It has been confirmed!
Shanahan leaves Red Wings for one-year deal with RangersNEW YORK (AP) - Brendan Shanahan became the second big-time forward to say goodbye to the Detroit Red Wings this offseason, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $4 million with the New York Rangers on Sunday.
The 37-year-old forward joined longtime Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman as players who won't be returning to Hockeytown. Yzerman announced his retirement last week after 22 years in Detroit.
Now the Red Wings have more than just goaltending issues to deal with after posting the NHL's best record last season. In the span of seven days, they lost their biggest leader in Yzerman and their top goal scorer in Shanahan, who netted 40 last season in his ninth year with the Wings and 18th in the league.
"It really came down to an instinct I had," Shanahan said. "Detroit has a great past and a great future ahead of them as well, but I guess I just felt that maybe I was identified with the past a little bit more than the future."
The Rangers, notorious for overspending on top-name players often past their prime, had been relatively quiet in the first week of free agency. They added forward Matt Cullen and defenseman Aaron Ward from the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes while other clubs quickly filled up space on the $44 million salary cap by handing out big-ticket deals.
With room to spend, the Rangers targeted Shanahan, who has 598 goals - 15th on the NHL career list - and 634 assists with New Jersey, St. Louis, Hartford, and Detroit. He turned down equal or higher-valued deals from the Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens.
Both Rangers general manager Glen Sather and Shanahan sought to complete a one-year contract. Each cited the pressure to perform and extra motivation as factors in making a short-term commitment.
"To take on a new challenge was a little scary and exciting at the same time," Shanahan said. "I like the feeling of having to go out and proving your worth every year."
Shanahan said he received offers for multiple years for several teams, but decided to join the Rangers after taking a tour this week of the team's practice facility in Westchester County, viewing residential areas, and spending time in Manhattan.
He isn't sure how long he wants to play, but if the fit is right Shanahan wouldn't mind spending a few years in the Big Apple.
And Sather was plenty glad to have him, a player he said the Rangers had at the top of their free-agent wish list. The original thought was that Shanahan was likely to remain with the Red Wings, but once it became known that New York was an option, Sather moved quickly to get a deal done.
"I said to Glen that I wasn't trying to bust the door to get out of Detroit," Shanahan said.
The Rangers have shifted course in recent years in an attempt to rebuild the team with youth. New York snapped a seven-season playoff drought this year but were swept in the first round by New Jersey. Shanahan won three Stanley Cup titles with the Red Wings.
"I saw them as a team that made tremendous strides last year," he said. "I was really impressed with their desire to improve on that."
Shanahan earned $2.28 million in Detroit last season when, while working on a one-year deal, he recorded the sixth 40-goal season of his career and first since the 1999-2000 campaign.
One of the last true power forwards in the game, the seven-time All-Star will be a good complement to Jaromir Jagr - who will not have to bear the full offensive burden next season.
"We were really looking for someone that could share a leadership role on our team," Sather said. "Someone that could play on the power play, someone who was going to be able to move people around in front of the net and someone with a great shot. And Brendan certainly has all of those."
Shanahan, the strongest advocate for rules changes during the NHL lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season, took advantage once the game returned with less clutching, grabbing and mauling in front of the net. That is where the 6-foot-3, 220-pound left winger is most effective, especially with the man advantage.
He scored 14 goals on the power play, a unit in New York that should be even more potent than last season when Jagr netted 24 of his club-record 54.
"He's big and he's strong and he's a great team guy," Sather said. "As we got closer to the end of the season, we found that maybe we needed a little some more size up front, and his experience in the playoffs would be a huge help for us."
http://www.nhl.com/news/2006/07/276988.htmlThe Rangers are looking pretty good. All we need is one offensive defenseman and we should make it to the playoffs again. Jagr and Shanahan are gonna rule the NHL next season!
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