Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Roster Down to 23

As expected Artem Anisimov (too green), Nigel Daves (played well but no spot available), and Al Montoya (contract too big) were all sent back to Hartford. This means that the team chose to go with 8 defenseman, including Marc Staal and Thomas Pock, after waiving Andrew Hutchinson. This also means that Brandon Dubinsky has won the third-line center role between Peter Prucha and Ryan Callahan. Although you probably have to worry about the defensive responsibility of a third line like that, they will be awfuly fun to watch considering all three throw their bodies around like bowling balls. As for Montoya's demotion, that means that Stephen Valiquette will indeed start out as Lundqvist's backup in net, despite the presence of Robert Esche in the free agency pool.

The lines for opening night appear to be:
Straka, Drury, Jagr
Avery, Gomez, Shanny
Prucha, Dubinsky, Callahan
Hollweg, Betts, Hossa/Orr

The question of who Gomez and Drury center has still not been answered, but I got the impression that Tom Renney was going to stay with Gomez centering Shanny as a result of the chemistry they had playing together. Also, expect Hollweg, Hossa, and Orr to be in and out of the lineup depending on the matchup. There is also a possibility that Hossa plays on a more offensive line, but that will probably happen only if one of the current players starts underachieving.

The defensive pairs appear to be:
Rozsival, Malik
Girardi, Tyutin
Mara, unknown

Right now, the Mara will either be playing with Jason Strudwick, Thomas Pock, or Marc Staal. My money is on Staal playing opening night.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would say that Hossa should be traded, but there's nothing that the Rangers really need at this point. I wouldn't be surprised to see him go at some point this season if he doesn't put up.

ZENmaster said...

To be honest, I still think that the team needs some type of big-time defenseman that everyone relies on to shut down another team's star. Just trading Hossa won't get them that, let alone more than a 6th round pick, but he could be part of a deal.

I really think that it is time to go with some of the younger kids in Hartford rather than Hossa when an injury occurs or a starter is not playing well.