Glen Sather, Rangers’ president, general manager and . . . doorman?
“The door is open,” Sather reported in an e-mail response to the Post’s inquiry regarding the status of the still-unsigned Brendan Shanahan. “However there are complications that need to be worked out.”
Now merely six days away from Rangers training camp medicals, it’s unclear what those complications might include beyond a contract negotiation that either hasn’t begun in earnest or is not going well.
The Rangers haven’t added or subtracted a player since the first half of July. Their cap position hasn’t changed in two months. They have between $2-3M to spend, depending upon the number of players they carry, and the identities of the 10th through 13th forwards.
And no, Mats Sundin has nothing to do with this.
So if the door is open for Shanahan, it seems that money would be the only complication. To wit, how much (or comparatively little) is Shanahan willing to accept to fulfill his desire to return to the Rangers, as opposed to how much more he might be able to get to play his 21st NHL season somewhere else?
“I’ve never talked about money in my whole career, and I’m not going to start now,” said Shanahan, who has skated at the Rangers’ practice rink the last two days with a number of his past and perhaps future (current?) teammates. “What I’ll say, though, is that I don’t equate money with respect.
“My intention is the same now as it’s been all summer, and that’s to play with the Rangers. When other teams have called my agent [Rick Curran], he’s told them not to even make offers. And those are teams that are offering jobs, not tryouts.”
It’s safe to presume that Markus Naslund, Nikolai Zherdev, Colton Orr and Aaron Voros have jobs on the wing. Nigel Dawes and Ryan Callahan enter camp as incumbents. Space for two or three more.
That means Shanahan – who can play either side – would be competing with Petr Prucha, Patrick Rissmiller, Fred Sjostrom, Lauri Korpikoski, Andreas Jamtin, Hugh Jessiman, P.A. Parenteau, and perhaps Petr Nedved for a spot on the roster.
“I appreciate compliments about my role as a leader or mentor, but I’m not playing in the NHL this year to be a, ‘Good locker room guy,’ ” said Shanahan, who was third on the team last year with 23 goals. “I’m coming to play hard on both sides of the puck, to attack and defend, and to help my team win games.
“My fuel is winning hockey games. I believe I can help the Rangers win hockey games.”
What’s so complicated about that?