State of the Defenseman

Much has been written about this group of Rangers defenseman and after the Cullen trade, it is even more confusing. Right now it appears that Rozsival and Malik will repeat as the top pairing on defense. Malik is not a popular player with fans due to his lack of speed and propensity for the turnover, but it appears that the organization still has confidence in him. Either that or there is just no trade market for him. During the course of last year, Tyutin and Girardi began to form a nice tandem and often played against opposing team's top lines. Although Tom Renney has gone on record stating that neither Girardi nor Callahan were a lock to make the team, be aware that he has to say that or the kids will lack motivation. Assuming that Paul Mara continues his solid play on the blueline making up the third pair, that only leaves one spot open for several different players. Let's take a look at them.

• Thomas Pock - His up and down play has always left him on the outside looking in. He has the knack for scoring goals, but his errors are glaring and often cost the team wins.
• Jason Strudwick - The organization seems to have a love affair with this guy, probably because he is a stay-at-home defenseman that has played well when the team needed it badly (due to injuries).
• Andrew Hutchinson - This guy is 27 and hasn't played a full season for an NHL club, so I am not exactly excited about him. From what I have read, he is an ideal quarterback for a power-play, but lacks the strength to consistently succeed in his own end. There were times when Carolina actually played him as a 7th defenseman only to be used on the power play. This doesn't sound promising, but hopefully Renney and his staff can work with him.
• Marc Staal - This is the ideal situation for the Rangers as an organization, having the kid win the job. He is one of the top defensive propects in the league and has shined at every level he has played at. The only negative is that he would add another million dollars in salary to the cap if he makes the team. I hope that doesn't have an effect on the outcome.
• Darius Kasparitis - I know, I know, wasn't he supposed to be gone? Some recent news has revealed that the mighty cannonball is in the greatest shape of his life and wants to return to the Rangers. I'll believe it when I see it. It is important to note that if he does indeed make comeback, he is expensive at 3 million dollars. The deck is definitely stacked against him. To further complicate matters for not only Kaspar, but all Rangers D-men, I believe that Pock and Hutchinson must clear waivers to be sent down to Hartford.
• The final possibility is that the final spot is not even on the team yet. Due to cap restraints, the team doesn't have a lot of options for signing free agents. Just about everyone will be too expensive and there are already 10 defenseman listed above. The only other option is a trade and I am sure Sather has been working the phone lines looking for an quality D-man that some team is trying to dump due to budgetary reasons. I have heard many rumorered names connected to the Rangers (ie. Jovanowski), but these are just what they are... rumors.

All I can say is that training camp and the preseason definitely will have at least one storyline to watch. I am thinking that all eyes will be on Marc Staal.