Over the off-season I saw plenty of bold predictions for the Rangers this year…playoffs, first in the east and even a few Stanley Cup champions.  But this week many fans and commentators came quickly back to earth with the announcement that Bure would have surgery on his twice injured right knee.

The injury and the reaction afterwards underscores just how fragile the Rangers playoff hopes are.  With little proven depth on the wings or scoring in general, the Rangers once again enter the NHL season with more questions that a whole season of “Who wants to be a millionaire”.

Then again, when haven’t the Rangers been without questions?

Fortunately for all involved it appears that Bure’s injury is not serious, and with good news coming from the operating table today, it looks like this will be more of a case of a close call than a season altering injury.

Still with Messier (shoulder), Malakhov (both knees), Richter (both knees), Dvorak (knee), Lindros (concussions), Bure (knee), Kloucek (knee) and Lefebvre (most body parts) all missing significant time in the last few seasons it pays to be cautious when making predictions for post-season success. 

On the positive side, what this does do is free up the Rangers to spend a little more time assessing their options on the wing, and perhaps Dvorak an opportunity to get some quality ice time on his own return from injury.  Rico Fata too might be seeing a reprieve.  With the Waiver Draft fast approaching, Fata was one of those who may have found himself on another team or even back in the AHL.  Bure’s injury may create some space on the roster for Rico to get another shot at making it as an NHLer.

Other fringe players such as Roman Lyashenko, Nils Ekman and Benoit Dusablon will also be keeping a close eye on developments.

With 13 more days to go and 6 more pre-season games, there’s no doubt the fans will be.