Well, not only did Glen Sather get the backup goaltender he’d been looking for, it turns out as well that the general manager was able to sign the 6-foot-8, 257-pound forward the Rangers had been missing as well.
While solidifying the situation in net by signing Martin Biron to a two-year deal at $875,000 per to support Henrik Lundqvist, Sather didn’t necessarily improve the team at all by choosing to allow incumbent enforcer Jody Shelley to walk in order to replace him with the hulking Derek Boogaard, who signed for a staggering $1.65 million per for four years after the free agent market opened at noon.
Understand this. The exchange had nothing to do with money or contract terms. Sather preferred Boogaard to Shelley. That’s why the GM waited until Monday to present Shelley with a one-year offer for $825,000 he knew that No. 45 would refuse.
There was no serious effort aimed at retaining the enforcer who had established himself as a team leader during his two months on Broadway. Shelley signed a three-year, $3.3 million deal with the Flyers.
Sather, who also re-signed both Erik Christensen and Vinny Prospal for a combined 2010-11 cap hit of $1.95 million — not bad, at all — said on a conference call that he was angered last year by the liberties taken against Lundqvist. But those inexcusable indignities ended once Shelley joined the fold.
Boogaard will ride shotgun for the Blueshirts’ skilled players, including one-time Minnesota teammate Marian Gaborik, but the price of protection is remarkably steep.
“I liked Shelley; he was a good guy who fit in well,” said Sather, whose team is also carrying a $1.4 million over-35 cap charge for the excommunicated Donald Brashear. “But Derek is the biggest and toughest and I think we needed his presence here.”
Boogaard, who engaged in nine fights last season, recorded four points (0-4) while going minus-12 in 6:09 per in 57 games. The 28-year-old perceives the Garden as a stage. Rest assured he won’t be dancing on it.
“When you’re on the ice [in New York], then you’re on center stage and you can’t hide that,” said Boogaard. “You have to play to the best of your ability and I’m ready to do that.
“I think for my size I can skate really well. I can keep up with the play, get in on the forecheck and create room for the skill guys. That stuff [around Lundqvist] will look after itself.
“I’m not afraid to do what I do. That’s kind of what I do. New York knows what type of player I am. I like to do what I do. Now I get to do it on center stage.”
If Boogaard is going to be front and center, then Biron will be expected to provide the backup support for Lundqvist that was lacking last season when the King started 72 games including the final 17 and 24 of the last 25.
Biron, the former No. 1 with Buffalo and Philadelphia who was a backup last year on the Island, received permission from GM Garth Snow to begin speaking with teams before the market opened yesterday.
The goaltender, who turns 33 next month, has a past association with goaltending coach Benoit Allaire that proved the key in this deal.
“I plan to be the best insurance policy in the league,” said Biron, known as one of the best people in the NHL. “This is the right fit.”