Update 7:24PM -The deal is believed to be one year at $600,000.

Original Post: According to several sources, the Rangers have agreed to terms with 28-year-old defenseman Alexei Semenov.  Semenov, 28, was at training camp on a tryout basis.  Semenov is 6’6, 235 lbs.  In his career he has played 211 career games with the Oilers, Panthers and Ducks.  He has notched 7 goals and 28 assists.

Monzo: Semenov and rookie Michael Del Zotto will continue to battle for the 6th/7th defenseman role.  Semenov has been good in camp and in preseason and brings size to the backline.  Is he a gamebreaker? Not even close.  But he adds depth to blueline that is heavily relying on youth (Staal, Girardi, Gilroy, Del Zotto…)

Update: October 1st 2:15PM: According to CSN Philly, Betts has signed with the Flyers for one season.

Original Post: Blair Betts may not be a thorn in the Rangers side after all.

Betts has yet to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers according to reports.

John Boruk, of CSN Philly, reports that if Betts and the Flyers don’t agree on a deal by tomorrow, Betts will probably not be with the Flyers.

In other Flyers news, phenom James Van Riemsdyk appears like he has made the Flyers roster.

…My guess is that Betts does sign with the Flyers or won’t be signed until some team has an injury and needs a solid defensive center to hold down the fort.

Monzo: I was chatting with a good friend of mine, EJ Hradek of ESPN Magazine, about this Blair Betts scenario. From what I can gather from that conversation, players like Blair Betts and Dominic Moore are suffering from the salary cap — and seeing Betts firsthand, like all Ranger fans have, it’s hard to fathom Betts without a contract. Betts is a top defensive center, face-off guy and penalty killer. Last year I wrote a blog about the Rangers re-signing Betts. I thought at that point he would be locked up by July 5th by some team. I was dead wrong — I would not be shocked if he doesn’t sign a contract out in Europe.

Today, the Yankees, Big East and Big 12 announced that an annual College Football Bowl Game will take place between Christmas Day and New Years starting after the 2010 season.

This could cause a problem with having the NHL’s Winter Classic game at the Stadium, since it would be tough to turnaround the College Football configuration and get everything set up for hockey in such a short time.

The deal is for four seasons.

….This stinks, I mean its nice that there is a bowl game at Yankee Stadium but if this means the Winter Classic can’t happen there its bad news. It was bad enough that they couldn’t work it out to get the game to be the last thing at the Old Yankee Stadium and  this could delay it even more.

There is Citi Field, which as a Mets fan, would be cool, but its not Yankee Stadium, it doesn’t have that same aura. The New Giants Stadium isn’t an option because of the Jets and Giants, so it could be Citi Field or bust to get a Winter Classic soon in NY.

With Sean Avery back on the ice today, the Rangers had everyone skate and the lines, according to Andrew Gross, where:

Vinny Prospal-Brandon Dubinsky-Marian Gaborik
Christopher Higgins-Chris Drury-Ryan Callahan
Enver Lisin-Artem Anisimov-Ales Kotalik
Donald Brashear-Brian Boyle-Aaron Voros

Gross notes that there still has been no decision on Alexei Semenov, who has been with the Rangers on a try-out basis. With NHL rosters due today, there are expected to be some candidates on the waiver wire.

Also from practice, Marian Gaborik took a penalty shot and “absolutely froze Henrik Lundqvist before beating him with a wrist shot”

“He’s got really quick hands and he disguises it well,” Tortorella said. “You don’t know if he’s shooting or passing. It’s always in front of him…This is why we got him…We needed a gamebreaker.”

For more on practice, visit Ranger Rants.

The team over at Yahoo!’s Puck Daddy have compiled their their projections for where teams will finish in the Eastern Conference.

The quick hits, four of the five asked, have the Rangers finishing fourth in the division, only ahead of the Islanders.

Yet, three of the five have the Rangers in the playoffs, two at six and one at eight.

To read the rest, visit Puck Daddy.

…Seems about right. Some people think the Rangers won’t make the playoffs, others think they will be in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference.

Monzo: Let’s point out that Puck Daddy is a Devil fan.  Just sayin…

According to The Prospect Park, Ryan Bourque suffered a concussion during his game on Saturday night.

Bourque is expected to miss the Quebec Remparts two game road trip and will be re-evaluated from there.

Rangers rookie defenseman Matt Gilroy will appear on NHL Live! at 12:45P ET.

Deb Placey and Billy Jaffe will be the hosts.

Tune in on the NHL Network at 12P-2P ET or on Sirius/XM to catch NHL Live!

In his Eastern Confernce preview, John Buccigross, of ESPN picks the Rangers to finish seventh in the Eastern Conference.

Scoring goals was a major problem; the Rangers had just 210 last season. (Only the Islanders had fewer in the East.) The Rangers attempted to rectify that by signing Marian Gaborik after they somehow persuaded Montreal to take Scott Gomez‘s contract. Gaborik will turn 28 in February, so he is no longer a young man in NHL terms. Players don’t usually get healthier as they grow older. When Gaborik is healthy, no player is more exciting from the red line in. He has Pavel Bure-like entertainment value.

The Rangers have an odd mix of defensemen; they are half young, half overpaid. Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival make $11.5 million combined. In Pittsburgh, $11.5 million gets you Sergei Gonchar, Brooks Orpik, Kris Letang and Jay McKee. Staal has to make a major jump, and Dan Girardi has to be more consistent. Matt Gilroy, from NCAA champion Boston University, looked real good to me during the preseason. He has an offensive flair. We will see how his skating and board play fare throughout the course of the season.

To read the rest of Buccigross’ shots at the Rangers, yet still pick them to make the playoffs, check out ESPN.com.

(Update 1:43pm) Andrew Gross spoke to Avery after practice, and Sean said this:

“It felt good,” Avery said. “It’s been about a week since I got on the ice (Sept. 21) so that’s a good feeling for sure. We’ll take tomorrow and see how it goes.”

(Original Post)Andrew Gross reports from practice that Sean Avery is participating in practice and drills but is in the orange no contact jersey.

This is Avery’s first time on the ice since he collided with Ryan Callahan on September 21st.

…Its progress at least.

Andrew Gross, of the Record, has five keys to the Rangers season.

Blue line consistency: Rookie Matt Gilroy was the team’s best defenseman in the preseason but that can’t be the case in the regular season.

Brandon Dubinsky’s development: The Rangers don’t have a true No. 1 center and need somebody to click with Gaborik.

For the rest, visit The Record.