1. The Maven is waiting for some shrink to explain how and why – when Alexis Lafrenière was on the stairway to stardom – he wound up on the escalator to oblivion.
2. Could it have been the pressure of his fat contract? Nah! Could it have been Peter Laviolette's confusing coaching? Nah!
3. But it could have been Big Al looking around the room and seeing a few Fat Cats enjoying themselves and figured, "Hey, why not me?"
4. A Pittsburgh beat reporter named Dan Kingerski had some nice things to say about Mike Sullivan to my ex-NHL.com editor Jim Cerny. "Sullivan is not the gregarious team-builder sort of guy. He is a tactician, a disciplinarian with some players," said Kingerski on Forever Blueshirts.
5. Also, "Sullivan is a coach who is forever prepared." Kingerski, by the way, believes that Sully is "The perfect coach for the Rangers."
6. Once upon a time Gerard Gallant was the perfect coach for the Rangers. Ditto David Quinn and a fella named Lavvy.
7. Some Rangers fans I know still love K'Andre Miller's game; but as a forward not a D-man.
8. For those who believe that it will be a Promethean task to fix the Rangers defense, check out the Edmonton Oilers. The Maven puts the Oil blueliners on a par with Florida's.
9. The decline and fall of the Rangers defense coincides with the decline and fall of Adam Fox from Norris Trophy-winner to Never Again a Norris Trophy-winner.
10. Guess who's the most forgotten Ranger from the gosh-awful 2024-25 squad? Maven's choices: Chad Ruhwedel, Zac Jones and the ever popular Louis Domingue!