NHL

Rangers hoping to keep backup goalie Biron

While the Rangers will join tomorrow in the courtship of 21-year-old University of Wisconsin free agent defenseman Justin Schultz, the club will continue negotiations with Martin Biron aimed at keeping the backup netminder on Broadway and off the free agent market.

“We have had several positive discussions with the Rangers that are hopefully headed in the right direction, because Marty’s first choice is to remain in New York,” Biron’s agent, Peter Fish, told The Post yesterday. “The Rangers have made it clear that they want to keep him, but there is still some work to be done.”

Biron, who had a brilliant first half in which he went 9-2 with a 1.87 goals-against average before finishing 12-6-2 with a 2.46 goals-against average in 20 starts, is in a strong negotiating position for several reasons coming off a two-year contract worth $875,000 per.

First, coach John Tortorella’s unwavering confidence in Biron as a goaltender and teammate allowed the Rangers to follow through on the plan to limit Henrik Lundqvist to 62-to-64 starts (62 last year), which is the range the club believes the King to be at his best going into the playoffs.

Second, the Flyers, who dealt backup Sergei Bobrovsky to the Blue Jackets on Friday, are expected to aggressively pursue Biron to support Ilya Bryzgalov if No. 43, who previously played two full seasons and part of a third in Philadelphia, gets to the open market.

Third, there are few attractive alternatives on the market should Biron, who will turn 35 in August, get away. The Devils’ Johan Hedberg would likely cost more than Biron and probably would not be satisfied with that small a workload. The same considerations apply to the Panthers’ Scott Clemmensen.

Other potential backups on the market include the Islanders’ Al Montoya, the Penguins’ Brent Johnson and the Jets’ Chris Mason, not one of whom would bring the level of comfort to the organization provided by Biron.

“I think there would certainly be some attractive options for Marty if he were to become a free agent, but that is not his objective,” Fish said. “He enjoys everything about the Rangers and values his relationship with Henrik, and both sides are working so that he stays with the team.

“I can’t say for a certainty, though, that we’re going to get a deal done before July 1.”

Schultz’s agent, Wade Arnott, told The Post in an email yesterday the plan is for the right defenseman, who officially became a free agent yesterday, to come up with a short list of teams with which talks will begin tomorrow.

The Rangers, Canucks, Oilers, Maple Leafs and perhaps Blackhawks and Red Wings are expected to be on the list. Schultz, drafted 43rd overall by the Ducks during the second round of the 2008 Entry Draft, is bound to sign a two-year Entry Level contract for a base no larger than $925,000 and bonuses that could amount to approximately an additional $3 million.

Though there is a sense that the Kelowna, British Columbia, native would like to play in Canada, the Rangers — desperate for a right defenseman to complete their top four — will pitch the opportunity to play on a Cup contender with former Badgers teammates Ryan McDonagh and Derek Stepan and Tortorella’s record of fast-tracking players out of college into meaningful positions in the lineup as soon as is warranted, e.g. Stepan, McDonagh, Chris Kreider and Carl Hagelin.