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Rangers Face Flyers in Final Preseason Tune-up, Skjei Decision Looms |
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The Rangers whittled their roster down to 29, making several cuts Wednesday. None came as a huge shock. The biggest names were Marek Hrivik and Nicklas Jensen, each of whom had an outside shot at breaking camp as a fourth liner or 13th forward and now will need to pass through waivers in order to begin the year in Hartford.
The remaining players are:
Forwards (18): Pavel Buchnevich, Jesper Fast, Gabriel Fontaine, Nathan Gerbe, Tanner Glass, Michael Grabner, Kevin Hayes, Josh Jooris, Chris Kreider, Oscar Lindberg, J.T. Miller, Rick Nash, Cristoval Nieves, Brandon Pirri, Derek Stepan, Jimmy Vesey, Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello
Defensemen (8): Adam Clendening, Dan Girardi, Nick Holden, Kevin Klein, Ryan McDonagh, Dylan McIlrath, Brady Skjei and Marc Staal
Goaltenders (3): Henrik Lundqvist, Magnus Hellberg and Antti Raanta
From the above, as discussed yesterday, Jooris and Lindberg will open the year on IR. Once Fontaine and Nieves are healthy - as they are a bit banged up - they will go to Hartford. That will leave 14 forwards and most of us expect Glass to be placed on waivers in an attempt to send him down. If he passes through, New York will have about $550k of dead cap space, which is the difference between his $1.5 million salary and $950k cap hut that can be placed in the minors.
What we all be focused on is the blueline, where the major decision looms. What to do with Brady Skjei? His preseason has been less than optimal, leading to speculation that he will be sent to Hartford. Skjei has options remaining, since he doesn't require passing through waivers to be optioned while Clendening and McIlrath require it. As of two months ago, even suggesting this would have brought criticism and anger, but Clendening's solid showing and McIlrath's improvement has made this a real possibility.
New York, due to available cap space, could keep eight d-men and sit Girardi and Staal, which would be deserved. But it's unlikely that happens. Barring an injury tonight forcing a change of heart, there is a pretty good likelihood Skjei starts the year in the minors, largely due to the roster crunch. Not an easy decision but Clendening and McI deserve their spots and there are few other options that look to be palatable to the team.
The lineup Opening Night might be:
Zucc-Stepan-Nash
Kreider-Zibanejad-Buch
Vesey-Hayes-Miller
Grabner-Pirri-Fast
McDonagh-Clendening
Staal-Klein
McIlrath-Girardi
Hank
Raanta
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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