OF ALL THINGS NY RANGERS, WORST UMPIRE, BIG BILL ... MORE

 Not surprisingly, it hasn’t taken the New York Rangers’ fan base long to point (middle) fingers in the wake of the team’s inability to reach the Stanley Cup finals … again. There’s even talk about dismantling the lineup that claimed the President’s Trophy for finishing the regular season No. 1 overall … and place an emphasis on toughness which has been lacking for the most part. Otherwise, how to explain the Florida Panthers’ ousting the Broadway Blueshirts in six games for the Eastern Conference title? … Most of the Rangers’ finesse players all but disappeared leaving the grunt guys like VINCENT TROCHECK and BARCLAY GOODROW to keep the Panthers from running roughshod over them … ALEXIS LAFRENIERE finally looked like he belonged, scoring a career-high 28 goals during the regular season while playing on a line with Trocheck and leading scorer ARTEMI PANARIN … both of whom required more defensive attention, leaving Lafreniere more room. Yes, he produced but what went unnoticed was the number of times he failed to take advantage of gimme opportunities.

With an estimated cap space of $12.1 million to work with, GM

 CHRIS DRURY’s first order of business will be to give 

goaltender IGOR SHESTERKIN a new contract with a major 

bump from his current $6 million-plus. Rumors have him 

demanding in the $12 million range, which would make the 28-

year-old Russian the highest paid puck stopper of all time. 

Asked about that during his exit interview Tuesday, Shesterkin 

smiled and said, “I don’t speak English.” … Now this: JACOB 

TROUBA played the entire three rounds of playoffs with a 

broken ankle, which accounted (at least in part) for the Rangers 

captain’s terrible performance … and leads to the question: 

Who allowed it to happen? For sure, a selfish Trouba deserves 

most of the blame. But, did coach PETER LAVIOLETTE

 know and still allow the over-priced $8 million defenseman to 

suit up – and screw up – game after game? When he had ZAC 

JONES waiting in the wings as a healthy scratch the last 20 

games? The native Richmonder passes the puck better, skates 

better and isn’t a turnover waiting to happen like Trouba … The 

top defensive pairing of ADAM FOX (knee) and RYAN 

LINDGREN (ribs) had to play through injuries … And, 

defensemen K’ANDRE MILLER and ERIK GUSTAFSSON

 never would be described as tough … therefore easy marks for 

the in-your-face Panthers … So much for the take-no-prisoners 

Big Apple media. They let Laviolette off the hook Tuesday by 

not asking about Trouba … or Jones who appeared in only 31 

games, none after April 7. “Your defensemen were worn out, 

coach, yet you kept Jones on the bench? Why?” It would have 

been as simple as that … If Drury buys the notion the team isn’t 

tough enough, why not make a deal with Tampa Bay for winger

 TANNER JANNOT? He’s big, rough … and on the block. 

Ranger fans will recall he took a one-sided decision from

 RYAN REAVES, then considered a big-time enforcer, when 

NY played Nashville a few years ago. Jannot subsequently was 

dealt to the Lightning this season for a multi-player package 

that included five draft choices … Now comes word the 

Rangers (among many others) might be interested in Ottawa’s

 BRADY TKACHUK, who would come at a very high price 

but would be worth it. Dream on!

……. How unusual is this? A sideline reporter who seldom 

resorts to the mundane. First star off ice in NHL Cup 

playoffs has been EMILY KAPLAN, ABC/ESPN/TNT 

inquiring mind. She has gotten more than routine responses 

from the coaches, especially Florida’s PAUL MAURICE, by 

asking more than typically routine questions … Kaplan better 

be careful. Keep it up, and next thing she knows, she’ll be 

drummed out of the sisterhood … Of course, all you have to do 

is put a microphone in front of Maurice’s mouth and stand 

back. He’s a soundbite waiting to happen. 

……. Oh, darn! ANGEL HERNANDEZ is retiring after three 

decades of establishing himself as major-league baseball’s all-

time WORST umpire. Everyone knew he was bad … but the 

advent of teams being able to challenge calls only proved how 

awful Hernandez really was. Examples are numerous … There 

are several documentaries about Hernandez available for your 

viewing pleasure on YouTube … including the original “The 

Most Hated Man in Baseball” that ESPN’s “PAT McAFEE

 Show” updated with “Finally Can’t Hurt Us Anymore” and 

attracted 145,000 views in two days.

……. Frankly, I never understood the TV appeal of BILL 

WALTON who died last week at 71. He was too far out for this 

old man ,,, and for some reason he seemed more artificial than 

genuine to me. Guess I was wrong, given all the applause 

Walton has received since going to the great beyond … Well, 

not from everyone. There’s a talking head in Boston who didn’t 

like him and became a minority of one by saying so. Big 

mistake! FRED TOUCHER (I know … I never heard of him 

either) has received considerable grief. Unfortunately, he 

sounds like someone who gets his kicks by hacking people off 

… He bragged about how he once hung up on Walton, whom 

he called a “phony hippie,” during an on-air interview in 2010. 

He also did likewise to such other celebrities as CHIP 

ALEXANDER. Who? … OK, him I know … long-time 

sportswriter for the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer. His 

primary beat nowadays is the NHL Carolina Hurricanes … and 

Toucher didn’t like hearing Alexander, easily one of the dying 

profession’s good guys, disagree with him about something or 

other that couldn’t have been too important for, after all, it was 

only about sports.

.

Until next time ...