by Matt Pennino

July 1st is only hours away so lets take a look at who is out there and if the Rangers have a realistic chance in signing them.

Bobby Holik – The Rangers have an excellent chance in getting him. There will definitely be quite a few teams interested in his services so Sather might have to get into a bidding race for him. I think there is an 80% chance he will be signed on to Broadway.

Tony Amonte – To answer this in 3 words – not a chance! Apparently good ol’ Tony still has a bug up his butt about being traded eight years ago before the Stanley Cup run. Here’s a word of advice, GET OVER IT! He is definitely one of MSG’s fan favorite so coming back to a team where you already liked and don’t have to prove yourself sounds like a good thing to me. But whatever floats your boat Tony. Expect him to sign with the Islanders. He has a 0% chance for an encore on Broadway.

Darius Kasparitis – If the Rangers went through the whole summer with only signing Kaspar and Holik (and a goalie of course) I’d be one happy fan. Both these players provide two things the Rangers need; grit, and defense. Holik is the kind of player who can chip in 15-20 goals and do excellent defensively and to be an agitator. With Kaspar you can have the same agitating player who, I think, is one of the best defensive defenseman in the NHL. Please Glen no more offensive defensemen! Although I think the Islanders will sign him. Possibly a 50% chance of signing with the club, within the month of July and no later.

Bill Guerin – Why the Bruins didn’t resign him is beyond me. Getting this guy might sound good on paper but keep in mind that he might not want to be second string to Bure. This goes with what I’ve thought for the past five years now, and that’s signing big name free agents should be a part of your team, not its whole. Although I wouldn’t might seeing him in Broadway Blue, I don’t think it would work out in the long run. Plus with a first year coach its only fair he doesn’t have a ton of egos to work with because plenty are there already. But for argument’s sake I’ll say he has a 65% chance of coming to the Big Apple.

I know there are more free agents out there but these are the top four that have been mentioned in most of the rumors. At least two of these should be heavily per suited by Glen, especially Kaspar and Holik because those two will be more useful to the team than the other two free agents.

My next article will cover the free agent signings (if any) signed by the Rangers during the first couple of weeks of July so my critiquing will begin!