What The Rangers Should Do Abo...

The key to future Rangers success is not the acquisition of Mike Sullivan but rather the dumping of costly, mediocre Mika Zibanejad off the Blueshirts roster

Mind you this is not breaking news. We all know this with the exception of Mika's agent.

Blue Collar Blue Shirts publisher-columnist Sean McCaffrey has been saying this in plain English for months. And in case you missed his English, here goes:

"THE RANGERS CANNOT WIN WITH Z IN THE LINEUP!

Rangers high command now includes MSG boss Jim Dolan; GM Chris Drury and coach Mike Sullivan.

Reasons for the Mike Curse abound but they start with his ridiculous salary and minus-22 rating; and then proceed from there. What matters is not McCaffrey's headline but the HOW of it.

So far Mika has sidestepped any attempts to give him the boot because he owns the China Wall of contracts – otherwise known as the NO TRADE CLAUSE.

Chris Drury – the Rangers' SANTA CLAUSE – doles them out like candy on Halloween. Name a core Blueshirt and chances are he's a Clause character. It comes free of charge with the uniform.

Up until now Mika & Mates have been using the NHL's version of the "Get Out Of Jail" free card with conspicuous success but there's a breakthrough ahead,

Working as diligently as a microbe hunter, The Maven's indefatigable walking encyclopedia, Jess Rubenstein has produced "The Great Outing Mika Plan" as a gift to new coach Michael Sullivan. Take it away, Jess:

"For starters, Mike has to demote Z to the fourth line (where Matt Rempe used to live) and limit him to five minutes a game. That should persuade Z to drop the no-trade thing.

"However, Z might not take the hint, so Sully may have to go right to the 'closer' – bench him altogether and let him rot in the press box until he springs his release with three little words: 'Okay, San Jose!'"

Once Mika surrenders, the rest comes easy. Co-conspirator Chris Drury would have a list of seven likely destinations; all teams that need to reach the NHL's $70.6 million lower Salary Cap limit.

None of the following would ask the Rangers to retain any salary. In fact with a little dose of "chutzpuh," Drury could ask for a third round draft pick or even a lower one.

"My advice to Drury is to start with San Jose," says Rubenstein. "They're at $43.3 million now, but there are plenty of other team possibilities."

Others include: Columbus, $40.3; Anaheim, $35.1; Calgary, $34.6; Chicago, $30.3; Islanders, $29.0; Philadelphia, $28.4.

To make this brilliant plan work, Drury requires strength. The next time he signs a Ranger to a deal Chris has to say as softly as possible. NO MORE, NO TRADE CLAUSE!

He should be very close to a door when he utters those deathless words because if the agent gives him any guff, Drury should open the door and softly say:

"GOODBYE, PLEASE!" And, hopefully, Good-Bye, Mika!!