What's Left for the Rangers: 6 Defensemen New York Could Target to Bolster Depth

If you thought it was slim pickings regarding what's left on the free agent market for forwards, wait until we get into what's left for defense. Generally speaking, it's fair to assume the Rangers have their seven defensemen locked in to their opening night roster. Newly signed Vladislav Gavrikov will accompany Adam Fox on the top pair, the second pair will likely feature Braden Schneider on the left with Will Borgen on the right, and the third pairing will be some combination of Carson Soucy, Urho Vaakanainen and Scott Morrow.

In that sense, the Rangers really don't need to entertain much else on the open market on defense. However, beyond those seven names, the Rangers only have six defensemen under contract in the entire organization. Yes, there are always guys on AHL contracts and ECHL fill-ins, but similar to the forwards, the Rangers could benefit from at least another signing or two. Beyond the NHL level, here's what the Rangers have:

Matthew Robertson - Casey Fitzgerald
Connor Mackey - Derrick Pouliot
Jackson Dorrington - Brandon Scanlin

Of those six, only one of them (Fitzgerald) is a right-handed shot defenseman. It's also not necessarily a sure thing that Morrow has a guaranteed roster spot with the Rangers coming out of training camp. In that scenario, the Rangers could certainly benefit from signing another defenseman capable of being either a seventh NHL defenseman and/or a top-four AHL defenseman—unless, of course, Matthew Robertson makes the team out of camp and becomes capable of playing in a third pair role.

I should also mention two of the players I talked about heading into free agency are still available in Matt Grzelcyk and Jan Rutta. Both players also have experience playing under Mike Sullivan and as a result, would make a ton of sense to come to New York. However, similar to Luke Kunin with the forwards, I won't fully rehash the case for them. Instead, you can read more about them here.

With that, here are some defenders still available that could be of interest to the New York Rangers.

T.J. Brodie

Once upon a time, T.J. Brodie was a highly coveted top-pair defenseman in the NHL. In his prime, which coincided with that of fringe-Hall-of-Famer Mark Giordano, he helped run the blueline in Calgary. Unfortunately, given the Flames' lack of success across the last decade-plus, it never got them anywhere. Giordano has since retired and Brodie has had quite the fall from grace since leaving Calgary. Across four seasons with Toronto, Brodie gradually fell down their depth chart but was still good for give-or-take 25 points a season.

This time last year, Brodie signed a two-year deal with the Blackhawks where after 10 points in 54 games (and a -18) he was bought out and remains unsigned. In his prime, Brodie was a puck-moving, offensive defenseman who could be relied on to eat minutes and defend against opponents top players. These days, it's not a sure thing he's even an NHL caliber defenseman anymore. However, on a team like the Rangers that could use a fringe NHL/AHL defenseman, Brodie could be a decent fit for that role. He's coming off some brutal seasons in Chicago, but there is a good chance that says more about the state of the Blackhawks than it does about what kind of player Brodie is now.