The larger issue attendant to the recall of 29-year-old winger Brandon Segal from the AHL Whale for tomorrow night’s opener in Boston to fill in for Arron Asham — serving a one-game carryover suspension from last year’s playoff shenanigans as a Penguin against the Flyers — is Rangers coach John Tortorella’s decision to define Stu Bickel as a defenseman rather than a hybrid to be shuttled up front when a fourth-line vacancy arises.
“I would like him to be [a defenseman exclusively],” Tortorella said of the 26-year-old, 6-foot-4, 207 pound Bickel, who skated up front in a half-dozen games last year in his NHL rookie season. “I like Bick’s reach, I like the air he takes on our back end.
“He’s getting better at understanding how to play the position and he adds some jam back there. If we can, I’d like to stay away from [moving Bickel to forward]. I’d like to keep him paired with Michael [Del Zotto] and keep him back there.”
Segal, who is 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds and who signed as a free agent last summer, has 102 games of NHL experience. He played 10 games last year for the Lightning.
“He caught my eye … during the lockout as being really good along the wall and stepping up to fight a guy with no hesitation,” Tortorella said of Segal, who recorded 16 points (9-7) in 38 games in the AHL. “He was a good player for them; I hope it’s not one-and-done, and that he becomes part of our depth.”
* The Rangers exercised the accelerated compliant buyout of Wade Redden. The club will carry his $5.6 million cap hit throughout the season, even if he does join another NHL team as a free agent, but the defenseman will be removed from the cap as of 2013-14…. Tortorella regarding his team’s preparedness to open the season: “They’ve practiced very well and now they’re itchy to play,” he said. “By the end of tomorrow, we will be ready to play.”