The Rangers moved one step closer to a full roster with another signing on Monday. The team announced that they signed forward Fredrik Sjostrom to a new contract, reportedly a 1-year deal worth $840,000.Sjostrom, 25, acquired from Phoenix at the trade deadline, played in 69 games last season, scoring 12 goals and added 9 assists (18GP, 2G with the Rangers).
There was obviously something that the Rangers liked about the Swedish forward, since they are bringing him back for another season. He hasn't quite filled out as a top-quality NHL forward, not particularly high on any pool lists either. With only 21 points last season, he doesn't rank that high in pool scoring. However, it's players like Sjostrom that can come out of nowhere and be a hit for a season or two, so you may want to keep an eye out for him for a mid-season pool transaction, but don't jump on the bandwagon too early, as it could also have trouble making it away from teh bus station.
| Forwards | Defense | Goaltenders |
| Scott Gomez | Michal Rozsival | Henrik Lundqvist |
| Nikolai Zherdev | Wade Redden | Steve Valiquette |
| Chris Drury | Dan Girardi | |
| Markus Naslund | Paul Mara | |
| Brandon Dubinsky | Marc Staal | |
| Nigel Dawes | Dimitri Kalinin | |
| Dan Fritsche | ||
| Fredrik Sjostrom | ||
| Patrick Rissmiller | ||
| Petr Prucha | ||
| Aaron Voros | ||
| Ryan Callahan | ||
| Blair Betts | ||
| Colton Orr |
The 22 players listed above come at a fairly reasonable price, when it comes to Ranger spending. The cap hit for those 22 is only $54.7 million, still $2 million away from the cap ceiling. At worst, they should be adding one more defenseman to the mix to make the roster a full 23 players, which they could open a door to Tomas Pock or Bobby Sanguinetti for that honour. That could easily put the team in great shape come trade deadline day in February. The Rangers could have some lofty goals for 2009 and they certainly have the potential in their team to reach them.
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