Game On!

"C" what I mean?

Pardon the quasi-pun, but that's what I want Tom Renney thinking — right now! — when it comes to picking the man who'll be proudly wearing the Rangers "C."

I'd love to know what's in the coach's mind; what meaning he's giving to the first captain he'll choose as Jaromir Jagr's successor.

"There are half-a-dozen guys in our dressing room who could be captain," says Renney.

Fine. That's a politically correct statement, but, c'mon, we know who it WON'T be. Not Wade Redden (too new to New York), nor Markus Naslund (ditto), nor Brandon Dubinsky (too young) and, by NHL law, it cannot be a goalie. So, that takes care of Henny Lundqvist. Oh, yeah, even if by some miracle of manipulation, should Brendan Shanahan return to 33rd Street as an employee, it won't be him. No way.

Well that was easy; by simple logic, it HAS to be either Scott Gomez or Chris Drury. Or, as Newsday's incisive columnist Mark Herrmann suggests, why not a "C" and another "C?"

Suits me.

"Either one should be captain," urges Herrmann, "depending on which one is on the ice at the time."

In this man's democracy, why not? Uncle Sam won the Pacific War (WW II) not with one Admiral but with Bull Halsey and Chester Nimitz leading the way. Halsey-Nimitz; Gomez-Drury; I like that.

Alas, the NHL doesn't. A quick phone call to the league's Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly produced a pleasant thanks-but-no-thanks to the idea.

"A team is allowed only one captain," Daly advises, "not two co-captains."

Now that we settled that, who gets the gig?

The Maven's choice is Gomer, Alaska's gift to Seventh Avenue. Granted that he's viewed by some as perpetually auditioning for Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies, but who cares what others think? Scotty has matured and wearing the "C" will mature him even more. Of course, his light side ("I like to have fun; it's a fun game.") might cause management to look the other way, and if so, fair enough. But let's be honest, anyone close to the team over the past few seasons knows that there was no bigger clown than Captain (Ahem) Jagr, who had to be coaxed into the role.

(By the way, fans, WHO WOULD YOU PICK?)

And if Gomer is bypassed, he surely will get an "A" for Alternate Captain and be Vice-President of the clubhouse, which means that Drury will get the nod, and what's so bad about that? A year ago, he was the quiet man of the equation and admits that being a wallflower suited him to a "T" rather than a "C."

"I didn't want to step on anybody's toes," is Drury's reasonable explanation.

But with a year under his belt, the thoughtful, tenacious Connecticut native is well-suited for the role.

Gomez-Drury; Drury-Gomez. Either way, it's a healthy slate in an election year. My vote is for Scotty, but my gut feeling is that when the ballots are in, Chris will take the oath of office, with Gomer supplying the punch lines! And from that point on, it won't be a laughing matter.

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