Podcast Ombudsman Report for Blueshirt Bandwidth Ep. 87

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.

Episode 87

Only one New York Ranger has ever worn number 87, and that of course was Donald Brashear. As Joe mentioned, Brashear cheap-shotted Blair Betts with a very late hit to the head in Game 6 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal:

That was the final action of Brashear’s time with the Capitals, as he was suspended six games and the Caps declined to dress him for Games 6 or 7 of their epic showdown with the Penguins in the following round.

That summer the Rangers signed Brashear to a two year deal, although he played only 36 games and was sent to Hartford in 2009-10 before being traded to the Atlanta Thrashers and eventually bought out.

Eric and Joe’s Travel Schedule

Eric and Joe blamed their inability to remember that Sean Avery had a big personality on their travel schedule. It is 4:36 a.m. on Monday morning, and I am currently sitting in an Uber on my way to catch a 6am flight while I write this Ombudsman Report. But Joe and Eric have the difficult work travel schedules.

Note: I did not travel for work the week that I screwed up the Rangers draft positioning

Wojtek Wolski Last-Second Winner

On March 4, 2010, Wojtek Wolski scored a game winning goal with 22 seconds left against the Colorado Avalanche in his very first game with the Arizona Coyotes after being traded from the Avalanche:

There is absolutely no way that Joe was watching random Coyotes games back in 2010. If you actually were, then I hope you got the help that you needed.

Ryan Gropp, Sixth Best Forward?

While looking back at the problems with the Rangers drafting and development over the years, Joe mentioned that in 2015 the Rangers had Ryan Gropp rated as the sixth best forward in the draft when they drafted him in the second round with the 41st overall pick. Gropp was the 28th forward drafted and never played in a single NHL game. There were 29 forwards who were taken in that draft who went on to have over 100 NHL points, including nine who were selected after Gropp: 

Caleb Malholtra Playoff Heater

Joe mentioned that Caleb Malholtra’s draft stock may be rising thanks in part to the playoff heater that he was on. After posting 84 points in 67 games for the Brantford Bulldogs of the OHL, Malholtra had 13 goals and 13 assists in 16 playoff games during the team’s run to the OHL’s Eastern Conference Final.

Is Brett Howden Good?

As has been discussed many times on this show, Brett Howden is on a generational heater for Vegas this postseason. Joe asked the question, “is he having an amazing playoffs or is he good now?” Howden had 22 points in 58 games this season and now has 13 goals in 19 games this postseason (through Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final). Howden is shooting at 36.1 percent this postseason. Looking under the hood, per Evolving-Hockey, Howden had 0.58 xGAR per 60 this season, which would’ve put him above Mika Zibanejad and below only Fox, Panarin, and Lafreneiere among regular Rangers this season:

Ethan Belchetz

Joe pronounced his last name “Bell-shits.” It is “Bell-chess”:

Potential Fifth Overall for 11+15 Trade

While floating the idea of the Rangers waiting to see who’s still available before trading the fifth pick for the 11th and 15th, Joe joked that somebody might get drafted and not put the jersey on, or “put the jersey on, but not too tightly.”

Football fans around New York might recall Eli Manning being drafted first overall by the San Diego Chargers (RIP) in 2004 and refusing to put on the jersey because he had already demanded a trade:

Manning was immediately traded to the Giants for a package centered around Philip Rivers, and while Rivers debatably was a better QB in the NFL, it’s safe to say that the trade worked out well for the Giants:

Here is the South Park clip that Joe mentioned where Randy Marsh comically breaks the news about their grandmother dying to the Russian girls:

Team Relocations

Every time new NHL markets are discussed, Joe is adamant that Atlanta should receive a team next. This is surprising because Joe hates Charlie, and Atlanta getting an NHL team would mean that Charlie’s current home town would get a team. It is shocking to see Joe advocating for something that would help Charlie see more NHL games without getting on  a plane (typically at 6 a.m.) or driving four hours to Nashville.

(Note: Raleigh is six hours from Atlanta, and the Predators are the closest NHL team.)

While discussing which team should be moved out of the tri-state area, both Eric and Joe seemed to think that the Devils are the least popular of the three. Using Google Search data to measure popularity, you can see that the Devils are approximately 25% more popular than the Islanders, with the exception being the Islanders run to the fake COVID Conference Final in 2021:

Erik Christensen: Beer Leaguer

Joe mentioned Rangers legend Erik Christensen doing as he wished in a beer league game against him in college when discussing how much better than us professional athletes are. Christensen played 132 games across parts of three seasons for the Rangers, and is best remembered for being stopped on the first attempt of the shootout in the season ending loss to the Flyers on the last day of the 2010 season: