Painful as it is to say, there’s nothing hate about NYR ’14

MONTREAL —

St. LOUIS

I’d probably deny this on a witness stand, but with the New York Rangers one game away from the Stanley Cup Finals, (yea, the NHL calls it the Final, but it’s the Finals), I find it almost impossible to dislike anyone on this hockey team.

But it's really made this way because of one player — and that is Martin St. Louis.

What this guy has done — after losing his mum in her early ’60s — is nothing short of inspiring.


The guy may be one of the classiest to have ever played our great sport. And it’s never more evident than when he agrees to let Regis Pierre McGuire interview him in the post-game.

And even beyond St. Louis — there is but one Ranger I really don’t like (he goes by the nickname “King” and if he ever wins his last game of the season, I might just change that view). And that’s simply because this team, in many ways, is built a lot like the teams we Devils fans have rooted for over the years.

No super-super stars.

Just a compilation of good guys who live for and love the game we all love, too.

And a goalie who seems to be on a mission, of sorts.

So yeah, as I push 40, I stand here almost humbled. Maybe I have early-onset senility. Maybe it’s just that as guys who I love and admire — like my Uncle Mugga and Bob Gelb — get older, the chances of them getting to see one beyond ’94 are becoming slimmer.

One thing is for sure — unlike 1994, if the Blueshirts win a Stanley Cup, I won’t be sulking for days on end with intense anger. Instead, somewhere, there will be a smile — a genuine smile. Plus, I mean, what’s better than hearing a pro-Rangers crowd loudly chanting “Marty,” even if it’s not for the right Marty, right?

And then, once all that’s done, I can finally turn to what I've been waiting for since April — and that is, what Uncle Lou Lams will do in the off-season to ensure our Cup No. 4.