There was one player and one player alone on the free agent market worth the contractual riches of a pre-cap NHL, and that was Patrik Elias. Late last night, he listened to his heart and remained in New Jersey after hours and hours of agonizing indecision.
He listened to Lou Lamoriello, too, who gave Elias a seven-year, no-trade contract worth $6M per that kept the league’s 30-year-old pre-eminent left wing from accepting more lucrative offers from both the Rangers and Blackhawks.
On the day when flawed players with marquee names were signed by desperate teams for staggering sums of money, Sather’s Blueshirts were believed offering a long-term deal worth $7M per to Elias, while the Blackhawks, according to sources, were in at $7.5M per.
But Elias, who was weighing his options at his offseason home in the Czech Republic, spurned the extra cash to remain with the only NHL organization for which he’s played. A two-time Cup champion, Elias is the Devils’ signature skater and is all but certain to be named team captain next season.
Having signed Jamie Langenbrunner earlier in the day to a five-year deal worth $2.8M per, the Devils have nearly $35.5M committed to the 2006-07 cap of $44M that expands to $48.8M until opening day. That amount includes $7.1M to Alexander Mogilny and Vladimir Malakhov. The Devils have yet to sign Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta, Paul Martin or Colin White.
The Rangers had essentially put a freeze on business early in the afternoon in order to maintain the cap maneuverability necessary to add Elias. That cost the team the opportunity to get defenseman Jay McKee, who instead signed with St. Louis.
The Blueshirts had previously passed on defensemen Pavel Kubina, Willie Mitchell and Kim Johnsson before talks kicked into serious gear with Elias. Johnsson remains unsigned. Zdeno Chara, never a serious option, informed the team early in the day that he had no desire to reside in New York. Billy Guerin is attempting to gain a one-year, $3M deal from the Bruins.
Elias’ decision leaves the door ajar for a return by Martin Rucinsky, who earlier had rejected a one-year offer from the club that was rescinded yesterday. Defenseman Karel Rachunek has signed a one-year contract worth $1.8M, but The Post has learned an anticipated three-year, $5.7 deal with Michal Rozsival has fallen through.
The Rangers did sign Carolina free agent Matt Cullen to a workable four-year, $11.5M deal to fill the vacancy created by the loss of Steve Rucchin. The 29-year-old, 6-2, 220-pound Cullen is of the north-south variety of forward the Rangers had been seeking. A strong skater with good work habits who plays both the wing and the middle, Cullen can kill penalties and play the point on the power play. Sought aggressively by both the Senators and Thrashers, he can play on either a checking or scoring unit.
Elias, however, was the prize on whom the Rangers had their eyes. After being swept in the first round of the playoffs, the Blueshirts have now lost five straight to the Devils.