The Core: (Will be back next season)- Henrik Lundqvist, Marian Gaborik, Marc Staal (RFA), Ryan Callahan, Chris Drury, Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Sean Avery, Michael Del Zotto and Michal Roszival.

Should I Stay or Should I Go: (Players who may or may not be back, with my best guess)-UFA’s: Vinny Prospal (will be back if he accepts one year deal with small raise), Olli Jokinen (Don’t Let the Door Hit Ya!!!!), Alex Auld (probably gone), P.A. Parenteau (will get a better offer somewhere else), Anders Eriksson (gone), Jody Shelley (I think the Rangers will bring him back based on his play down the stretch), Corey Potter (I would let him walk). RFA’s: Staal (long term deal), Dan Girardi (might be priced out by Staal but my guess is he returns), Erik Christensen (50-50 I think he goes), Brandon Prust (could be a choice between him and Dane Byers, he gets my vote), Byers (probably edged out by Prust), Enver Lisin and Ilkka Heikkenen (nice to know ya!).

Fire Sale: (players who should be in Hartford or will be offered around for a bag of pucks)- Wade Redden, Aaron Voros, Brian Boyle and Matt Gilroy.

I have read many articles over the last few days (from some great writers like Larry Brooks of the NY Post and Steve Zipay at Newsday) about what the Rangers need NOT to do this offseason. I agree with most of what they say about free agency and trades. The Rangers do NOT need Vinny Lecavalier, Patrick Marleau, Illya Kovalchuck, Joe Thornton, Pavol Demitra or any of the other big name, huge contract suspects that will most likely be available at season’s end. The one thing I haven’t read in any of these articles is a plan for what the Rangers SHOULD do once the final buzzer sounds on another NHL campaign. Most likely the Blueshirts will have anywhere from $10-14 million dollars in cap room this offseason to re-sign Marc Staal and a few others but Glen Sather should not go on a boldface buying spree in hopes of filling his team’s needs. He should show restraint, sit down behind his desk, light up a cigar and make three phone calls. That’s it, 3 simple calls.

Call 1: Dean Lombardi, GM, Los Angeles Kings- Jack Johnson is the type of physical, edgy, stand up defenseman the Rangers have not had put on their sweater since the days of Jeff Beukeboom. A 23 year old physical specimen who plays with a chip on his shoulder and goes right up to the whistle. The Kings would love to retain Johnson to a long term deal but Lombardi has been unable to come to an agreement with him (and may not want to, looking at the huge payday that Drew Doughty will no doubt seek in a few seasons) and he is currently one year away from hitting the open market with a cap number for 2010-11 of 1.425 million. Sather should call Lombardi and ask what it would take to get the hulking defenseman to Broadway and continue to listen even after the discussion begins with the name Evgeny Grachev (whom the Kings might have interest in if they lose Alexander Frolov via free agency). If Sather could get Johnson to MSG and lock him up long term, the Rangers could have their No.1 pair (along with Staal) under contract for the foreseeable future.

Call 2: Bobby Ryan‘s Agent- The Rangers have a number of promising youngsters in the pipeline (Stepan, Kreider, Grachev, McDonagh, Bourque, Hagelin) and nobody is suggesting that Sather mortgage the future by sending these youngsters away in a deal for a quick fix but signing a 23 year old forward who is on the verge of being a top 5 power forward in the league to an offer sheet and surrendering draft picks in return if the offer is not matched is not the kind of move that could hurt this franchise. The Rangers have built up depth through the draft as of late but no one knows if any of these youngsters or anyone that the Rangers draft during the next year or two will ever be stars at the NHL level. Here is a chance to get a young player who has already proven himself on the biggest stage and will only get better. John Tortorella wants younger players who come to work every night. If the Rangers got Ryan they could have three forwards under the age of 25 who could conceivably put up 30-goal campaigns with Dubinsky, Callahan and Ryan.

Call 3: Alexander Radulov- We already had the Nik Zherdev saga, with the young talented winger who left the NHL for Russia and now here is another young, supremely talented sniper who might just be ready to give the NHL another chance. Nashville GM David Poile has had enough of Radulov and his agents and would probably be more than happy to move this headache for a mid round pick and a prospect. Reports have said that Radulov is interested in returning to the league and the idea of playing on the brightest stage in NYC might just be the dangling carrot that gets the deal done. Wouldn’t Radulov fit perfectly playing across from Gaborik on the top line next season?

I know these three moves aren’t all the GM needs to do to make sure this team takes the next step. I know it’s easy to throw out names and scenarios and think that you know better than a guy who has multiple Stanley Cup rings. I know nothing is easy in the NHL especially winning. I’m not saying I have all the answers and that the powers that be (who get paid much more than I do) haven’t already pondered these moves but what I am saying is no one gets better by standing still or staying pat. Nobody gets better by hoping that players with potential will someday mature into leaders and superstars. The Rangers have a superstar backstop entering his prime, a game changing sniper ready to rise to another level, a shutdown defenseman about to become known on a league wide basis and a group of hard working youngsters on the verge of being valuable NHL performers. Now is the time for creative thinking, creative moves and creative building. Now is the time for Glen Sather to stop filling holes and start building a winner.

John Tortorella speaks to reporters after his team’s defeat.

The Rangers got a glimpse tonight at how hard it is to win a game in the NHL when you play undisciplined hockey and take way too many penalties against a team that can make you pay. Although the Rangers still came away with the victory, their sixth straight, Coach Torts will have plenty of things to talk to his team about before Saturday’s rematch against the Leafs.

The Kings came out this evening and matched the Rangers intensity and forecheck (something their most recent opponents had been unable to accomplish) but were ultimately undone by early penalties. Vinny Prospal took advantage on the first power play deflecting a shot from the point past Kings netminder Erik Ersberg to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Before you could blink, Los Angeles tied the score 1-1 when both Marc Staal and Dan Girardi left veteran Ryan Smyth (who has made his career by standing in front of the net) alone in the crease to redirect a shot past Henrik Lundqvist. After the Kings took two more penalties, The Rangers crashed the net on a 5-on-3 advantage and Prospal cashed in his second goal of the contest.

The second period was once again a horror show for the Blueshirts as they were thoroughly outplayed by the Kings on both ends. Brian Boyle, playing against his former club for the first time, gave the Rangers their only highlight of the period when he scored his first goal of the season at the 2:17 mark. From then on, it was up to Henrik Lundqvist to keep the Rangers ahead as the Kings outshot them 14-11 but had many more quality chances including Michal Handzus goal on the power play that pulled them within one at 7:18 of the period. John Tortorella took a timeout late to remind his team that they needed to wake up and bring the work ethic or this game could slip away very quickly.

The third period began with the Kings carrying play as they did in the second. The Rangers were outshot in the third 10-1. Fortunately for the Rangers, the one shot was off the blade of Marian Gaborik and beat Ersberg to give the Rangers a 2 goal cushion at 4:22 that they would hold on to despite a relentless Kings attack throughout the period.

The Rangers definitely did not have their “A” game tonight versus a very good opponent but they pulled out a victory. They really need to get back to their even strength game that helped them to impressive victories over the Ducks and Maple Leafs earlier this week. I’m sure Torts will get the message through before their next game.

Thumbs Up- Brian Boyle scoring his first goal as a Ranger against his old club was a nice moment and came at a time when the Rangers needed a shot of momentum. Ryan Callahan was all over the ice again and came close to scoring on the PP before Prospal cashed in his rebound. Michael Del Zotto had another strong performance and has all but secured his place on the roster for the remainder of the season.

Thumbs Down- Dan Girardi followed up two great performances with a miserable one in which he was outmuscled by Ryan Smyth leading to a bad penalty, took another bad penalty late and was out of position a few times, including on the first goal by Smyth. Marc Staal didn’t fare much better as he took a couple of bad penalties and wasn’t much of a factor physically. Artem Anisimov and Enver Lisin (who were praised by Torts yesterday) were invisible tonight and need to work harder to make an impact.

Three Stars- 3- Marian Gaborik- Once again, Gaborik scored exactly when the Rangers needed it most and once again, he made it look easy. He extended his point scoring streak to seven games with his sixth goal of the season and with each game becomes more and more of a danger for opposing defenses.He also was a factor on the penalty kill.

2- Vinny Prospal- Prospal scored his 200th and 201st career goals in this game and gave the Rangers an early push in this hotly contested matchup. Prospal has been a perfect fit so far with the Blueshirts and should be a leading candidate for the second alternate captain spot once Torts decides to bestow the honor on someone.

1- Henrik Lundqvist- Henrik had to endure many quality chances and tough shots (not to mention being run two more times in what is becoming a recurring theme that should concern the organization) and was outstanding. His two saves early on Dustin Brown set the tone and his stellar play and positioning late helped carry the team to the victory.

The Rangers go for seven straight on Saturday when they travel to Toronto to face a Leafs team that will be looking to avenge the 7-2 beating at the hands of the Blueshirts earlier this week.

Donald Brashear returned to the ice today after missing yesterday’s practice due to soreness from Monday’s game against Toronto. He will be a game time decision. If Brashear cannot go, Aaron Voros will get the start in his place.

Tonight will be Brian Boyle’s first game against the team that drafted him. Boyle, acquired by the Blueshirts in a draft day trade with Los Angeles, spent 5 seasons in the Kings’ organization and is looking forward to facing his old team. “It should be fun,” says Boyle. “They’ve been doing pretty well and had some success, but we need to just go out and win and keep playing well ourselves.” “I still have a lot of friends over there, but they won’t be friends (tonight), for sure,” explained Boyle, who notched eight goals in 36 games with the Kings over the past two seasons. “I want to go out and do well for this club first and foremost, for the Rangers. That’s my main focus, doing well for us, and contribute to a win for us.”

For more comments from Boyle about tonight’s game, Here is a video of his meeting with reporters: