ELMONT, N.Y. — The results will matter in four days. The process is what mattered most over the past couple of weeks for the New York Rangers, and if you go by Friday night’s process, you’d be worried. But the Rangers can toss out an ugly performance against the New York Islanders in their preseason finale and focus on the final evaluations for roster spots.
Those are complicated by the injury timelines for Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey, neither of whom might require an absence long enough to use long-term injured reserve. If the Rangers were to designate either player for LTIR, they would miss at least the first 10 games and 24 days of the season. Lindgren has already missed 10 days, so he’s not a likely LTIR candidate; Vesey makes just $800,000, though every cent matters when the Rangers are up against the cap.
What the tight cap situation means is players who are waiver-exempt likely have an incredibly slim chance to open the season on the roster. That spells demotions coming soon for Brett Berard and Brennan Othmann, the latter of whom played Friday and had as little impact as most of his bigger-name teammates.
For Othmann to have had a real shot at a roster spot, there would have needed to be a significant top-six forward injury. Othmann played Friday in Artemi Panarin’s spot with Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafrenière as Panarin nurses a lower-body injury. Peter Laviolette said Panarin skated on his own Friday, so he would appear to not need much time away. And Othmann didn’t stand out in the Rangers’ first preseason game against an NHL-heavy opposing lineup.
The same fate might await Adam Edström, who has had the best camp of any of the young forwards vying for a roster spot. Edström had three goals in his four preseason games, and Vesey’s absence would indicate a lineup spot is open on the fourth line, but the path of least resistance for Chris Drury is to send down as many waiver-exempt players as possible to start the season.
Matt Rempe is waiver-exempt as well, but he seems to be in a solid lineup spot alongside Sam Carrick. Those two, with Jonny Brodzinski, earned pretty much the only praise Laviolette offered after Friday’s 5-2 loss, outside of Igor Shesterkin, who was superb.
So the roster moves likely coming Saturday will involve as few waivers as possible for the Rangers. That might seem unfair in at least one case, but the only solution to allow Edström to stay would appear to mean the Rangers risk losing Brodzinski to waivers or an LTIR designation for Vesey.
Robertson a long shot to earn a roster spot
After being limited most of camp by an injury suffered in the preseason opener, Matthew Robertson skated on Braden Schneider’s left at practice Thursday, then did the same during Friday’s game.
It wasn’t exactly a successful preseason debut for Robertson, who got hemmed into the defensive zone a few times as the Islanders controlled the bulk of the play over the first 40 minutes.
With Lindgren out, the Rangers need a left-side fill-in, and the now-healthy Robertson might have more of a chance to make the roster than initially expected, especially if Laviolette isn’t ready for Victor Mancini to play the left at the NHL level. Connor Mackey is another option, as is Chad Ruhwedel, though he also has played more on the right side.
Ruhwedel was banged up in Tuesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, which might complicate matters in setting the opening roster along with the preference for a left-shot fill-in for Lindgren. The Rangers can’t keep more than seven defensemen on the opening roster unless they strip down to 12 forwards, so Mancini might be the odd man out again due to being waiver-exempt. He has certainly earned a look over the other candidates, but that might not be enough.
The Rangers drafted Robertson in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft. He got called up last year but did not debut. He still found the experience beneficial.
“It’s cool to see them on the road, see their everyday life,” he said. “Not get in a game but kind of get a taste to see what it’s like.”
It also added motivation for this season.
“For the season, obviously trying to make the Rangers is my goal — to try to make the NHL,” he said. “It’s been my goal ever since I was a little kid.”
(Photo of Matthew Robertson and Brock Nelson: Gregory Fisher / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
