Earlier this week during an interview with Edmonton Radio 630, Rangers onetime Captain and radio analyst was quoted as saying Sauer is making tremendous progress.  This would make sense with the Rangers going ahead with the Rick Nash trade when they did.  The rumors have been around for months that Brandon Dubinsky was gone from the Rangers in any trade they would make, and he played like such.  The Rangers were never going to give up Derek Stepan and Columbus wanted a 2nd line center.

Dubinsky when he was with Jagr was a suitable center for that spot and Artem Anisimov was the center of the #1 PACK LINE that included Dubinsky and future captain Ryan Callahan. A #1 pick had to be included in the trade for the Blue Jackets "future". So the only point of question was the 4th piece.  Rumors swirled about Christian Thomas, J.T. Miller, Michael DelZotto, and Tim Erixon.  There is a strong chance that either Thomas or Miller make this years club. With Marian Gaborik out to start the season the Rangers will be looking for a sniper in which Thomas fits the role. The Rangers could also still be looking for a 3rd line center in which J.T. Miller can switch back to the center position most likely between Brian Bolye(moved to left/right wing) and  Taylor Pyatt(who can play both wings).

Michael DelZotto had a great season last year and a good playoff till the loss of his grandmother, people have to remember that he just turned 22 years old and was devasted by her loss. Coach John Tortorella is hard on D.Z. but really thinks he can get even better than last season.  So the only piece that seemed to really fit was Tim Erixon, who had a couple of cups of coffee with the Rangers last season. With this seasons 1st round draftee, Brady Skjei, Erixon became expendable.  So what the trade really comes down to is the Rangers loss Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov for the additions of Rick Nash and a spot for big minutes for Chris Kreider. A huge WIN for the Rangers.

If Michael Sauer is indeed doing as well as Dave Maloney was quoted as saying on Edmonton Radio 630, the Rangers defense actually has gotten better also. The patchwork defense from Marc Staal's season starting injury along with Michael Sauer's 19 games in had players like Brendan Bell, Jeff Wyowitka, and John Scott trying to help out until Antan Stralman came to the team. Speaking of Stralman, he signed yesterday for 2 years at a caphit of $1.7 mil per. Now all eyes are on Michael DelZotto who didn't file for arbitration and is reportedly close to signing a multi-year contract at a rumored $2.2 mil per.  Once D.Z. is back in the fold, Tort's still has Stu Bickel as a 7th to fit in for an injury or just for the tough teams.

In net, the Rangers have the current VEZINA winner between the pipes. The Garden rewarded his backup Martin Biron for his stellar bachup duty and team play with a 2 year contract with a 1/2 million dollar raise per for a total of $1.3 mil a year.

Don't look now, but the Rangers organization has done a total transformation not only on phase two at the Garden, but also on the team in Hartford. From the 22 players that played in their playoffs, 8 have moved on to NHL teams or overseas. Casey Wellman (Fla.), Andre Deveaux (Fla.), J.A. Marcheseault (Columbus), Tim Erixon (trade with Columbus), Andreas Thuresson (overseas-Sweden), Pavel Valetenko (overseas-KHL), Brendan Bell (cut loose), Steven Moses (oveseas-Finland). Mats Zuccarello also went to the KHL but the Rangers made sure to retain his rights by qualifing his rights. The Rangers went ahead and filled all those pots plus more and going by capgeek and Rangers qualifing offers, it seems the Rangers at this time are 3 NHL contracts under the NHL mandated 50 allowed.

LET'S GO RANGERS!!