The most critical area influencing the (long and short term) future of the Rangers is defence. I look at the Rangers’ D using 3 N’s: The Rangers Now, The Rangers Next and The Rangers’ Needs.

Now: The Rangers defence at seasons end consisted of the following players: Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Michael Roszival, Wade Redden, Michael Del Zotto, Anders Eriksson and Matt Gilroy.

The Rangers used 10 different defenceman this year despite being fairly lucky with injury. That doesn’t say much about the unit. 3 of the unit played all 82 games; Del Zotto only missed 2 games and Redden 7, so it’s the bottom pair that is causing headaches. The collection of players on the D isn’t all that bad, far from it… other than one glaring weakness – physicality. No one pays a price to enter the New York Rangers blue zone and that has to change.

The other thing that needs to change is the cost of the unit. Wade Redden isn’t a bad 3rd pair player but is paid like a Norris trophy winner and that may well affect the clubs ability to pay Marc Staal who has emerged as a genuine top pair player with yet more upside, despite some struggles this year. Despite Michael Roszival’s recent up turn in form he will be the easiest cap cancer that can be moved. With a group of Staal, Girardi, Del Zotto and Gilroy the unit is predominantly young, mobile and skilled. It’s a genuine nasty streak that’s missing.  What can be said for the unit is this; expect Del Zotto to improve defensively as he gains experience, expect more offence and consistency from Gilroy (if he sticks around – i say he should) and expect Staal to lead this unit even more than he does now. THis unit can grow and be better so atleast its going in the right direction. We all knew there’d be growing pains right??

Next: The Rangers have a lot of D prospects waiting in the wings, some who are core to the future of the club. For all his faults, Glen Sather pulled of a tremendous heist getting Ryan McDonagh off Montreal and he seems pro ready. His game is well rounded and should be a key component going forward. It’ll be interesting to see if he turns pro this summer. Another player with tremendous talent is Bobby Sanguinetti but he’s approaching a crucial time in his career.  Del Zotto quickly passed him by as the PP QB of the future and he needs to make the big club soon or become another irrelevant Rangers first round pick. I think he can make it, assuming the Rangers are willing to go through some more growing pains. He can make an impact. The same cross roads is on the horizon for Michael Sauer who is injury prone and seemingly not one for Tortorella. However he does have a physical edge and plays a calm style, not always evident in our back end so he could a have chance should the club seek to address the physical need internally. Two players that intrigue me are Finn, Ilkka Heikkinen and Ivan Baranka in Moscow. Both have skill, both seem matured for the NHL but will the one stay in Russia and will the one go back to Finland rather than risk another year in the A? Either way, there’s a lot of depth at the position, though again, not much/enough physically.

Needs: Is it obvious by now? The Rangers need a hard, physical and aggressive component on the blue line. The heart breaking loss to Philly is exhibit A of how easy a team enters our zone.  When the unit matures we don’t need to worry about moving the puck, it’s in front of Henrik that needs protection. Players similar to what we need include heavy hitters/defensive first guys such as Doug Murray, Anton Volchenkov, Tim Gleason, Andrej Meszaros and Brent Seabrook. Finding one isn’t easy however and they’re rarely cheap.

How this unit looks next season depends tremendously on if and/or how the Rangers deal with Redden and Roszival. The team needs their cap space and atleast one of their spots to move forward signifcantly. One thing is for sure, The Rangers will be in a scrap for the final playoff spot next year too, if changes aren’t made. Hard, perhaps brave decisions are needed.

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