Somewhere in between addressing Madison Square Garden’s controversial use of facial recognition software, which has somehow spiraled into a threat to ban booze at the facility, Rangers owner James Dolan offered some high praise for his hockey team.
“The Rangers are really cooking,” he said on Fox 5’s “Good Day New York” on Thursday while sporting a scarf with the Rangers logo on it. “They’ve got a shot this year to win the whole thing.”
Dolan, who also appeared on WFAN’s “Carton and Roberts” show on Friday, went on to clarify that the Rangers aren’t a lock for the Stanley Cup, but it was clear just how pleased the 67-year-old owner is with the club.
While a majority of “Good Day New York” sit-down interview covered the recent headlines surrounding his company’s use of facial recognition software to bar ticket-holding attorneys from law firms involved with ongoing litigation against MSG from its venues, Dolan’s comments on the Rangers resembled those he made after crashing a January 2012 press conference.
“I’m very proud of the organization. I’m particularly proud of Mr. Sather,” Dolan said in 2012 of the Rangers’ then-general manager, Glen Sather, following a shutout victory over the Predators that lifted the team to an NHL-best 29-11-4 at the time. “Because all the way back to 2004 when things weren’t going so well and we had a lot of free agents in here and we made the decision to basically redo the strategy, Glen and I actually had a pact. I actually gave him something that I won’t reveal what it is.
“I said, ‘You can’t give it back to me until we win the Stanley Cup.’ And I think I’m getting pretty close to getting that thing back.
Former head coach John Tortorella, who is now with Flyers, didn’t exactly appreciate the endorsement.
“We’ve got to go about our business,” Tortorella said after Dolan relinquished the floor. “I’ve got an owner up here talking about a Stanley Cup. That’s a bunch of bulls–t.
“We’ve got to take it one day at a time.”
The Rangers deployed the same lines on Friday with which they finished their overtime loss Wednesday night against Toronto, meaning Jimmy Vesey was with Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad, while Chris Kreider skated with Vincent Trocheck and Barclay Goodrow.
