Melchiori, Sol or Jasper?

This week was a bit of a shocking week in Ranger land. Defensemen Cody Sol and Julian Melchiori were unexpectedly returned from the St. John's Icecaps training camp, creating quite the issue on the blue line. Add to that the names Murphy, McEnemy and Hasson and you have the rest the Rangers who made headlines this week.

After strong play at the Winnipeg Jets camp and at St. John's camp, the conclusion had been made that both Sol and Melchiori would not be back in Rangers blue this year. Being that they were both over-age players, it looks like the OA situation on East Ave had settled down, and Spott would only have 3 to choose from (Forwards Michael Hasson and Michael Cattenaci, with defensemen Jonathan Jasper). However almost as soon as the two Jets members came back, Michael Hasson was placed on and later cleared waivers, and had been released from the club.

Now the over-age question remains, who will stay with us after the deadline? It appears highly unlikely that Michael Cattenaci will be moved as he is team captain. That means Sol, Jasper or Melchiori will have to be moved. All three could bring back some draft picks or young prospects. The question now becomes do you trade for the future, or do you trade for the present? Sol and Melchiori are more likely to bring back future high end talent, whereas getting rid of Jasper would seem like the smart move if the Rangers were interested in being strong this season. Send Jasper away for some 19 year old talent, who could come back to lead the team in his OA season next year would be perfect. But would losing a great defensemen for this season be such a bad thing? Regardless of who is on the Rangers, they're not going to make a title run this season there just isn't enough talent. So maybe trade away Sol or Melchiori to a team like Sarnia or Plymouth, who seem to be in the hunt, and get back a few 2nd rounder for the next couple years. Then we'd make a title run with a few great players.

Evan McEnemy made news this week after it was released that he would not return to play this season. McEnemy suffered a torn ACL during last friday's 4-1 win over Saginaw. It really is unfortunate for this kid, since he seemed to get exponentially better during the offseason. During the home opener two weeks ago he regularly outplayed his line mate Jasper and was a force to be reckoned with. Here's hoping he makes a speedy recovery and we might see him come playoff time.

Finally, Ryan Murphy was kept with the big club in Carolina past Wednesdays deadline. This is huge for the Rangers, who's struggling power play could really use his big blue line shot. What's really frustrating is the fact that he didn't even play last night in Carolina's season opener. Why would the Hurricanes keep Murphy in Carolina so he can watch from a press box? How does that help your prospects develop? It is my opinion that the sooner Murph is returned to Kitchener, the better it is for all involved. He can put up big points on the blue line this season and develop into the star player that the Canes really want him to be. Plus, with him on the team the Rangers will win more. And who doesn't like to see more wins?