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New York Rangers Blueshirt Beat 8/30/17: Players Return, Ratelle To The Rafters

It’s starting to feel like hockey season, as some players have reported to the New York Rangers training facility to get some skating in.

The king, Henrik Lundqvist, is one of those players, taking to the ice in his fancy new pads.  The guy going five-hole, Kevin Shattenkirk—the new No. 22—is looking real good in Rangers red, white and blue.

Jean Ratelle Finally Getting His Due

In a decision that took far too long, the Rangers have decided to retire legendary forward Jean Ratelle‘s number on Feb. 25, 2018.

Ratelle, who wore No. 19, is the franchise’s third-leading scorer, recording 817 points (336 goals, 481 assists) in 862 games in parts of 16 seasons. He was traded to the Boston Bruins during the 1975-76 campaign.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985, finishing his career with 1,267 points (491 goals, 776 assists) in 1,281 games. retiring following the 1980-81 season.

Is Help From Mother Russia On The Way?

According to a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Rangers and Las Vegas Golden Knights are among the teams with interest in KHL start Danis Zaripov.

Zaripov has been suspended by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for two years after testing positive for a banned substance, but the NHL is not accepting those results and has declared him a free agent.

Zariprov is a highly skilled winger that recorded 15 goals in 22 playoff games last season. While he’d add depth to the roster, I’m not exactly sure where he’d fit with the Rangers.

The only thing that seems to make sense is to bring him on to be a mentor to guys like Pavel Buchenevich. Otherwise, why not bring Jaromir Jagr back for his second tour of duty with the club?

More Rangers Links, News

  • Can Brady Skjei truly become a breakout player next season? ESNY’s Frank Curto has the scoop.
  • Matt Calamia from NYRangers.com caught up with prospects Vince Pedrie and Neal Pionk.
Neal Purcell has a tremendous passion for New York Rangers hockey and the sport of hockey in general. A graduate of SUNY Cortland in Upstate NY, Purcell coaches both a high school hockey team and a travel team in the winter. Purcell is also a part of a small family business in the Central New York Region.