BREAKING: Rangers final roster cuts raises more questions than answers

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Filip Chytil (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

In a bit of an unsuspecting twist, not only was Filip Chytil sent to Hartford, but also Vitali Kravtsov who showed tons of upside in his 5 preseason games. The biggest shock was not that Gregg McKegg made the roster over Kravtsov, but that Michael Haley appears to be sticking around as the 13th forward.

Trying to understand not keeping Kravtsov up

When it comes to Filip Chytil, it was clear that he didn’t earn his spot. As a 20 year old, it is still very early in his development process that a stint in Hartford is a good thing. Also, Quinn is a firm believer that nothing is given and everything is earned. Keeping Chytil here off of his preseason performance sends the wrong message.

Now when it comes to Kravtsov, the kid looked as good as Gregg McKegg did with a lot more upside. Of course, it is still extremely early in his development cycle that this is not the end of the world. It’s probably better in the long run to get that extra game in Hartford over the next two weeks since the Rangers only play 3 time over that time.

Here is how the 22 man roster looks:

No surprises on defense as I stated that it was basically preset going into the season with Brendan Smith being the 7th defenseman. But it still makes no sense to me why McKegg isn’t the 13th forward and Kravtsov the 3rd line RW.

We will have more later when David Quinn and Jeff Gorton address the media.

By Anthony Scultore

Anthony Scultore has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL since 2014. His work also appears at... More about Anthony Scultore

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