Ok, after John Dellapina’s and Jay Greenberg’s revelations of why Marek Malik was sent home yesterday, it’s clear that the much maligned defenseman must move on.

First, the obvious: Tom Renney deserves better. He has been one of Malik’s biggest defensers and to snub him in front of the whole team is just inexcusable. Renney is trying to win games and frankly, scratching Malik over the past month was justified.

Secondly, Malik’s attitude has become a me-first type of player. Besides the well documented blowups, after a Ranger win a few weeks ago, the defenseman came out just a few minutes after the game to dispute a +/- call on him. Malik felt he was on the ice for one of the Ranger goals and should be rewarded. That type of pettiness is not championship material.

The Rangers are playing very hard to turn this season around and Malik is making it very clear he doesn’t want to be part of it. It’s time to cut bait. If Glen Sather can’t trade him over the break, then waiving him, with a trip to Hartford may be a good attitude adjustment.

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The good ship Ranger started moving today when coach Tom Renney addressed the media up in Greehburgh.

Although I missed the first few minutes, thanks to traffic on the Hutch, during the final 20 minutes or so, Renney discussed the team chemistry and how it’s important for the Rangers to get a good start.

“You want get out good from the get-go,” said Renney as he addressed the media for the first time this season. “You want to your team to overcome those bumps along the way. You play with the cards you dealt and as a coaching staff have strategies in place to deal with those things. So we just want to improve everyday.”

With 51 players in camp [down from 58 last year], there may be some opportunity for the younger players, with the third center position open and maybe also on defense. Renney had a chance to see the young players Taverse City.

“I liked our goaltending. [On defense] Mike Sauer was really good, [try-out invitee] Clayton Barthel was a real surprise, Marc Staal was excellent, Bobby Sanguinetti was good. The forward group, we had different line combinations through almost every game and everyone seemed to click. Some youngsters are still in the need for more junior experience in terms of growing. But the usual suspects — Dubinsky, Bourret, Korpikoski you could suggest were the best line, Tommy Pyatt was good — it’s hard to single things out because it was such a strong performance by everybody. You read the stats, you can determine who did well.”

Staal has a strong shot to make the team and Dubinsky or Artem Anisimov could open at the Garden as the third line center. “But if that doesn’t happen, we believe we’ve got that covered,” he said. “There are other people that can play center ice in this organization and on the current roster [Avery and Straka]. We’re good at center ice right now with Chris and Scotty and Blair. I hope it provides the opportunity for someone else — that was part of the decision [to not sign Peca] for sure. We’re going to continue to look at the growth of this team. There’s a lot been said about where we are right now and where we should be in June. Where we need to be is to continue to galvanize our position in this league as being a contender. We’ll continue to do that by the acquisition of free agents and good drafting and the integration of young players when they’re ready. To me that’s what stands the test of time. We’re a work in progress and we hope to raise a Stanley Cup banner sooner rather than later.”

That starts tomorrow with all the veterans, including Scott Gomez and Chris Drury, reporting for physicals. As for the new Rangers, Renney will use training camp to find the right combinations.

“That’s just one of those issues of chemistry and we will see what guys go with each other,” he said. “I don’t think you want guys that have to think themselves in terms of getting it done and it prevents them from being successful. There’s no question Scottie Gomez makes our team better, as does Chris Drury.”

No doubt. As for the injuries, Renney reported no holdovers and Marty Straka seems to be healed from his knee surgery.

It makes for a very positive camp. After the physicals, the Rangers are set to hit the ice at 9:00 a.m. on Friday.

If you didn’t get season tickets, there are some singles going on sale Saturday, Sept. 15 at 10 a.m. on Ticketmaster via newyorkrangers.com, Ticketmaster charge-by-phone 212-307-7171, 201-507-8900, 631-888-9000, 845-454-3388, 609-520-8383, or Ticketmaster outlets. But forget about Jan. 24. Brian Leetch night is already sold out.

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