Day: July 2, 2009

Dany Heatley may have wanted to come to New York, but Glen Sather looked elsewhere yesterday for scoring help. The Rangers officially announced they had signed Marian Gaborik to a long term contract yesterday (5 years – $37.5M) in a move that immediately brings some scoring ability into the mix.

The Rangers finished tied for the fifth fewest goals in the league last year, and lost their leading goal scorer when Markus Naslund announced he was retiring back in May. In total, the remaining roster for the Rangers totaled just 128 goals last year, after the losses of Naslund (24), Gomez (16), Dawes (10), Antropov (7), Sjostrom (7), Betts (6), Mara (5), Prucha (4), Fritsche (1), Kalinin (1) and Kalinin (1).

The Rangers opened up the 2009-10 season with a splash Wednesday, signing free agent forwards Marian Gaborik and Donald Brashear and bidding two thirds of their checking unit adieu with the departures of Colton Orr (Maple Leafs) and Fredrik Sjostrom (Flames). The moves followed Tuesday’s trade of Scott Gomez to the Montreal Canadiens, in a week that has certainly changed the tone of the organization.

According to reports, Gaborik has signed a five-year deal worth $37.5M, which in effect replaces the amount that Gomez would have earned if he’d remained with the organization.