Bantering Points: 5/9/25

Here are today's news and links:

From Blueshirt Banter:

Joe Fortunato and Eric Kohn chatted with Jon Basti, the head coach for men's lacrosse at Sacred Heart University, in the latest episode of the Blueshirt Bandwidth podcast (BSB)

Chris Feldman breaks down the Ottawa Senators in the wake of their first playoff appearance since the 2016-17 campaign (BSB)

Rangers News:

Mollie Walker believes that Mike Sullivan could be man to bring much-needed stability to the highly volatile position that New York's head coach role has been for several years (NY Post)

Neil Best details the over a decade long connection that Sullivan fostered with Chris Drury that resulted in his hiring as the Blueshirts' latest bench boss (Newsday)

Colin Stephenson heard from Sullivan about the state of the Rangers at Sullivan's introductory press conference (Newsday)

Vincent Mercogliano cites the need for Sullivan and Drury to work together as one cohesive unit as the factor that will make or break Sullivan's time on Broadway (LoHud)

Brian Abate points to Braden Schneider as a viable option for New York's top defensive pairing when play begins for the 2025-26 campaign (The Hockey Writers)

Anthony Russo makes the case for why Sullivan is not one of the much-maligned retread coaching hires the Rangers have opted to make in recent history (The Hockey Writers)

Stan Fischler ponders whether Mika Zibanejad selling his townhouse in the West Village could be a sign of the veteran forward being open to moving on from New York (The Hockey Writers)

Tom Urtz Jr. grades Alexis Lafreniere's performance in 2024-25 (Blue Line Station)

Around the NHL:

The Anaheim Ducks hired Joel Quenneville, last in the NHL resigning from the Florida Panthers in disgrace for covering up a sexual abuse scandal and writing a letter of recommendation for the sexual abuser he covered up to go work with high schoolers, as their new head coach (NBC Sports)

The first six players of the NHL's All-Quarter Century team were revealed on Thursday (TSN)

The Washington Capitals earned a 3-1 win in Game 2 of the Metropolitan Division Final against the Carolina Hurricanes to knot the series at one win apiece as the scene shifts to Raleigh for Games 3 and 4 (Sportsnet)