The Rangers went back to the talent pool on Thursday and picked up both Markus Naslund and defenseman, Dimitri Kalinin. Naslund has reportedly signed for 2 years at an annual cost of $4 million, while Kalinin has signed a 1-year deal.The Rangers add some more scoring to a rebuilt line-up, of sorts. Naslund has had some pretty low production years over the past couple seasons, but he still managed to pot 25 goals for the Canucks last season. His cost of $4 million a season could turn out to be a bargain if he gets out of the spotlight as team captain and can concentrate on putting pucks in the net again.
In Kalinin, the Rangers get another veteran defenseman that replaces either Tyutin or Backman, who they dealt away yesterday to Columbus. Kalinin had 8 points in 46 games for the Sabres. He missed 23 games with a knee injury and the last 12 games of the season with a shoulder injury. When healthy, he has tallied 34 points as a career high.
| Forwards | Defense | Goaltenders |
| Scott Gomez | Michal Rozsival | Henrik Lundqvist |
| Nikolai Zherdev | Wade Redden | Steve Valiquette |
| Chris Drury | Dan Girardi | |
| Markus Naslund | Marc Staal | |
| Brandon Dubinsky | Dimitri Kalinin | |
| Patrick Rissmiller | ||
| Petr Prucha | ||
| Aaron Voros | ||
| Ryan Callahan | ||
| Blair Betts | ||
| Ryan Hollweg | ||
| Colton Orr |
Naslund, ranked third among available free agents today, wasn't going to wait for Mats Sundin to sign or not sign in Vancouver, as you could assume that he would have been the back-up plan for the Canucks. Naslund took a pay cut to head to the Rangers and will have a few other star players to play with, which should re-vitalize his career.Things are looking awfully desperate for the Canucks, as Sundin will likely wait another few weeks before making his decision, which has now left the Vancouver team hanging out to dry, while other teams are snapping up all the other free agents and filling their squads. Not good news for Vancouver.
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