The Rangers set their opening day lineup Friday. From that roster, the big surprise was Lias Andersson not making the squad, with Brett Howden earning the spot. In goal, Alexandar Georgiev will back up Henrik Lundqvist with Marek Mazanec starting the season at Hartford. Both situations are likely to be fluid, so what we see on October 4 may not be what we see October 14, 24, etc.

Lots has been discussed on Andersson not making the team. I will give a broader view a bit down the road, but in short, I understand the move, as noted on twitter and in the comments. Let him play 18-20 minutes on the top line and power play in Hartford rather than 8-10 minutes in New York. Howden will see fourth line minutes and play on the PK, which may not be the role they envision for Andersson, though i will say that shorthanded minutes seemed to be the place for him and may well be the case in the future.

In addition, it's a bit premature to call him a bust. If you want to be critical of Andersson failing to take advantage of his chances the past two training camps, thats fair. If you want to criticize management for taking a player that was viewed as more ready for the NHL over for example, a player viewed as a longer term project in Casey Mittlestadt, especially seeing where Mittlestadt is now, that's also fair. calling a 19-year old a bust when we all believe Andersson has yet to fully mature and become the player we believe he can be may be misusing the word. I am far from happy that he has to yet to take that step forward, but I don't think he achieves bust status yet. But the jury clearly is very far out on him.

Now on to the standings. I will have my view in a few days, because honestly, I have no idea what to think about this team. A new coach, a new system, especially defensively, more questions that sureties are just a few of the factors in the mix. Add in all the what if scenarios, including if Filip Chytil takes off, if Howden can be effective in his role, if Kevin Shattenrkirk and Brendan Smith rebounds, if Henrik Lundqvist turns back the clock, and you see why it's tough to predict. The same can said on the flip on if the D continues to struggle, if Hank is the second half Hank, if the offense doesn't jell, if injuries occur again and the depth can't make up for the absence of those players, especially on the top two lines, offensively and defensively.

I throw it out to you, where do you think the Rangers will finish in the division, the conference and the league?

As a reminder, I am out of pocket until Tuesday night and will have the next blog up sometime Wednesday.

Join the Discussion: » 429 Comments » Post New Comment

» Rangers fans: defend one core player to stay that you really want gone

» Rangers fall 4-0 to Devils on Sat, face Lightning w/ playoff hopes fading

» Rangers face Wild, Gabe Perreault debut, Wild Card race

» Rangers split games this past weekend, playoff race, Perreault signs ELC

» Rangers rally to defeat Canucks 5-3 on Sam Rosen Day, go to Cali for three