Rangers In The Rumor Mill, Should They Make A Move?

According to Pierre Lebrun, the Rangers have contacted the Maple Leafs about acquiring one of their defensemen. Although Lebrun didn’t mention which defensemen was discussed, he has been reporting lately that Burke has been dangling 24 year old Cody Franson, whom he acquired over the summer from Nashville.

The Leafs have a logjam on defense, as both Mike Komisarek and Cody Franson have sat in the press box this season. Whether or not the Rangers are really interested in either of those two remains to be seen, but with TSN reporting that the Rangers also have an offer out to former Blue Jacket Anton Stralman, it would seem these rumors may have some legs.

Obviously the uncertainty of Marc Staal’s situation is driving all of this speculation, so perhaps Sather and Torts aren’t comfortable with either Steve Eminger or Jeff Woywitka going forward.

The question is, if Staal ends up being out long-term, who do you acquire and how much are you willing to give up? In my opinion, I’d like to see a little more of Jeff Woywitka. The dude is 6’3 225 lbs and knows how to use his size, which is something we lack on the blueline (minus Sauer of course).

I was at the Sharks game the other night and I thought Woywitka handled rushes in his direction well. Obviously one game of an in-arena “eye test” is a bit anecdotal, but I’d like to see how he fares over the next couple of games before pulling the trigger on a trade.

Should one be necessary, Franson did put up 8g/29 points last season, so he would be interesting given his age and ability to provide some offense. Stralman also can contribute in the OZ, as he put up 6g/34 points two years ago. But neither are particularly known for strong defensively play, so I’m not sure how much of an overall upgrade we would really be getting.

Perhaps swapping those listed in our poll isn’t the answer. Perhaps the best move is to just stay the course. Either way, this is New York, our star defensemen is out, so expect the Rangers to be attached to more rumors moving forward.