose a shootout? Dallas has gone six for six now in the Shootout, which means teams that play them better beat them in regulation.

The Avs are have started to turn it around thanks to the play of rookie Marek Svatos, and even Hjeduk has started to play. David Aebischer will be looking to drop the gloves again tonite....probably not, but man that would be funny. Enjoy the game!

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh