Afternoon Bantering Points: Ranting and Raving on Madison Square Garden

So last week New York City mayoral candidate Christine Quinn along with the New York City council has told New York Rangers, Madison Square Garden Owner and blues band front man James Dolan that he has ten years to find a new home for both the Knicks and Rangers or GTFO. (Though she didn't really say it like that)

Then things got interesting, people on Twitter went bonkers, as if the Rangers had to move next month and that this was some kind of blind side attack from the city against MSG and the Rangers and are packing the Rangers bags for them.

That's...not exactly accurate.

Look, Penn Station is a disaster and really needs a renovation. MSG, while already undergoing a billion-dollar renovation, was going to move, or at least the Rangers were. They've always had terrible ice and players and teams have complained about it for years.

The ice is on the fifth floor, and because of the heat that one of the busiest train stations in the country produces the Rangers are lucky enough to not be playing water polo halfway through the second period. It's a fact of life that the Rangers were not long for the fourth iteration of Madison Square Garden (fifth if you count the Madison Square Garden Bowl). So, what is James Dolan to do?

Well...this is what a lot of people don't seem to understand.

There's always been a back up plan of sorts, across the street from Madison Square Garden (On West 31st and 8th Avenue to be precise) is the old United Postal Service building. This building was always going to be either the new Penn Station or the fifth MSG.

So...bottom line is that there WILL be a new MSG, and it will be overpriced and mostly subsidized by tax payer money because that's how these things are done, so calm down everybody.

On to the bullet points now

• Welcome back Mats Zuccarello! Also, this...forever.
• Now all Slats has to do is get Derek Stepan done and he has plenty of room this summer to get it done, both time wise and cap wise.
• After the summer though? Well, there could be Callahan and/or Hagelin going onto LTIR, a Brian Boyle trade (which I always thought would be a move made this offseason) or some other roster move to make the contracts fit.
• Also, I'd be surprised if Henrik Lundqvist goes into the Olympic break without a contract extension. I think both sides want a deal done, it's just making sure all the numbers work.
• So...how are you guys doing?