kari lehtonen

We are halfway through August, which means hockey is about one month away. This is around the time when guys who haven’t signed yet are looking for any chance they can get. That means professional tryouts (PTOs) are going to start hitting the news pretty soon. The Rangers have a lot of question marks at camp, and should one or a few of the kids not be ready for prime time, the Blueshirts will need bodies to fill roster holes.

Troy Brouwer (RW)

Brouwer is the first name that jumps out on the list, not because of effectiveness, but because he has name pedigree –for better or for worse– and players that get bought out usually wind up finding a home pretty quickly. Brouwer’s contract paid his $4.5 million per year before he was bought out, and it’s safe to say he wasn’t worth that contract.

As for the player, Brouwer is a bottom-six player who will put up roughly 10-15 goals and 20-30 points. He’s got a reputation as a “locker room guy” who would be a veteran presence. I don’t see the Rangers going this route, mostly because they don’t really need bottom-six spots to be filled. Worse case scenario, they can always use Cody McLeod.

Josh Gorges (LD)

Gorges is another “character guy” who GMs seem to love as a veteran presence. Gorges was last seen in Buffalo, where he never played a full season. In fact, he hasn’t played a full 82 games since 2011-2012. Gorges would likely serve as an immediate fix should none of Neal Pionk, John Gilmour, Tony DeAngelo, or any other kid impress at camp. That is extremely unlikely.

Cody Franson (RD)

It’s more likely the Rangers find a RD via the PTO route than a LD, but still extremely unlikely. Franson is one of those guys that is a stats darling, but never sticks with a team. It’s a bit mind boggling, but there has to be a reason for that. The 31 year old puck mover last had a steady role in Buffalo in 2016-2017, but spent most of last year in Rockford in the AHL.

Kari Lehtonen (G)

I had to add Lehtonen here because the Rangers still don’t have a backup goalie. Alex Georgiev is probably –at least in my opinion– best served getting big minutes in Hartford. But if the Rangers want him to be the backup, then he will be the backup. Lehtonen would serve as insurance in case Georgiev gets hurt or his game disappears.

There aren’t many great options for PTOs this time year. Then again, it’s rare someone like Anton Stralman comes along on a PTO. That’s the exception to the rule. PTOs are usually just insurance in case someone the team is expecting to make the club doesn’t. The Rangers don’t need the insurance this year.

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