NHL: New York Rangers Offseason Review, Roster Reaction, and My Final Prediction

Article Setup: Free Agency 2010 (First), Training Camp (Second), Preseason (Third), Roster Reaction (Fourth), Will the Rangers make the Playoffs (Last?) (Final Prediction for the 2010-11 season)

Free agency is the second most exciting part of the hockey season, behind playoffs of course. Players find new homes, fans find new team favorites (players), and general managers (GM) make names for themselves. An offseason can make or break an NHL general manager, and Glen Sather, the Rangers GM, had a “make” offseason.

Each summer since Glen Sather became the GM of the Rangers 10 years ago, fans of the Rangers wait for something to go wrong. Either Sather makes a bad signing, bad trade (which he usually does not), bad draft pick, or anything else that would not be approved by the Rangers faithful. In 2002 it was the Holik and Kasperaitis signings, in 2007 it was the signings of Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, in 2008 it was Michael Rozsival and Wade Redden, and the most recent free-agent blunder was Donald Brashear in 2009.

This offseason it was different for the Glen Sather. He made a lot of offseason moves, and none of them join the list above.

Free Agency 2010

One minute into free agency and Glen Sather makes a huge signing. It wasn’t a top-line center, it wasn’t another Marian Gaborik, and it wasn’t an All-Star defenseman. Martin Biron signed a two-year deal with a cap-hit of just below $900 thousand per season, making him Henrik Lundqvist’s new backup goaltender.

Last season the Rangers flipped through four different backup goalies. Starting with Steve Valliquette, followed by prospects Matt Zaba and Chad Johnson, and finishing with Alex Auld. None of those goalies were adequate backups for Henrik Lundqvist, so Glen Sather entered free agency determined to find one, and he did.

Glen Sather also re-signed center Erik Christensen to a two-year deal within the first minute of free agency. Christensen will likely play a similar role to what he played last season, and he will compete for the top-line center job.

Midway through the first day of free agency, Glen Sather re-signed veteran Vinny Prospal to a one-year contract, and he signed fighter Derek Boogaard to a four-year deal. Prospal will battle for a first-line center spot again. Derek Boogaard’s expectations will be to fight anyone that gets close to the Rangers superstar players: Marian Gaborik and Henrik Lundqvist.

Many Ranger fans disapprove the signing of Boogaard, but this was an excellent signing as it makes the Rangers a tougher team. Toughness was a major need last season, and now the Rangers have the toughest player in the NHL.

Glen Sather made a few small moves in July such as re-signing Brandon Prust, Dan Girardi, Brodie Dupont, Michael Sauer, and Kris Newbury. He managed to sign Ryan McDonagh and Derek Stepan to entry-level deals, and he signed Mats Zuccarello as well. He also signed winger Jeremy Williams, and made an excellent trade acquiring veteran defenseman Steve Eminger, in exchange for Aaron Voros and Ryan Hiller. The acquisition of Eminger added defensive depth to the Rangers roster, and he will likely become the Rangers seventh defender for this season. The Rangers made a small move a week later by acquiring defenseman Matt McCue, in exchange for Tomas Zaborsky.

On July 27th, 2010 Glen Sather signed enigmatic winger Alexander Frolov, to a one-year deal worth $3 million. Alexander Frolov will play a huge role on the first line playing across Marian Gaborik. With Frolov in the lineup it takes some of the stress off of Gaborik, and adds another scorer to a goal-deprived team. Frolov must have a good season if he has any chances of getting a contract from an NHL team, and if he meets Glen Sather’s expectations you can bet he will sign another deal with the Rangers.

Five days later Glen Sather got rid of two horrific contracts in a trade with the Thrashers. Sather sent Donald Brashear and Patrick Rissmiller to Atlanta in exchange for veteran center, Todd White. A day following the trade both Donald Brashear and Patrick Rissmiller were waived and bought out by Atlanta. Todd White will have to continue fighting for a roster spot during training camp.

Glen Sather’s most recent moves include signing Tim Kennedy, and re-signing Marc Staal. Center/winger Tim Kennedy will battle for a spot during training camp, and Marc Staal will continue as the Rangers' No. 1 defenseman.

A few more moves are expected in the next week, one being the signing of pro-tryout Ruslan Fedotenko. Expect that to happen sometime today.

Training Camp/Preseason 2010-11

This was an extremely important training camp for the New York Rangers. Not only to practice and get ready for the season, but because it gave the Rangers staff a chance to look deep into the organization, and discover up-and-coming stars within the organization.

Over the past few years the Rangers roster was pretty much set before training camp began. There was little to no battling for roster spots, and there was no depth within the Rangers farm teams to compete with other players.

This year was different.

The Rangers had several forwards and defensemen fighting for spots on the roster, and most of the prospects impressed immensely. The Rangers coaching staff got their first glimpse of prospects Derek Stepan, Mats Zuccarello, Ryan McDonagh, Dylan Mcilrath, Pavel Valentenko, Ethan Werek, and many more. Most of them played extremely well, and have very bright futures ahead of them.

Training Camp

For the first two days of training camp the Rangers had their conditioning part of camp. Some players impressed, while others failed to make it through John Tortorella's grueling skating sessions. Following the condition tests were three days of scrimmages. John Tortorella placed players on multiple lines, learning their strengths and weaknesses. His biggest move was placing prospect Derek Stepan between superstar wingers Marian Gaborik, and Alexander Frolov. This line was excellent throughout camp, and they were very impressive while playing together during preseason.

On defense, Matt Gilroy played very well, as did prospects Ryan McDonagh, Pavel Valentenko, Michael Sauer, Thomas Kundratek, and first-round pick from the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Dylan Mcilrath. Sadly, both Mcilrath and Kundratek were cut before preseason.

Possibly the most expected move of the offseason occurred a week into training camp. That move was Wade Redden being waived to minors, erasing his $6.5 million cap hit from the books.

Preseason

This is when the battles really began. With 38 players on the roster headed into preseason, there was much competition for roster spots, especially at the center position. Centers Derek Stepan, Artem Anisimov, Erik Christensen, Brian Boyle, Tim Kennedy, and Todd White battled to earn their spot on the roster. Stepan, Anisimov, Boyle, and Kennedy impressed in each game they played in, while Christensen seemed to struggle in the beginning of the preseason, and Todd White never really found his edge until the preseason finale Saturday night (in which he scored twice, on rebounds).

On right wing Marian Gaborik had an excellent preseason, scoring three power-play goals. Ryan Callahan also played well throughout preseason. Sean Avery also had a good preseason playing on the wing. Mats Zuccarello spent some time on the right wing before being cut by the Rangers, and seemed to play pretty well. A season in the AHL may be best for him, though, as it gives him time to adapt to the North American game. Brandon Prust also played well on the fourth line, and will likely continue to play as the fourth-line right winger for the New York Rangers.

On left wing, the Rangers had Alexander Frolov, Brandon Dubinsky, tryout player Ruslan Fedotenko, Derek Boogaard, Dale Weise, Tim Kennedy, and Brian Boyle. Frolov had an excellent preseason, as did Ruslan Fedotenko (who will likely land a spot on the team). Brandon Dubinsky had a pretty good preseason, while Derek Boogaard scored a goal for the Rangers (but did not get into a fight). Dale Weise was cut by the Rangers after a pretty impressive training camp and preseason. Tim Kennedy and Brian Boyle spent limited time on the wing, and mostly played center. But they were both very impressive while in the lineup.

On defense the Rangers had a lot of competition. Tryout players Alexei Semenov and Garnet Exelby, prospects Ryan McDonagh, Michael Sauer, Pavel Valentenko, sophomore Matt Gilroy, and veteran defenseman Steve Eminger all battled for spots on the team.

Both Alexei Semenov and Garnet Exelby were cut midway through preseason, while Ryan McDonagh, Pavel Valentenko, Matt Gilroy, and Michael Sauer continued to impress the coaching staff. Ryan McDonagh impressed with his shutdown style of defense, while Valentenko showed off his hard-hitting and powerful shooting skills to the coaches.

Sauer proved that he could play a good shutdown style of defense, while having the ability to join the rush every once in a while. Matt Gilroy regained trust from the coaching staff with his impressive play, and Steve Eminger played well in his injury limited preseason games. Tough decisions awaited the Rangers on both offense, and defense as final cuts approached.

Final Cuts/Roster

Yesterday afternoon the Rangers made what seem to be their final roster cuts before the season starts. The Rangers sent young defenseman Ryan McDonagh and Pavel Valentenko to the AHL, cutting their roster down to 25 players. It is expected that the Rangers erase two more players from their roster, Vinny Prospal and Chris Drury, by placing them on the injury reserve list; thus the roster becomes a 23-player roster. The Rangers must also sign Ruslan Fedotenko to a contract, which will most likely happen sometime today.

Final Roster

The opening roster should pan out to look something like this:

Right Wing: Marian Gaborik, Ryan Callahan, Ruslan Fedotenko, Brandon Prust

This is a pretty solid set of right wingers, starting with an elite goal scorer in Gaborik, an excellent two-way player in Callahan, a solid veteran forward in Fedotenko, and a rough fourth liner in Prust.

Rating: B+

Center: Derek Stepan, Artem Anisimov, Erik Christensen, Brian Boyle, Tim Kennedy, Todd White

A roster of six centers to start, likely to change to four or five once Prospal and Drury return. The Rangers have an excellent young star in Derek Stepan who will definitely put up a fight for the “Rookie of the Year” award, then you have sophomore Artem Anisimov who looks like he could have a breakout season. After those two you have utility forward Erik Christensen to play on any line needed, and Brian Boyle who seems to have found his physical game. The Rangers will also have gritty young forward Tim Kennedy who could play on the third or fourth line, and Todd White who will be on the roster until Prospal and Drury come back.

Rating: C+

Left Wing: Alexander Frolov, Brandon Dubinsky, Sean Avery, Derek Boogaard

The Rangers will have another proven goal-scorer in their lineup with Alexander Frolov to aid Marian Gaborik, followed by a solid two-way forward in Brandon Dubinsky. Sean “Agitator” Avery will likely play on the third line with Ruslan Fedotenko. The two of them really clicked during the preseason and training camp scrimmages. The Rangers bruiser Derek Boogaard will play on the fourth line, protecting the Rangers star players like Gaborik, Frolov, and Lundqvist.

Rating: B-

Defense: Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Michael Del Zotto, Michael Rozsival, Matt Gilroy, Michael Sauer, Steve Eminger

Both Marc Staal and Dan Girardi will play together as the Rangers top two defensemen, leading the defensive corps into the season. Following them will likely be the pairing of Del Zotto and Rozsival, but there is a possibility Rozsival plays on the third line with youngster Michael Sauer while Gilroy plays with Del Zotto on the second pairing. Steve Eminger will be the utility seventh defenseman. Note that the defense can definitely change before the season starts. Plenty of rumors floating around that the Rangers may move a defenseman, or bring in a veteran defenseman before the season starts. But for now that is what the Rangers defensive roster looks like.

Rating: C

Goalies: Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Biron

Henrik Lundqvist will probably play around 65 games this season, while Marty Biron will play the other 15-20 games. Hank may have to steal a few games here or there as he did last season, but it may be easier with more rest coming to him this season. Biron will have to be very good when he gets his chances to play. He looked pretty good in the preseason (except for the game in Ottawa) and he must play well during the season for the Rangers to make the playoffs.

Rating: A

Will the Rangers Make the Playoffs?

My answer to that question is…YES! The Rangers have improved enough, in my opinion, to definitely take a playoff spot. That being said, they must play better in the middle of the season. I’m tired of seeing them do excellent in October, great in March and April, but suck between November and February. If they can play with more consistency (the key word) they can definitely make the playoffs.

Team Rating: B

Season prediction: Sixth place in the Eastern Conference

Playoff prediction: Make it to the second round