Henrik Lundqvist and teammates salute the crowd following their 2-1 Game 4 win over the Kings.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Following a short summer, the Rangers opened up training camp today. They’re finally back after a great run to the Stanley Cup Final. Can they repeat last year’s success? That could depend upon how some of the new faces adjust.

In a salary cap era, there will be casualties. Gone are Brad Richards, Anton Stralman, Brian Boyle, Benoit Pouliot, Derek Dorsett, Daniel Carcillo and Raphael Diaz. They’ve been replaced by Dan Boyle, Lee Stempniak, Tanner Glass, Ryan Malone, Matthew Lombardi and Chris Mueller. General Manager Glen Sather also added Michael Kostka, Steven Kampfer and Matt Hunwick to compete for seventh defenseman. Unless Conor Allen or Dylan McIlrath shine in camp, they’re likely ticketed for Hartford.

One of the team’s biggest concerns is who will step up and replace Richards. Even though it was a no-brainer to buy him out freeing up necessary space to re-sign Derick Brassard, Mats Zuccarello, Chris Kreider and Dominic Moore, Richards’ leadership and production will be missed. His 20 goals and 51 points ranked in the top three in club scoring. His departure opens up competition at center. The leading candidates are J.T. Miller and Oscar Lindberg who’ll compete with Lombardi and Kevin Hayes. It’s a big year for Miller, who must prove he belongs. The competition should be fun to follow.

Center remains a question mark. Derek Stepan is already the team’s number one pivot. He’ll look to build on a career best 57 point regular season that also included a new career postseason high 15 points (5-10-15). The 24-year old is someone to keep an eye on. He’ll need to become even more of a leader. There is even more pressure on Brassard, who’ll be asked to anchor the second line. In ’13-14, he centered the cohesive third line featuring Zuccarello and now departed Pouliot (signed with Edmonton). Their scoring proved pivotal during the postseason. Sather handed Brassard a five-year $25 million contract. A former Columbus first round pick who set personal bests in goals (18), power play goals (7) and game-winners (4), Brassard must perform more consistently. He’ll likely center Zuccarello and either Rick Nash or Carl Hagelin.

One of the big story lines is who will become the next captain. After Slats dealt Ryan Callahan to Tampa Bay for Marty St. Louis, the team came together making their first Cup appearance since 1994. They rallied around the death of St. Louis’ Mom coming back from a 3-1 deficit to stun Pittsburgh and then eliminated Montreal to become Eastern Conference champs. For most of the summer, it’s been felt that Ryan McDonagh will be named the 27th captain in franchise history. A story Daily News beat writer Pat Leonard went with last week. For now, Alain Vigneault won’t reveal the new captain until preseason concludes. I guess he prefers suspense.

There aren’t as many questions with the defense. Sather opted to let Stralman walk to the Lightning, who apparently have become Rangers South also inking Brian Boyle and re-signing Callahan. Stralman was a solid defensive defenseman who worked well with Marc Staal. He was a strong puck possession player who rarely made mistakes. Rather than bring him back, Slats decided to address the power play by adding Dan Boyle for two years at a cap friendly hit of $4.5 million. The veteran is a proven power play quarterback who is still productive with six of his eight goals coming on the man-advantage last year in San Jose. At 38, he can still log important minutes and should slide in with Staal. The only question is does his offense make up for a potential loss in defense. That’s what the Rangers are banking on. With John Moore re-upping last week for $850,500, he’ll team with Kevin Klein, who was steady after coming over from Nashville for Michael Del Zotto. Moore has potential but is still raw. His skating ability and shot are top notch. If he becomes more consistent, 25-30 points is possible.

As far as the top pair, there aren’t many better than McDonagh and Dan Girardi. Mac Truck flourished in the playoffs pacing the team in scoring with 17 points while dominating defensively. His elder partner Girardi rebounded from a bad first half eventually re-signing for six years at an average of $5.5 million per year. While he struggled badly against the Kings, Girardi remains the heart and soul sacrificing his body for the team any way possible. You just hope that risky style doesn’t come back to bite him halfway through that contract.

The only other question is Staal, who enters the final year of his contract that sees him earn a modest $3.975 million. A popular team leader who has overcome serious injuries, Staal hinted that he wants to stay. Similar to Henrik Lundqvist, he’d like to get a new deal done as soon as possible. With rumors that it could take six years at at least $6 million, it remains to be seen if it’ll get done. While I value Staal, who’s the second best defenseman behind McDonagh, I wonder if we haven’t already seen the best of him. However, with prices for defensive D-men on the rise, his salary demands aren’t out of whack. If he ever does reach next summer, teams might be willing to pay top dollar.

It’s an interesting dilemma for Sather, who also must lock up Stepan, extend Hagelin and worry about Zuccarello and valuable backup Cam Talbot. I’m not advocating getting rid of Staal. However, if he doesn’t improve from last year and his demands are too high given the risk he could be, maybe they’re better off trading him. Right now, I’d rather not think about that. You can’t break up the defense right now. Along with Lundqvist, it’s the strongest part of the team. I’m not comfortable with Klein in the top four. He and Moore are a good fit on that third pair. Let’s just wait and see.

Goaltending has never been stronger with Lundqvist carrying his team as far as he could humanly take them. Heroic is the best way to describe King Henrik’s 2014 postseason. After clearly being affected by having no contract, he showed great mental strength turning it around once Sather re-signed him. There’s not a more admirable athlete in the metro area once Derek Jeter retires. Lundqvist will do anything to win and often does when his team doesn’t supply offense. Here’s hoping Rick Nash remembers what he’s paid for. Even better, Lundqvist can get nights off thanks to Cam Talbot, who came out of nowhere to win 12 games with three shutouts while posting a 1.64 goals-against-average and .941 save percentage. If 33 wins, a 2.36 GAA, .920 save percentage and five shutouts is an “off year,” just wait to see what Lundqvist comes back with.

Even without Richards, Boyle, Pouliot, Stralman, Dorsett and Carcillo, this remains a good team that is capable of challenging for first in the Metropolitan Division. Much depends on how some of the replacements do. Don’t forget they get a full season of Marty St. Louis which should only help. You have to like a potential top line of Kreider or Nash with Stepan and St. Louis. I don’t think you can have St. Louis and Zuccarello together the same way I believe splitting up Nash and Kreider provides more balance to the top two units.

I’m most curious to see who emerges in camp. Don’t forget Ryan Haggerty, who had an impressive Traverse City pacing our prospects with three goals. He’s a right-handed shot which is something the club lacks. While it’s still a long shot for him to make it due to stiff competition coming from Miller, Malone, Lindberg, Hayes, Ryan Bourque, Danny Kristo, I’m curious to see how he looks. I’m also pulling for Bourque, who has been written off due to his smallish 5-9, 185-pound frame. He had his best pro season with Hartford. I still feel he could surprise and become a fourth line/penalty kill specialist.

With camp tests running today and Friday followed by Monday’s first preseason game at home against the Devils on MSG, hockey is finally back. It’s about time.