The Rangers have placed Sean Collins, Michael Haley, Chad Kolarik, Kris Newbury, Logan Pyett, Brendon Segal, Mike Vernace and Tommy Grant on waivers today. They will clear tomorrow, and some will join the club for the rest of minicamp before the NHL season starts. These moves likely address who will replace Arron Asham in the lineup on opening day, as he still needs to serve the final game of his four game suspension.
This was move #3 on the list of things to expect from the Rangers during minicamp. Move #4 may be adding a depth forward, as Suit discussed earlier this week.
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No matter how much we choose to ignore it, injuries happen to every NHL club. Players get banged up, nicked up, and bruised just like everyone else. It is one of the reasons why teams spend some time and money building their depth in the AHL, as these players can come to define a season. Some players, like Ryan McDonagh, can even make veterans expendable (see: Rozsival, Michal). Others enter in an attempt to shake things up (Carl Hagelin) or due to large numbers of injuries (Stu Bickel). Either way, AHL depth is often an overlooked quality for perennial contenders.
As the Rangers call up more players, their depth in the AHL diminishes slightly. Gone are the big effects of Hagelin and McDonagh. Even Bickel has parlayed his call up into a two-year deal. The Rangers already have a spare forward (Michael Haley) and a spare defenseman (Steve Eminger) on the roster, but the injury bug isn’t always that friendly. As multiple players go down, others will need to be brought up.
Naturally, the role the injured player has will affect the player called up, so let’s look at the strong possibilities to fill these important roles:
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In their second minor signing of the day, the Blueshirts have reportedly inked 28-year old defenseman Sean Collins.
Collins went undrafted but has been a member of the Washington Capitals’ organization for the last six years. During that time, Collins has seen 21 games of NHL action and registered two goals and an assist. Collins, a right-handed shot, has primarily played for the AHL’s Hershey Bears and has tallied eight goals and 48 assists in 255 games with the club. Read more »
