Shanahan signs with the New York Rangers
Update (1:56PM):
The New York Rangers are having a press conference at 2pm today to announce Shanny’s signing with the Blueshirts. The Rangers website already has an article up titled, “Rangers sign 7-Time All-Star Brendan Shanahan.”
“He continues to perform at an elite level and also brings outstanding leadership qualities to our organization,” Rangers president and GM Glen Sather said in a release. “Brendan will be a tremendous player and person for our young players to learn from.”A source said that Shanahan made up his mind to sign with the Rangers on Saturday night even though the Red Wings had offered the same amount of money and the Montreal Canadiens had tabled more.
So we now have that $4 million to spend elsewhere. Please Mr. Holland, please, sign us some UFAs particularly a goalie, gritty forward or two, and that physical defenseman you promised.
Paul @ Kukla’s Korner has some nice memories of when Shanny first game to Detroit in 1996.
The building was electric, filled with anticipation. The Wings finally had their power forward. It was rumored for weeks in Detroit, the Wings were attempting to acquire Shanahan from the Whalers. The wishes of many Wings fans came true on October 9, 1996. The final piece was in place.Shanahan made it to the Joe with minutes to spare for the first game that season. The Wings actually held up going onto the ice so Brendan could join them. With Shanahan scoring 46 goals that year, the Wings went on to win the Cup and repeated the feat the next year.
Now he is gone, and with it the “piece†leaves a big hole in the Wings lineup. Now where do they go? Gomez in New Jersey may be an option, the Devils are cap strapped and need to move some salary. Can Anson Carter replace one of the greatest goal scores in the last 15 years?
Hockeybird likes the signing (from the Rangers perspective) for the following reasons:
I’m thrilled with the signing in that it’s a one year deal and Brendan fills a void up front. Of course I would have liked to have Brendan eight years ago.
Blueshirt Bulletin tends to disagree.
Here at Blueshirt Bulletin, we believe it would be a huge mistake to take on a near-retiree even for one season when there is a glut of young forwards hoping to take the next step forward. It would send the wrong message. If, as Brooks also reports, Martin Rucinsky is close to signing another one-year deal with the Rangers, the Rangers are not in need of top-line winger, so Shanahan would only knock Petr Prucha down the depth chart, in turn knocking another young player even farther down the depth chart. If anything, the Rangers need a second line center — signing Shanahan and moving Martin Straka to center will not work, and will be eventually abandoned. By the way, Brooks says the Rangers have no interest in Petr Sykora.
11 AM: The New York Post reports that forward Brendan Shanahan will sign a one year contract with the New York Rangers. The contract is worth around $4 million, lower than the offers made by Detroit and Montreal.
The signing, expected to be announced today, comes one day after Shanahan informed Montreal GM Bob Gainey he was rejecting his team’s bid to sign him.The Post has learned that after Shanahan had visited Manhattan on Wednesday to meet with Ranger front-office and coaching personnel - a “Welcome Brendan Shanahan” message with a visual of Shanny wearing the Blueshirt went up on the Garden Seventh Avenue marquee to coincide with his visit - the Rangers increased their original $3.5M offer in order to signal their commitment to completing the deal.
If this report is true, I am pleased that we aren’t spending $4-5 million on Shanny. However, Holland has put himself in a pickle by waiting so long as many of the UFAs have been picked up.
So who do the Wings look to replace Shanny? What about that gritty forward or physical defenseman we have supposedly been searching for? And goaltending?
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