The yearly cry for a veteran seventh defenseman - it never fails.
In habitual offseason spirit, fans have been linking the Rangers to different veteran blue-liners from around the league that (they claim) the team could possibly get their hands on for next season as a sixth or seventh defenseman. Every year this turns up as a topic of discussion and every year the Rangers don't land the defenseman everyone wants. Why? Because the Blueshirts never had interest in any of the names they were being linked to in the first place.
Sorry, but the drivel that is spit out from HF Boards and Bleacher Report is not something you should be taking seriously, nor does it have any validity whatsoever. People stating that the Rangers are trading defensive prospects for Alex Semin of the Caps? Give me a break. Oh, and search that rumor, see where its roots stemmed from. Exactly.
Anyway, the Rangers already have their seventh defenseman and do not have to scan the market for one. All signs point towards GM Glen Sather re-signing 27-year-old Steve Eminger once he gets Ryan Callahan's new contract in place. Eminger is no standout defenseman, I realize that, but if you are looking for spark and pizazz, you aren't looking for a seventh defenseman.
When I think seventh defenseman, the word "serviceable" comes to mind. Serviceable most commonly means "usable" or "able to fulfill its function". That is all you should be seeking in a seventh defenseman, and Steve Eminger absolutely brings that to the table. He is aware of the basics of defense, he hits everything in sight and believe it or not, he does have the ability to make an outlet pass on rare occasion. In my book, that is "fulfilling his function".
Assuming Michael Del Zotto makes the team out of training camp, the Rangers will have five defenseman on the roster; Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh, Michael Sauer, Michael Del Zotto. The sixth spot is believed to be up for grabs among the young prospects who will be attending camp, such as Tim Erixon, Pavel Valentenko and Dylan McIlrath. If there is a spot that can be filled by a rookie body, head coach John Tortorella will not hesitate to go ahead and do just that, so I fully expect one of those three to make the club.
So with six spots taken, there is only room for one spare. This is where Eminger comes in. Emmy made just over $1 million last season and since it appears that he hasn't had much interest shown from any other teams around the league, I think it's a good possibility he will play in New York for even less than that next season. The Rangers have about $10 million in cap space at the moment and Callahan is expected to be paid between $4 and $5 million. That leaves plenty of room to re-sign Eminger.
If you read the real rumors - the ones that come from beat writers with actual information - Sather wants Eminger back and will re-sign him as soon as Callahan is taken care of. There's your seventh defenseman right there, so please, to save yourself from embarrassment, please stop with the false rumors.
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