5 New York Rangers Who Could Be On The Move Soon

Five New York Rangers Who Could Be On The Move Soon

With the New York Rangers only having a little over $3 million to spend towards the salary cap, and with restricted free agents still needing to be re-signed, odds are there will be some changes with the roster before the start of the 2013-2014 season.

A trade will most likely occur in order to get a little more cash to spend on Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello, who are both restricted free agents.

So with a trade imminent, the question is who on the Rangers will be traded?

No one knows for sure yet, obviously, but some names have been thrown around, and others just seem pretty logical, that at least one of them will be on the move soon.

Rangers' defenseman, Marc Staal, whose face can be seen in the picture above, has had his name thrown around a few times but by no meaningful source. Add that to rumors about Staal being traded has died down considerably, which is why he will not be featured on this list. Sorry for the spoiler.

This slideshow will feature the five Rangers who could be on the move based on speculation, rumors and cap logic, since none of us are in Rangers GM Glen Sather’s head and know which player or players he will decide to trade, if any. So please go through all of the slides and feel free to leave any comments, whether you agree or disagree, on the five Rangers who could be on the move soon.

5. Michael Del Zotto

Michael Del Zotto has fallen out of favor with some fans and many think he could be on the move.

If Del Zotto is indeed going, he will give the Rangers an extra $2.5 million to spend on restricted free agents Stepan and Zuccarello.

However, Del Zotto will probably benefit greatly from Rangers new coach Alain Vigneault’s up tempo offensive system, since Del Zotto is more of an offensive defenseman. Because of this, I believe Rangers GM Glen Sather will want to hold onto Del Zotto to see what he can do under Vigneault, but I also believe if the right deal comes along that Sather would indeed part ways with the inconsistent defenseman.

4. Darroll Powe

Darroll Powe was recently put on waivers by the Rangers so one would think he would be on the way out very soon.

Powe is a player who doesn’t put up the points, but he is a very good defensive third or fourth line forward and his specialty is without a doubt on the penalty kill.

However, Powe suffered a really bad concussion last season which caused him to miss a good 14 games, and only played in three during the postseason in which the Rangers played a total of 12.

With Powe never really recovering from his concussion, and with the Rangers placing him on waivers this offseason, it is pretty obvious that Powe will not be in the Rangers plans for this upcoming season and will be on the move. The only reason why Powe is not higher up on this list is because of the fact he cleared waivers.

3. Aaron Asham

The same with Powe can be said about Aaron Asham. Both Asham and Powe were placed on waivers at the same time this summer.

Asham is a player who can be effective, but only in small doses. He has a very underrated wrist shot and can score goals, but just not at a consistent level. His biggest goal with the Rangers came in Game 7 of the first round of the 2013 postseason against the Washington Capitals in D.C., where he scored the first goal of the game and completely swung all of the momentum in the Rangers favor and resulted in a 5-0 win.

However, with the additions of third and fourth line forwards in the offseason, with Asham’s inconsistency at times, and with him being placed on waivers, a business is a business. Like Powe, though, Asham also cleared waivers, which again is why he is also not higher up on this list.

2. Taylor Pyatt

Taylor Pyatt has a cap hit of a little over $1.5 million and the way he played last year, he definitely was not worth his contract.

He started the season good, then struggled immensely in the middle where he was practically invisible on the ice, but then ended the regular season and the postseason well, but not well enough.

Pyatt’s stats in the strike-shortened season were a measly six goals and five assists. A total of 11 points in a 48-game season for a guy making $1.5 million is without a doubt not worth it in a salary cap league. In my opinion, there is a very good change Pyatt is leaving sooner rather than later.

1. Brian Boyle

Brian Boyle, I believe, is the player most likely to be on the move this summer for the Rangers.

Boyle is extremely inconsistent and makes the most money out of the forwards on this list at almost $2 million per season.

It is becoming more and more evident that Boyle’s 21-goal season back in 2010-11 was indeed a fluke, as his past two seasons he has scored a total of 13 goals.

He has a big body at 6-foot-7 weighing 244 pounds, but a lot of times almost refuses to use his skill set and plant himself in front of the net. Boyle needs to use his size to be an effective player, but since he does not consistently play his game, and makes close to $2 million, I believe Boyle is the most likely Ranger player on their current roster to be moved this summer.