Donald Brashear was brought in to serve as the physical enforcer for the Rangers. Now, less than a year into his two-year deal, Brashear is the one being pushed around.
The Rangers put Brashear on 24-hour waivers yesterday, meaning other teams have until noon today to put in a claim for him. Brashear, who is making $1.4 million per season, would come off the books for the rest of the season, saving the Rangers about $400,000 against the salary cap, but it is unlikely that the bruiser will be picked up by another team.
The 38-year-old, who has been a healthy scratch in seven straight games and 12 of the past 13, became expendable after the Rangers acquired Brandon Prust, a player with a similar style, from Calgary on Feb. 1.
Brashear practiced with the team yesterday and traveled with it for tonight’s game in Pittsburgh. If he clears waivers, the Rangers are under no obligation to send him down to the minors. An Olympic roster freeze starts today at 3 p.m. and runs through midnight on Feb. 28. So if Brashear is not sent down today, he would not be eligible to be assigned until March 1.
The Rangers have two games remaining before the Olympic break, closing at home on Sunday against the Lightning, and desperately need to finish strong. They have lost three of their past four and eight of their past 10, and had slipped four points out of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference entering last night.
Though the Rangers aren’t showing many signs of improvement, Marian Gaborik is. The team’s leading scorer missed Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Predators after sustaining a deep laceration in his right thigh in a collision with goaltender Henrik Lundqvist at Tuesday’s practice. Gaborik did not practice yesterday, but he spent 20 minutes riding a stationary bike and said the swelling is down. He is unsure if he will play in either of the pre-break games and his status remains day-to-day.
“It feels better, not as much pain,” said Gaborik, who received 21 stitches in his leg. “The cut looks good. The most important thing is that it doesn’t get infected and the good thing is that I didn’t cut any tendons or nerves or muscles.
“We’ll see how it is in the morning. Hopefully, I can skate in the morning and figure out how to feel comfortable in the gear.”
Gaborik is scheduled to play for Slovakia in the Olympics starting on Wednesday, but the winger is only focused on domestic affairs right now.
“The club is the most important thing for me right now to play for,” Gaborik said. “I want to jump into games as quick as I can. Hopefully, I can jump into games before the Olympics.”
⇒ Defenseman Corey Potter, who played his first game of the season Wednesday night, and goaltender Chad Johnson were assigned to Hartford (AHL) and goaltender Matt Zaba was recalled from Hartford.