New York Rangers: Predicting changes on defense

Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
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Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

John Cavanagh-

Ryan McDonagh – Kevin Shattenkirk

Brady Skjei – Brendan Smith

Nick Holden – Ryan Graves

For the Rangers to be successful next season, they need to fix their biggest weakness. It’s no secret the Rangers defense was a catastrophic flaw that sealed their fate in the playoffs. General manager Jeff Gorton knows this, and will make the defense younger and faster.

Additionally, this means the team will look to get rid of Dan Girardi and Marc Staal as soon as possible, while also likely trading Kevin Klein.

This gives the Rangers enough cap space to re-sign Brendan Smith, and even land the coveted free agent Kevin Shattenkirk. The only other new addition will be Ryan Graves from Hartford.

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