Ranger re-sign slow footed Bickel to contract

Looks like the New York Rangers plan on holding on to the NHL fighting Major total this season again. The New York Rangers have re-signed former Gophers hack defenseman Stu Bickel to a modest contract.

NEW YORK (AP) --- The New York Rangers have added grit and experience to their lineup by reaching a deal with forward Arron Asham on the first day of NHL free agency.

A 13-season NHL veteran, Asham spent the past two years with Pittsburgh. He had five goals and 11 assists in 64 games last season. Overall, he has 92 goals and 206 points in 756 career games split between five teams.

Asham broke into the NHL in 1998 with Montreal, and has also played for the Islanders, New Jersey and Philadelphia.

Earlier on Sunday, the Rangers agreed to re-sign defenseman Stu Bickel, who had nine assists in 51 games in his first NHL season last year. New York had acquired Bickel in a trade with Anaheim in November 2010.

It’s no mystery why Bickel is playing with the New York Rangers - the slow foot defensman Bickel played minuscule minutes during the Rangers playoff push and was seen as a defensive liability at crucial times.

One of Bickel’s redeeming strengths is that he is willing drop the gloves and be a punching bag is probably the main reason Bickel was inserted into the Rangers line up this past season. Bickel was third on the Rangers in fights and dropped the gloves 12 times during 51 games for the New Yorks Rangers. Brandon Prust lead the Rangers with 20 fights but signed a contract with the Montreal Canadians.

Shanny has his work cut out for him part II

Arron Asham should be gone for the rest of the NHL playoffs for this cross check and then punch on Brayden Schenn. There was nothing wrong with Schenn's hit on Paul Martin, yet Asham attacks Schenn. If you don't like the way that Schenn hit your fellow teammate challenge him to a fight the old fashion way.

I think that the NHL will not look too kindly on this play by Asham; this will also give Brendan Shanahan a chance to make a statement because Asham is a goon and suspending him won't really affect the series that much. 


Penguins forward James Neal should have been thrown out of the game for this questionable blindside on Sean Couturier. The refs really blew this call and their inaction probably lead to this chain of events. That's right pulling of hair by Craig Adams, how very Vancouver Canucks like, Alex Burrows and Max Lapierre would probably approve of this act.

It will be interesting to see what comes out of the NHL's Department of Player Safety, this was a very emotional and hard fought game and I could see a few fines and probably a suspension or two for some of the offending players.  Loved the drama and the extra drama that came out of this game today.

Related articles

• VIDEO: Arron Asham Jumps Brayden Schenn In Penguins Vs. Flyers Game 3 (sbnation.com)
• VIDEO: Penguins-Flyers Fight And Aaron Asham-Brayden Schenn Hit (pittsburgh.sbnation.com)
• NHL Playoffs: Flyers hammer Penguins for 3-0 series lead (theglobeandmail.com)
• NHL Playoffs 2012: Aaron Asham Likely to Be Suspended for Brutal Cross Check (bleacherreport.com)

Jay Beagle vs Arron Asham

Check out this fight between former UAA Seawolve and Arron Asham. The fight was a decent one and was going well for Beagle until he caught a punch by Asham and was K.O., post fight  Asham caused quite a stir with his post fight antics (you're out motion). The after the fight antics by Asham lacked a bit of class. Asham has since apologized for the guesture. This is what Barry Melrose had to say about the fight, love him or hate him Melrose is right.

Washington Post --- “And the people that are against fighting, right there is what fighting is for. It was a message sender. There was a reason that fight happened. It wasn’t just violence. It wasn’t just two guys trying to put on a show. Asham was sending a message to the Washington Capitals, Beagle was trying to send a message from Washington to Pittsburgh. And right there you see the value of a fight in the game. It changed the game around for a while, Pittsburgh took control of it after that, ended up tying it up and it went into overtime where Pittsburgh lost. Protect the skilled players. The player is the deterrent. The referee’s not protecting the player, the player’s protecting players on his own team.”