dan girardi

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The Rangers did a lot to improve this offseason. They completely retooled the bottom-six forwards and the penalty kill, and it appears they used some form of advanced statistical analysis in their decision making. While it appears the Rangers are set to have a better showing from their forwards, the defense remained largely untouched.

As it stands today, the Rangers will have substituted Brady Skjei for Keith Yandle and Dylan McIlrath/Nick Holden for Dan Boyle. Based off Alain Vigneault’s previous history, we are looking at these defensive pairs:

Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Kevin Klein
Brady Skjei-Dylan McIlrath/Nick Holden

There may be more moves to come, especially with the glut of forwards on the roster, however as of today it appears the team will enter the preseason with these blue line pairings. Personally I think this isn’t a blue line that I am comfortable with, but perhaps there is something I am missing.

It appears the team is really banking on rebound years from Girardi and Staal, whether you want them to or not. But what do you think? Are you comfortable with that approach? Do you think the team can legitimately compete for a Stanley Cup with this blue line?

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