Been waiting 23 days to do this Live Chat about the Rangers’ summer moves … but since nothing really happened between July 1 and yesterday, well …

So be there at noon today when we do the Live Chat following the first significant acquisition the Rangers have made. We can talk about Rick Nash and/or Shane Doan, Alex Semin, Brandon Dubinsky, Brandon Prust, Artem Anisimov … or anything you want to discuss.

Bring your questions, comments, snarky remarks—live at noon. Be there. Or else.

Meanwhile, here’s Kevin Allen’s analysis of the Rangers-Blue Jackets trade from USA Today ^[1].

As you know, I was saying all along that the Rangers sure could use a guy like Nash (or former future Ranger J.P. Parise Jr.). And now that he’s here, and maybe more is coming (Doan?), there’s little doubt the Rangers are a better team personnel-wise. And I think that some of their fourth-line moves (Jeff Halpern and Taylor Pyatt, but not Arron Asham or Micheal Haley) could be upgrades over John Mitchell and Ruslan Fedotenko.

But I do have a little bit of a concern that this Rangers team lost some of its one-for-all, difficult-to-play-against identity in the two Brandons, who could both play tough and play defensively and kill penalties and stick up for teammates while playing top-nine minutes. I don’t think the Rangers have many forwards among their top nine who can do all those things now.

Do you think that’s a worry?

Also, do you think the Rangers, with all their remaining cap space, will add a No. 4-5-6 defenseman (preferably a right-handed shot)?