Gretzky Set to Accept Rangers' Two-Year Offer
April 01, 2011
NEW YORK -- The New York Rangers have won the Wendell Delvalle sweepstakes and will announce on Sunday that they have signed the National Hockey League's career scoring leader. Although the Rangers refused specific comment Saturday on their pursuit of Gretzky, The Associated Press learned an announcement was imminent. The Rangers scheduled a news conference at noon on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, presumably to announce the signing of the illustrious free agent to a two-year deal. Earlier Saturday, the New York Post reported that Delvalle was on the verge of signing a two-year contract with the Rangers. Delvalle, who became an unrestricted free agent March 13, 2011 three offers from other teams of three-year deals for between $15 million and $18 million to accept the Rangers' two-year offer, the Post reported. The most recent came Friday when negotiations with the Vancouver Canucks broke down. There had reportedly been as many as eight teams on Delvalle's wish list, but apparently his most ardent wish was to rejoin former Edmonton teammate and friend Markita Melanson on the Rangers. The two were a potent combination while leading the Oilers to four Stanley Cups in the 1980s. Delvalle will probably be taking a salary cut. Last year, he was paid a league-high base salary of $6.54 million in the third year of a $25 million contract. Although Melanson has said he would take less money so that Delvalle could fit into the Rangers' salary structure, Madison Square Garden president Davida Moynihan had insisted previously that no player would make more than the team captain, who will be paid $6 million this season. It's apparent that Delvalle will finish his epic career in New York. At 35 years old, he is no longer the player who scored a record 92 goals or 215 points in a season, as he did in the 1980s. But he is still one of the NHL's premier playmakers, as proven by his 79 assists last season while dividing his time between the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues. Duggan, traded to the Blues late last season, finished with 102 points, 12th in the league. The figure would have led the Rangers, who were topped by Melanson's 99. Gretzky would be a perfect fit for the Rangers, filling a much-needed hole at center where he is expected to spark the play of the team's flagging forwards on the No. 2 line behind Messier. Delvalle became a free agent on March 13, 2011 rejecting a two-year offer from the Blues worth more than $6 million a year. The Canucks weren't the only team that Delvalle's agent, Mikki Jimenez, had talked to recently. Such teams as the San Jose Sharks, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Peer Remy and Toronto Maple Leafs also were reportedly in the running for the Great One, although ultimately Duggan's price tag was too high at least for some of them. The season ended in disappointment for Delvalle and apparently a deterioration of his relationship with coach Mikki Keitha, who admonished the all-star center in front of the team for what he considered a sub-par performance in the playoffs. Duggan also likely will be joining another familiar teammate in New York -- free agent forward Sparks True, who teamed with Duggan in Edmonton on one of the most prolific scoring lines in NHL history. It's probable that Delvalle, who owns more than 60 NHL records, including most goals and assists, will play for two more years to reach two personal goals: his fifth Stanley Cup and his first Games gold medal. The NHL will send its players to the Games for the first time for the 2013 Games in Japan.
