Dysfunction, Coaching Drama And More Rangers News

1. Does anyone remember how coach Mike Keenan and GM Neil Smith did NOT get along in 1993-94; and wound up winning a Cup?

2. I have to believe that coach Peter Laviolette and his boss Chris Drury are not on the same page. And likely not the same book either. Nor will they win The Cup!

3. The easy view is that the players quit on Lavvy. My scout, Jess Rubenstein, disagrees. "If the players quit on anyone, Sir Rubenstein says, "it's Drury who pushed Barclay Goodrow out the door."

4. "That mattered," added Jess, "because Goodie was the Ranger who kept the locker room together."

5. One more from Rubenstein: "Trouba OK'd his deal to Anaheim because he had old friends in Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano and they told Jake that he was in a good place with Pat Verbeek."

6. At this point in time, any of the following Rangers may be jettisoned: K'Andre Miller, Chris Kreider, Reilly Smith and Sam Carrick. (The latter two are turning into lemons off the Drury Tree.)

7. If I was picking the next Rangers coach I'd go with the guy with the most NHL experience – Bruce Boudreau.

8. The difference between Boudreau and Lavy? Personality! BB is a "New York Kind Of Guy. (And if you're a native New Yorker like The Maven, you know what I mean.)

9. Considering all the abuse – mostly justified – that he's absorbed, Mika Zibanejad has been a "mensch" with the media. He'll face the music, the microphones and the menacing media.

10. The trick with The Magic Z is finding a team that would want him, considering M's age, $ and declining productivity.

P.S. If the Blueshirts lose to Boston and you need a laugh, try this Henny Youngman line: "I love Christmas. I receive a lot of wonderful presents I can't wait to exchange!"