Rangers right to entertain college stand out Matt O’Connor

For those of you not on Twitter, at today’s practice, the Rangers hosted college standout goalie (and free agent) Matt O’Connor as he concludes his tour of teams in the running to sign him. Boston University’s starting goalie in the Frozen Four, O’Connor has whittled down his final choice to one of the Rangers, Edmonton, Vancouver and Ottawa and is expected to make a decision as early as next week.

On the face of things the Rangers appear to be a strange option for O’Connor as the Rangers are stacked at his position most notably with an all world goaltender in Henrik Lundqvist not going anywhere anytime soon. This week however, O’Connor announced that the team he signs with doesn’t necessarily have to be offering an immediate NHL gig which gives the Rangers a better chance of signing the goalie. Back in March some media reports had suggested some teams had offered O’Connor an immediate NHL spot, something that the Rangers would probably not be offering even if Cam Talbot departs.

O’Connor is huge, and at 6’5 certainly fills the net like Talbot. If he were to sign with the Rangers the possibility of a McKenzie Skapski – O’Connor tandem in the AHL would be a tantalising one as, depending on your opinion of both goaltenders, the tandem offers the Rangers youth, size and significant upside at the position.

What else do you need to know about O’Connor? The big goalie had a strong season this year despite letting in a seriously bad goalie in the Frozen Four. Entering the Frozen Four O’Connor had put up a line of 25 wins, a 2.13 GAA and a .928 save percentage; all significant improvements on his first two years in College hockey. O’Connor was never drafted to the NHL.

You can’t fault the Rangers wanting to add more talent via free agency. Having traded away numerous picks in recent years the Rangers have had to get creative when adding talent and the likes of Cam Talbot but more recently Kevin Hayes (thank you Chicago) have been highlights of the team’s desire to search the college ranks for serious NHL talent. The Rangers are right to do their due diligence on O’Connor and if they can add another solid prospect without giving up any assets it’s a no brainer for the team, even if it’s not quite as clear cut for the prospect.