Bobby Farnham

This week has been chock full of important Rangers news, like the recent signing of Bobby Farnham to a PTO. While this may be cause for concern among some fans, I’m here to tell you that it’s all going to be fine. Farnham is likely just a body for preseason and maybe the AHL (if that), and while he might be someone AV tries out on the fourth line at absolute worst he’ll be Daniel Paille – around for a little while and eventually gone, as the ill-fitting nature of his inclusion on the roster becomes apparent.

Let’s start with the primary reason why they likely signed Farnham, who is more or less just an enforcer (although he scores once every year or so). Preseason is coming up, and since not everybody on the first team will show up in the few games that precede opening night against the Avs, somebody (literally almost anybody) needs to play hockey alongside the various youngsters that get a look. So enter Farnham, a warm body who’ll help to fill out the lineup in case any of the regulars have nagging injuries, oversleep, etc etc.

But let’s consider this, say the Rangers like what they see and decide to keep him around. In this scenario, he’s still most likely heading straight to Hartford, and will only find his way onto the Garden ice in the event of an injury. That’s also assuming that he’s the first one called up, which may not be the case – recall that Tanner Glass wasn’t the first guy called up from Hartford last year (although he did end up playing in the playoffs).

Ok, but let’s say it gets worse, let’s say that AV and friends decide they want him in the lineup fulltime. In this kind of scenario, I’m willing to bet he’s more Daniel Paille than Tanner Glass – an experiment mixed into the lineup to try and add a certain je nais se quoi that in all likelihood won’t be there (because he doesn’t really do much) rather than a coach’s darling who inexplicably finds his way onto the ice in the waning minutes of a playoff series. Tanner Glass, all things considered, was a special case of coaching favoritism and locker room good-guy character feel good stuff.

Bobby Farnham, coming from the outside of a rapidly changing organization, most likely won’t hit that sweet spot for AV that Glass did. Especially considering that the Rangers’ speed and transition game has been augmented by the additions of Shattenkirk and Smith, a dude like Bobby Farnham who can’t capitalize on those long stretch passes and breakaway chances is going to rapidly find himself obsolete. Remember, if there was one thing good about Tanner Glass it was his speed and skating. Unless Farnham can similarly keep up I doubt he’s around much longer than a few games, if that.

So there you have it folks, your semi-occasional reminder that everything’s good in Rangerstown. Bobby Farnham, while likely a preseason fixture will doubtfully play any meaningful minutes during the regular season, and if he does, likely won’t fit in among this rapidly shifting landscape of speed and stretch passes. It’s also almost time for hockey so let’s just sit back and enjoy this new season glow, and worry about questionable roster decisions at least 20 games in or something like that.

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