The New York Rangers made a series of roster moves to cut the roster down to 28 players Saturday afternoon after the team moved to 2-1-1 in preseason play.
General manager Chris Drury announced that Will Cuylle, Ty Emberson, Tim Gettinger, Lauri Pajuniemi, and Andy Welinski had been assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL).
While the team acknowledged that goaltender Louis Domingue was still on the roster, reports have stated that the free agent acquisition has been put on waivers. If he were to clear waivers, Domingue is expected to join Hartford.
Domingue made 10 saves out of 11 chances in the Rangers 2-1 win over the Devils Friday night.
Cuylle, a top prospect for the Rangers, played in two preseason games this year for New York and was a captain for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL last season. Cuylle said repeatedly throughout camp and rookie development camp that his goal was to make the NHL squad this year. It appears the former second-round pick will need to wait a little bit longer.
With the latest roster moves, the Rangers currently hold 28 players and will need to make a total of five more roster moves to be under the NHL-compliant roster requirements.
After New York’s 2-1 win over the New Jersey Devils Friday night, head coach Gerard Gallant teased that more cuts were coming in the future and that “we’re going to have most of our team playing those last couple of (preseason) games to get them ready for the preseason.”
The Rangers will need to find a successful fourth line with players like training camp invitee Jimmy Vesey, free agent acquisition Ryan Carpenter and Ryan Reaves all jockeying for a spot on the regular season roster.
Matt Bartkowski, Libor Hajek, Zac Jones and Jarred Tinordi are also competing for the final starting roster spot to pair with Braden Schneider.
New York concludes their preseason schedule with two games against the Boston Bruins (Wednesday 10/5) and the New York Islanders (Saturday 10/8). The Rangers will need to make a minimum of five free agent cuts within the next week and a half before their season opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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