Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
It's the Boomer and Geo podcast from WFAN. All right, Boomer and Geo, coming to you live from the Bill Ford Tough Studio on the fan and CBS Sports Network. Always happy to welcome in one of the all-time greats. I feel like we say all the time on this show, he could be the next Mark Messier. We say that about a guy coming in from another organization to help a team win a championship.
Maybe he'll be the next Mark Messier. It hasn't happened yet since Mark Messier did it, but he's in studio with us. Of course, Stanley Cup champion, Hall of Famer, one of the greats with his brand, Game 7, which is the first brand partnership the New York Rangers have ever had on their jersey. Of course, this in the centennial season. Mark, welcome to the show. Good morning. How are you?
I'm doing great. Great to be here in studio live with you guys. It's been at least a year since. At least? Yeah, at least a year, you know, and he's on the other side now. He's with us. I'm with you guys. You know, I'll tell you what, Ben, working with that PK Subban, man, that's got to be interesting. Well, PK and I have become great friends.
Like any team, it takes a while to get the synergy and the chemistry going. I think we're doing a decent job there now, and we're having fun doing it. And PK is an interesting guy, but I love the guy. You know, I've worked with a lot of flamboyant guys before, guys that are just loud and just dress loud. But they actually do bring the energy every time that camera goes on.
He's very good at the job, and he's got an effervescent personality. He brings a lot of energy to the studio. He brings a different element to the studio because of his style. And, you know, he's obviously an ex-player. He knows what he's talking about when he's breaking down film and all that. So I love working with him, and I think the show is good because of him.
Yeah, he's not afraid to throw a little criticism out there.
Absolutely.
You, by the way, are a little bit more careful. I will say that you say what you've got to say, but you're Mark Messier. Boomer, let me tell you, because you're in the business yourself, the biggest fear that I had taking the job was I had to be critical of players. It goes against everything in my instinct to be critical of players because I was always protective of my players.
But I realized my new team is the audience, and I've got to be actually... very honest with my assessment, and if someone made a mistake, they made a mistake, and I have to point it out. It's just the way it is. It's nothing personal. It's just someone made a wrong decision. Let's test it out now.
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Chapter 2: What insights does Mark Messier share about the Rangers' current season?
Who's the softest player in the NHL right now? You know, the amazing thing is, I was going to ask you about who's the worst GM in the NHL right now, but I don't want you to answer that one. You know, by the way, have you seen this kid, Matthew Schaefer? Amazing. I saw his goal the other day when he went wide and then he scored again in overtime. The kid is electrifying.
You talk about bringing in a... a player to energize a fan base, an organization that had been struggling for some time. This kid is a legitimate player. The compete level is off the chain. He's literally bringing his team into the fight every game. The consistency that he's played with, and of course, like Scott Stevens used to say, no defenseman...
Up until they played 200 games, really knows nuances of the position, because it's the hardest position in the league to play. But this kid has just been amazing so far. You know, he lives with my son-in-law and my daughter, right? So I got a chance to meet him a couple times. And I've told Gio and the crew here, I said, I've never met an 18-year-old. When you're talking to him, he's 18. Yeah.
Okay, but he's been through a lot in his life. He lost his mom, lost his billet mom.
Yeah.
You would know more about that than I would in terms of how important they are in your life and your growth as a young man. I still have a hard time believing that he... And he's a young 18 right now. He just turned 18. Yeah, some... You know, you got to look...
you know, into the parenting of a kid that grows up like that, that is that polished, that mature, that well-spoken, that aware of himself coming into the professional league. I mean, that's, in my opinion, that's parenting. And, you know, God rest his mom, but, and, you know, obviously he's given a lot of credit, but what a,
What a selection for the Islanders, and what a player to build the team around. I know you and Wayne Gretzky, when you were that age, you guys were advanced in your skills, and you guys... I wasn't.
Wayne was.
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Chapter 3: How does Mark Messier view the chemistry between players on the Rangers?
Look, the Rangers have made big changes over the last year. There's no question. And when you bring in a new coach, you change the nucleus of the team. The chemistry, the core of the team takes years to build. And you can't expect that to happen overnight. They had a really good core there when they had some years of success. They weren't quite able to get over the top.
Um, but they changed the core and that is going to take some time. And then you bring in a new coach with a different philosophy of how to play defensively, offensively. Um, and they're, they're leaning on a lot of younger players now to, you know, play a bigger roles on the team and, It's going to take some time.
So I think, you know, for me personally there, I look at it, there's got to be some patience at the same time. There's not a lot of patience for Ranger fans, so it's a tough situation. You know, at game seven, I would have won game six of myself because that game six against the Devils still lives in my heart.
Chapter 4: What are the challenges of being critical as a former player in media?
one of the most amazing sporting and games and experiences I have ever seen. And I was there up close and personal, and it was amazing. You know, the thing about the Rangers is the passion of the fan base, and it never wanes. It never wanes. Like, you know, I think the Jet fan has been hit over the head with the idiot stick. The Met fan has been hit over the head with the idiot stick.
You know, even the Giant fan, they're not even showing up to these games anymore. You know, the garden's always full for a Ranger game. There is something about a Ranger fan and, you know, we're passionate. Sometimes we get idiotic too and we have unrealistic expectations.
I think the big miss, if I had to guess over the last four or five years, was the ability that they had to trade for Jake Gensel and they didn't do it. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I think we all hear hearsay of what could have been, should have been the opportunities. But unless you're really in there and knowing what the actual deal was. Look, I think Jake Gensel is an amazing player.
I think he's one of the most underrated players in the league. All he does is score wherever he goes. You know, he played some great players with Sidney Crosby and he's in a good position now in Tampa. But he ends up in the Eastern Conference with these teams and he kills the Rangers. That's all the more reason to get him on your team. Jesus God Almighty.
But getting back to the Ranger fandom, look, I felt that. responsibility and energy in my first game at Madison Square Garden. I'll never forget sitting there going, wow, this is really something. And the responsibility that I felt coming here with the expectations to try to win a Stanley Cup after, at that time, 51 years and the weight of it.
And I think the expectations that you get when you play in New York, and certainly for the Rangers, are one of the things that makes it so special. It's that fan base that cares, and sure, they hold you accountable, but to me, that is a positive as a player. I want to be in an environment that expectations are high, they're demanding. I'm not going to be let off the hook if I don't perform.
I have to be ready to play.
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Chapter 5: Who is Matthew Schaefer and why is he significant for the Islanders?
I have to put the work in. I have to put... You know, the time and to try to build the team around me, it's just part of playing in New York. And if that is too much, then so be it. But that's what New York demands. That's what the New York fans demand. And to me, I think it's one of the most important parts of any organization when they go on with Stanley Cup is that that –
That demand, that pressure, that accountability is there for teams and players. And players, if you're not doing it, you're going to hear about it. Now, I hear a lot from former NHL players when they're talking about their best teams. It's not just the chemistry on the ice. It's the chemistry off the ice and the room that works. And there's rooms that work and there's rooms that don't work.
Now, Chris Drury looked at this previous team in that room and said it's not working for some reason and did break it up. What do you know about that room that wasn't working for the Rangers and Chris Drury and why he had to do it?
That's a great question, and I don't have that kind of information because unless you're actually in the room and in the organization to understand the nuances of personalities and what's going on, I would only be speculating, so I can't answer that. I don't know if they broke the team up the year before because of that. I think it was when they...
decided to move on from some of the players like Kreider and that last year's team broke apart. And for whatever reason, I'm not going to speculate. I don't think they broke the team up. I think they broke the team up because they... probably weren't sure that they could get over the top with the players that they had at the time. And I think that's a different conversation. Sure.
And that's a philosophical conversation when you get into, you know, management and coaches and the decisions that they have to make in order, because their responsibility is to win. And when they're in that position, they have to make hard decisions. And,
And I don't envy them having to make those decisions because sometimes you've got to make moves that are unpopular that you think are the best thing for the organization. And only time will tell what those decisions are. You know, when you have the C on your jersey, that means something in your sport. I mean, that is all about your sport.
And it's always a special guy who wears it, much like yourself. Chris Drury wore it when he was here. And he basically, in my eyes, shivved the back of the captain that was here. And that was Jacob Druba. And then it took a while to get out from underneath all of that. And they're still fighting through all that. And now they have all these injuries happening. We got the Olympics coming up.
Unlikely that JT Miller, you know, of course, Adam Pox didn't make the team anyway and just got hurt again. Igor Shcherkin's not playing because Russia doesn't have a team in the Olympics. Maybe that's a good thing for the Rangers that they have that big break in there. And maybe when they come back, they can make a run right before the trade deadline.
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Chapter 6: What is Mark Messier's perspective on the Rangers' coaching changes?
I've got a clear vision. AG and I, like we said, we talk daily on this roster and the vision and this division. And with the assets we have moving forward, the draft capital, the cap space. I know we're going to continue to build and add good players to the team that are going to help us win. These guys love saying that they talk every day.
I mean, all these general managers and heads, they love saying that. They do. We're talking every day about this stuff.
Well, we talk every day.
Yeah, I know. That's what we have. We have to talk to the audience every day. We don't tell everybody we talk every day.
We talk every day. We're talking every day.
We talk every day. Even Aaron Glenn said, look, we're talking every day about this roster. Okay, well. Great. You're working together. You're GM and a head coach. I'm supposed to be impressed by this? It's time to level up. Level up and talk every day. And the buck stops here. Yes. And I take accountability and responsibility. And it's on me. I got an F. And they have a lot of draft capital.
Looking for a quarterback with arm talent. Oh, yeah, definitely. All those two. Stretch the field, make every throw. Make all the throws, yeah. That's right. He doesn't have a brain. He's got big hands, just in case it rains. So I played this for you earlier from Carmelo Anthony, and there's a reason why I'm playing it again.
This was on NBC, talking about what he has recently seen from the Knicks, specifically the Detroit game, where they didn't score much. They had 90 points, at least in today's NBA.
Yeah. The margins are very thin because without easy offense, our missed shots, I say our, the Knicks missed shots that they turn into runouts the other way. And when you just focus on Jalen Brunson and there's no movement, there's no offense, there's stagnation, and you're getting... I don't want to say get pumped, but you're getting pumped.
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Chapter 7: How does Mark Messier feel about the expectations of Rangers fans?
Especially in the way we have... But, no, it's just ebbs and flows of the season. When that is true, I don't think this losing streak isn't going to continue much longer. They'll play the Clippers tonight. While the Nets will take on the Magic, that game is on the fan with coverage at 720. St. John's beat Butler 84-70. Zubi Echevor at 18 points and five rebounds. Snooze fest.
Here was Rick Pitino hoping they will. I could say something, but I won't. I'm hoping that they would bounce back, and they did a nice job.
I told them all week. I said, look, I don't care what the outside noise says. I said, you've got to be like me. You've got to block it out. I said, I've got all the confidence in the world and every single guy in this basketball team.
And they didn't start out well last night. Marquette was playing really well in that first half, and St. John's turned it on in the second half for the win. You've got UConn and Providence tonight. Remember I played for you yesterday the Tom Izzo clips about Paul Davis getting ejected? So here was Izzo yesterday with an update on that situation.
I told you last night that I was going to call Paul. And the cool news is, at 6.30 this morning, Paul called me. And so he beat him to the punch. Fair enough. He then went to the podium. And I couldn't tell if he was crying or not. He was really bothered by this. Meaning Davis. He says, my bad on the whole situation.
I do want to... Take the time to appreciate you guys for giving me this opportunity. Yesterday shouldn't have happened, but today needs to happen. And I'm not up here to make any excuses. I'm up here to take accountability, to own it.
Now, what we never got an answer on is what in the hell he said to get himself tossed. to where one of the reporters actually asked him for some clarity.
It had nothing to do with the game, with Jeffrey Anderson. Next time he's wearing a game together, I mean, we said we're going to have a big hug. It'll be the first time I ever hug a ref. But like I said, he... He couldn't have been more amazing on the phone. So nothing towards anything, anybody. It was a bad day. I mean, this guy chirped to ref.
He's giving a press conference. Stephon Diggs is strangling. I just didn't play the football game. This whole thing. What are we doing? Just bizarre. I'd love to know what he actually said. Yeah, but that was a genuine apology. Oh, there's no doubt. Yes. He looked like he was beaten up and hadn't slept all night. Yep. So at least he stood in front of the media and did that. It was kind of funny.
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