from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

Both Lee Stempniak (in on a one-year free agent deal for $900,000) and Matt Lombardi (in at $800,000 per for two years) will fall under the AHL threshold, so neither would count against the cap for so much of a nickel if either fails to make the Rangers out of camp.

But these additions of marginal NHL players doesn’t say a lot for the organization’s confidence in the readiness of kids in the organization such as J.T. Miller, Danny Kristo, Oscar Lindberg, Ryan Haggerty and maybe even Jesper Fast to nail down spots with the varsity, much less be difference-makers.

Seriously. Would Stempniak — who scored for the Penguins in Game 1 against the Rangers, then went pointless in the next six matches of the second round while bouncing all over the lineup — or Lombardi — who was in Switzerland last year and hasn’t had a productive NHL season since 2009-10 — have made a difference against L.A.?

And how three years at $1.45 million per for Tanner Glass — scratched by Pittsburgh for five of seven playoff games against the Rangers — is a better investment than one year at $1.633 million for Derek Dorsett escapes me.

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