Rangers Announce Roster Tomorrow's Preseason Opener vs Devils

The New York Rangers announced their roster for tomorrow night’s preseason opener in Albany and there are a few surprises as to who is attending.  The talk this week had been that the Rangers were going to send a very youthful team to Albany and there are certainly a number of young players, but which NHL players making the trip is interesting.  Andrew Gross over at Ranger Rants put out the following roster:

Goal: Henrik Lundqvist, Cam Talbot

Defense: Michael Del Zotto, Dan Girardi, Brendan Bell, Steve Eminger, Tim Erixon, Dylan McIlrath

Forwards: Sean Avery, Brandon Dubinsky, Dale Weise, Andre Deveaux, John Mitchell, Erik Christensen, Artem Anisimov, J.T. Miller, Christian Thomas, Ryan Bourque, Shane McColgan, Carl Hagelin

The surprising ones making the trip would have to be Lundqvist, Girardi, Dubinsky and Anisimov.  Christensen, Avery and Del Zotto also have NHL experience, but each of them is fighting to make the team, so sending them is actually a benefit to them in getting another game to make an impression.  While those guys are looking to secure their spots, future guys like McIlrath, Miller, Thomas and McColgan are attempting to leave impressions with the coaching staff and build towards their Junior seasons.  The main prospects with a chance to make the team are all in this game as Erixon and Hagelin are playing with Bourque also having an outside shot.

Rangers Interested In Paul Mara?

Yesterday Andrew Gross reported that the Rangers are interested in adding a veteran defenseman to the roster and today Katie Strang at ESPN NY adds a familiar name to the list of possible additions.  Strang is reporting that the Rangers, along with the Islanders, have expressed interest in Paul Mara joining their respective clubs.  Strang has the following quote from Mara’s agent Matt Keator:

"We've talked to both teams and they seem to be interested in him."

Bringing in a veteran is not necessarily a bad thing for those concerned with it going away from the youth movement because not all young players are actually ready.  If Staal and Sauer are healthy than I think the Rangers have enough in house with Erixon and Eminger at least to fill out the third pair.  If either of those projected top 4 defenders are not ready than the Rangers could likely use another defender without forcing Del Zotto or Valentenko into the lineup. 

Whether Paul Mara is the right guy to bring in or not is a different conversation entirely.  While Mara is a very good presence in the locker room and has a history with Tortorella both in Tampa Bay and New York it is unclear how much he actually has left in the tank on the ice.  The most intriguing part of Mara for me is how good he was playing with rookie defenders on the third pair while he was here and helping them adjust to the NHL.  That piece of Mara and how he conducts himself does intrigue me about a potential reunion with the Rangers.

Will Boyle's Strong Camp Start Quell Doubts About One Year Wonder?

The New York Rangers 2010-11 season featured a number of players who had career years.  Brian Boyle was certainly one of those as his 21 goal, 14 assist season shattered not only any individual season he had before, but his career totals.  This summer Boyle was rewarded for this performance with a three-year, $5.1 million deal.  The length of the deal was somewhat surprising because of the vast disparity between the Boyle of last season with the rest of his career.

Along with the differential between last season and the rest of his career was the disparity between his first half and second half performance.  During the first half Boyle had 18 goals and 9 assists in 52 games while hitting the wall and only recording 3 goals and 5 assists in the final 30 games.  That decline made expectations for Boyle’s contract to be one of a short length to make him “prove” that there was no fluke in his early season performance.  The Boyle contract was the only one that received anything other than rave reviews for GM Glen Sather amongst the numerous important contracts the organization had this summer.

If the first few days of training camp are any indication of the version of Brian Boyle that the New York Rangers are going to get for this contract, then Glen Sather is going to be made to look like a genius.  In the first two days of scrimmages Boyle has been a dominant force and his offensive form of the first half of last season has been on display with three goals.  Offense is not the most critical component of Boyle will bring to the Rangers, but to justify his contract there will need to be a decent amount of contributions from him.  Having a player like Boyle who can provide upwards of 20 goals from a third or fourth line spot along with the tremendous defensive work he will bring the team is a huge advantage for the Rangers.

The most encouraging thing about the early camp reports is that it shows the hard work that Boyle put in last summer in order to allow him to have his breakout season was put in once again instead of resting on what was accomplished.  Though that should not be all that surprising because just about all reports concerning this team are of that variety in that they understand the goals of the team and each individual is willing to do whatever it takes to get the team to that destination.

Staal Suffers Setback Dealing With Concussion Symptoms; Rangers Looking For Veteran Defender?

Yesterday it was revealed that All-Star defenseman Marc Staal was dealing with lingering effects of a concussion he suffered February 22, 2011 against the Carolina Hurricanes.  According to Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants the news gets worse today as Staal has suffered a setback in his recovery and was sent home today.

“He really didn’t feel well,” Tortorella said. “This is a fluid situation.”

“We’ll see how he feels and we’ll talk tomorrow,” Tortorella added. “This is how it’s going to be. We’re erring on the side of caution.”

The fact that the team is erring on the side of caution is a great thing as I talked about yesterday, but the need for concern is upon us.  Anytime your top defender, especially one that plays as important a role as Marc Staal is injured there are issues for the team.  Making that concern more real is the unpredictable nature of concussions and the impacts changing from day to day.  The fact that nearly 7 months after the hit he is still having symptoms makes the whole scenario that much more concerning for the Rangers and Staal.

With concern about Staal and tendinitis issues for Michael Sauer, who scored a goal in his first scrimmage today, the Rangers are in the market for another veteran defender to add to the club according to Gross’ reporting.

“Even prior to this with Marc being up and down, we’re looking,” Tortorella said.

It is somewhat surprising that the Rangers are looking outside the organization when they have Tim Erixon, Pavel Valentenko and Michael Del Zotto as young players that can compete for spots, but maybe Steve Eminger’s veteran experience is not enough for the organization to feel completely comfortable with the young defense corps.  It should also be noted that Tortorella saying that the team is looking does not mean they are actively shopping for anyone, but just keeping an eye on who might become available as the season approaches which all teams should always be doing. 

Del Zotto Biggest Loser If Rangers Kept Valentenko To Avoid Waiver Status?

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.

Staal Suffered Post-Concussion Headaches This Summer; Prust Out Til Europe

Andrew Gross at Rangers Rants reports that Marc Staal is sitting out early in training camp because he experienced headaches this summer as a result of an undisclosed concussion he received last February on a hit from brother Eric Staal.  Staal missed time after the hit, but the reason given for his absence was a knee injury and not the concussion that was the actual cause.  Staal is cleared for contact neurologically, but the Rangers are being cautious with their star defender.

From Gross’ report:

"He's progressing nicely," Tortorella said. "We just want to be cautious and get him ready for the regular season. The past four days he's feeling better during workouts.”

Staal will not play in any of the preseason games before the team goes to Europe in just over a week.

My initial reaction to the Staal news was that it is good for the Rangers to be as cautious as possible with him now, but also disappointment in how secretive the organization was about the existence of the concussion during the season.  It was clear to just about everyone that watched the hit by Eric on Marc at the end of the second period of that game that Staal had to have a concussion from his head smacking the ice, but the team never admitted to the injury.

Prust Also Sidelined:

Along with Marc Staal being held out of preseason games in the United States, Brandon Prust will be held out to get a few extra weeks without contact on his surgically repaired shoulder.  The reports say that Prust is progressing in his rehabilitation and should be ready for opening night, but the Rangers are playing things safe with Prust, which is a good thing since we know Prust will not hold himself back at all once he hits the ice.

Wolski Impressive In Opening Scrimmage

Wojtek Wolski was one of the most talked about New York Rangers this summer with the speculation surrounding whether he should or would be bought out of the final year of his contract. The Rangers made the smart move to keep the talented winger and see what they can get out of him for one season. Wolski dedicated himself this summer to working on his game through different special instructors and at least for one scrimmage it appears to be paying off. Getting the first chance to play with Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards, Wolski tallied twice in a 4-2 win for Team Red. Obviously Wolski needs to continue to perform like this, which is far from a certainty, but if he can the Rangers lineup lengthens tremendously and it will create more favorable matchups for lower line players.

Marian Gaborik, looking to rebound from a subpar 2010-11 season, was also strong with a goal and an assist.

Overall reports have the combination of Wolski-Richards-Gaborik dominated the opposition. If this group can play to their talent level the Rangers will be a serious threat to do some damage in the Eastern Conference.

John Mitchell also had two goals.