A Sad Week...

Not only is today a sad day to be a Ranger fan, but it is a sad week, or at least a bittersweet week.

Sean Avery - the reason the Rangers made the playoffs the past 2 seasons - is gone. Jaromir Jagr - the reason the Rangers are no longer a joke - is gone. 

Wade Redden is here. Markus Naslund is here. Are there any other members of the 2002 All-Star Team that want to sign here, while the checkbook is out? Are Ziggy Palffy, Mike York, or Alexei Zhamnov available?

Michal Rozsival got a huge paycheck. $5M per year for 4 years translates to about $6.50 for every time he opts to pass the puck into traffic instead of shooting the puck on net.

There have been upsides this week. Nik Zherdev is a good pick-up. Brendan Shanahan might be back. Like I predicted on June 27, Dmitri Kalinin is a Ranger.

Truth be told, I am not against signing Naslund. It's a relatively short deal, 2 years, at $8M total. Decent money if he scores a lot. What I like it that he wants to be a Ranger. He told his agent that the top team on his list was the Rangers. 

I like that. Pre-lockout, the Rangers enticed players with money. I like that post-lockout, the Rangers sign players who want to be here (Scott Gomez, Chris Drury, Paul Mara when he re-signs, Shanny, Jagr, even Bobby Sanguenetti and Brandon Dubinsky and Petr Prucha grew up Ranger fans). If Naslund wants to play in NY, he won't phone it in like players used to from 1998-2004.

What I most dislike about Naslund signing here is that it spells the end for Jagr. When the super-Free Agency period started on July 1, 2005, I was hoping Ray Whitney, Naslund, and/or Peter Forsberg would come here. Naslund and Jagr on the same line? Incredible. Now, he is replacing Jagr.

Jagr declined last year, yes, but he was incredible in the playoffs, even with hip problems nagging him since 2005. It won't be the same team next year, that's for sure.

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For those counting, the Rangers now have 15 forwards (not including about 4 people from Hartford who can make the roster or Shanahan) and 5 defensemen. If you believe the rumor of Paul Mara returning, that's 6 defenders. Fifteen is a glut of forwards. Expect only one or two minor signings (defensemen) and a trade or two to make some room both on the roster and in the salary cap.