The Hartford Wolf Pack rotation continued yesterday, as the Rangers recalled Alex Belzile after Tyler Pitlick cleared waivers yesterday. The move isn’t much of a surprise, despite some trade speculation, as the Rangers were down to 12 forwards with Pitlick on waivers.
There are two easy to draw conclusions to the roster activity this week. The first is that Adam Edstrom is going to get a long look at 4RW, perhaps serving as an in-house upgrade to the fourth line, Barclay Goodrow notwithstanding. If he is, then it may save the Rangers some trade capital at the deadline.
The other conclusion is that the 13F/14F spots are still up for grabs. Tyler Pitlick clearly has the inside track, but in order to see who can slot in behind him, the Rangers are getting looks at players the Hartford coaching staff deems close enough to NHL ready that also fit the role the Rangers need on the line.
For those wondering about Brett Berard, the Rangers likely don’t want to rush a kid that could feasibly play a bigger than expected role next season. Also there’s a solid chance the Rangers simply don’t think he will benefit from 4th line minutes in a shutdown capacity, as that isn’t really Berard’s game.
Given how much the Rangers are rotating their forwards, it seems they have a plan and don’t need to continually bank cap space. We know what happens to the best laid plans, so let’s see how this plays out.
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