The New Look Defence

Although the Rangers were a great defensive team last season, they had some glaring weaknesses on the blueline. They didn’t have a single ‘d’ man who could play the point effectively on the power play and they lacked depth, at times Jason Strudwick would be the fifth or sixth man. This is ok for the regular season but in the playoffs depth on defense is a key hence the Detroit Red Wings.

The Rangers blueline saw the departure of fan punching bag Marek Malik and Fedor Tuytin via trade. Malik is actually a pretty solid stay at home defenceman, he just cant play in the NY spotlight. He’s better suited for a smaller market team. Tuytin was a nice 2nd 3rd pair defenceman but he appeared to either lose focus or take shifts off during the season. He’ll play nicely for Columbus but with the off season moves Sather has made, there really isn’t a spot in the lineup for him (thats a good thing).

Sather went out and got the prototypical quarterback defenceman in Wade Redden. Although he severely overpaid for him a bounce back season for Redden would provide HUGE dividends for the team. He can play the quarterback role on the power play and provide a solid defensive presence. Sather also re-signed Michal Rozsival to a four year deal that will overpay him as well. But contract aside it’s a very good thing that Rozsival who is a first pair defenceman on most teams is most likely going to be the second pair for the Rangers. This again lengthens the defensive core which is a key to playoff success. The Rangers also re-signed Paul Mara while going out and signing Dimitri Kalinin in FA. These two will most likely combine for the third pairing on the Rangers. A very solid third pairing indeed.

Keep in mind the Rangers have Bobby Sanguinetti, Michael Sauer, and Corey Potter who are set to make an impact this season. The Rangers may have the most depth and skill on defence in the Eastern Conference. Even though it may be slightly overpaid.

Redden-Staal

Rozsival-Girardi

Mara-Kalinin

This is my prediction for the opening night pairings. Redden plays with Staal whose game has already matured into that of a veterans. He is a shutdown capable defenceman with a lot of puck moving ability. Hopefully his offensive game catches up with his defensive part.

Rozsival and Girardi could be a lot of teams first pairing, but having them together on the 2nd pair is a luxury for the team. Mara and Kalinin playing on the third pair is a no brainer to me. I wouldn’t be suprised to see Sanguinetti take away some playing time from one of them as the season progresses.

Championship Caliber Defence.. at least on paper, only time will tell.