My thoughts on the Rangers FA class, a thread. 1. Blake Wheeler: a tall, productive veteran forward that fills a need at RW. Wheeler can easily slide up and down the lineup and provided good leadership in Winnipeg.
2. Jonathan Quick: a cheap veteran backup goalie who can give Igor a day off and hopefully provide similar results as Jaro Halak from last season. Quick is a 3x Stanley cup champion and a proven leader.
3. Nick Bonino: a pesky 4th line center who plays hard and can kill penalties. The Rangers have lacked a true 4th line center in recent years, alternating between a rotation of guys such as Greg Mckegg and Jonny Brodinski.
4. Erik Gustafsson: a 3rd pairing defenseman who put up a great offensive season under Peter Laviolette last season. Gustafsson can easily slide up the defensive lineup and fills a big need for the Rangers.
5. The others: Guys like Riley Nash and Tyler Pitlick could fill in as the last forward on the 4th line this season. Other signings like Connor Mackey, Nikolas Brouillard, and Mac Hollowell are less likely to crack the opening night roster.