Tough road ahead for Rangers’ prospects

Oscar Lindberg could replace Brian Boyle, but where will other prospects fit in?We’ve spent a lot of time discussing the hot starts by Oscar Lindberg and Jesper Fast, and their futures raises an interesting question for the Blueshirts. Along with Lindberg and Fast, the Rangers have a number of potential NHL players one rung away from the big show in Hartford including J.T. Miller, Kyle Jean, Marek Hrivik, Andrew Yogan, Christian Thomas and Ryan Bourque. Not far behind them is Michael St. Croix. It’s not that the Blueshirts have a ton of veteran forwards inked to long-term deals; only Rick Nash and Brad Richards are signed beyond next season. Nine forwards are under contract beyond this season, but only Nash and Richards have multiple years left on their pacts. So it’s not like New York is committed to a long list of players on paper at this point, but it also seems likely that a number of forwards will be here for the long haul. Nash, Richards, Ryan Callahan, Chris Kreider, Derek...