Yesterday’s trade of Matt Cullen back to his former team in Carolina seems to have raised more questions than it answered for the Rangers. Rumors that Cullen might be on the move initially surfaced several weeks ago when multiple sources were reporting that defenseman Sheldon Souray was waiting to sign a free agent contract in order to allow the Blueshirts time and leverage to clear some cap space. When Souray subsequently reached a deal with the Edmonton Oilers, it seemingly eliminated any dire need to clear salary.

Thus, it was extremely interesting to see the Rangers unload Cullen to the Hurricanes yesterday in exchange for 2008 third-round draft pick and “a pair of definite maybes,” as the Post’s Larry Brooks today refers to 27-year-old defenseman Andrew Hutchinson and 21-year-old center prospect Joe Barnes. Meanwhile, though the team’s top-six forwards are significantly stronger with Scott Gomez and Chris Drury in the fold, the team has weakened itself at the third-line pivot with the trade of Cullen. As Brooks states, “The Rangers cleared cap space they might never need by digging a hole at center they’re likely to have a difficult time filling.”

While the situation may not be quite that dire, there’s no denying that this roster continues to be a work-in-progress. For a team that seemed to be firing on all cylinders down the stretch last season, the Blueshirts have already seen a fair share of upheaval this offseason, and it seems as if that trend will continue. As the Journal News’ Sam Weinman points out on his blog, the Rangers find themselves with quite a glut of defenseman (though continue to lack an impact top-four blueliner).

The newly acquired Hutchinson joins Fedor Tyutin, Dan Girardi, Marek Malik, Michal Rozsival, Paul Mara, Thomas Pock, and Jason Strudwick as defenseman currently under contract for New York. Top prospect Marc Staal is ready to make the jump to the NHL by all accounts, and it’s difficult to see management holding him back for yet another year. Meanwhile 34-year-old Darius Kasparaitis holds another year on his contract at $3.16 million, and according to Weinman, the rugged defenseman has reportedly overcome the injury and conditioning problems that plagued him last season, and has worked himself back into impressive shape, “intent on staying with the NHL club rather than being returned to Hartford.” Because of the money alone, it’s difficult to imagine Kasparaitis making the roster next season, but we’d be remiss not to toss his name into the mix. All in all, that’s 10 defenseman for presumably seven spots. Something’s got to give.

In the Post, Brooks states that he expects Hutchinson or Pock to be a victim of the waiver wire, as neither can be sent to the minors without first clearing waivers, and there seems little way that both could make the team. Neither defenseman would likely clear waivers, and the Rangers would lose their rights altogether. Even so, the surplus remains. It will be interesting to see if the Rangers have another deal in the works here of if the team plans on trimming this fat defense corp in training camp. Time will tell.