B R O A D W A Y***B L U E S H I R T S

NY PJ1 wrote:

sather said their is still a chance we might sign him

the latest press conference call with sather mentioned that he would not be back with the NYR.
He also said they have parted ways .

Rygar wrote:

NY PJ was talking about Shanny there (I'm assuming you thought he was talking about Jagr).

indeed i was
thank you for setrting me straight

serves me right for taking a shortcut and not reading every post.


thanks again.



todays latest blueshirt bulletin :

July 03, 2008
Extreme Makeover Nearly Complete
The Rangers' makeover is nearly and fundamentally complete with today's signings of Markus Naslund and Dmitri Kalinin, along with the announcement that Jaromir Jagr will not be returning to New York and confirmation that Martin Straka will play back home in the Czech Republic. Naslund is a year younger than Jagr but has diminished faster with age. Nevertheless, accepting for two years ($4 million per year) close to what Jagr wanted per year (also over two years), Naslund replaces Jagr as the Rangers' veteran sniper.

The former 48-goal, 104-point scorer has been in the 25-goal, 55-60 point neighborhood the past two seasons. He stands to benefit from playing with Scott Gomez, thriving in the presence of a playmaking center -- as a left winger, one can now envision a top line of Gomez centering Naslund and Nikolai Zherdev. He has hardly ever missed games in his career despite a 5'11-195 pound frame. He captained the Vancouver Canucks over the past eight years. He listed the presence of countryman Henrik Lundqvist as a selling point for placing New York at the top of his free agent list. He hails from the small town of Ornskoldsvik in northern Sweden that has sent Anders Hedberg, Peter Forsberg, Niklas Sundstrom, and the Sedin twins, among others, to the NHL.

Kalinin became an emergency replacement on defense after the Rangers depleted their blueline corps in acquiring Zherdev yesterday. He is a two-way defenseman of the type Ranger management is enamored with, though he is less of an offensive factor than Wade Redden or Michal Rozsival. He uses his 6'3-206 pound stature as a physical tool, but is not a punishing hitter. The big problem with him is that he has been plagued by injuries in two of the past three seasons, shoulder and knee woes limiting him to only 46 games last season. Drafted 18th overall in 1998 by Buffalo, he turns 28 in a few weeks.

The move away from Jagr brings an end to a short three-year era when the Rangers were built around the Czech superstar. He was the first veteran import to produce positive results for the Rangers in a decade, taking a team that was predicted to finish last coming out of the lockout and leading them to three straight playoff appearances. He was not only the team's driving force on the ice, he was its personality off of it as well. I for one will miss his humor and honesty in the locker room and at the practice rink.

With Jagr, Straka, and Sean Avery gone, the personality of the team has undergone a drastic change. Gomez and Chris Drury, along with newcomers Naslund and Wade Redden, will be the veteran leaders of a team that, beyond them and a handful of others, is largely made up of youngsters and grinders. The door is still open for Brendan Shanahan to return and resume his leadership role and his voice in the locker room, but otherwise the Rangers will not only look different this coming season, they will sound and feel completely different.

Although no terms have been announced yet for Kalinin, the reasonable assumption is that he will make in the neighborhood of $2 million -- slightly less than what he made last year. Along with Naslund's $4 million cap hit, that leaves the Rangers with about $2 million in maneuverability. That means Shanahan would have to take a serious pay cut to return, as would Paul Mara, who has reportedly received an offer to return from the Rangers to complete the corps of defensemen.

Posted by Dubi on July 03, 2008 at 07:48 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jagr signs with Avangard Omsk



THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MOSCOW -- Russian club Avangard Omsk says it has signed Jaromir Jagr, a day after the New York Rangers parted ways with the star winger.Avangard announced the signing on its website today but did not disclose the terms of the contract.Jagr had long been reported to be considering lucrative offers from Russia. Rangers general manager Glen Sather said Thursday the club could not wait any longer for Jagr to decide where he wanted to play.Jagr played for Avangard during the NHL's lockout season in 2004-05.On Thursday, the Rangers signed former Vancouver captain Markus Naslund to replace Jagr.

NY PJ1 wrote:

page 467 4 ever

im clueless,....