Robert Sabo/New York Daily News
Chris Cosentino does his best John Tortorella impressions to prepare the Rangers.
Keep coaching, Chris.
That was the Rangers? message to Chris Cosentino on Friday at their Greenburgh training facility, after NYU?s club hockey coach put the Blueshirts through several days of grueling on-ice workouts to prepare them for training camp.
Captain Ryan Callahan presented Cosentino, 30, with a Rangers jersey signed by all of the players to thank him for temporarily filling the skates of John Tortorella, who was forbidden from working with his club until the league and players? union finalized the new collective bargaining agreement.
?I did my best Tortorella impression to make sure they were ready for him,? Cosentino, 30, joked on the phone with the Daily News on Saturday. ?It is such a great group of guys. They made it so much easier for me. I?m just grateful for the opportunity to help the team.?
Cosentino, 30, who lives with his wife in Queens, grew up on Manhattan?s Upper East Side and played his high school hockey at St. Mary?s in Manhasset with Matt Gilroy, the defenseman on contract with the Rangers? AHL affiliate who will be in camp this week. Cosentino then played in college at Iona and SUNY-Geneseo and eventually coached in the New York Apple Core Junior Program before taking over at NYU, where he is now in his third season.
He forged a relationship with Tortorella this summer after attending the coach?s first annual Rangers Dog Walk in Riverside Park. Tortorella then visited NYU and spoke to Cosentino?s players.
?It was something I?ll never forget,? Cosentino said. ?I learned so much from him.?
No kidding. Cosentino said the Rangers told him ?they were looking for a workout,? and that?s what he delivered ? just as Tortorella surely will when camp opens this week.
?He pushed us hard,? a tired Brian Boyle said Thursday after skating. ?Quick pace. Quick tempo.?
SKED ON THE SKIDS
The NHL was supposed to make team schedules public early Saturday and announce that training camps were on for Sunday, but by mid-afternoon, those plans were up in the air because the league and its players? union still had not finalized a document known as a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to seal the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
The MOU is a legally binding document that will govern the game until lawyers can draft the full text of the new CBA. Teams cannot open training camp without the MOU complete.
While the full schedule had not been released, it is confirmed the Rangers will open the 48-game regular season 7 p.m. Saturday in Boston, then return home to host the Pittsburgh Penguins 7 p.m. Sunday at the Garden.
DEL-Z DAY
Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto remained unsigned as of midday Saturday. The 22-year-old restricted free agent does not have arbitration rights, so he will remain property of the Rangers if he does not sign. But he obviously cannot participate in any team activities ? training camp, practices or games ? until he inks a deal.
BYE-BYE BRIAN
A visibly flustered Brian Burke told reporters in Toronto Saturday afternoon that his firing as Maple Leafs president and GM on Wednesday ?was like a two-by-four upside the head to me.? He said he did not receive a satisfactory answer from Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment ownership about the curious timing of the move, just days following the resolution of the NHL lockout ? in which Burke had attended several negotiation sessions.
Burke won a Stanley Cup as GM of the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 after rebuilding the Vancouver Canucks, but during his four years in Toronto, the Leafs went just 129-135-42 and never made the playoffs. Still, this move clearly was about the new MLSE ownership alliance of Rogers and Bell communications companies distancing itself from a brash, outspoken and blunt personality. Burke?s longtime assistant Dave Nonis will replace him.
?I?d like to go work for a team that doesn?t get sold next time,? said Burke, who wants a new GM job ?tomorrow? if it becomes available. ?I?m not changing.?
LATE-NIGHT LUNDQVIST
The Rangers? star goaltender played the Guns N? Roses classic ?Sweet Child O? Mine? on his guitar Friday night on NBC?s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. No word if Henrik Lundqvist practiced for his appearance by serenading the Vezina Trophy that he won as the league?s top goalie last season. Go online to the Blueshirts Blog to watch video of the appearance.
Source: http://feeds.nydailynews.com/~r/nydnrss/sports/hockey/~3/H4wd1DSMlqk/story01.htm
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