The Rangers will reassemble Monday for their first practice since the Olympic break started two weeks ago, and they’ll face the daunting prospect of finding a way back into the top eight in the East.
Placed tenth in the conference going into the break, the Blueshirts finished strongly with two wins over the Penguins and Lightning to keep their post season hopes alive. But with just twenty games remaining, they still face an uphill battle to not only pass two teams, but at the same time fend off Atlanta, and to a lesser extent the Panthers and Islanders.
First order of business will be Tuesday’s road trip to Ottawa for the fourth and final meeting of the season between the two teams. The Rangers lead the season series 2-1, but the Senators took the last match-up 3-0 on the back of a Mike Brodeur shutout.
The team could well be nervous ahead of Wednesday’s trade deadline, and with Henrik Lundqvist, Marian Gaborik, Olli Jokinen as well as silver medallists Ryan Callahan and Chris Drury all returning from extra duty in the Olympics, you could perhaps expect a bit of a let-down in their game.
Wednesday’s deadline will likely see at least a peripheral move, if not more. With rumors circulating that Brandon Dubinsky might be on the market, it wouldn’t shock – though perhaps it would disappoint – to see the young center on the move in exchange for some help on defense.
The claiming of Alex Auld off waivers during the break, mean the Rangers will also have a little more latitude to make a move. Auld’s $250K of salary – due to being claimed off of re-entry waivers – means the Rangers can add between $1M – $1.5M in space.
Whatever they might do, it seems unlikely that Rangers GM Glen Sather will look to trade any of his veterans. Certainly if he can move a contract like Wade Redden, Donald Brashear, Michal Rozsival or Chris Drury, he’ll look to do so, but none of these players are likely to be moving on at this stage, simply because their value to other teas is not anywhere near high enough to balance out the value of their remaining contracts. Veterans Vaclav Prospal and Olli Jokinen are not likely going anywhere at this stage.
Look instead at the possibility that the Rangers move peripheral players, picks or prospects such as Bobby Sanguinetti or even Ryan McDonagh. Others such as Ilkka Heikkinen, Steve Valiquette and P.A. Parenteau may also earn themselves a ticket out of town either because they’re no longer considered part of the organization or look to be moving on next season.
Whatever the case, expect there to be some movement come Wednesday…
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