Vinny Prospal's Knee Injury Keeps Hanging over New York Rangers Like Black Cloud

Reports are coming out that Vinny Prospal will miss tonight's preseason game against the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden, due to a lingering knee injury. Rumors are also leaking that he may miss the start of the season as well, hurting the Rangers in more ways than one.

If you watched most of last season, Prospal was the heart of the team. He surprised everyone right out of camp, after signing a one-year deal shortly following a buyout by the Tampa Bay Lightning. He had instant chemistry with star winger Marian Gaborik.

It was aparrent, though, that he began to break down as the season progressed. That's very common for a player in the later years of his career, making it somewhat of a surprise that he was brought back this season, but strange signings are nothing new to general manager Glen Sather.

Fast forward to this season, and Prospal has had a difficult time participating in scrimmages and drills, and he hasn't competed in one preseason game. Yet he is still a lock to make the team, even though he hasn't had a good camp.

Prospal will have a spot on this team once he is good to go, but what kind of statistics will a player who is expected to be a top-six forward be able to put up with a surgically repaired knee? He will turn 36 midway through the season, and isn't getting younger.

The coaching staff is certainly concerned about Prospal's knee.

"I'm worried about that," coach John Tortorella told the New York Daily News. "You don't play any preseason games, and it keeps on coming back, sure, it's a concern."

If this injury lingers, it leave the coaching staff with a difficult decision. Do you keep someone on the team, say a Todd White, who really hasn't impressed this preseason just to fill the roster spot?

If Prospal seems significant IR time, who gets his assistant captaincy? Does he keep the "A" altogether? Is Marc Staal ready for more of a leadership role with the team, especially after signing his five-year deal?

Although I am a big Prospal fan, I don't feel he warranted another year with the team. Before his knee surgery, he put up big numbers playing alongside Gaborik. Post-surgery is a different story, where we saw his play and number decline to the point where he was removed from the first-line.

Part of me would have rather seen someone else have the chance to grab the slot that will be held by Prospal this season. With any one-year deal, though, he can be moved at the deadline.

What are your thoughts on Prospal? Should he have a top-six forward position locked in? Should he have been brought back at all? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.