1. Of all the endless Rangers faults following the Captain Jacob Trouba trade, the club's constant lack of emotion troubled me the most.
2. What's next most troubling was the fact that Igor Shesterkin was given a bye – from fans and the media – for a perfectly mediocre season which caused the team to miss the Wild Card. He's overrated and way-way overpaid!
3. The craziest thing about Mika Zibanejad is that he appears – make that APPEARS – to try hard yet winds up with a plus-minus of minus-25. Appearances can be deceptive.
4. Ever-underrated genius Sean McCaffrey was the first journalist to finger the Rangers flaws last October in his Blue Collar Blue Shirts blog.
5. Among McCaffrey's – alias The Young Maven – predictions was the team's downfall or, as Sean told me, "They (Chris Drury) did nothing to improve themselves during the off-season."
6. The Pointing Finger Brigade these days includes Brian Boyle appearing on MSG Networks as analyst. Double B pointed out that Adam Fox was the culprit behind the failed power play.
7. My old buddy – former intern and very wise hockey man – Ashley Scharge actually beat all the reporters on Cal de Haas's disappointment with his endless benching.
8. Ashley schmoozed with de Hahn weeks ago and Cal told him about his disenchantment. The defenseman said it was OFF THE RECORD and Ash honored the request. (Good man, Scharge.)
9. When The Maven graded the Rangers the other day, I forgot about Vincent Trocheck. Reader Bob Rummerman of Queens was the first to point out my omission; and thanks, Bob. Here goes:
10. Trocheck gets a plain C. He was one of the core guys whose game deteriorated this season; and it hurt. That said, he's definitely my choice for the captaincy.
11. Let's not get too crazy over Matt Rempe's two-point game in Florida. The Champs were playing in three-quarter no-injury time which was why the contest was poorly disguised as an exhibition game worth two points.
12. Back to Rempe; he's one of many reasons why Laviolette should be canned. The coach should have realized last season that he had unrefined gold in The Skating Giraffe. What Rempe needed was confidence-building ice time.
13. Because Rempe is the tallest and heaviest NHLer does not make him a best fighter or – for that matter – a good fighter. Future Advice, Bud.
Ditch the fisticuffs and focus on being a solid forward. It's healthier and smarter for you and the team.