After the World Championships, we talked about the possibility of Jaromir Jagr returning to the NHL and listed some potential suitors. Well we missed on one: the Detroit Red Wings.

According to the Detroit News, Jagr's agent Petr Svoboda got in touch with the Wings to expresses Jagr's interest in signing there when free agency opens on July 1.

Jagr, 39, has been playing in the Kontinental Hockey League the last three seasons but is said to want to finish his career back in the NHL. Financial issues with his Avangard Omsk team also hasten a return to North America.

In addition to Detroit, old teams in the Penguins and Rangers as well as the Canadiens are also said to be on the short list.

At this point in his career, Jagr won't command a big salary, so it could be a nice risk/reward signing for some team. He did score 19 goals with 31 assists in 49 games in the KHL last season. Throw him onto a veteran team like Detroit and he might fit in nicely and be a missing piece of sorts.

Either way, it now looks like a sure thing Jagr will be back in the NHL. Now we'll just have to wait to find where along with the rest of the unrestricted free agents.

-- Brian Stubits

The Rangers have been slumping lately and we are all frustrated about it. These one goal losses can discourage even the most optimistic of us Ranger fans. It seems as if the majority of the fanbase is going on to the ledge ready to give up on the young guys, torts, and this season. Some of us are even saying this team is now underachieving. when you look at what has happened this season you will see that this team is far from underachieving and that blaming torts for this is absolutely ridiculous.

Before the season started the general consensus was that the Rangers would be in a battle for the last playoff spot again with some publications even predicting a 13th place finish in the East. This was assuming that the team would not be decimated by injuries throughout the course of the season.

Through 65 games this year:

Gaborik has missed 18 game

Gaborik has only scored in 10 of the 47 games he has played in

Prospal has missed the first 53 games of the season

Drury only played in 23 games the whole season and has not scored a goal

Callahan has missed 20 games

Frolov (yeah i forgot he ever wore a ranger jersey too) tore his ACL halfway through the season

EC has missed 17 games

Fedotenko has missed 16 games

Lundqvist has been sub-par to bad in way more games than any other season of his career

MDZ has hit a real bad sophomore slump

The team has counted on rookies McDonagh and Sauer to eat up big minutes and play against opponents 2nd best lines

Rookie Derek Stepan is be 3rd on the team in points

The PP is 6th worst in the entire NHL

 

Before the season started if i had told you all of that would have happened through 65 games most of you would have started scouting the best prospects in the draft thinking wed be lined up for a top 5 pick.  The fact that this team is currently in 7th shows that this team has not underachieved at all and that a clear-thinking fan can not possibly blame Torts for the skid this team is in.

i rest my case

@incarceratedbob

**BREAKING NHL NEWS**Source: Rangers thought they had deal with Stars all wrapped up on Monday : Gaborik & Gilroy for Richards + Neal

 

BREAKING NEWS**Source: Dallas instead took deal with Pittsburgh leaving Rangers to go back to drawing board > Sather had worked it 4weeks

**BREAKING NHL NEWS**Source: Indicates Sather thought he had pulled off a blockbuster deal heading in2 final week be4 deadline Gaborik

 

I really really hope this isnt true. That trade woulda be an absolute slam dunk for the Rangers and would be better for Dallas than they one they got from Pitt.

This also means that Sather will look to stick it to Joe News and the Stars and will break the bank to get Richards here in the summer

According to Jesse Spector Callahan and Girardi will be in the lineup tomorrow night vs Pitt and Prospal will make his debut on Thursday vs Jersey. Spector also said that Dubinsky could return tomorrow if he feels great after the morning skate.

Christensen has a date in mind but wont reveal it just yet, and Feds has not resumed skating yet.

Great to see the team is starting to get fully healthy for the stretch run as Dubi Cally and Prospal should be ready to go by then.

 

Looks like Drury is going to have to be a healthy scratch when all these guys come back

The USA didnt make it to the gold game after getting dominated by Canada, but Kreider would make sure they walked out with a medal. He scored on a beautiful one timer, sneaking it inside the far post before the swedish goalie could even react to it. He then ripped a laser of a wrist shot over the goalies' shoulder knocking the water bottle off the net to make it a 4-2 game with under 2 mins to go. He was quiet in the first couple games but really turned it on after that finishing with 4 goals in the tournament.

Bourque was solid in this game too, doing many callahan-like things on the ice to help the team. He may not have the most talent in the world but he hits everything in sight and is willing to do the dirty work.

Jesper Fasth was also good in this game scoring a nice goal to make it 3-2. This kid is a very good skater but i thought he turned it over too much and was very weak along the boards. He also finished with 4 goals in the tournament.

 

The future looks bright as Kreider looks to be a future top 6 forward for sure and Bourque can be a solid energy line guy and PKer

Does anybody know how Bourque and Krieder looked in the USA's first game of the World Juniors against Finland? I remember watching a couple games online last year and being very impressed with Step and it he has carried it over to the NHL level. Im hoping Kreider and Bourque could be just as impressive in this years.

 

Also, anybody with Time Warner know how much it costs to get the NHL network? its not offered on the original package and I dont feel like being on the phone for a half hour trying to find out how to add it. Thanks

We all know the Rangers are very fortunate to be playing this well with Gaborik being practically invisible. Is his slump the result of not having a number 1 center, not clicking with the right linemates, or is he still hurt?

 

To me he just doesnt look right out there. Hes not skating by people with the same burst that hes always had. That devastating wrist shot of his also looks like its lost a little bit of steam. Hes only scored in 5 of the 18 games since he came back from the shoulder injury (even though hes had hat tricks in 2 of those games) and hasnt scored in the last 7.

 

I personally think hes nursing an injury, but im not sure if its the shoulder or not. He just doesnt look right. What do you guys think?

I know most of you guys are tired of hearing about Richards but i have to do it

From Pierre Lebrun on ESPN

I was told Saturday the New York Rangers’ interest in Brad Richards (set to be an unrestricted free agent July 1) is serious enough that they’re willing to pony up assets before the Feb. 28 trade deadline to make sure he doesn’t go elsewhere should the Dallas Stars decide to put him on the market in order to get value before he leaves. This despite the fact the Rangers could get him July 1 without giving up any assets.

Obviously, the carrot here for Richards, who has a no-movement clause, is his relationship with Rangers coach John Tortorella. The two won a Cup together in 2004 when Torts was behind the bench for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

 

 

Now this is Lebrun, not Eklund, so its probably from a reliable source. I just dont understand how they can get Richards and stay under the cap.

Including Rozi in the deal would be a good way to get it done while staying under the cap, but do they trust Gilroy enough to play him the whole season alongside another really young player. Rozi would make sense for the Stars because although his cap hit is 5 mil per, hes only due 3 mil next year.

Could Frolov go the other way? Stars can take him on and just let him loose at the end of the season or they can even trade him to some team in need of an overrated, overpriced European. not sure how much theyd get back for him but better than nothing i suppose

Thoughts?

Zipay is reporting on Twitter that Prospal wont skate for 2 weeks which means he probably wont make his season debut until at least November. This means that Stepan's spot on the team is all but assured for the opener. This also means EC will probably be playing Center instead of wing until at least Drury comes back.  The four centers for opening night now should be Stepan, EC, AA, and Boyle/Kennedy.

 

If Stepan and EC are playing very well while Prospal is out Torts will have a big problem on his hands finding a way to get him back in the lineup. Alot can change by the time Prospal should be ready to play but as of now it would be hard to take any of Stepan, EC, Fedotenko, or Avery out of the lineup to make room for Prospal.

 

What do you guys think?  

Multiple people on twitter suggesting the Isles making a serious run at Kovalchuk. This makes sense on alot of different levels as the isles are still millions short of the salary floor and why not reach that floor with Kovalchuk. If Wang wants his arena project to move forward and Kovalchuk will definitley help him on that front.

Dreger is reporting the offer may be 10 years at 10 mil per which is about what Kovalchuk is asking for but ridiculus nonetheless. The isles getting Kovalchuk could help the Isles propel over the Rangers in the Atlantic this coming season dropping the Rangers into last place.

I must say that while the money is crazy, i hate the idea of playing against a Tavares Kovalchuk Nino line for years to come. What do you guys think?