The New York Rangers are facing a major lineup decision as Carson Soucy gets closer to returning from injured reserve, and a player just signed to a multi-year contract extension could be the odd man out when all is said and done. Soucy has been out of the lineup since exiting an eventual 6-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he's been skating lately in a red no contact jersey. When he returns to the lineup, the Blueshirts will need to send someone down and move someone to being a healthy scratch, and it has become clear how the Rangers could ultimately proceed.
Scott Morrow will likely be first domino to fall
Scott Morrow was recalled from Hartford as insurance for Will Borgen, but Borgen hasn't missed any games for the Rangers since the move was made. The Blueshirts just finished up their brief road trip, and it's pretty likely that he will be assigned back to Hartford. Connor Mackey had also been with the team, but he was already sent down to the American Hockey League. Morrow is someone who is expected to play a significant role in the immediate future of the team, and the best thing for him is to return to Hartford where he can get major minutes.
Matthew Robertson is starting to put it all together
Matthew Robertson made the team out of training camp to serve as the No. 7 depth defenseman, but he's really made the most of his opportunity to play in Soucy's absence. In four games Robertson has logged 18:08, 18:02, 15:24, and most recently he played 17:33 against the Montreal Canadiens during which he scored the game-winning goal. He's also posted a 49.95 CF%, and a 63.24 xGF% per Evolving-Hockey. The 6'4", 210-pounder from Edmonton was drafted in the second round of the 2019 draft, and at age 24 he's starting to find his way as an NHLer.
Urho Vaakanainen's spot now is now in jeopardy
Vaakanainen joined the Rangers last season and appeared in 46 games while averaging 16:34 a night. During that span he scored two goals and added 13 assists for 15 points, and it happened to be the best he's looked offensively in his career to date which started in 2018-19. This year he's appeared in each of the Rangers' seven games, but he's only averaging 15:02 per game.
His time on ice has been steadily decreasing, and over the last five games he's logged 19:31, 14:10, 12:52, 13:44, and 12:22 on Saturday vs. the Canadiens. The dip in playing time certainly suggests he's fallen out of favor with Mike Sullivan, which would be quite an interesting development. Vaakanainen was signed to a two-year contract extension this summer at a cap hit of $1.55 million, and if the Rangers were to successfully waive him to Hartford, they'd be hit with $400,000 in dead cap space.
What's next for Blueshirts
The Rangers are back in action today against the Minnesota Wild, and the team will look to score for the first time at home this season. The Blueshirts are currently in the middle of the longest home scoring drought to open a season in modern NHL history, and certainly want to quickly turn the page on that.