The Rangers trimmed their roster by a further eleven players today, bringing the number remaining in camp to just 27, including injured forwards Chris Drury and Vinny Prospal. The cuts marked the end of contract bids for defensemen Alexei Semenov, Garnet Exelby and try-out Brandon Manning.
At forward, the biggest surprise was perhaps Mats Zuccarello Aasen going to down Hartford without a further look. The 5-6 forward had shown some offensive creativity in his two preseason games, but there’s still some thought that he needs to further adjust to North America.
Other forwards sent down include Dale Weise, Dane Byers, Kris Newbury, Jeremy Williams and Evgeny Grachev.
Meanwhile, defensemen Michael Sauer and Pavel Valentenko both remain on the roster, the former perhaps a little surprisingly after last night’s game. They are two of nine remaining blueliners, that also include Steve Eminger, Matt Gilroy and Ryan McDonagh battling for the final two spots, and perhaps one bench player.
In goal, the Rangers are down to their two netminders after Chad Johnson was reassigned.
The Rangers will need to cut at least four more players, and can cut up to seven before the October 6th roster deadline.
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