The New York Rangers and Free Agency: Who Should They Target?

The New York Rangers are quite a possibly a few free agent signings away from making a serious bid for the Stanley Cup. They were ousted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the conference semi-finals last season when a number of weaknesses within their lineup became glaringly evident.

The Rangers power play was ineffective in vital situations throughout the series and they also had inopportune defensive lapses, both of which cost them the series.

In addition to deciding which free agents should be signed, Rangers General Manager Glenn Sather needs to choose the fate of free agents from his own squad. The team's captain Jaromir Jagr, along with Sean Avery, Brendan Shanahan, Michael Roszival, Marek Malik, Martin Straka, Stephen Valliquete, and Paul Mara are all soon to be free agents.

It is already apparent that Sather is unwisely going to allow Sean Avery loose on the market. Straka, Roszival, Malik, and Mara also appear to be hitting the market. This will leave Sather and the Rangers with a number of roster spots to fill while improving the make-up of the team.

The Rangers are also going to have to pick and choose the free agents they are going to target while keeping in the mind the young talent they have in their own system.

The Rangers have defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti and quite a few young forwards who are set to make an impact in the 2008-2009 season.

With all of this in mind, who should the Rangers target?

It is obvious that they need a defenseman who can quarterback the powerplay. The two top free agents to fill that void are Wade Redden and Brian Campbell.

Redden's price, which could be around $7M, could not justify his signing. Even though Campbell could be demanding a similar salary, he would immensely help the Rangers by filling two voids: their need for a power play quarterback and a defenseman capable of shutting down the opposing team's best player.

However, if the Rangers believe that offensive defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti will fulfill his hype, the Rangers could target a cheaper alternative to Brian Campbell. They could look to sign John Michael-Liles, who wouldn't demand a contract larger then $3M and would be a nice stopgap until Sanguinetti is ready.

The Rangers also need to target a hard hitting defenseman like Brooks Orpik to the fill the void left by Paul Mara. However, Orpik may be overpriced. A better alternative could be Mike Commodore, who is essentially the same player as Orpik, but has less hype and should be cheaper. Either way, the Rangers need somebody who actually fully understands what "clearing the crease" means.

In addition to defense, the Rangers have holes to fill up front.

Even though players like Lauri Korpikoski and Artem Anisimov appear to be NHL ready, they still need a marquee forward who isn't Jagr to play with Scott Gomez. Assuming Jagr signs, he is not the future of the organization and the team needs a player who can mesh with Gomez for the next couple of seasons.

Marian Hossa has a lot of Rangers fans excited. The simple fact is that unless he truly desires to wear blue and takes less money, the Rangers will not be able to fit him under the cap while fulfilling their other needs.

Did I mention Sather needs to settle any differences he has with Sean Avery and just give the man his $3.5M? The Rangers record with and without Avery speaks for itself.

The Rangers have a lot of options to think about and at the moment nothing is certain. The one thing that is, is this offseason is going to determine the Rangers future for the next few years and it hinges on the decisions made by Glenn Sather.