Five Takeaways From the New York Rangers’ Preseason

Sep 30, 2015; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh (27) celebrates his goal with teammates during the second period against the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Rejoice everyone, hockey is almost back!

New York Rangers

Expectations are high for the Rangers, as they were one win away from making back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals appearances. There are some new faces on the team, as retirement and an impending cap-crunch forced the Rangers to make some moves.

Gone are Martin St. Louis, Carl Hagelin, and Cam Talbot, three players who all made contributions to the Rangers sucessful season that produced a President’s Trophy.

Being up against the cap forced the Rangers to look for bargains in free agency, while also hoping that some of their homegrown players take the next step.

Glen Sather stepped down as general manager, and longtime assistant Jeff Gorton is now calling the shots. He had a successful first offseason as GM, signing Derek Stepan to an extension, and finding good bargains in free-agency like Viktor Stalberg and Jarret Stoll. He also got decent returns for Cam Talbot and Carl Hagelin.

Despite losing some familiar faces, the Rangers return a large part of their group from last season. That is a welcome sight, as teams that win the Stanley Cup usually don’t change their roster too much the year before.

So, without further ado, here are five observations from the Rangers preseason.

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