Pavel Bure was traded to Florida yesterday without Brian Burke giving Neil Smith so much as a courtesy call to find out whether the Rangers would trump what amounted to a surprisingly weak Panther package.
Though Smith would not say so, what it came down was that Burke, who for months had promised the Ranger GM such a call, broke his word.
“I didn’t hear from Brian,” Smith told The Post by phone last night, approximately an hour before the announcement that the Russian Rocket had been sent to the Panthers with Bret Hedican and Brad Ference for Ed Jovanovski, Dave Gagner, Kevin Weekes and Mike Brown. “He never called me back after the time we spoke during the middle of the week.
“But in saying that, I want to add that he certainly didn’t have an obligation to check with me,” the politically correct GM continued. “How he goes about doing his business is up to him. If there are any questions, and I’m not suggesting there should be, Brian should be the one to answer them, not me.”
In finally dealing Bure for so slim a return after saying for weeks that he would need the equivalent of five first-rounders for the winger; in not checking with Smith; and, by dealing him to a Ranger conference rival, it appears abundantly clear that Burke was in some measure acting out of spite.
It was no secret that Bure, who will be at the Garden Thursday when the Panthers come in to face the Rangers, wanted to come to New York. It was no secret that league personnel wanted Bure on Broadway. It was no secret that Smith would have done whatever he rationally could to get that done.
Burke’s final demand of the Rangers was not only outrageous, but one he never bargained off – Dan Cloutier, Manny Malhotra, Niklas Sundstrom, a first-round draft choice and approximately $1.5 million. Talking with Florida, Burke bargained; that’s how he wound up with 34-year-old journeyman center Gagner (who has scored four goals this year) instead of his original demand, 24-year-old power pivot Rob Niedermayer.
It is believed the Rangers had offered Cloutier and Sundstrom for Bure (and would have been willing to add more to the mix had negotiations taken place), who now joins a Florida team that’s tied with the Rangers for ninth-place with 41 points while holding two games in hand on the Blueshirts.
“It’s obvious [Burke] never wanted Bure in New York,” one interested and informed party related. “Maybe he was afraid Bure would get too much of the spotlight as a Ranger. Or maybe it was just a final shot at Bure, refusing to trade him to his first choice.”
Bure can become a Group II free agent this summer, but agent Mike Gillis spoke by phone yesterday afternoon with Panthers owner Wayne Huizenga, and is believed to have established the framework for a long-term deal that may exceed $9 million per. Gillis and the Panthers have agreed on a contract for Bure for the remainder of the season.
What this means for the Rangers, who have had one eye trained all season on Bure, is problematic. Though they’ve scored a total of one goal in their last two games and have scored two goals or less in 24 of their 43 matches, it’s unlikely that they’ll now try to overwhelm Calgary in order to get Theo Fleury, or Montreal in order to get Mark Recchi. Each is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
“This doesn’t really change anything as far as our direction or intentions,” Smith said. “It’s not as if we lost a player off our roster.”