The New York Rangers have once again been huge players in the free agent market, pulling the trigger on deals with two highly coveted rearguards, Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival. GM Glen Sather inked Redden to a lucrative six-year, $39 million deal and re-signed Rozsival to a four-year, $20 million deal, two well-chosen maneuvers that unquestionably fortify their blue line corps for the foreseeable future.

Redden is one of the league’s most talented puck-moving rearguards and an excellent skater to boot; he should provide the Blueshirts’ ailing power play with a much-needed boost from day one. Meanwhile, the ever-steady Rozsival now gets moved down on the depth chart to #2, a roster adjustment that should improve New York's Cup hopes.

“Coming into New York is always an exciting thing, “Redden said. “I’ve always been excited about the opportunity to play with an Original Six team. This is certainly a great opportunity for me, and I’m really excited about it. After playing against (Scott Gomez and Chris Drury) for a number of years, I’m looking forward to being on the same team with them, they’re two great players.”

After Brian Campbell signed with the Chicago Blackhawks for eight years and $56.8 million, Redden and Rozsival were clearly the next best available options. The signings were prudent moves by GM Glen Sather, as he avoided being the one left standing in this high-stakes game of musical chairs.

“(Redden’s) the best first passer in the game today,” Sather said in a conference call last night. “He was someone we targeted immediately, our number one guy on defense.” And when asked whether the Redden signing excluded the Rangers from other high-profile free agents, Sather indicated that the Blueshirts would still be quite active on day two.

However, there still remain some unanswered questions for Madison Square Garden’s hockey heroes. Both Jaromir Jagr and Sean Avery remain un-signed, and their importance to the team (at least in 2007-08) cannot possibly be overstated. Jagr was a force down the stretch and the Rangers’ finest player during their two-round playoff run, while Avery has had an unquestionably positive effect on the team’s won-loss record since his arrival at the trade deadline in 2007.

The addition of grinder Aaron Voros should help should Avery depart. Although he’s not as skilled, he is a big, strong forward unafraid to assert himself physically. As for Jagr, he didn’t develop great chemistry with Scott Gomez or Chris Drury, and so perhaps Sather would be wise to instead turn his attentions towards less-heralded wingers more well suited to playing alongside the Rangers’ speedy centers. With that in mind, Ladislav Nagy, Pavol Demitra, Kristian Huselius, and Miroslav Satan would all fit the bill rather nicely, and shouldn’t come with as high a price tag as Jagr.

Without question, defense wins championships, and the Rangers were right to focus their attentions there. The addition of Redden (combined with the re-signing of Rozsival) gives the Blueshirts a formidable blue line corps to operate in front of perennial Vezina Trophy finalist Henrik Lundqvist, and makes them perhaps a stronger Cup contender than they were last season.