RISS MILLING IN HARTFORD FOR THE SEASON

Patrick Rissmiller will spend the rest of the season with the Hartford Wolf Pack after the Rangers organization this afternoon sent the 30 year old forward back to Connecticut's capitol city. The good news is that he was playing very well for the Pack in the games that he was here putting up nearly a point a game putting up points in five of six games. The "bad" news is that Petr Prucha decided against coming to Hartford for  two week stint that would have given the Pack some offensive punch at least for a little while much like Nigel Dawes and Ryan Callahan did in seasons past.

While this is not necessarily a happy moment for the 6'4" 215-pounder, it's good news for Head Coach Ken Gernander who can use Rissmiller to generate some offense on this scoring deficient team.

The most important aspect of this move is that it clears approximately $650K of cap space. Steve Zipay of Newsday has been speaking all day that the Rangers should be looking hard at getting Mats Sundin in the red, white and blue. We could not agree more. Howlings would say getting Sundin in New York is critical but add one proviso, and that owuld be that they would still find a physical defenseman who can clear the crease. 

At this point anyway, Dan Fritsche will most likely remain in New York as the spare forward. Next up on the headed elsewhere list is likely to be Petr Prucha and his $1.6mm salary.

Here's the official release from the organization:

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that forward Patrick Rissmiller has been assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Rissmiller, 30, has appeared in two games with the Rangers this season. He made his Rangers debut on October 11 at Philadelphia after signing with the club as a free agent on July 1. The 6-4, 215-pounder also recorded seven assists in six games with Hartford (AHL) earlier this season. He registered two multiple-assist contests during his stint, collecting two assists on November 16 at Lake Erie and two assists on November 22 at Portland. Rissmiller tallied at least one point in five of six games with the Wolf Pack.

From today’s practice, everyone on the Rangers’ roster skated. The Blueshirts return to action tomorrow, December 3, when they will face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden (7:00 PM). Prior to the game, the team's morning skate is scheduled for 10:30 AM at the MSG Training Center. The Blueshirts have won their last six contests vs. the Penguins at MSG, outscoring Pittsburgh, 20-8, during the stretch. The Rangers are 4-0-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets this season.

In other Pack/Rangers related news, former Hartford/NY defenseman Thomas Pock has been put on and cleared waivers and could be headed to Bridgeport to join the Sound Tigers.

One other item out htere is that the bane of many a fan, and writer for that matter...well, hold onto your hats, because here it comes:

The American Hockey League announced today that Quad City Flames center Jamie Lundmark has been named the CCM/AHL Player of the Month for November. In 13 games last month, Lundmark tallied five goals and 14 assists for 19 points. In recognition of his achievement, Lundmark will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming home game.

Raise your hand if you're thinking this an April Fool's joke! It's not. What's next, Dale Purinton being nominated for a Lady Bing?

Comments

[laurie]

Dowzak's also been recalled from Charlotte. So which underperforming Pack defenseman gets the call up for the Rangers upcoming road trip? ;)

[Mitch Beck]

Potter will most likely get the call because, unless I'm mistaken, Fahey would have to pass through waivers and would more likely than not get claimed and half of his salary would count against the Rangers cap while Potter can move freely. There could be an outside chance that Vladimir Denisov could get the chance since he's probably been the most consistent of the Pack defense.

[elsie]

Dowzak wasn't in Charlotte for weeks, he's in Junior, and I don't believe he can be recalled - maybe Chris Murray was recalled? or Mike Busto? Also, I believe it was clarified earlier that Fahey does NOT need to clear waivers to move up and down: http://rangers.lohudblogs.com/2008/10/08/the-confusion-never-stops/.

[Mitch Beck]

Here's what we do now right now...I will check with the team and get back to you...according to the AHL transactions sheet, Dowzak was in fact returned to the WP from Charlotte. If you look at his stats at HockeyDB.com, you'll see that he spent one game in Hartford, four in Charlotte (where it says he is no longer on their active roster)and ten with Kelowna which is listed as his most recent team. What does that tell us? I haven't the faintest idea. Rather than making foolish specualtion, lets all agree not to jump to any conclusions or make any foolish speculation till we know for sure.

Remember, even if a defenseman is called up for this road trip, the Wolf Pack already have an extra who has sat the last two games in Ethan Graham so there could just be a paper move to make sure they have an extra in case someone gets hurt just as the Rangers are doing.

As for Fahey, elsie's link to Sam Weinman's report spells it out right from the Rangers cap guru that the team can move Brian Fahey up and down as they please. Therefore it is a safe bet that if one of the two will be called up to watch for the stands it will be either Fahey or Corey Potter.

Right now, neither has been playing particularly well. My guess, and that's all it is, would be that they will recall Potter so that Tom Renney and the staff can at least get a look at his progress and have some meetings with him to gauge for themselves where he's at. Potter has a long term future/plan with the team. It's highly unlikely that you can say the same for Fahey.

[Mitch Beck]

The official word from the WP is that the Dowzak transaction listing was in fact a mistake and that Dowzak is still in juniors with Kelowna of the WHL...

[Jess]

CHL rules state that once a player has been returned to his junior team then he can note come back to the NHL/AHL/ECHL until AFTER his junior team has finished his season.

At best do not expect Dowzak to return until most likely the AHL playoffs as Kelowna is a very good team in the WHL.