Much has been made of the Rangers’ signings of Scott Gomez and Chris Drury, and with good reason. Their presence represents a significant upgrade over the departed Michael Nylander and Matt Cullen, providing a tremendous combination of top-tier talent and Cup-winning experience. But there are numerous other reasons why the Rangers have emerged as prohibitive favorites to represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals. First and foremost is goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, a Vezina Trophy finalist in each of his first two NHL seasons. The Swedish sensation has proven to be one of the finest discoveries by Rangers’ scout Christer Rockstrom, and a draft-day steal for the ages. Chosen 205th overall in the 2000 draft, Lundqvist has arguably become the most valuable player selected that year, with only star forward Dany Heatley of the Ottawa Senators presenting any meaningful competition for that honor.

And then, of course, there’s captain Jaromir Jagr. His stay on Broadway has been a fine success, as he’s tallied 248 points in 195 games with the Blueshirts. Not only has he been one of the NHL’s most dynamic scoring threats during his time here, but the 35-year-old Jagr has demonstrated uncommon durability as well. Only twice before his arrival in New York did Jagr play every game on his team’s schedule. He’s done so in each of the last two seasons with the Rangers.

A wild card for the Blueshirts is defenseman Marc Staal. The younger brother of Carolina Hurricanes center Eric — and the older brother of Pittsburgh Penguins center Jordan — Marc, 20, is a stay-at-home rearguard with exceptional skating and stick-handling skills. Historically, the development of a young defenseman on Broadway — particularly one playing for a Cup contender laden with high-priced stars — would be cause for serious concern. But in Staal’s case, the road has been paved for a smooth transition.

Most importantly — if the patience of the fans with young Fedor Tyutin, 24, is any indication — Staal will be given an unusually large window of opportunity to develop under the normally harsh glare of Madison Square Garden’s spotlights. He developed a reputation during his time with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves as a fearless hitter, and a few hard body checks should endear him to the blue seats’ bloodthirsty faithful, buying him all the time he needs to develop his offensive game.

Staal also gets to slot into a defense corps on which his opportunities are truly limitless. Should he channel Brian Leetch and emerge as the Blueshirts’ top puck-moving rearguard, Staal will find himself quarterbacking the first power play unit by mid-season. But if his development curve is slower, veterans Michal Rozsival and Paul Mara (as well as Tyutin) are more than capable of handling that role.

Making things even easier, Staal has had the opportunity to learn from the NHL experiences of his brothers. If Staal demonstrates—as his brother Jordan did last season—a propensity for elite-level penalty-killing, there will be plenty opportunity for Marc to showcase his skills. But again, if he’s not quite ready, the unfairly maligned Marek Malik (a plus-118 over his last four seasons) is more than capable of playing that shutdown role.

Malik drew the ire of the fans last season for his seeming unwillingness to take the body with his 6-foot-6-inch, 260-pound frame. But just as the Boston Bruins and their fans foolishly drove Joe Thornton out of town for committing the cardinal sin of not being Cam Neely, the Rangers’ fans would be wrong in doing the same to Malik.

While it’s true that the playing style of the hulking Malik bears little resemblance to that of the beloved Jeff Beukeboom, his importance to this Rangers team can and should be measured by his plus-minus rating. It’s no coincidence that over the past two seasons Malik has been on the ice for 60 more goals for the Rangers than against, a success rate matched only by Jagr. As long as the object of hockey is to score more goals than one’s opponent, Malik is a valuable asset to this team.

There are certainly plenty of question marks surrounding this Rangers team as well. The preseason pairing of Jagr and Gomez predictably didn’t work very well and a minor injury to Jagr prevented head coach Tom Renney from testing his chemistry with Drury. The latter pairing seems to make far more sense, as Drury’s expert finishing skills — and comfort playing without the puck — should make him a better fit alongside the playmaking Jagr. An additional benefit would be in pairing Gomez with Brendan Shanahan, giving the Blueshirts two potentially lethal and well-constructed scoring duos.

Expectations are justifiably high for these Rangers, who are successfully melding star veterans with an influx of talented youth. Finally, they are exercising their fiscal clout intelligently, using their boundless resources as tools to improve more rapidly, rather than as a substitute for intelligent team building. The rewards should be evident all season long.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.