Difficult to believe, but hockey season is right around the corner. The New York locals have already assembled for camp, and the preseason schedule begins at the end of next week.

From the sound of it, there’s a lot of excitment in Rangers camp, and beat reporters Sam Weinman, John Dellapina, and Steve Zipay have you covered with all the bits and buzz thus far. Via Weinman’s blog, Rangers Report:

Both Jaromir Jagr and Scott Gomez tried to downplay it, but it was hard not to notice how comfortable the two appeared with one another on the ice. Officially, Gomez scored one goal in the 30-minute afternoon scrimmage, although another one trickled past Chris Holt that the referees never saw.

And even when not scoring, the line, with Marcel Hossa on the left wing, had possession of the puck for several long stretches in the offensive zone.
…
Tom Renney’s explanation for his line combinations today, which also included [Chris] Drury with Brendan Shanahan and Sean Avery: “Just trying what everybody on the planet suggested would be obvious.”

Some other news of note: The Blueshirts are apparently toying with the notion of playing Ryan Callahan at center, a solution that nicely alleviate the team’s glut of skilled wingers, allowing Martin Straka and Petr Prucha to slide in alongside Callahan on the third line. One thing is for sure, this roster has some pop.

Also, fans of Darius Kasparaitis will be pleased to hear that the veteran defenseman has apparently gotten his life together. After a 2006-2007 season filled with injuries, demotions, a difficult divorce, and an emotional meltdown, Kaspar has dropped 20 pounds and has arrived to camp determined to return to the NHL. Unfortunately, any such return will most likely have to come with another squad, as there simply isn’t any room on this current defense corp for the 34-year-old Lithuanian, especially not at a price tag of nearly #3 million.

Lastly, if you’re interested in seeing the Blueshirt incarnation of the new threads that NHL teams will be sporting this year, you can check them out here, courtesy of the Blueshirt Bulletin.