The NHL season is officially here for the New York Rangers , and on Tuesday night they will be dropping the puck against the Boston Bruins . Following a busy summer, hopes will be high for the team this year.
As the Rangers get set to start the year, the last few days have been busy with training camp and the preseason coming to an end. On Monday, the team announced what their roster was going to look like for Opening Night .
There weren't too many surprises for New York with camp and the preseason giving a good idea of what things would be. However, on Monday, the team wrapped some things up with defenseman Vincent Iorio heading to the IR.
With the roster announcement yesterday by the Rangers, it seemed likely that Iorio was going to be heading to the IR, with New York having 23 players announced for Opening Night.
On defense, the Rangers are fortunate that they have a lot of depth, and with the team carrying eight defensemen, it highlights the improvements made in that area.
On the first pair, New York will have the strong combination of Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov . This was a great duo for the team last year when Fox was healthy, and it will be exciting to see what they can do in year two together.
One of the big areas that the team upgraded this summer was their second-pair. New York was able to trade for Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson , giving them a completely new look for the pair behind Fox and Gavrikov.
Furthermore, on the third pair, it did end up being Alberts Smits who made the team, and he will be alongside Braden Schneider . The Rangers asked a lot of Schneider last year, and he was unable to deliver. Now, he will be set up for success with Smits next to him on the third pair.
Also, while the top six defensemen seem set, the Rangers have some quality depth with both Scott Morrow and Matthew Robertson being in the mix. New York didn't want to put either one of these players on waivers for fear that they would get picked up. That is a good indication of the type of talents that both of these players are.
Now, for Iorio, it will be interesting to see what the plan will be for him when he is healthy. More than likely, with the talent the team already has on the roster, they will be placing him in the AHL.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nhl/rangers/onsi as NY Rangers Place Defenseman Vincent Iorio on IR Ahead of Bruins Game .
