Rangers Defence Promising But Immature

The New York Rangers achilles heel in the upcoming season is their defence. Young and promising as they are there are constant rumblings that Tyutin may be available if the right deal for a #1 defender came along. The top six have good strength but are not fleet of foot. The tope 4 pairings look solid if not spectacular. The Rangers may put alot of pucks in the net but they might be fishing even more out of their own cage.

GM Burns went out and got a defensive stalwart in Brad Lukowich. Lukowich is strong defensively and positionally but doesn't shine in many other areas. The Rangers had a wealth of offensively gifted Dmen and brought Lukowich as an anchor. Mathew Spiller is back after sitting out an entire season due to a contract dispute and he looks better than ever. The defence is very young which could cause some problems. Here are the likely starting pairings:

Brad Lukowich
Age: 29
Brad Lukowich D L OK 58 65 69 75 90 62 67 70 73 78 65 66 70 74




Ossi Vaananen
Age: 25
Ossi Vaananen D L OK 73 74 79 76 78 26 71 73 77 70 72 53 62 77



Vaananen is good all around but is a year away from being the type of player that anchors the defence. He has good strength, speed, intensity, and is great with the puck. His defensive zone work is not incredibly high but he the rest of his attributes make him a great package of talent. Lukowich can sit back, defend, and let Vaananen control the back end of the game.

Mathew Spiller
Age: 23
Matthew Spiller D L OK 78 65 77 66 79 47 71 62 66 75 60 38 49 74



Fedor Tyutin
Age 22
Fedor Tyutin D L OK 74 61 77 72 80 58 71 78 78 67 66 41 48 75



While it may seem risky to put two such inexperienced youngsters together these two young stars in the making mesh well together. Tyutins puck handling skills are balnced nicely by Spillers strength, intesity and defensive acumen. These two could be the core of the Rangers defense for the next decade.

Tomas Kloucek
Age: 25
Tomas Kloucek D L OK 75 64 81 73 74 32 76 61 71 72 67 45 57 75




Brooks Orpik
Age: 26
Brooks Orpik D L OK 78 66 79 76 73 32 66 66 68 71 57 56 51 74



The youth parade continues into the third line as young Orpik and Kloucek will be expected to shoulder a signifigant load. Both can be shakey in the defensive zone but both are strong and play the Body. Orpik in particular has a penchant for hitting.