BT's 2008/09 NHL Season Preview: The New York Rangers

st hombre on the roster now that Ryan Hollweg is off in Toronto while Aaron Voros will be a solid depth option, although he could thrive with more-enhanced responsibilities.

 

The Pock marks are cleaned up, but it's still pretty Redden...

The defense is a little bit of a new-look for the Rangers this season.

Fedor Tyutin and Christian Backman where shipped out to Ohio (namely Columbus) in exchange for some help at forward (which we already looked at), leaving the Rangers to skulk around free agency for some replacements.

One of the names that the Rangers attracted this offseason was the much-maligned Wade Redden. Over the past two or three seasons, Redden was made out to be the whipping boy for the Sens, and despite his commitment, he was turned into a villain and was left with no other option than to leave this offseason.

With a new lease on life in a brand new city, I think Redden may thrive on Broadway. Granted he may not be the 17 goal-scorer he once was, but in playing the point on the power play for the Rangers, he could easily hit 10 goals and definitely make his way back to the 40-point plateau for at least two more seasons.

Dmitri Kalinin is the other dip into free agency the Rangers took on the back end, and he’ll be interesting to watch if he can stay healthy. Although his shoulder and knee bothered him last season, he could bounce back and be a 30-point guy on the back end, and he’ll definitely prove to be a valuable cog in the Rangers’ defense.

Since coming to the Rangers in the midst of the 2006/07 season, Paul Mara has really seen his game step up. After never being a plus player his entire NHL career, Mara is a +7 in his Rangers’ career. Despite suffering some setbacks with his head and his shoulder last season, Mara really continued his surprising performance with the Rangers, and had a solid second-season in the playoffs. Although he hasn’t really come close to his back-to-back 40-point seasons (in 2003/04 and 2004/05) the past two seasons, Mara has really stepped up his all-around game.

Michal Rosival is also becoming a gamer for the New York Rangers. Rosival has steadily developed into a powerplay threat (18 points with the extra man last season), and has really put his offensive skills to good use for the Rangers. Because of his size, you could expect more from Rosival in his own end, but at the age of 30, it’s a crap shoot as to whether or not Rosival changes his ways.

For a rookie, Marc Staal did his name proud last season. Granted he only netted 10 points for the Rangers, but at 20, Stall did well to fit in at the NHL level in his first season, which is a hard thing to do for some seasoned vets. His past history dictates that his offensive production may see a bit of a boost (maybe to the twenty-point range) this season, but there’s no doubt that Staal is going to develop into a solid defender, and aid in the cause of his family to one day control the NHL.

Sidenote: I don’t mean control in the way the Sutters do. I mean control as in Gary Bettman better watch his back. Commissioner Erik, Deputy Jordan, and Marketing Director Marc are gunning for the head jobs. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Speaking of younger players, it’ll be intriguing to watch what happens with Corey Potter and Daniel Girardi. Potter put up a solid season with Hartford last season with 32 points and rating a +33. Potter also brings a level of grit with him (102 penalty minutes last season), but it’ll depend how mobile he can be at the NHL level and how efficiently he can move the puck.

Girardi (Former London Knight…SCORE!) has a ton of offensive upside, but still needs to work on his play in his own end and without the puck. The more he develops his offense, the bigger role he’ll see, but he’ll also have to put up with splitting time with some other solid names on the Rangers’ depth chart. Girardi is a quality powerplay option though, so if in doubt, he’ll see some time on special teams.

Brian Fahey is also going to be providing some good depth to the bottom end of New York’s defense, while Thomas Pock, who would have provided a bit of depth, was claimed off waivers by the Islanders yesterday.

 

So what does it all mean?

The Rangers are in a bit of a flux. Their defense and goaltending are solid, but it’s making sure they score goals that’s the iffy part.

If their forwards can gel and create a good rapport with each other, then the goals could come in bunches. If some of the key players suffer off years though, they could tumble all the way to fourth in the division.

I don’t think Scott Gomez or Chris Drury will let that happen though.

2nd in Atlantic

Bryan Thiel is a Senior Writer and an NHL Community Leader for Bleacher Report. You can get in contact with Bryan through his profile, and you can also check out his previous works in his archives.

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