The Rangers have sent Brennan Othamann to Hartford as part of their latest round of training camp cuts. (Brooks, Stephenson)
Othmann played in four preseason games and had one goal, 15 PIM, minus one rating and 7 shots on goal.
Dylan Roobroeck and Carey Terrance were also included in this round of cuts.
Noah Laba, Brett Berard and Gabe Perreault are still with the Rangers. So is Conor Sheary on a PTO.
Adam Rotter: It’s a little disappointing to see Othmann get cut before the final two preseason games but he has clearly been outplayed so far this preseason by Berard, Perreault and Sheary. Laba is a center and a little different, but he too has been better than Othmann.
With Mika Zibanejad playing RW and Will Cuylle also in the top-six there wasn’t a top-six spot open and I thought that that actually played into Othmann’s favor a bit. Perreault could certainly play on the third line but it still may be better for him to play top-line minutes in Hartford for a while. That third line role could have fit Othmann and the style of player he is supposed to be, but it also fits Berard’s style. A third line of Berard, Juuso Parssinen and Taylor Raddysh is very possible but you can also see Sheary filling one of those two wing spots, at least to start.
Othmann starting the season in Hartford doesn’t banish him there forever, but he’s likely to be on the top line with Laba and Perreault. Laba has certainly played well enough so far to make the Rangers but I don’t see any need to rush him at the moment. I think Parssinen should get the first crack at being the 3C, Laba can get more experience in Hartford after only playing a handful of games down there at the end of last season and in a month they can reevaluate. We certainly saw last season that the lineup you have on Opening Night likely won’t be the same lineup you have six weeks from now.