As is their custom, the Rangers signed a handful of experienced forwards in their mid-20s to compete for spots and provide some depth. In recent years, few have made it past the camp stage, but with the final cuts to the roster expected in the next day or so, Paul Carey has a chance to make the roster.
Signed in the offseason to a one year $650K contract, the 29 year old Boston native has shown some good skating and touch with the puck. With just 22 NHL games over a 5 year pro career – excluding the 2 AHL games he completed after finishing up his career with Boston College – Carey has seen stints with Colorado and Washington, as well as being briefly a part of the Bruins organization.
With Jesper Fast out until the end of October, the Rangers have room for as many as three forwards in the opening night line-up, and could elect to carry a couple of extras as spares while they continue evaluating whether to keep Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson, who can both play nine games before they consume one year of the three year entry level contracts.
His primary competition for the final spots will be from Cristoval Nieves, Matt Puempel and Bobby Farnham, who is still on a Professional Try Out (PTO). With Andrew Desjardins being suspended Monday for a stick to the head in the game Saturday against the Islanders, it would seem very unlikely that he will be offered a contract.
Also remaining on the roster, are several defenseman who are vying for the opportunity to be 6th/7th defenseman. Ryan Graves has quietly had a good camp, but still looks a longer shot to make the roster, with the real competition seemingly being between Anthony DeAngelo and Neal Pionk. The Rangers could also elect to try trading Nick Holden, though that would seem unlikely at this stage.
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