The Maven is in the nickname market for Matt Rempe, and I'm officially welcoming ideas.
The Maven is in the nickname market for Matt Rempe, and I'm officially welcoming ideas.
When I sprung the plan on my author-buddy George Grimm, he wasted no time replying that he already had one for Rempe.
"How about 'Spider' because Matt has long arms and legs," Gorgeous George explained, "Besides, 'Spider Rempe has a nice ring to it."
I agree, and it's a good one for starters, but I'd like to hear from a few more entrants.
That said, there have been some wonderful Rangers nicknames from the past.
Although Max Bentley played only the 1953-54 season for the Blueshirts, his nickname remains forever: "The Dipsy-Doodle Dandy From Delisle." (That's Delisle, as in Saskatchewan.)
Another center, Don Raleigh, was nicknamed "Bones" not only because he was skinny but also because New York Journal-American hockey writer Barney Kremenko had been at Belmont Park for the races on the afternoon of a Rangers night game.
Barney bet on a longshot called Bag of Bones, and the nag won Kremenko a young fortune. That night at The Garden, Raleigh scored a hat trick, and that's when Barney gave Don his monicker, "Bag Of Bones." But since it was too long for headlines, "Bones" survived. Don Raleigh became "Bones" Raleigh forever.
Camille Henry was another skinny Rangers at 135 pounds in 1953-54.
What a natural, "Camille The Eel."
My favorite nickname was coined by longtime hockey writer Tim Moriarty of Newsday.
It was all about the worst goalie in Rangers history, Steve Buzinski, who managed nine horrifying games in the net during the 1942-43 campaign.
The war was on then, and Rangers manager Lester Patrick imported Buzinski from an Intermediate team in Saskatchewan. Riddled left, right, and sideways, he left New York with this amusing handle: "Steve Buzinski The Puck Goes Inski!"