New York Rangers: What roster spots are up for grabs?

New York Rangers: What roster spots are up for grabs in camp?

CALGARY, AB - MARCH 2: Rob O'Gara, Tony DeAngelo #77 and teammates of the New York Rangers celebrate a goal against the Calgary Flames during an NHL game on March 2, 2018 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images) /

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TAMPA, FL – MARCH 8: Tony DeAngelo #77 of the New York Rangers skates against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on March 8, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)”n /

All aboard the clown car

The Ranger’s defense will be a clown car this upcoming season for a variety of reasons, not just their play. Based off of salaries and expectations, the four defenseman on long term deals mentioned earlier are stone cold locks. The front office made a sizable investment in Smith during the summer of 2017 and they cannot afford to end up with egg on their face.

This leaves the third pair left and right defenseman position open. There is a small army of candidates for just two spots. There are Tony DeAngelo, Steven Kampfer, Rob O’Gara, Frederick Claesson, Libor Hajek, Neal Pionk, John Gilmour, Sean Day and Ryan Lindgren. All eight of those defenseman have a puncher’s chance of making the team out of camp.

It is hard to get a read on where this part of the roster is trending. There are a few players, DeAngelo, Kampfer, O’Gara, Pionk and Gilmour that have some NHL experience and were part of last year’s team.

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