There's a short-term element today, and a more developments on a long-term issue...
Scott Gomez (ribs) practiced with the team in the optional skate, and the center reported that he felt better than yesterday and will skate in the warmups before the Devils' game tonight. Coach Tom Renney said he will have two lineups prepared, one with Gomez and one without.
Michal Rozsival skated hard and is ready to play; Marek Malik will sit.
The longer-term issue, as it's been for several months, is where Jaromir Jagr will play next season. Russian news reports say that Omsk general manager Anatoly Bardin is coming to New York to discuss a possible arrangement with the free-agent right wing to return to play there next season.
“I said a long time ago I have to finish the season. Whatever happens after that, I don’t know,” Jagr said after practice. “We’ve got a long ways to go. I know you don’t see me in some games, but I’m still here.”
Jagr said with a laugh that he and Bardin were "going to go to dinner and all that stuff….I’m just kidding. I don’t have any plans." But Jagr admitted that he had heard "something" about the visit.
GM Glen Sather has said he'd like to sign Jagr to another deal, so this could be leverage on Jagr's side.
Of course, Jagr might not want to continue to play here, where there are three new players at the power core of the franchise---Lundqvist, Gomez and Drury, and with the probability that two and possibly three of his countrymen (Straka, Malik and Rozsival) won't be around. He almost assuredly would have more points this season in a more offensive-minded system, so the appeal of say, Detroit or Pittsburgh, might be there.
Jagr's not discussing anything right now, although he has said that he's already made a decision, but doesn't want to disrupt team chemistry.
Things could change of course, but if Jagr feels he would be happier and more productive elsewhere next season---including in Europe---he just might go. Right now, I think that's the way he's leaning.
Comments (20)
What do Callahan, Dawes, Dubinsky, Tyutin, Hank, and Girardi have in common? The answer is they all got their orginal promotion to New York( and some were subsequently demoted) as the result of injuries to veterans. Staal, in recent times, is the ONLY young addition to the parent roster who was promoted on merit, through the system. Some of the above would STILL be in Hartford, had not circumstances intervened.
By the way, for all you lovers of "old guy" out there, the Rangers WORST forward since the trade deadline is Brendan Shanahan, what with his 2-8 takeaway-giveaway ratio; -3 on plus minus (one of just two forwards in the minus column); and eight penalty minutes spent, with zero penalty minutes earned from the opposition.
if I were GM I would cut Shanahan and Jagr, immediately, and put Straka in the press box during games, as an emergency replacement supernumerary.
You would put Straka in the press box? Do you watch this guy play? He gives it his all every game, forechecks hard, backchecks hard, can notch a goal here and there. Can be used on the PP of PK. What do you see thats so bad about him? I agree with Jagr and Shannahan, let them retire/walk. Bring in some youngstars or sign a couple guys.
i dont see how jagr does not think that what hes doing--playing coy and teasing the media/fans--is disrupting team chemistry? granted, i have absolutely no idea what goes on in that locker room, but it cant be helpful to hear your captain talk like this.
though we desperately needed gomez last game, i dont like him returning tonight, im scared of cheap shots from the debbies forcing him to miss more time.
all due respect anon..that why slats is GM and you arent.
i do agree that shanny looks old right now, his time is drawing to end..but his leadership is important on the ice and off.
i dunno how you came up with penalties by opposition on shanny, what sky did you pull that out of?
Brilliant GM moves, maybe that's why you are not GM. You would release Jagr and Shanny immediately and Bench Straka, I'm surethe rest of the teams in the NHl would love to have you running the Rangers. Exactly who replaces these 3 players, one of which is the teams leading or second goal scorer. By releasing them the Rangers would reduce about 1/2 of their scoring abilities. The only excuse for such stupidity is that you must be an Isles fan. Only way your points even have an insane point. The problem here is this type of idiocy, the net is way to easy for fools.
If Jagr leaves after this season, I will happily thank him and wish him well. Unlike his other stops, he has remained positive, played hard and taken his leadership position seriously while a Ranger. I have no complaints with his effort. The Rangers have received more than their money's worth from Jagr. If he leaves, I hope he goes to Europe.
Although Jagr has not played up to his capabilities he has done a great job. He is still a big force out on the ice and teams are still afraid of him. He may not score a lot but he sets up a lot of goals. Just look at the game last week where he skated with the puck in the other teams end just stickhandling it back and forth for a good amount of time. The Rangers should sign him to a long term deal until he gets to old. They also need to resign Avrey. Avrey is amazing a fighter and a good scorer. Sather better start writting checks!
I don't dislike Straka, at all, and he is making a positive contribution this season, certainly far beyond the expectations I had for him at this stage. However, as my premise was the dumping of Jagr, and Shanahan and moving on, immediately, Straka would qualify as part of that house-cleaning project.
In fact, I demonstrate a far greater valuing of Straka by recommending keeping him around, whereas, Jagr and Shanahan, it says here, have outlived their usefullness and this needs to be addressed, the sooner the better.
Can someone explain to me what the problem is that the current young Rangers on the team spent some time in Hartford seasoning their games before earning spots with the big club?
Ryan Callahan even before he got hurt looked lost this season, he came back after a stint in Hartford and he has been terrific since.
Same with Dawes.
Can someone tell me the problem with that?
Absolutely nothing Ranger Rob ever sense makes any sense to me, please, someone translate.
I want Straka back!!!!
for the 3rd line and league minimum.
just because jagr dosent have 40 goals this year dosnet mean hes no longer useful
as you saw tuesday, defenseman STILL have a very hard time containing him down low, due to his sheer size and strength as evidenced by the 3 PPs he drew. teams still have to game plan around him, so thats makes him a "useful" player. like you see with gomez right now, if you take him out of the line-up the more you notice how good he is. obviously his pittsburgh stats are long gone, but at his age he still is a phenominal talent.
i think his decline in points this year can be attributed to nylander leaving more then anything.
i would like to se him back at the right price, but if he left i wouldnt be upset either
Certainly Jagr is still a key player, the question becomes the 8 mil, certainly Rangers could go on FA market and find someone to better fill the money slot. And Jags will get a chance to play in Toronto or Detroit. He still has much left to give, the only question is the Rangers and salary cap and do they want to get younger in the cap as well. Can't see Jags signing for a hometown discount especially seeing how some of the czechs will be gone as well. PS prucha is not going to play any center. Not in the cards.
You're full of crap, Dude. You conveniently overlook how Pock and Dawes, in particular, were jacked around by the GM, on the Hartford Shuttle and in the press box, where Pock is concerned. Sather even had Pock sit upstairs for a full month while Ozolinsh got the chance to play himself off the team, AGAIN, after his disgusting playoff disaster the previous spring, in the New Jersey first round sweep. Sather ruined Pock, who had a chance to be at least better than Mara and Strudwick, and still may be. And you can't bluff anyone here into forgetting that Girardi and Callahan got a look as emergency call-ups, last season. And Hank got his break the same way when "Nowhere Man" Weekes, thankfully, went down. They were still going to go with Weekes over Hank, despite the mountain of evidence that Weekes was a dumper, and Hank was ready.
And to the moron who defends Sather as some kind of credible GM, tell us how many years it took a Sather club here in New York to finally make the friggin' round of 16? Hint: Sather started here in 2000.
Fact is, many of the kids currently contributing here got here as an afterthought, and we can all be grateful only Montoya, of the young Rangers/prospects, got peddled at this years deadline.
The Rangers are looking better now because Sather's hands are tied, thanks to the salary cap. Without it, this team would average 2-3 years older and be going backwards, and would have brought in about three Peter Forsberg, Mark Recci, Gary Roberts, Isbister, Dupuis, Krog, types at the deadline. You in London or just a local fog?
EP,
wow, you seem upset..it must suck never being able to make a valid point..is staal an afterthought?..is tuytin an afterthought?...is dubinsky an afterthought?...
..was anything remotely good traded for sean avery? ..when did i miss thomas pock being considered the next great defenseman?...when did not rushing someone, ie-dawes, ever get you in trouble?..he was lost last season, you missed those games he played i guess..
in what net did you expect montoya to play in?..
EP,
hank was a rookie when weekes was named starter. like dawes, the theory was not to rush him into the "fire" right away...what mountain of evidence sugests hank was ready?..3 pre season games isnt a "mountain" of evidence
also, if you recall (you most likely forgot or just like to ignore), they were predicted to be last in the NHL by every major hocky source (sites, mags, tsn, etc.) that year, yet they became a very good team very quickly to everyones surprise..
..the olympic break killed that teams chances too, and any ranger fan knows that.
Nigel Dawes went back to Hartford, scored 34 points in 20 games and got better as a player because if it.
There are so many players in NHL history who have become great players after spending time in the AHL it's not even funny.
Ranger Rob,
you do not need to tell anyone that Sather started here in 2000, I TOLD YOU THAT in a previous post. After you went on and on about trading young players up until 1999 that Sather had nothing to do with ya idiot.
You always get the facts wrong, and you have no idea what you are talking about ever.
Dubinsky was another injury call-up, if I have to name them all for you, just say so.
Here's the bottom line point - rather than promote from within, this rockhead GM imported, during the course of the 2006-2007, the likes of: 1. Mara, 2. Strudwick, 3. Ozolinsh, 4. Krog, 5. Dupuis, 6. Isbister, and 7. Kasparaitis.
Now then, what should this tell any pea-brained observer? Precisely that the GM has no faith in the young products in the farm system - WHICH HE BUILT.
That this derelict, imposter hockey executive would think, and would condescend to having the more gullibe among us actually believe that the above acquisitions somehow put this team in position for a serious Stanley Cup run, is
utterly laughable. And this is why, this year, with Shanahan going down for the career count, and Jagr, low-production, bad-leadership attitude and all, are still being counted on to lead this team to glory. What a joke, and there are good replacements in the system, ready to upgrade this team, for the price of a phone call, which the idiot and his pinhead ownere will not and cannot make, because they have already raised playoff ticket prices through the roof, and are afraid the peanut gallery wolves will get a bit more rough than just ragging on homosexual- americans. LOL
Dubinsky was another injury call-up, if I have to name them all for you, just say so.
Here's the bottom line point - rather than promote from within, this rockhead GM imported, during the course of the 2006-2007, the likes of: 1. Mara, 2. Strudwick, 3. Ozolinsh, 4. Krog, 5. Dupuis, 6. Isbister, and 7. Kasparaitis.
Now then, what should this tell any pea-brained observer? Precisely that the GM has no faith in the young products in the farm system - WHICH HE BUILT.
That this derelict, imposter hockey executive would think, and would condescend to having the more gullibe among us actually believe that the above acquisitions somehow put this team in position for a serious Stanley Cup run, is
utterly laughable. And this is why, this year, with Shanahan going down for the career count, and Jagr, low-production, bad-leadership attitude and all, are still being counted on to lead this team to glory. What a joke, and there are good replacements in the system, ready to upgrade this team, for the price of a phone call, which the idiot and his pinhead ownere will not and cannot make, because they have already raised playoff ticket prices through the roof, and are afraid the peanut gallery wolves will get a bit more rough than just ragging on homosexual- americans. LOL
How do you have the ability to post while wearing a straight jacket at that looney bin?
You make yourself look more like a psycho path with each posting!
What do you care about the ticket prices anyway?
YOU DON'T GO TO GAMES
they would never let you out of the insane asylum!
You change your name on here so often, you don't know if you are EP, anonymous or Ranger Rob or any other of the half dozen names you post with.
Just change your name to "Sybil" and be done with it you wack job!
(crickets)