October is coming. Here we are, eager fans just waiting for some hockey to watch on a nice fall or winter night. With Derek Stepan now signed longterm we are getting closer to hockey on the TV. The question is; Are the New York Rangers done making moves?

The Rangers currently have 48 contracts signed (50 is the limit) and while there are still some questions surrounding how the Rangers replace the goals lost from Martin St. Louis’ retirement there are some quality unrestricted free agents still on the market such as; Right handed center Mike Santorelli, right wingers Brad Boyes and Steve Bernier, as well as quality winger Jiri Tlusty. Of course the Rangers are up against the salary cap with just under a million dollars left in cap space, so these are all players that would be interesting adds to the team if they want another forward either on a cheap contract or maybe even a pre-season tryout deal.

That said, I am not going to talk about the remaining possible additions to the New York Rangers’ roster, instead I will discuss other possible organizational adds.

The middle of August was a pretty awesome time for New York Rangers fans last year as all of the hockey world was wondering where top BC prospect Kevin Hayes was going to sign. I’m sure everyone was elated when they found out that a 6’5 talented, young center has decided to sign with the Rangers giving them something they have lacked for a long time. While there isn’t as much hype surrounding this prospect, August may bring another nice NCAA prospect to the Rangers. His name is Robbie Russo.

Robbie Russo 6’0, 192 lbs,  is an Islanders draft pick (4th round 95th overall), but the young defenseman has decided to take the route Hayes took and is refusing to sign with them, possibly because of organizational depth. This does not mean he should not become a target.

Russo

Russo is a wonderful offensive defenseman who played the last 4 years in the University of Notre Dame with improvement in every year. The right handed Russo continuously improved upon his point totals every year, that is a wonderful sign as for an offensive defenseman (or player in general) you would hate to see some plateau in the lower leagues. One of the reasons Russo probably didn’t receive as much hype this season is possibly because of fellow NCAA defenseman Mike Reilly deciding to go to UFA.

Here is the thing though: Robbie Russo at the same age had more goals than Reilly this season with 15, compared to Reilly’s 6. Russo also only had 1 less point than Reilly so while Reilly is probably the more NHL ready prospect, Russo is someone that has the potential to develop into a nice offensive defenseman with some AHL time. With the lack of depth the Rangers have on defense in the prospect pool I think it’s certainly worth it to take a chance on Russo. The question is: Is he going to become a player like Jared Spurgeon, a NYI draft pick that didn’t sign with the team but has had great success with the team that he joined in UFA?

The Traverse City Tournament is an awesome thing the Rangers and many other teams do that allow us to witness some hockey in September. It’s also a chance for us to look at prospects, both our own and other teams. Most teams decide to send out invitations to players currently not within the organization and will see if they may have found a late bloomer or an undrafted gem. So far it is known that the NYR have invited 3 players: 20 year old right handed defenseman Jerret Smith, 20 year old 6’5 winger Mark Simpson and 6’3 powerforward center/winger who we talked a lot about in my draft preview, Cam Askew.

Jerret Smith of the Seattle Thunderbirds is a tough defenseman that is rounding out every aspect of his game

Jerret Smith is someone the Rangers have probably seen a lot of, as he plays for the same team as 2nd round pick Ryan Gropp. Over the last three years he has continuously improved both offensively and defensively. Originally seen as a good, steady defenseman, being paired with the Ducks top prospect Shea Theodore has helped him develop his game while being tasked with shutting down top lines. The 6’2 defenseman can certainly turn heads at Traverse City and be offered a contract by the Rangers. He can then go to either the WHL for an overage year, like current NYR defenseman prospect Troy Donnay, or be tried playing in the pros either in the AHL or ECHL. Either way his contract would be counted towards the 50 limit, but is someone I can see us taking a flyer on especially if Jeff Gorton move out another contract.

The lanky center has a chance to make a name for himself.

Mark Simpson is a huge winger at 6’5. That said he is only 187 lbs, so at 20 years old he really has to bulk up a bit. What I like about Simpson is that his offensive output is improving every season. He didn’t really dominate in the QMJHL which is usually not good for players his age. If the Rangers offer him a contract it will go towards the 50 contract limit, no matter where he plays. They can always give him an AHL contract if he impresses, but personally I am just not that high on this kid. His offense hasn’t impressed for someone his age and even if we give him an AHL contract which is the most I would do, I don’t know how much I would expect.

He reminds me of Bruce Graham, a former 2nd round pick by the Rangers. A really big guy, but very skinny also not much domination in the QMJHL during his older years. He was then signed by the Rangers and played a few games in the AHL and was a complete bust. He couldn’t keep up physically with the pro game and his offense suffered some more.

The Rangers had interest in him and now he will represent the team in Traverse City.

Cameron Askew’s invite is awesome to me. While I knew the Rangers had interest in him during the draft him, going undrafted because of his stats didn’t surprise me. That said, he is continuously improving, and his size/work out schedule is something that is leading me to believe he can be a possible undrafted gem.

Askew has a nice blend of nastiness, skill and work ethic that will have fans fall in love with his blue collar style. As I wrote a couple of months ago, he has to work on his skating to take it to the next level. Should he impress the Rangers it would be great to sign him because we wouldn’t want another Sergei Tolchinsky ordeal where we didn’t want to sign a player to a contract even though he impressed, then have another team bring him in. Now two years later, Tolchinsky has become a dynamic forward looking more and more like an NHLer. Here is the best part about Askew, because of his age, the Rangers can sign him and when he goes back to the CHL he will not count towards the 50 contract limit.

Outside of Traverse City, the waiver wire is something Rangers fans have become accustomed to. New York practically got their once first line center off of it. Slight hyperbole, since Erik Christensen isn’t a real first line center, but we played him as such. Either way, the waiver wire will become a big part of the Rangers this October. Dylan McIlrath, first round pick in 2010, is no longer waiver exempt. This means if the Rangers don’t have him with the big club and want him to retain his rights, all 29 other teams have a chance to pick him up. Of course, the Rangers aren’t the only team with this problem. If a nice name that the NYR organization have been following for a while ends up on waivers for a similar reason, the Rangers may put a claim on that player to add to their depth.

Trades that can happen any time. While the NYR seem to have their roster in place, there is always a possibility that a deal comes along that they can’t refuse. Maybe they get another top-six forward, maybe they just trade away a player to save money or get more contract space. One thing that I would advocate doing is finding a young talented prospect who has been having difficulty lately in the AHL that may just need a change of scenery. Maybe someone like Radek Faksa, a former first round pick that has really struggled in the last few seasons in the AHL, but maybe with something as simple as a changed work out routine or just simply getting more mature explodes onto the scene. I am essentially just advocating a buy low kind of trade for a prospect to help us refill our pool.

Buchnevich

BONUS: This is just speculation at best but I believe it is something to bring up. The KHL season ends early this year, on February 18. Pavel Buchnevich’s team didn’t exactly improve by a lot so they are a bubble team. Should they not make the playoffs, it is certainly possible that he can join the Wolf Pack or the Rangers in March. He has been dominating in the KHL pre-season so far, so I expect a pretty big year for him, even on an average team.

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