The Rangers dove head first into free agency this afternoon, signing Aaron Voros from the Minnesota Wild. The 26-year-old forward scored seven goals and seven assists in 55 games as a rookie last season. Alright, so maybe it's not so much a "dive" as an exploratory toe in the water, but hey, it's something to talk about on what's been a surprisingly quiet day. Voros adds size and depth to the forward corps, but perhaps little else. I wonder what this means, if anything, for fringe players like Ryan Hollweg, Colton Orr, and Petr Prucha.
Over the last several days the word through the grapevine seemed to suggest that Sean Avery is most likely ticketed out of town, possibly to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have cut ties with agitator Darcy Tucker. Earlier this afternoon, the Journal News' Sam Weinman reported that there were "rumblings" that Avery's exit was imminent, but nothing official has been announced as of yet.
If true, this would be a bizarre move. You may recall that it was in Toronto where Avery instigated a pre-game shoving match with the aforementioned Tucker and allegedly mocked Jason Blake's chronic myelogenous leukemia. Additionally, Avery has been a vocal critique of the city of Toronto, and in general seems to hold a fair amount of disdain for his home nation of Canada. Even forgetting these off the ice issues, Avery seems an odd fit for Toronto, where his act won't play nearly as well as it did in New York, where lately it seems the Garden crowd needs a player like Avery to get its own pulse up.
Meanwhile, some movement on the Jaromir Jagr front as Sportsnet.ca is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins have offered a contract to their former captain and marquee superstar. The Penguins were willing to pony up $7 million per over five years for Marian Hossa, thus having been spurned, it's not a stretch to imagine the club offering Jagr that same money on a one- or two-year contract. Remember, Pittsburgh got a first hand glimpse of Jagr at his most dominant this season - during the playoffs.
And finally, you can probably scratch Brian Campbell off your wish list. Aaron Portzline of the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reports that the Campbell camp is only accepting offers of $60 million or more (update: Campbell has agreed to an eight-year deal for an average of $7.142 per season with the Chicago Blackhawks).
Over the last several days the word through the grapevine seemed to suggest that Sean Avery is most likely ticketed out of town, possibly to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have cut ties with agitator Darcy Tucker. Earlier this afternoon, the Journal News' Sam Weinman reported that there were "rumblings" that Avery's exit was imminent, but nothing official has been announced as of yet.
If true, this would be a bizarre move. You may recall that it was in Toronto where Avery instigated a pre-game shoving match with the aforementioned Tucker and allegedly mocked Jason Blake's chronic myelogenous leukemia. Additionally, Avery has been a vocal critique of the city of Toronto, and in general seems to hold a fair amount of disdain for his home nation of Canada. Even forgetting these off the ice issues, Avery seems an odd fit for Toronto, where his act won't play nearly as well as it did in New York, where lately it seems the Garden crowd needs a player like Avery to get its own pulse up.
Meanwhile, some movement on the Jaromir Jagr front as Sportsnet.ca is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins have offered a contract to their former captain and marquee superstar. The Penguins were willing to pony up $7 million per over five years for Marian Hossa, thus having been spurned, it's not a stretch to imagine the club offering Jagr that same money on a one- or two-year contract. Remember, Pittsburgh got a first hand glimpse of Jagr at his most dominant this season - during the playoffs.
And finally, you can probably scratch Brian Campbell off your wish list. Aaron Portzline of the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reports that the Campbell camp is only accepting offers of $60 million or more (update: Campbell has agreed to an eight-year deal for an average of $7.142 per season with the Chicago Blackhawks).
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