Rangers Visit Carolina- Purchase Players, Leave Fireworks Behind

Happy Independence Day! While in camping in Maine last week, away from the wired world, no phones, internet, TV, or radio, I totally forgot about the Stanley Cup, which came down the final 7th game. Apparently the Carolina Hurricanes came out on top, which I found out a few days later by a merchant in a Bar Harbor tourist shop. Soo old news, I know, but on a related, not-so-old note, yesterday the Rangers picked up shot-blocking machine Aaron Ward, a key defenseman from this year's Championship team. Smart move Sather, to improve Blueshirts' shallow, injury- prone defense. This is the 2nd Carolina pickup in the past week, snatching up forward Matt Cullen on Saturday. Hopefully bringing these dudes on board will help the Rangers' locker room with some much needed leadership and drive to get beyond the first round next season.

Since we're on the topic of hockey, this weekend Hockeytown's captain, 41 yr. old Steve Yzerman, hung up the skates after 22 years, all with the Detroit Red Wings. Damn that's a long time. I never was a fan of Yzerman, mostly because of this pretty boy media persona, which has no place in hockey, but I have to say, he was a great player and leader. Here are some memorable stats for the 20 yr captain (longest running in NHL history):

6 consecutive 100pt seasons
Led Red Wings to 3 Stanely Cups
692 goals and 1,063 assists in 1,514 regular-season games
70 goals and 115 assists in 196 Stanley Cup Playoff games

Happy 4th! Try to keep your digits attached to your limbs!