Evgeny Grachev Sent to Hartford

As expected by most people, prospect-extraordinaire Evgeny Grachev was assigned to Hartford, following a loss in the preseason finale to Washington. Grachev played very well during the preseason, which is why he was the last cut to be made. This is no slight against Grachev, it is as simple as he will benefit greatly from a season in Hartford. You can expect him to be with the team next year, or even as soon as midseason this year.

The Rangers are now left with 22 players on the roster: 13 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 2 goalies. The best part about this? They are under the cap, even with the spare parts. This will give the Rangers some flexibility with lineups and under-performing veterans (cough, albatross twins, cough). The lines are still up in the air, as they should be, but it will be interesting to see what coach John Tortorella does with Artem Anisimov and Enver Lisin, who both need to be on the top three lines to be given a chance to really utilize their talents.

Congrats to Lisin, Anisimov, Alexei Semenov, Matt Gilroy, and Michael Del Zotto, who played very well in the preseason and earned their spots on the roster.