The Rangers will open up camp today with fifty one players, but one player will be missing. Brandon Dubinsky remains without a contract and is likely to miss today’s first day of camp. Presented with a one year qualifying offer that is less than what he earned last season, Dubinsky will now be forced to train elsewhere while the team moves on without him.
Without salary arbitration rights, Dubinsky has little bargaining power and a holdout is his only real option.
This will be John Tortorella’s first camp as Rangers head coach and as we’ve heard over the past couple of weeks, it’s not expected to be easy. With that said, it already looks like a couple of players (including Marian Gaborik) will get a break on the three mile run. Andrew Gross of the Bergen Record highlights three players who will be key in supporting Tortorella’s goals.
Joining the head coach in camp will be Jim Schoenfeld. The Rangers announced late yesterday that Schoenfeld will continue on as an assistant coach, a role he held late last year after Tom Renney was replaced.
Goaltender Chad Johnson finished the Traverse City Prospects Tournament with a 2-0-0 record and a 2.00 goals against average. The former Alaska Nanooks tender drew some positive comments from the Rangers staff on hand, as shared by his college coach in the Daily New Miner.
Dallas Ferguson told the paper that he received an e-mail from a Rangers coach who was impressed and said �They were real impressed with him as a person, too, and that�s what they�re looking for in their organization.�
Kelowna.com has an article on 6-7 defenseman Brent Henley, who was recently signed to an AHL contract. Hentley will be in camp with the Rangers this week and has spent several years trying to break into the NHL.
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