Garnet Exelby in camp on tryout (UPDATE: Alexei Semenov too)

Via my pal Jesse Spector, defenseman Garnet Exelby is in camp with the Rangers on a tryout, and was skating with the team this morning. Exelby was included in Jeremy’s offseason Scouting The Market series, where his abilities as a fearless hitter and punishing crease-clearer were noted. The Blueshirts, of course, completely lack a defenseman with that skill set.

Dave previewed the defense corps earlier this week, and there appears to be too many bodies for too few spots. However, it’s entirely possible that Ryan McDonagh, Michael Sauer, and some of the other youngsters start the season in Hartford, and we can’t turn a blind eye to the doomsday scenario that has Marc Staal unsigned when the season begins. Exelby’s a decent piece of insurance, and if nothing else, he provides a little competition in camp. That’s never a bad thing.

Update by Dave: Allan Walsh is tweeting that the Rangers have also invited Alexei Semenov to camp on a tryout basis. Semenov made the team last year, where he was also invited to camp on a tryout, before declining a contract for the season. There is going to be some very healthy competition for defense this preseason, with both Exelby and Semenov in camp.

Semenov Signs With Rangers

According to Andrew Gross, Alexei Semenov has signed a one year deal for a $600,000. With Del Zotto making the team, Semenov will serve as the 7th defenseman. He’ll give the starting D-Men a rest, and will be there to push Redden and Rosival. A problem last year was that they did not have a proven 7th d-man to give a threat to Rosy and Redden. They have that now. If Del Zotto struggles and gets sent back to juniors, Semenov will likely take his place. I’m on board with the signing, as I was very impressed with him in preseason play. Semenov is big, slow, and pretty physical, with a nice shot. He’s not the ideal fit for Tortorella’s system, but he’s not starting. If MDZ doesn’t get sent back to juniors, expect him to play 10-15 games. Here’s what the 6-6 Semenov had to say about the signing:

“We were talking for a couple of days, just talking about what was better for us, what was better for them,” Semenov said by phone tonight. “It’s a good thing that we agreed on the contract. We had a couple of more opportunities to go to but I felt like this is one of the best teams out there. I feel that Glen Sather and the head coach (John Tortorella) and the rest of management are just perfect.”

Playing the Waivers Waiting Game

It has become abundantly clear that defenseman Alexei Semenov has played well enough to make the team as a seventh defenseman, but the Rangers appear to be waiting it out before they fully commit to him. GM Glen Sather is simply doing his due diligence as GM and waiting to see which players pop up on waivers. Brad Lukowich ($1.56 million) and Randy Jones ($2.75 million) have both popped up on waivers, but are too expensive. They will both be interesting options on re-entry waivers though. Rob Schremp hit waivers, and was immediately picked up by the Islanders.

Manny Legace and Dan Fritsche were waived by Atlanta. Brian Bochenski, Ryan Craig, and former Ranger Adam Hall were waived by Tampa Bay.

Alexei Semenov is just going to have to wait and see as well. If the Rangers like a name that pops up, expect Semenov to be cut from his tryout.

Training Camp/Preseason Lessons

With training camp and preseason coming to a close, we are left with what looks to be the final version of the Rangers roster. In my initial 2009-2010 Rangers outlook, I had initially pegged one of Bobby Sanguinetti, Corey Potter, or Michael Sauer to be the seventh defenseman. My how things have changed.

Sauer was one of the first cuts in the preseason, his stay-at-home style doesn’t fit into the John Tortorella system. Expect him to get traded. Bobby Sanguinetti came into camp out of shape and really struggled to work back from that. He was the most recent cut, and there are rumors that the Rangers don’t have faith in him, and are shopping him around. Corey Potter seems to be the most logical choice at this moment to get a call up int he event of an injury, but he was part of the second round of cuts, before Sanguinetti was cut.

On the other side of the coin, you have Alexei Semenov. Semenov, invited to camp on a tryout, without a contract, came to camp in great shape, and has simply played his way on to the Ranger roster. Credit needs to go to the big defenseman, as he outplayed the aforementioned defensemen, and wrestled the starting job away from Sanguinetti (it was his to lose). You also have Michael Del Zotto, who at just 19, impressed everyone from the coach to the fans. He has given us a glimpse of what a powerplay quarterback can do. He has played so well that he forced the Rangers into giving him another look during the regular season. He now has nine more games to show he belongs, or else be returned to the OHL for the season.

Moving on to the forwards, fans expected Evgeny Grachev to play well in camp, considering his performance last year in the OHL. While he has played extremely well in the preseason, he will benefit from a year in Hartford, so expect him to be the final forward cut before the season starts. If he lights up that league, he will be one of the first call ups during the season.

A pleasant surprise was the newly acquired Enver Lisin, who came over from Hamilton Phoenix for Lauri Korpikosi. Lisin also has played his way into consideration for the roster, and leaves coach John Tortorella with an interesting issue. Lisin belongs on the top three lines, there’s no doubt about that. But, the top three lines seem to be set at the moment. The dilemma: do you put Lisin on the fourth line, getting five minutes a game, or send him to Hartford for regular shifts, at the risk that he bolts for Russia? More on this in another post.

With one last preseason game this weekend in Washington, look for the Rangers to give Grachev, Del Zotto, and Lisin more playing time to let them prove they belong on the NHL level.

Camp Notes

Some camp notes, courtesy of Andrew Gross:

• Coach John Tortorella thinks that the hold out situation with Brandon Dubinsky is “stupid, he needs to be here.” I couldn’t agree more, but it is a testament to Dubinsky’s agent, Kurt Overhardt, to not respond and leave everything out of the press. This is the way a negotiation should be handled.
• There’s not much else to say on the Dubinsky matter other than it will get done. Sooner or later, he will be “signed”. But I am surprised that he isn’t in camp as a “non-roster invitee”. I’m not sure if it’s against the CBA to have an unsigned RFA in camp though.
• The Rangers invited veteran defenseman Alexei Semenov as a non-roster invitee. He will compete for that 6th/7th defenseman role.
• In the overblown news department, Marian Gaborik did not skate at yesterday’s sprint session. Surely, everyone will panic, but this is just the Rangers organization taking the necessary precautions with their high priced, and fragile, winger. Relax.
• People are misreading the P.A. Parenteau contract status. Yes, he is signed to a one-way deal, but that does not necessarily mean he will have to pass through waiver to get called up (thus guaranteeing him a roster spot). For more information on one-way and two-way deals, please refer to this post.