The Rangers trimmed their training camp roster to 29 players, with goaltender Louis Domingue also placed on waivers in order to send him down. That will iultimately leave at least five, and probably six more players to cut prior to the October 11th season opener.
Sent down today were forwards Will Cuylle, Lauri Pajuniemi and Tim Gettinger, along with defensemen Andy Welinski and Ty Emberson. Of the five, only Cuylle had an outside chance of challenging for a spot going into camp.
Of the remaining cuts, they will likely come fomr forwards Julien Gauthier, Jonny Brodzinski, Dryden Hunt, Jimmy Vesey, Gustav Rydahl and Ryan Carpenter, along with defensemen Matt Bartkowski and Jarred Tinordi. While it’s possible that the Rangers could go with 23 players to start the season, they are likely looking to whittle that down to 22 as quickly as possible in order to save some cap space for later.
Most likely Bartkowksi will either be cut, or given a contract to play in the AHL, while Tinordi is all but certain of being sent down as well. The forward situation though remains more inconclusive. One of Carpenter or Rydahl will get sent down, most likely the latter due to being able to pass through waivers. Brodzinski will also join them.
Vesey, playing on PTO, has looked pretty good in the preseason, as has his main competitor Dryden Hunt. While Vesey perhaps could have earned himself a contract, it remains to be seen whether the Rangers would be open to keeping both.
It may come down to whether they can find a trade partner to move Julien Gauthier. The forward has had a solid preseason, but doesn’t figure into the Rangers future plans at this point and is likely playing more for a job on a new team. Whether Drury can find someone willing to give up an asset now, or early in the season will likely play into whether they offer Vesey a deal.
CBJ
NJD