Rangers Announce Final Roster Cuts
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The Rangers have their opening night roster!
Earlier today, the Rangers announced their final roster cuts ahead of the 2018-19 season.
OFFICIAL: #NYR made the following roster changes:
Andersson, Fogarty, Hajek, Lindgren, Lindqvist, Meskanen & O’Gara have been assigned to Hartford.
Bigras, Holland, Mazanec, Schneider & Tokarski have been placed on waivers & will be assigned to HFD should they not be claimed. pic.twitter.com/oDPNFCwhWQ
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) September 28, 2018
Some surprises here as Andersson was thought by many to be a lock for David Quinn’s roster. And now with Howden making the team out of camp, he will have some high expectations heading into the regular season. Hajek, Lindgren, and Meskanen all had solid camps with the Rangers but they will be better served playing big minutes in Hartford.
#NYR Active Roster:
Forwards (13): Buchnevich, Chytil, Fast, Hayes, Howden, Kreider, Lettieri, McLeod, Namestnikov, Spooner, Vesey, Zibanejad, Zuccarello
Defensemen (8): Claesson, DeAngelo, McQuaid, Pionk, Shattenkirk, Skjei, Smith, Staal
Goaltenders (2): Georgiev, Lundqvist pic.twitter.com/s69CYUZxi5
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) September 28, 2018
The goaltenders shook out exactly as expected with Georgiev continuing as the backup to Henrik Lundqvist. The defense is also as expected, but it will be interesting to see which players serve as the healthy scratch on a nightly basis. The Blueshirts will have four defensemen of each handedness on the squad, so a like for like swap would occur if the need arises. As for the forwards, Cody McLeod being on the team is still a bit disconcerting. It is possible that when Matt Beleskey comes off the injured list that he will take McLeod’s spot, but the 34-year-old will have to show a lot to make his place on the roster worthwhile.
NYR coach David Quinn doesn't want a top-9 player, which Lias Andersson is, playing on the 4th line. So he'll likely get top-line minutes in Hartford and Brett Howden will be the 4C in NY. If Filip Chytil goes to wing, Ryan Spooner or Vlad Namestnikov can move to C.
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) September 28, 2018
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