A day following the worst loss of the season, the Rangers placed Jeff Halpern on waivers. Halpern was brought in by Glen Sather to help on faceoffs. The veteran center won 56.7 percent of draws, ranking just behind Brian Boyle (57.7).
The issue was that Tortorella didn’t use him enough. He hardly saw the ice last night along with linemates Taylor Pyatt and Darroll Powe. Halpern went 93-for-164 in the faceoff circle. He only had one point. An assist in 30 games. If they were expecting offense from him, that was foolish thinking. Especially how sparingly Tortorella plays his fourth line.
On an offensively challenged team that relies heavily on the top two lines, Sather didn’t address the losses of Artem Anisimov, Brandon Dubinsky, Ruslan Fedotenko, John Mitchell and Brandon Prust. They supplied versatility that Tortorella could rely on. While none are of the same stature of Rick Nash, the club’s depth which was a strength is now a weakness.
Halpern’s departure could be just to make room for Arron Asham, who could return Sunday against Washington. Rumors have been circulating that the Rangers are interested in bringing over Swedish prospect Jesper Fasth, whose season ended. He is already signed. It still seems a bit unrealistic to expect much from a guy who’s never played in North America.
This is what the Rangers are down to. Hope and a prayer. For better or worse, they have to make due with the current roster. If it’s not good enough, they’ll be a lot of head scratching this summer.
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Derek
Battle Of Hudson 