| stuff99 | 10-30-2008 01:23 PM |
The waiting is over. And so, too, is Brendan Shanahan's career as a Ranger.
The 39-year-old unsigned right wing who'd been advised for months by GM Glen Sather to "sit tight" in anticipation of both a roster spot and salary-cap space opening up to create an avenue for his return to Broadway, Shanahan is no longer doing so.
Nearly four months after becoming a free agent, Shanahan is putting himself onto the open market.
"I've told Rick [Curran] that I can no longer wait and that it's time to move on," Shanahan, referring to his agent, told The Post this afternoon. "Until now, Rick has been under instructions to tell inquiring teams that my focus was on re-signing with the Rangers, and that I was not accepting any other offers.
"That has changed."
Shanahan, who has been working out and skating on his own daily at the Rangers' training facility, said that he'd had a conversion with Sather, "a week-and-a-half ago in which Glen said to give him another week.
"But really, it doesn't look like much has changed, and there's no indication that it will or when it might. And so Rick spoke to Glen on Tuesday and told him that I couldn't wait any longer.
"When the season started, I set the end of the month as the appropriate time for me to evaluate where I stood. I thought the month of October was pretty much as long as I could go before staying out would become harmful as opposed to maybe being beneficial in terms of playing the season.
"I stayed out of the spotlight, I didn't want to be a drama or a distraction, but my position was also an obvious commitment on my part to stay a Ranger," said Shanahan, who played two years in New York after signing as a free agent in 2006.
"I left Detroit to come here to build something, and I wanted to continue to be a part of that process. I also sincerely believed that I could contribute to this team and help the Rangers get where we all want to go, which is to win the Stanley Cup.
"I have no regrets. Too many good things happened to me in my two years here. I met a lot of very good people. And I do think that I was an important and constructive influence, so it's disappointing not to be able to be here and help finish the job."
Shanahan, who will turn 40 on Jan, 23, was the Rangers' third-leading goal-scorer last season, his 23 two off the pace set by Chris Drury and Jaromir Jagr. Shanahan's 11 PPGs were second to Drury's 12.
Eleventh on the NHL all-time goal-scoring list with 650, Shanahan recorded 52 goals and 56 assists for 108 points in 140 games and two seasons as a Ranger, the first of which was violently interrupted by the Feb. 17, 2007 concussion he sustained in a collision with the Flyers' Mike Knuble.
"I honestly don't know what to expect as a free agent right now; for me, this is my July 1," Shanahan said. "Physically I feel great. I don't think it will take very long for me to be back, but I don't know where and when.
"I'm not ruling anything out. Positive things have always happened to me throughout my NHL career, and that's how I'm approaching this. I'm approaching this as an opportunity.
"I am disappointed that I'm not going to be here, but I'm not bitter at all. I believe Glen was always being honest with me. It just didn't work out. I'm sure it's going to, but it's going to be somewhere else.
"I'm looking forward to getting on the ice and playing." | 