Rucinsky Back And Pock Re-signed

Rucinsky Back For Third Stint With Rangers
Long speculated as a possible free agent candidate, the Rangers confirmed the rumors today by signing free agent forward Martin Rucinsky to a third stint with the team.  Originally acquired from the Dallas Stars along with centerman Roman Lyashenko in exchange for forwards Manny Malhotra and Barrett Heisten, Rucinsky initially was paired with Radek Dvorak and Petr Nedved in an attempt to generate a new version of the fabled “Czechmates”.  After an injury ended Dvorak’s season two games into the experiment, Rucinsky was shifted to the first line with Eric Lindros and Pavel Bure and quickly established some chemistry with his line mates.

The Rangers were slow to negotiate with the free agent left wing and were beaten out early into the following season by the St Louis Blues, but avoided the same mistake in 2003-04.  Paired once again with Eric Lindros for much of the season, Rucinsky was a solid contributor before being traded in the 2004 purging of Ranger assets as the team failed to make the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.  Reportedly not happy with being traded to Vancouver, Rucinsky failed to live up to expectations as he and the Canucks made an early exit to the eventual Western Conference champions.

Last season the 34 year old forward played 38 games for Litvinov in the Czech Extraliga, where he registered 15 goals and 41 points.  He was also part of the World Championship gold medal team from the Czech Republic, scoring the game winner in the final playing on a line with Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka.  The performance was cited by Glen Sather as one of the reasons the Rangers decided to go back to the well one more time.

Rucinsky agreed to a one year contract worth 3 million dollars, significantly more than his previous contract with New York in 2003-04 of 1.65 million.  It is expected that he will once again be reunited with Jagr and Straka on what is expected to be the Rangers first line going into this season.

Ranger Re-sign Restricted Free Agent Thomas Pöck
The Rangers announced today that they have re-signed defenseman Thomas Pöck who was a Rangers restricted free agent.  The 23 year old Austrian made an impressive debut in the NHL when he was signed out of the University of Massachusetts – Amherst at the end of the 2003-04 season.  Thrust into a patchwork Rangers line-up, Pöck registered two goals and four points in the final six games of the regular season.  With the NHL lockout last year, he joined the Hartford Wolf Pack where he initially suffered an injury during camp and ultimately struggled through his first complete year as a professional.

Originally a forward, Pöck was moved to defense in his third year in the NCAA.  The move paid off for both the player and the school as he became an offensive force from the blueline and ultimately became a finalist for the Hobey Baker award in his senior year.  An undrafted free agent, Pöck signed a lucrative deal just days after the University of Maine eliminated his team in the Hockey East finals.

.