Remember The Penguins
t’s now been over 36 hours and the Rangers have made five moves, none of which could be confused with the wild 90s, or the early 2000s for that matter. The biggest profile name involved with the Rangers to date is probably the return of Martin Straka, a move that was not unexpected and perhaps hastened by the inability to sign Patrik Elias. Which is a nice segue into my first point in this week’s column…has the whole world gone CRAZY??!?!?!.
Yesterday’s free agent frenzy saw salaries sky-rocket back to a level that would have made many contracts in the pre-war days look damned reasonable. There were more dollars flying around than you’d find on a congressional omnibus bill, and many of them going to players who were probably considered to be the losers coming out of the CBA. The market was particularly hot on the blueline with such leading lights as Willie Mitchell, Filip Kuba, Jay McKee and Brian Pothier (who?!?!) receiving salaries in excess of $3,000,000 per year, for durations that will probably outlast the current fleet of space shuttles.
Straka Returns
New York made another expected move official today with the announcement that left wing Martin Straka has agreed to come back next year. The 33 year old forward had his third best season of his career last season playing opposite of Jaromir Jagr for much of the year. Straka registered 20 goals for the fourth time of his career, and 70 points for just the 3rd time. His +17 plus/minus rating ranked as his third best total of his career, while his 171 shots was also third the third highest of his career.
After several seasons impacted by injuries and trades, Straka returned and thrived with the league’s crackdown on obstruction. One of just four Blueshirts to play in all 82 games, the Czech forward earned the appreciate of the fans with his effort and his timely passing and scoring. With Patrik Elias locked up by the Devils in the early hours this morning, and a general paucity of quality left wingers , the Rangers needed to solidify their left wing position before he drew too much interest from other clubs.