Martin Straka will not play for the Rangers or in the NHL next year. Definitely. Maybe. Who knows?
Last night Straka's former club in the Czech Republic, HC Lasselsberger Plzen, announced that they had reached an agreement with the winger.
"We struck a deal with Martin last night," club president Tomas Kral said. The agreement called for to not only play for the team but also serve as a sports director.
But today the agent for the soon to be 36-year-old vet has said differently.
"Marty has made it clear that he will wait until after July 1 to evaluate all his options and make an informed decision at that time," Ritch Winter, Straka's longtime agent said.
"Plzen has made an aggressive offer but it's just one of the offers he will be considering," said Winter, who added there was also interest from teams in Russia and Sweden.
July 1 is obviously the day when NHL teams other than the Rangers can make offers to the player with 257 career goals. Teams from other countries can make offers at any time. According to his agent there are teams in the NHL, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Sweden interested in him.
It's understandable that Straka would have interest from teams in other countries, but after the season he's just had I don't see too many NHL teams lining up to sign him. Averaging nearly a point a game in the two years since the lockout Straka was a major player for the Rangers. But he had a disappointing 2008 season and is part of the reason the team struggled offensively for most of the year.
A combination of injuries and being relegated to the third line for most of the year accounted for the reasons why he only managed 41 points last year. Had he been healthy and playing on Jaromir Jagr's line for the entire year perhaps his numbers would have done better, but with his age and the salary cap there isn't much reason to expect the Rangers to bring him back.
He did go out on a high note, in 10 playoff games Straka put up decent numbers. He had three goals and seven assists. Most of that success came from playing along side Jagr who had a more impressive 15 points in the playoffs.
Straka has a history with HC Lasselsberger Plzen. He played for them before coming over to the NHL and also during the 04/05 work stoppage.
-
TopicRepliesLast Activity
-
The NHL's top secret flow chart for handing out suspensions
smcindoe started this Toronto Maple Leafs thread05 hours ago -
NHL Hall of Fame Induction
inplaymagazine started this NHL thread09 hours ago -
Weekly Power Play: Sharks reclaim top spot, Flyers rise
dcprosports started this NHL thread012 hours ago -
Leafs leave door open for second NHL team in GTA
SportsAnna started this Toronto Maple Leafs thread013 hours ago -
Hall of Fame's 2009 class takes on head shots issue
SportsAnna started this NHL thread016 hours ago
Featured Yardbarker Articles
- Random Thoughts (a lot of them)
- Refs Overturn Brad Miller’s Buzzer Beater to Beat Nuggets, Wrong Call
- Thabeet Breaks Jaw
- Pronounced Cracks in Baseball’s Glass Ceiling
- Nine-time winners Hunter, Ichiro lead AL Gold Gloves
- Salute to the Troops
- Saudi Arabian Soccer Player Scores Goal In Two Seconds
- Ricky Stanzi Has Surgery And Won't Be Back Before Bowl Game
- Video: Kobe Bryant on TBS' premiere of 'Lopez Tonight'
- Jasper Howard 'Took Swing' At Murder Suspect
Today's Best Stuff
For Bloggers
Company Info
Help
What is Yardbarker?
Join the Yardbarker Network (YBN) for more promotion, traffic, and money.
















Add Comment