The NHL Entry Draft kicks off tonight and with it, the official Hot Stove season for the NHL gets going as well.

Word out of New York is that the Rangers are in no hurry to offer contracts to any of their own free agents meaning Jaromir Jagr, Shanny, Straka, Avery, Roszival, Mara, and Malik will all hit the open market on July 1.

Last year the Rangers came out of the gate wallets blazing on July 1 grabbing up Scotty Gomez and Chris Drury in the time it takes to say "Holy hell did you see what the Rangers just did?"

I'm going to make some assumptions: Jagr, Roszival, Mara, Malik, and Straka are gone. With that in mind, considering the available free agents around the league, here is my best case scenario for how this summer could go:

Sign blueliners Brooks Orpik and Brian Campbell: The lack of a reliable QB on the power play was a bugaboo for the Rangers all season long. Campbell's close ties with Chris Drury have New York abuzz that the Rangers will snatch him up on July 1.

The Rangers' second biggest problem was their lack of physical play on defense. They had big bodied guys like Malik, Mara, and later Chris Backman, but none of those players plays a physical game. Orpik does. In fact, he would probably be the most physical blueliner the Rangers had since Beukeboom retired.

Upfront the Rangers have a decision to make. Do they keep Jagr and continue to try to force the offense through him, or do they turn the team over to Drury and Gomez and get them the kinds of guys who will fit in well with them? I think they pick the latter. The Rangers did not spend all that money on Gomez and Drury to turn them into 2nd and 3rd line centers because Jagr has chemestry with Brandon Dubinsky.

It is entirely possible that the Rangers' four top wingers will all leave this summer - so what should they do?

Re-sign Sean Avery: The two sides have had issues dating back to last year's arbitration hearing for Avery. Now with Marc Crawford out in Los Angeles, there is speculation the pest could be headed West. If he goes, the Rangers are said to be looking hard at Darcy Tucker who is set to be bought out by Toronto.

Sign Bobby Holik or Craig Conroy: Part of the reason the Rangers were so often victimized defensively was their defense, and part of it was the fact that their forwards were getting manhandled. Both of these players are tough, physical veterans who would keep other teams honest and bring grit and defensive responsibility to the forwards. Another option is trading for Ottowa's Chris Neil or Toronto's Nik Antropov - the latter of which has the ability to play physical just not the desire.

Sign Blake Wheeler: The unsigned Coyotes' draft pick is a top talent who is out there for the plucking. Adding him, and maybe bringing over last year's first round pick Cherepanov could bring some firepower to the offense and give the Rangers a young core of snipers along with Nigel Dawes, Ryan Callahan, and Petr Prucha (whom I'm hoping has a bounce back year).

Sign Miro Satan and either bring back Shanny or sign Andrew Brunette or Kristian Huselius: Assuming Straka and Shanny leave - the Rangers will need veterans. Guys who can help the kids come along and also add some savvy on the ice. Most importantly, they'll need guys who won't squeeze the stick so hard it gives them splinters in a close game. These guys have a "been there, done that" quality.

Of course the top choice would be Hossa - but more and more it sounds like he's headed back to the Pens.