The Rangers are in the midst of more change. Todd White and Tim Kennedy have today somewhat surprisingly been placed on waivers on a day which has seen a lot of teams place players on waivers. Several sources including beat writers Larry Brooks and Andrew Gross are speculating the roster moves could be a pre-curser to a trade for a defenceman and the usual rumours of Sheldon Souray have re-surfaced.

Souray has been a very effective player in the league and has a wicked shot but questions remain about his health, character and whether he has much left to give. The Souray rumours make sense given the players (read: cap) that have been put on waivers and the fact that the Rangers defense is missing an extra left handed player which Souray is.

Here’s my issue with all of this: Even at 2.7m Souray is a risk and a big one. First of all he is another roster block for McDonagh, Valentenko and co in Hartford when they are ready to come up and it’s not just for one year but two. Secondly, while the Rangers could benefit a lot from a healthy Souray the valuable cap space he would eat up would be better served (perhaps mid season) on acquiring more offense. Souray isn’t a critical need on the blue line given Del Zotto, Gilroy and Roszival on the power play and the addition of Sauer’s physicality. Again, even at 2.7m (half the salary should the Rangers get Souray on re-entry waivers) Souray is a luxury. Can the Rangers afford to have a roster luxury at this stage?

Just now, Larry Brooks has reported via twitter that Tortorella has indicated neither Kennedy nor White would immediately report to the AHL should they clear waivers. As Brooks himself points out, it would be a surprise if a minimal cap hit such as Kennedy clears waivers. With both players ‘staying on the roster’ in the event of clearing what does it mean for the trade rumours? Today has added a lot of intrigue and discussion in Rangerland.

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