It's looking like any move the Rangers make this off-season is going to have to wait until after Jaromir Jagr has decided what he wants to do.
That's because general manager Glen Sather has a man-crush on the 36-year-old winger and doesn't want to mess with the team's salary cap until he finds out how much Jagr wants.
Which is why Sather has reportedly turned down an offer from Michal Rozsival of $20 million over four years. It also means that the Rangers will not reach an agreement with defenseman Brian Campbell, who they have the rights to negotiate with, but could be asking for as much as $7 million per. Finally it's the reason why wingers Sean Avery and Brendan Shanahan have been waiting for any further Ranger offers.
How much will Jagr want? Well according to an unnamed source in the NY Post, Omsk of the Russian Super League has made him a formal offer which is in the three year - $35 million range. Which is of course more money than the Rangers are even allowed to offer Jagr which means for him to return he must be willing to take quite a hefty pay cut.
The Rangers should really try to keep Jagr on Broadway, but not if it means more than a one-year-deal in the $5 million area. Anymore than that could really handcuff them from making other necessary deals. It has been reported that he would prefer a two-year-deal which would net him a bigger pay day and allow him to return to the Czech Republic at around the same time his father is finished building a rink.
If the Rangers cannot lock down Jagr they should probably cool themselves on the Mats Sundin front. Right now it looks as if the 35-year-old center is the team's number-one target on July 1, but if he's not working with Jagr the Rangers have too many centers and should look elsewhere for offense.
Regardless of what happens the Rangers should keep from alienating Sean Avery too much. In the past Avery has been quoted saying he does not want to return to his native Canada to play hockey.
"I don't enjoy hockey-obsessed Canadians," Avery said. "The (US-Canadian dollar) exchange is not very good right now. And it's going to cost me a lot of money in tickets for people I don't even like."
It looks like he's now backed off those statements and could be interested in playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The reason is because Sather simply doesn't want to give Avery the money he is looking for and the Leafs offer is looking more attractive. They may continue to make it more attractive as well since they've lost their enforcers Tie Domi, Darcy Tucker, and Wade Balek.
As for Brendan Shanahan, the Rangers are making him wait, and they should. Shanahan still has one of the best shots you can find, but he certainly skated like 39-year-olds should be skating and it hurt the Ranger offense and power play.
So Sather has handled him very well when he told him to sit tight. Basically Shanahan will return only after the team has looked at every other option and if they find something better they'll take it and Shanny will skate off into the sunset. If after they finish their dealings and there is an open wing available then the Rangers could make him the next captain have one more year before deciding between Chris Drury or Scott Gomez.
The Rangers will also likely make an offer to free agent defenseman Wade Redden of the Ottawa Senators on July 1. After not wanting to leave Ottawa and turning rejecting two potential offers this past year he has put his house up for sale in Canada and is ready to move on. He will reportedly be seeking a deal worth at least $5 million and could go as high as $6.5 million and possibly more.
That's because general manager Glen Sather has a man-crush on the 36-year-old winger and doesn't want to mess with the team's salary cap until he finds out how much Jagr wants.
Which is why Sather has reportedly turned down an offer from Michal Rozsival of $20 million over four years. It also means that the Rangers will not reach an agreement with defenseman Brian Campbell, who they have the rights to negotiate with, but could be asking for as much as $7 million per. Finally it's the reason why wingers Sean Avery and Brendan Shanahan have been waiting for any further Ranger offers.
How much will Jagr want? Well according to an unnamed source in the NY Post, Omsk of the Russian Super League has made him a formal offer which is in the three year - $35 million range. Which is of course more money than the Rangers are even allowed to offer Jagr which means for him to return he must be willing to take quite a hefty pay cut.
The Rangers should really try to keep Jagr on Broadway, but not if it means more than a one-year-deal in the $5 million area. Anymore than that could really handcuff them from making other necessary deals. It has been reported that he would prefer a two-year-deal which would net him a bigger pay day and allow him to return to the Czech Republic at around the same time his father is finished building a rink.
If the Rangers cannot lock down Jagr they should probably cool themselves on the Mats Sundin front. Right now it looks as if the 35-year-old center is the team's number-one target on July 1, but if he's not working with Jagr the Rangers have too many centers and should look elsewhere for offense.
Regardless of what happens the Rangers should keep from alienating Sean Avery too much. In the past Avery has been quoted saying he does not want to return to his native Canada to play hockey.
"I don't enjoy hockey-obsessed Canadians," Avery said. "The (US-Canadian dollar) exchange is not very good right now. And it's going to cost me a lot of money in tickets for people I don't even like."
It looks like he's now backed off those statements and could be interested in playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The reason is because Sather simply doesn't want to give Avery the money he is looking for and the Leafs offer is looking more attractive. They may continue to make it more attractive as well since they've lost their enforcers Tie Domi, Darcy Tucker, and Wade Balek.
As for Brendan Shanahan, the Rangers are making him wait, and they should. Shanahan still has one of the best shots you can find, but he certainly skated like 39-year-olds should be skating and it hurt the Ranger offense and power play.
So Sather has handled him very well when he told him to sit tight. Basically Shanahan will return only after the team has looked at every other option and if they find something better they'll take it and Shanny will skate off into the sunset. If after they finish their dealings and there is an open wing available then the Rangers could make him the next captain have one more year before deciding between Chris Drury or Scott Gomez.
The Rangers will also likely make an offer to free agent defenseman Wade Redden of the Ottawa Senators on July 1. After not wanting to leave Ottawa and turning rejecting two potential offers this past year he has put his house up for sale in Canada and is ready to move on. He will reportedly be seeking a deal worth at least $5 million and could go as high as $6.5 million and possibly more.
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