Reports: Rangers Release Lapierre from Tryout; Waive Bodie and Summers
With three cuts, the Rangers trim the roster to 36 players.
The New York Rangers have waived defensemen Chris Summers and Mat Bodie, as first reported by salary cap website General Fanager. Center Max Lapierre has also been released from his professional tryout with the team, per TVA Sports' Renaud Lavoie.
Lapierre had a subpar preseason, taking numerous penalties and looking slow on his feet. There was a point in time where he was a serviceable fourth-line center, but that was years ago. After years of similar players like Jarret Stoll and Ryan Malone earning spots on the roster due to past performance and prioritizing of veteran leadership, it's refreshing to see the Rangers cut bait with Lapierre this soon even despite the uncertainty at fourth-line center.
This leaves Brandon Pirri (almost certainly making the team in some capacity), Josh Jooris, Nathan Gerbe, and Marek Hrivik to fight for the fourth-line center spot; at least until Oscar Lindberg returns.
Summers and Bodie had outside shots at making the team as the seventh or eighth defensemen but their being cut this early is perhaps a bit of a surprise. Not unfairly so, however. Both have been outplayed by prospects Ryan Graves and John GIlmour. Bodie still just does not have the size or defensive awareness to competently defend in the NHL, whereas the big but slow and clumsy Summers is a vestige from a different era of hockey.