Their annual free agency frenzy over, the Rangers are pretty well set from a roster perspective with their season-opening pair of games against Tampa Bay in Prague now less than three months away.

However, a couple of questions remain -- one great and one small.

The small one: Who will be the seventh defenseman? While Thomas Pock's name might be the most recognizable among the candidates, his salary and the requirement that he pass through waivers to go to or from the minors makes him the least likely to get the job. So figure instead on a rotation of youngsters such as Bobby Sanguinetti, Corey Potter and Michael Sauer.

The great one: Will the Rangers re-sign Brendan Shanahan?

In the immediate aftermath of the big-ticket signings of Wade Redden ($6.5 million per season) and Markus Naslund ($4 million per) and with the re-signing of Michal Rozsival at $5 million per, the Rangers figured to be right up against the salary cap. But subsequent deals for wingers Nigel Dawes and Fredrik Sjostrom came in a bit lower than expected, clearing approximately $1 million.

Throw in the fact that some winger who makes approximately $1 million would have to be lopped off the roster to make room for Shanahan, and the Rangers probably could afford the modest price the 39-year-old is seeking from the only team he has considered playing for in 2008-09.

But while Rangers GM Glen Sather continues to say that the door remains open to a Shanahan return, he has yet to make a move to re-sign the future Hall of Famer. And with every day that passes without such a move, it becomes increasingly clear that the Rangers don't have Shanahan in their plans for this season.

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