Examining the Rangers

August 19, 2008   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

Believe it or not, it’s only a couple of weeks till September and that means training camps are right around the corner. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the new look Rangers minus Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan and Czech buddy Martin Straka:

FORWARDS

C Scott Gomez

C Chris Drury

C Brandon Dubinsky

C Blair Betts

C Dan Fritsche

LW Markus Naslund

LW Nigel Dawes

LW Aaron Voros

LW Fredrik Sjostrom

LW Patrick Rissmiller

RW Nikolai Zherdev

RW Ryan Callahan

RW Petr Prucha

RW Colton Orr

Analysis: It’s tough to distinguish whether Glen Sather’s biggest acquisitions bringing in the talented but enigmatic Russian Zherdev and Swedish vet Naslund will workout well replacing Jagr’s scoring and Shanahan’s intangibles. Straka also was a key cog though was hurt a lot of last season. It could come down to the maturity of Dawes and Callahan, who will be asked to pickup the scoring load. The current roster also excludes former first rounders Lauri Korpikoski and Hugh Jessiman who both could be in the mix this Fall.

DEFENSE

Wade Redden

Dan Girardi

Michal Rozsival

Marc Staal

Dmitri Kalinin

Paul Mara

Analysis: The addition of Redden to log big minutes and anchor the power play is solid but is the former Senator in regression following two subpar seasons? Is he really worth the overpayment? He’s not exactly going to make anyone forget Marek Malik in terms of going into corners. Where is the physicality exactly outside of the budding Staal? This blueline while solid with Girardi still around while Fedor Tyutin is in Columbus via the Zherdev deal could be banged around. Figure Michael Sauer and Bobby Sanguinetti to compete for the final spot.

GOALIES

Henrik Lundqvist

Stephen Valiquette

Analysis: The strong point of the Rangers should continue to be the play of three-time Vezina candidate Lundqvist, who still needs to become a little more consistent in net. If he can start strong and not have a lull, the team should be in good shape contending for the Atlantic crown. Meanwhile, the capable Valiquette provides solid relief and gives the Blueshirts an edge over the rest of their rivals when Lundqvist needs a break.

Final Thoughts: Overall, it remains to be seen just how improved the Rangers will be. They still have a little over $2 million in cap space if they want to bring Shanahan back or make a late play for Mats Sundin, who according to the Post’s Larry Brooks is quite interested in reuniting with countryman Naslund on Broadway. However, if that comes to fruition, Sather would have to unload one of his D with possibly Rozsival going elsewhere to free up enough space to fit ultra talented veteran pivot in. If he did come, Drury would most likely shift to left wing and play with Gomez.

Still, you have to look and wonder if the blueline is tough enough to really take that next step forward and compete seriously for tops in the conference. That remains to be seen.