Here's what the Rangers and Fox Sports Southwest say they are doing with their off-season moves that will shake up their television production in 2017:

"We are trying to improve every aspect of the broadcast," John Blake, the Rangers executive vice president for communications, said Friday.

First, Steve Busby, who had been in and out of the television booth since he signed on to work alongside Merle Harmon in 1982, was told his services were no longer needed. And this week, Jim Knox, who roamed the stands looking for oddball stories for 15 seasons, was given his walking papers.

Also gone are longtime behind-the-scenes production types involved in delivering the pictures and sounds viewers have been watching for years.

Still to be determined is the future of Emily Jones, best described as a sideline reporter and standup collateral damage during celebratory postgame Powerade showers. She could be back with a bigger workload that includes taking up some of Knox's airtime and more games. Or she may not be back at all. The decision appears to be hers. Those discussions are ongoing.

Dave Raymond, a utility broadcaster last season, is just about set to take Busby's place in the television booth. He'll work play-by-play alongside Mr. Ranger, Tom Grieve, who has time remaining on his current contract. Still to be determined is who fills in for Grieve, who has been cutting back in recent seasons, when he takes time off.

With Raymond in the television booth, he will be unavailable to fill in for vacationing Eric Nadel or Matt Hicks on radio. Hard-charging Jared Sandler, who does such an excellent job in the Rangers radio studio, will get more reps in their place.

So we all understand: Some of the broadcasters get their paychecks from the Rangers. Others are paid by FSSW. Blake insisted that the decisions about who stays and who goes are a "collaborative effort."

That helps explains why the changes are being made now. FSSW has a new management team. Boss man Steve Simpson has blown in from Fox's West Coast cable operation to replace Jon Heidtke, who had been the only general manager the cable network had known. Executive producer Jason Walsh, who was the top television insider for Stars productions, is now FSSW's executive producer. That means he is in charge of content. He replaced Mike Anastassiou, who had been on the job for decades.

In this transitional time, the Rangers and FSSW have to be sure they maintain the broadcasts' "connection to the community," Blake said.

"The goal is to keep the broadcasts as "informative, entertaining and interesting for everybody," Blake said. "We are just taking a different approach."