MONTREAL — One Nik has been invited back for a Broadway encore. The other almost certainly is on his way out of town.
General manager Glen Sather said yesterday that the Rangers have extended a $3.25 million qualifying offer to impending restricted free agent Nik Zherdev, who disappeared down the stretch and in the playoffs.
“I don’t know whether he is going to accept it, though; I can’t get an answer from his agent,” Sather said of the winger who went scoreless in the final seven games of the regular season and then failed to register a point in the playoffs. “Nik played very well at times, but he has to become more consistent and a little more determined.”
The qualifier means the Rangers will retain his rights should Zherdev opt to play in Russia, but it also means Ottawa is less inclined to accept him in a deal for Dany Heatley. The Post has been told Ottawa general manager Bryan Murray has scoffed at Sather’s offer of Zherdev and Michal Rozsival.
Sather meanwhile categorized the contract demands from impending unrestricted free agent Nik Antropov, whom the Blueshirts acquired from Toronto at the deadline for a second-round pick, as “ridiculous.”
“Based on the first volley from [agent] Mark Gandler, there is a slim chance [of Antropov returning],” the general manager said following the fifth round of the Entry Draft. “There’s a snowball’s chance in hell that’s going to happen. It’s ridiculous. I hate to criticize an agent, but let’s have a little bit of reality here.”
Antropov, who scored seven goals in 18 regular-season games for the Blueshirts but was barely a factor in the first-round defeat by Washington, earned $2.05 million last year. He’s believed seeking a long-term deal for at least $5 million per. Good luck to him.
Sather acknowledged the need to improve the offensive production of the team that finished next to last in the East with 200 goals.
“Anybody can use more goal-scoring and we certainly do,” said Sather, who also revealed that Fred Sjostrom would not be qualified at the required $882,000. “But we have to get more from tactical positions, and we got away from that.”
Wade Redden had a disastrous 2008-09. So did Scott Gomez and Chris Drury. The three account for an aggregate annual cap hit of $20.82 million. Not one is tradable.
“I know there was a lot of criticism of Wade, and I don’t think his ability came to the forefront, but I thought he played very well in the playoffs,” Sather said. “I would think there were pretty tough years [for Redden, Gomez and Drury] and that’s been addressed with them.
“When you sign anybody as a free agent, I’ve come to expect a little bit of relaxation. That has to change. They have to play and produce.”
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After selecting Kingston center Ethan Werek 47th overall, Blueshirts chose Ryan Bourque, the son of Ray Bourque, 80th.
The younger Bourque, a 5-foot-8 center headed to QMJHL this year after having played in the US Development Program, went to middle school with first-round selection Chris Kreider.
“All I preach is to work hard,” Ray Bourque said. “Ryan has a lot of potential, he loves the game and he plays hard shift-in and shift-out. He has the will to get better.” . . . The Blueshirts obtained 6-foot-7 center Brian Boyle from Los Angeles for a third-rounder in 2010. He will compete for the fourth-line pivot’s spot.