NHL Free Agency 2012: Who Will Fill New York Rangers' Top Needs?

The New York Rangers are looking forward to the NHL free agency period coming up on Sunday, hoping to improve upon a team that made an unsuccessful run at the Stanley Cup last season.

After three hard-fought series, the Rangers fell to the New Jersey Devils in what was an exciting but disappointing finish to New York's season.

Changes need to be made on this roster if this team hopes to improve and the Rangers know that. Here are some potential solutions to some of the Rangers' current problems going into next season.

Zach Parise

The Rangers had issues scoring goals last season, and thanks to an elite goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, New York was able to hide their issues until the playoffs.

Coach John Tortorella's squad failed to finish within the top 10 in the NHL in goals scored during the regular season. While it's possible for the Rangers to win like this and make the playoffs, they must add some fire power if they want to win a Stanley Cup.

Parise is an offensive juggernaut and the type of player that would add the spark and experience necessary to make a difference on this team. Parise scored 31 goals and tacked on 38 assists with a team—the New Jersey Devils—who are never known for their offensive prowess.

Being the focal point of the Devils' offense, Parise is always the center of focus for opposing defenses. But if Parise joined the Rangers, there would be more than enough talent around him to take the pressure off and allow him to thrive even more so than he did in Newark all these years.

Martin Biron

Biron will most likely return to the Rangers barring something unforeseen, but that doesn't make it a certainty. Still, Biron was a very important cog in the Rangers machine last season.

Backing up Lundqvist, Biron had 20 starts (21 games in total) and posted a 12-6 record as well as a goals against average of 2.46. His ability to stop the puck made it easy for the Rangers to rest their starting goaltender on a more regular basis and not miss a beat.

Despite having a slightly worse year than he did in the 2010-11 season, Biron is still an attractive back up in this league and at age 34, Biron is an ideal candidate to be a backup with the Rangers and be happy doing it.

With how dependable he's proven to be the past two seasons, the Rangers would be crazy not to bring Biron back for a third straight season.

Matt Carle

With four goals and 34 assists last season, Carle could end up being a great boost to the Rangers' roster for a few reasons.

Though he wouldn't add too much toughness to their lineup, he would be a perfect candidate to fill out New York's defense. Carle is about as dependable as they come and the Rangers could certainly use that consistency.

Carle is always on the ice having played in every game the past two seasons and he missed only two games the year before that.

On the power play, Carle gives New York a great passer to help them improve what was one of the worst power plays in the NHL last season. With a decent shot to boot, Carle is just what the doctor ordered to heal the Rangers' ailing power play.