Derek Stepan muggin' it up in The Broadway Hat following a 2 point night in the Rangers 3-0 win over Winnipeg. Half a second after G. Money smacked that 2 on 1 pass into the back of the Jets' net in the 3rd, my dad txt me: "Step is a Beast right now." The sophomore has finally awoken from his early season slumber and in the last 4 or 5 contests has come into his game. Not only is he seeing the ice remarkably well, but he's understanding the pace of the game also. What I mean by that is he's developing that sixth sense all great playmakers have (Richards has it, Leetch had it, Del Zotto has it in him) where they can not only anticipate a passing lane opening, but also execute a pass when the opponent's sticks and skates have cleared that lane. Early on Step seemed out of sync: passes were getting blocked, heavy-footed through neutral zone, key shots were missing the net (that terrible 5 on 3 PP against Edmonton). He had the skills, but at times he looked like he was struggling to keep in with the flow of the game. Now, as Joe Micheletti stated, he's allowing the play to come to him, and when good playmakers do that, the game appears to slow down around them. The pass through the crease he slipped Christensen on Saturday night and his patience to wait out that 2 on 1 with Gaborik Sunday night until the defenseman's stick was out of reach before lasering a tape-to-tape assist demonstrate his growing comfort level on both the PP and the Blueshirt's top line.
Has anyone noticed Al Trautwig's on-air lobbying to change the name of The Broadway Hat to...The Broadway Fedora? He mentioned it a few games ago, then after the Winnipeg game he brought it up again and asked Maloney and Micheletti if he had their support--they gave it. Now here's the thing: Why? Why try to co-opt something that the Ranger players created for themselves, Ranger fans love, and Ranger media embrace. Why change it, Al?
Look, here's Lundqvist clearly stating that the hat was brought in Europe, and it's called The Broadway Hat. And he'd like to wear it every game. Simple, right?
On top of that, here is a Twitter and Facebook page for The Broadway Hat. These are made by enthusiastic fans who recognize a little something new and unifying in their Blueshirts and are running with it.
I'd figure with how much MSG network and Hockey Night LIve push social media this season (having players answer tweets in between periods, reading fan tweets during the postgame) they'd at least be aware of either of these 2 pages and maybe Trautwig would just let a good thing ride, but he keeps hammering away during the broadcasts trying to get his stamp on what the players created. I'm not gonna say it's selfish, but I will say it's coming off as dickish.
I have no real problem with Trautwig in general--I know he's a long time, passionate Ranger fan, and I know that because I am a long time passionate Ranger fan. He's a good master of ceremonies for Ranger game coverage, even though I know he's probably as big a Knicks fan. I hate basketball. I only have one love. I'm grateful for Hockey Night Live because I love hockey, and need my fix of Blueshirt post game analysis and in all honesty I can't afford the NHL network or the Center Ice Package. But here's the thing: when it comes down to it, players need to come together on their own and gel and trust each other and fight for each other and root each other on and pick each other up in order to unify as the Blueshirt team we all want them to be. When Torts comments 'we got a good room in there, good guys in the room', I believe him. You can see this Ranger organization building off of last year's identity-emphasis to continue to be an even more cohesive unit. Whether it's blocking shots on the penalty kill, or yielding to the Garden crowd and taking Sean Avery back in, or Del Zotto Prust and Boyle's postgame handshake or The Broadway Hat--we are definitely seeing a unification of Ranger enthusiasm. Hell, even the official team website was changed to Blueshirts United.
So why try to change any of that? Why knife in there and mettle? As The King said: "we're calling it the Broadway Hat." Nuff Said.
