A tough task for the Rangers

The New York Rangers currently have the following NHL players signed (according to nhlnumbers and HF Boards) - Henrik Lundqvist, defensemen Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, Bobby Sanguinetti and Michael Del Zotto, forwards Scott Gomez, Chris Drury, Sean Avery, Aaron Voros and Artem Anisimov. This means that they have to sign or acquire a backup goalie and 7 forwards. However this situation doesn't give the Rangers much flexibility. The contracts of Drury and Gomez are a burden to the team and some RFAs are crucial for the Rangers.

The Rangers will definitely try to re-sign Ryan Callahan, Lauri Korpikoski, Nik Antropov, Nik Zherdev and Brandon Dubinsky. The youngsters Callahan and Korpikoski shouldn't be a problem but if Zherdev and Antropov have too high expectations, they will have to be let go. Additionally Dubinsky's success will surely translate to a raise. The raises aren't a problem until you consider that the Rangers already have around $40 million spent. If Dubinsky demands $2 million and both Nik's around $4 million each (realistically there is a chance that they will want more), the Rangers might even have trouble completing the roster, especially after they give a new contract to Callahan.