The start of the New York Rangers season is closing in on us, and with that, the team is starting to make more cuts.
The New York Rangers announced Thursday afternoon that they assigned four players to the Hartford Wolf Pack, including John Gilmour.
OFFICIAL: #NYR have made the following changes to the #NYRTC roster:
Fontaine, Gettinger, Gilmour, and Gropp have been assigned to @WolfPackAHL.Butler and Melanson, have been released from their respective Tryouts and will join the Wolf Pack Training Camp. pic.twitter.com/CFNSPO2SAM
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) September 27, 2018
The big name here is Gilmour’s. He was in the mix to be one of the younger Rangers to crack the roster on the blueline. But, throughout the preseason, Gilmour just did not have what it took to edge out the likes of Neal Pionk, Tony DeAngelo, and Libor Hajek who have all impressed David Quinn and his coaching staff.
Gilmour was one of the players that the Blueshirts called up after the trade deadline moves last season. He skated in 28 games, scoring five points (2-3-5) and was a minus-11.
Tim Gettinger was having a good preseason, but not good enough to beat out some of the other Ranger rookies like Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson, Brett Howden, and Vinni Lettieri. This will be Gettinger’s first season in Hartford after spending the last four seasons in the OHL where he scored 187 points.
For Ryan Gropp, this preseason was an opportunity for him to make an impression after his development had not gone the way he and the Rangers had hoped it would. However, it looks to be more of the same for Gropp who will be joining Gettinger and Gilmour in Hartford.
The Rangers still have some decisions to make when it comes to the final roster. The backup goaltender position is still up in the air as Alexandar Georgiev, Dustin Tokarski, and Marek Mazanec have all been impressive. There is also a decision to be made about where Andersson, Chytil, and Howden start their season. All three of them can be sent to the AHL without having to go through waivers.
Those decisions are expected to be made Friday as the Blueshirts and the rest of the league close out the preseason. Opening night is just a week away.
