[RANGERS: Goalie Dan Blackburn, 22, retired, citing permanent nerve damage in his left shoulder from an injury sustained in 2003. New York's first-round pick in the 2001 entry draft, Blackburn hurt his shoulder before the start of camp in 2003 and missed the 2003-04 season. His condition appeared to improve after surgery in March 2004, but never went away. Blackburn had a 20-32-4 record and 3.22 goals-against average in 63 appearances with the Rangers. He had a .894 save percentage.] Danny has worked extremely hard over the last two seasons to do everything in his power to get his shoulder to a point where he would be able to play, ... We are all very disappointed for him, knowing the effort he put in and the tremendous future he had. |
A lot of the prices for the defensemen that were going to be free agents at the end of the year seemed to be pretty expensive. I wasn't willing to give up a first- or second-round pick to get one. |
Al is one of the top goaltending prospects in hockey and we are extremely pleased to have signed him, ... We feel this will be a big step for Al in advancing his development. He has been working extremely hard this summer and we are looking forward to seeing him on the ice at training camp in September. |
Anson Carter is a highly skilled, versatile player who we feel will play a very significant role on our team this season. He is a very intelligent player who brings a strong presence and leadership qualities. |
Danny has worked extremely hard over the last two seasons to do everything in his power to get his shoulder to a point where he would be able to play, ... We are all very disappointed for him, knowing the effort he put in and the tremendous future he had. |
Danny has worked extremely hard over the last two seasons to do everything in his power to get his shoulder to a point where he would be able to play, ... We are all very disappointed for him, knowing the effort he put in and the tremendous future he had. He is an exceptional athlete and a courageous young man. |
Danny has worked extremely hard over the last two seasons to do everything in his power to get his shoulder to a point where he would be able to play. We are all very disappointed for him, knowing the effort he put in and the tremendous future he had. |
Describe it? I don't think it's possible, ... It's one of the worst beatings I've taken in my career. It seemed like everyone stood around and was waiting for Jagr to win it for us. |
He didn't have superstar written all over him, but he had the desire to play, |
He fits the bill of a puck-moving, power-play defenseman that can get the puck to our forwards and can also rush the puck. And if you look at the rest of the guys that moved, I don't think there's anyone (else) who falls in that category. |
He was a good friend to every guy who ever played this game, young or old. He was one of those dynamic personalities that you never see very often in sports. He loved life and he loved to play. |
He was a great guy. He was one of those dynamic personalities you don't see very often in sports. He loved life, loved to play, always enthusiastic. He was just a terrific guy. |
I don't think you ever go into a season admitting anything to anyone that you're going to win the Stanley Cup, you're not going to make the playoffs or you are going to make the playoffs. I knew that they were going to be a good team as soon as we had them together in training camp. |
I feel really reluctant to talk too much about it because this is only the first step in what we are trying to do and what we are trying to accomplish. There are more goals to achieve and there is a bigger picture ahead of us. |
I get pretty emotional, too. Maybe because I'm a little bit older now I'm able to control it. |