Though Brandon Prust’s first choice is to re-up with the Rangers, and the Blueshirts have keen mutual interest in retaining the impending free agent, it appears there is enough of a gap in the contract negotiations between the parties to make it increasingly likely that the winger will at least test the open market when free agency opens July 1.
Prust, cited repeatedly by coach John Tortorella as an invaluable member of the club’s core leadership group for his willingness to step up, fight and put his body on the line for his teammates in addition to his value on the penalty-kill unit, changed agents at the conclusion of the playoffs, moving to Ritch Winter from Newport Sports.
Though sources stressed that lines of communication remain open and that it is conceivable that Prust could re-sign before July 1, it is believed the difference between the parties is significant — upward of $1 million over the life of a three-year contract.
Prust and Boston’s Shawn Thornton tied for the NHL lead with 20 fighting majors apiece, with Prust picking up majors by the eight-second mark of five different games. The 28-year-old winger — who suffered a torn tendon in his left ring finger in a Jan. 12 fight for which he underwent postseason surgery — also took on Chris Neil late in the first period of the Rangers’ first round potential elimination Game 6 in Ottawa that was a key moment in his team’s 3-2 victory.
The 28-year-old winger will almost certainly be able to attract his asking price on the open market. Indeed, he will be in extremely high demand. The questions are how much — if anything — he would be willing to leave on the table in order to remain in New York, and how far the Rangers would be willing to go to keep him here, given the combination of his value and the paucity of alternatives on the market.
After opening 2011-12 still dealing with the after-effects of shoulder surgery that followed the previous season and completing the year with the injured hand, Prust’s playing time and numbers diminished last season. Indeed, Prust had five goals and 12 assists while averaging 11:56 of ice time per game after having 13 goals and 16 assists in 13:48 per two years ago.
But Prust — the hidden gem in the multi-player deal in which he came to the Rangers from Calgary on Feb. 2, 2010, with Olli Jokinen for Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins — continued to be held in the utmost regard by his teammates and by coach John Tortorella, who most often used a part of the male anatomy that can also be called “jewels” to describe what he brought to the team and onto the rink every night.
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Columbus general manager Scott Howson is holding tight in his wildly unrealistic demands for Rick Nash, sources report. The Rangers thus are no closer to a deal for the winger today than they were when talks collapsed at the Feb. 27 trade deadline, though Rangers general manager Glen Sather and the Blue Jackets are expected to continue talking through the week that culminates with the Entry Draft’s first round Friday night in Pittsburgh. The Blueshirts hold the 28th overall selection.