New York Rangers Season Preview: Rangers Hold Informal Practice, Injury Updates, And Del Zotto's Contract Situation
A little over 24 hours after news broke about a tentative deal in place to end the NHL lockout, the Rangers are back on the ice for a informal skate led by Brad Richards. We'll also look at Gaborik's and Nash's health, and into Del Zotto's contract.
The New York Rangers are back it for their first informal skate of the 2012-2013 regular season, well, not officially, but you get the point. This is coming just 24 hours after news broke that the National Hockey League and NHL Players' Association reached a tentative deal for a new collective bargaining agreement. But enough of that lockout stuff we kept hearing about for a while.
There were a total of 15 Rangers players taking place in the informal skate this morning, including the Rangers newest addition, Rick Nash. Other players that attended the skate were: Ryan Callahan, Brad Richards, Marc Staal, Ryan McDonagh, Derek Stepan, Mike Rupp, Brian Boyle, Carl Hagelin, Arron Asham, Jeff Halpern, Anton Stralman, Steve Eminger, Michael Del Zotto, and Taylor Pyatt. Marian Gaborik was not on the ice this morning, but not because of injury related reasons. Last season's 40-goal scorer is currently making arrangements to make his way back to New York City from his home in Slovakia.
Speaking of injuries, we had some health updates on Marian Gaborik, Carl Hagelin and Rick Nash. If you didn't know already, all three are 100% cleared of their past injuries and are ready to go once training camp opens up. Rick Nash stated after the skate that he has no lingering issues from the groin strain he suffered over in Europe. Carl Hagelin also stated that he was 100% following the recovery from his shoulder injury suffered in Sweden.
Finally, we get down to Michael Del Zotto's contract situation, which is expected to get off the ground here shortly. According to Katie Strang, Del Zotto's agent, Don Meehan, will talk with Del Zotto later this afternoon, and will than meet with Rangers GM Glen Sather. However, nothing can become officially official until the new collective bargaining agreement is ratified by the NHL's Board of Governors on Wednesday.
