NYRangers Training Camp Starts Today!!!!!!!

Today marks the start of Training Camp for NHL teams.  This is a great time of year as NHL fans get to know who came to make the team and what prospects still have a little further to go.  It also means the start of the NHL season is right around the corner.  We all know that Torts has one of the toughest camps out there and all players need to come ready or they will have issues making the team.

The Rangers have a lot of questions that need to be answered and all will be answered in the coming weeks.

Is Redden done? Will prospects MZA, Grachev, Stepan and McDonagh make the opening night roster? Will Exelby, Semenov and/or Fedotenko play well enough to earn a contract? Will new guys Kennedy and White make the team? Who will Frolov click with? There are many questions that need to be answered and hopefully the coaching staff can answer them in the coming weeks.

Look here for updates during the day and also follow @thenyrangers and @stevezipay on Twitter.

NYRangers Media Day Photo Shoot Pics!!

The NYRangers released some photos of some of the Rangers biggest stars. The pictures were released via the Rangers official Twitter account.

Are The NYRangers Planning On Giving Redden A Legit Shot At Training Camp!!

All signs point to the Rangers sending Wade Redden down to Hartford during Training Camp.  They will most likely need the $6.5M cap hit to sign Staal and stay under the salary cap.  But Larry Brooks(who I hate) had an interesting line in his column the other day.

"What if Redden plays well in camp?" Well what if he does? Not only that but he said, "What if Gilroy/Eminger don't impress? And what if Staal isn't signed yet?"  All of those scenarios are likely and very possible.  The Rangers will be giving Redden a shot at training camp but is it a legit shot? Even if he plays well the Rangers will still need some cap space to sign Staal.  You would have to think Staal will be signed by opening night.

So in the end it isn't really a legit shot to stay as even if he plays at the top of his game, I do not see the Rangers dumping players just to fit him and Staal under the cap.  Unless they plan on dumping Rozsival in the minors or trading him.  I really cannot find a situation where he stays on the roster even if he plays well and better then others.  And once Redden is sent down, if we call him back up, some team has the opportunity to get him at half price through recall waivers.  Hopefully he continues to play like shit and we see him in a beautiful Hartford Wolf Pack jersey or whatever there new name might be!

Offer Sheets Are Very Very Rare!!

A lot of NYRangers fans have become increasingly worried about Marc Staal and his contract negotiations.  The talk that maybe some team will drop an offer sheet on him has been pushed around as a reason why we should get this deal over with.  While I agree that we should hurry this process up and get Staal locked up for at least the next two seasons, an offer sheet is not one of those reasons.

If Staal does get an offer sheet, I can't see Sather not matching it unless it is upwards of $7M and if it is then the Rangers will get a boatload of picks in compensation.  For any offer sheet above $7.7M, the team will receive four first round draft picks.  This is the main reason we do not see offer sheets as often because teams could get screwed into giving up a lot of compensation.  But they know that going in and are aware of the risk.

Join me after this for more on offer sheets and the Rangers history.......