New York Rangers Face Busy Summer Ahead

It's going to be a busy summer for the Ranger brass as they look to bolster a solid foundation in hopes of a run at the Stanley Cup come next June.

Let’s start in goal where it’s quite simple.

Henrik Lundqvist ($6.9 mil.) has merited three Vezina nominations in his first three seasons.

Behind him, Stephen Valiquette proved to be a very valuable backup. He was cheap and very effective when Lundqvist needed a spell. It only makes sense not to rock the boat. He made $617,500 last season, so give him a little raise and retain a loyal and talented asset.

Going into the 07-08 campaign, many predicted the Rangers' back-line to be their downfall. It turned out to be their strong point.

Marc Staal, Fedor Tyutin, and Dan Girardi are all under contract for next season, giving the organization a very solid core to work around. Paul Mara ($3 mil.) and Marek Malik ($2.5 mil.) should be gone.

Christian Backman proved to be a penalty waiting to happen and never gave the Rangers a boost on the powerplay. Unfortunately, he is under contract for $2.3 million for next season.

It appears as if Andrew Hutchinson, who the Rangers signed last summer to a microscopic $475,000 two-year deal, could fill the role the organization thought Backman could. He posted big numbers (18-46-64) in Hartford and could provide the organization with a powerplay quarterback until highly touted Bobby Sanguinetti is ready for the jump.

Finally, we come to Michal Rozsival, the team's de facto number one defenseman. Yes, the Rangers could go out and pursue RFA Joni Pitkanen or UFA's Jason Smith and Brooks Orpik as many are speculating, but none of the available defensemen this summer are head and shoulders above Rozsival.

He has his problems, but he is more dynamic than Smith and Orpik. While Pitkanen has an offensive upside, he is an RFA. The Rangers would likely have to make an enormous offer-sheet to someone not all that much better than the guy they already have.

I say sign Rozsival, try to move Backman and promote Hutchinson. Also, sign Jason Strudwick. He can't demand too much of a raise and everyone always raves about his leadership qualities.

The situation up front is very murky for the Blue Shirts. With the addition of centers Scott Gomez and Chris Drury last summer, the Rangers completely altered their dynamic, appearing to place the team among the league's offensive elite.

Unfortunately, Jaromir Jagr and the passing wizard Gomez didn't click. At all.

While Michael Nylander stickhandled through everyone on the ice three times a piece before setting Jagr up for his deadly one-timer the previous two seasons, Gomez plays a very North American, north-south style game.

He plays the game at a high speed whereas the success Jagr and Nylander enjoyed was due to their ability to slow the game down and play east-west, very European. Someone should have seen it coming but no one did and the Rangers paid heavily for it.

As Tom Renney said following the loss in Pittsburgh, if Jagr were to come back the only role he can play is the team's number one forward.

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