Will the Rangers Be Able to Come Back?

The New York Rangers have started the season poorly. Only 1-4 and have been outscored 20-5 in that span. Their only win coming against the LA Kings. And with that record intact, there seems to be some changes already in effect.

On Monday the Rangers put backup goaltender Martin Biron and winger Arron Asham on waivers, intending to send them down to their AHL team in Hartford. The belief for this team is that they will recall goalie Cam Talbot, who had a good training camp but wasn't great enough to make it to the NHL team. Also, there is some speculation that the Rangers will bring up either Chris Kreider or J.T. Miller to replace the waived Asham. Also, the Rangers have placed Rick Nash on injured reserve. He is still suffering symptoms of his head injury he incurred a week ago in San Jose.

With all these moves, Coach Alain Vigneault insists that this isn't a shakeup of his team. On Biron, Vigneault stated, "It's a performance-based business, and the organization felt that Marty's first two performances were not what we expected."

Well, his performance has dipped in the past few years since he left Philadelphia. And he certainly looked too rusty in his performances against Los Angeles, San Jose, and St. Louis. I'm getting a hint that he might end up retiring soon. He's had a good career but he's not been playing great of late and with him going to the AHL, I'm sure this is his wake-up call to retire.

As for Asham, he was waived and unclaimed in the summer. However, he made the team in camp and then was made a healty scratch in Saturday's game against the Blues. I'm not sure which team will want to take a chance on Asham. He has been a pest for opponents for the past couple seasons and will be no surprise if no team plans on taking him. Just remember Sean Avery. He was a little bit more pesty than Asham, though, but the point still stands.

Anyway, I don't know what direction the Rangers are going. They're struggling in net. Henrik Lundqvist has definitely not been great either, but he is the face of the Rangers and they're going to need him going forward. I hope Cam Talbot proves a better backup than Biron. He's younger and he's a little more talented while Biron is a bit past his prime and should retire. As for the replacement for Asham, I don't really know these players that well. But if they can provide what Asham couldn't, in terms of defense and helping Lundqvist, then I'd say let them stay. In the meantime, we'll see where the Rangers go. They play the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.