Today in the NY
Post, Larry Brooks noted that defenseman Pavel Valentenko would have
to pass through waivers to be sent down to the Connecticut Whale. This has sparked a debate about whether this
means that Valentenko might be pushed onto the roster in order to prevent the
team from possibly losing him from the organization. As Dave Shapiro pointed
out over at Blue
Seat Blogs this is not a new scenario for the Rangers as Michael Sauer was
kept on the roster to start last season over Ryan McDonagh and Pavel Valentenko
because of his waiver status. Unless the
competitors for the final defensive spots are even, then I am not in favor of
making roster decisions based on the waiver status of a player.
Personally I am not as high on Valentenko as many are
because of his lack of foot speed. Valentenko
certainly has an intriguing shot, crease clearing mentality and loves to
hit. The shot was what most fans fell in
love with last year, but the question is whether he can keep up with the speed
of the NHL game and with that in the balance should he be kept because of
waiver status?
The biggest loser if Valentenko is kept is likely to be
Michael Del Zotto because Tim Erixon has been so impressive this month and right
now is probably the leading candidate for the final pair spot. Steve Eminger is going to make the team
whether it be as the 6th or 7th defender on the club. That likely leaves the competition to Del
Zotto, Valentenko, Kundratek, Parlett, Bell and whomever else for the other
spot. With Del Zotto being free of
waivers the team could send him back to
the AHL to continue working on his game.
