Few Cuts Still to be Made to Ranger Roster

With Rangers forward P.A. Parenteau being sent down to Hartford earlier today, the coaching staff only needs to make three, possibly four more cuts to the current training camp roster. With that said, it does not seem as easy as it may appeal to be, as all of the players on the current roster have played top-notch hockey over the past two weeks in the pre-season. Head Coach John Tortorella has done a lot of talking lately, specifically about the type of players he wants in his lineup, and may have indirectly suggested who these players might be, but again, his mind can change rather quickly, leading him to make an expeditious decision.

Starting with the defense, still on the camp roster are the following; Michal Rozsival, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Wade Redden, Alexei Semenov, Bobby Sanguinetti, Mike Del Zotto, and Matt Gilroy. The totals to eight, and the Rangers will be looking to get that number down to six, maybe seven if they choose to keep a spare defensemen around. In my opinion, and this is pure speculation, Mike Del Zotto and Matt Gilroy are the ones who should crack the lineup this season. Gilroy has more than proved himself in the pre-season games that he took part in, and I know for a fact is doing exactly what Tortorella wants to see. Tortorella prefers that his defense pinches and takes chances to help out in the offensive zone, but Matt Gilroy takes "pinching" to a whole new level when he actually joins the rush, and can occasionally be found in deep in the offensive zone on the forecheck. The kid plays like a ten year veteran, so there is no doubt in my mind that would prevent me from bringing him up this year if I were the coach.

The same goes for Del Zotto, who has been remarkable on the powerplay, especially while playing with Ales Kotalik on the opposite point. Mike has been sound defensively, and has superior vision while making breakout passes.

Unfortunately, I think Sanguinetti is the next to be cut on defense, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Sangs has also been very responsible in his own zone, but hasn't stood out as often as DZ and Gilroy have. You also do not want to have a player like Sanguinetti being a seventh defensemen, which would land him as a healthy scratch for a good portion of the season, when he can further develop as a player in the AHL. I expect to see Sanguinetti as a Ranger in the near future, but just not this season.

Speaking of seventh defensemen, Alexei Semenov, who pretty much was invited to camp on a tryout basis by Glen Sather, was not expected to do much by fans heading into the pre-season. Surprisingly, Semenov has been quite good in the back-end for the Rangers, and has a decent shot at becoming the team's extra defensemen.

John Tortorella indicates this in the below statement courtesy of Blue Notes:

"He's a better passer than I thought and he's added some jam back there." Also adding that he has been pleasantly surprised with Alexei.

Looking at the offense, all of the following are still a part of the training camp roster; Chris Drury, Ryan Callahan, Ales Kotalik, Vinny Prospal, Chris Higgins, Evgeny Grachev, Donald Brashear, Brandon Dubinsky, Brian Boyle, Artem Anisimov, Aaron Voros, Sean Avery, Marian Gaborik, and Enver Lisin. That is fourteen forwards total, and Torts must trim that down to just twelve, meaning that two offensive cuts are left to be made.

I believe that Tortorella's candidates to be cut on offense (once again pure speculation) at this point are Evgeny Grachev, Brian Boyle, Aaron Voros, Artem Anisimov, and it is slim, but possibly Lisin. Now before you leap out of your seat in disagreement from seeing Anisimov on this list, check out this excerpt from Zipay's article:

"Because if Prospal remains at center, the Rangers also have Chris Drury, Artem Anisimov and Brian Boyle. Boyle seems well suited for the fourth line role - Dubinsky is being pegged as a top six forward. Anisimov may center the third line and Tortorella talked before the game of the importance of making sure both Anisimov and Evgeny Grachev develop properly. That means if it's the difference between playing limited minutes with the Rangers and 20 minutes per game with Hartford (AHL), they'll likely wind up with the Wolf Pack."

I am all for Anisimov being the third line center on this team, and I also feel that it would be the best option for his development, but obviously Tortorella thinks otherwise. I mean, I could see Torts making the decision of sending him down to Hartford if AA could only fit on the fourth line, but this is the third that we are talking about, and that could easily be upgraded to the second if he performes well.

As for Grachev, despite his quality display in the pre-season, his best option would be to play in the AHL, where he would play first line minutes, and most likely reach very high point totals. The AHL is a very good developmental league, with excellent competition, which would make Grachev that much more experienced when his turn to be an NHL player comes.

If I were making the decision, the final offensive cut would be Aaron Voros. I know he has stood out in the pre-season, but the bottom line is that he does not deserve to be in the lineup over Boyle or Lisin, who I feel will make the team, and not really be of consideration to be cut, but I had to include them on the list. We saw Voros have a great start last year, but he faded once November came, and quite honestly, that is a waste of time, and a valuable roster spot on the fourth line.

I remind you that this is all my opinion, and John Tortorella can very well surprise us with an unexpected cut, so I will be keeping close tabs on the situation. I would assume that all of the final cuts will be made by Sunday's game in Washington.

(Image courtesy of AP Photo)