Podcast Ombudsman Report for Blueshirt Bandwidth Ep. 59

Welcome back to the Blueshirt Bandwidth Podcast Ombudsman Report. Each week, Charlie Vidal will listen to the latest episode of the podcast and correct the record on anything Joe and Eric get wrong. If you aren't already, you can listen and subscribe to the podcast here.

Larry Brooks Tribute

I have no notes on Joe and Eric’s tribute to Larry Brooks. Growing up in Westchester, I would flip through the hard copy of the New York Post on my kitchen table to Larry’s columns every week. And before the internet, podcasts, Twitter, and blogs plugged us in to the organization, he was how we knew what was going on with the New York Rangers and what we should think about it. Everybody who covers and writes about hockey and the Rangers is indebted to him for the standard of excellence that he brought to the job.

Numbers, Including 59

Although no player has ever worn number 59 for the New York Rangers, Jayson Megna wore 59 during his two year stint with the Penguins. You definitely do not remember the six games that he spent with the Rangers during the 2015-16 season, including the night he had a goal and an assist in a 6-2 victory over the Dallas Stars.

The discussion turned to goalie numbers, especially now that no Rangers goalie will ever wear numbers 30, 35, or possibly 31 again. The only Rangers goalie to ever wear a “weird” number was noted breaking news reporter Kevin Weekes, who wore #80 during the two seasons that he had the good grace to get injured and let the kid steal his job.

While Igor Shesterkin or Jonathan Quick might not be able to get away with shooting a teammate, let us not forget Alexandar Georgiev. His NHL career seems to be nearing an end with the Buffalo Sabres terminating his contract to allow him to go to the KHL. Georgiev did not shoot any teammates, but he did get into a fight with Tony DeAngelo after a game which spelled the end of DeAngelo’s time with the Rangers.

David Quinn

David Quinn was back performing head coaching duties and giving everybody PTSD while the Rangers played possibly their worst game of the season against the Detroit Red Wings. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Quinn didn’t give much of a leash to some young players. Scott Morrow only played 9:56, his least ice time by over 4 minutes in any game. Noah Laba also had only 10:34 of ice time.

Broken Leg Finishing Penalty Kill

Eric said that Brian Campbell broke his leg and finished the penalty kill. In reality, it was Gregory Campbell who did that in the 2013 Eastern Conference Final, hobbling around after taking a shot that broke his leg and ended his season in Game 3 on the way to the Boston Bruins sweeping the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Injured Miller vs Healthy Parssinen

Joe asked whether “[Juuso] Parssinen isn’t better than this injured J.T. Miller?” As much as Miller has struggled this season, all of the backwards looking underlying metrics for him are better than Parssinen’s.

Evolving Hockey has Parssinen with -0.1 xGAR and 0.0 xWAR, while Miller has 1.3 xGAR and 0.2 xWAR.

Per HockeyReference, Parssinen has a 42.5 CF%, while Miller’s is 51.4%.

MoneyPuck has Parssinen with a 43.7% Expected Goals %, while Miller’s is 51.3%.

All this mean’s that despite Miller’s struggles through injuries this season, he has remained a slightly above average NHL player. Granted, he is being paid $8 million per year to be a top line center, but Parssinen is a replacement-level player and a clear downgrade below Miller.

Gabe Perreault

Gabe Perrault played in all three of the Rangers wins against Nashville, Tampa Bay, and Columbus, notching an assist against the Predators. His final game was also his worst by GameScore, and he was mercifully sent down before being subjected to head coach David Quinn.

Jonathan Quick for Team USA

The idea of Quick being the third goalie on Team USA is an interesting one. In limited playing time, he has the highest Goals Saved Above Expected per 60 Minutes of any goalie who has played at least five games, ahead of candidates such as Jeremy Swayman, Spencer Knight, Joey Daccord, and Thatcher Demko.

One thing to keep in mind is that winning a gold medal will necessitate winning three games in five days, with the quarterfinals on Wednesday, semifinals on Friday, and Gold Medal Game on Sunday. The last time that Quick even played three games in five nights was all the way back in 2022, when he faced the Seattle Kraken, Arizona Coyotes, and Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 29, Dec. 1, and Dec. 3, going 1-1-1 while surrendering 12 goals during that stretch.

Mental Health of the Fans

When discussing the impact that the Rangers have on their fan’s mental health, Eric said “I have no idea what you’re talking about; now excuse me while I mainline some bourbon.” Eric’s default state is to be mainlining bourbon. To paraphrase the great Bojack Horseman, "What’s the difference between the consolation bourbon and the celebration bourbon? Nothing. It’s the same bourbon."