Inside The Penalty Box 07.28.08: Shanahan Interested In One More Season

Posted by Neil Borenstein on 07.28.2008

After contemplating retirement, Brendan Shanahan has decided he wants one more season in the NHL – preferably in New York. In the latest edition of Inside The Penalty Box, Neil Borenstein examines Shanahan’s decision, as well as Glen Murray being bought out into free agency and the Islanders’ search for a new head coach.

News is trickling in a bit slower at this juncture of the NHL offseason thanks to basically all the big name free agents outside of Mats Sundin being off the market. But we still have our fair share of minor news bits to hit on in this week's Inside The Penalty Box.

Brendan Shanahan

Wants to play another season in the NHL

Brendan Shanahan wants another year in the NHL: He contemplated retirement. But at the end of the day, the 39-year old Brendan Shanahan decided he wanted to give it one more go in the NHL. His first preference for a team? A return to the New York Rangers.

According to Michael Farber of Sports Illustrated, Shanahan is currently focused solely on getting a deal worked out with New York. He also reports that general manager Glen Sather would like to bring Shanahan back, but the Rangers' roster needs some reworking before a contract can be discussed. Shanahan, who has turned down offers to work with the media, will seek on-ice employment elsewhere if a deal the Rangers can't be reached.

This is tremendous news for the Rangers. Considering their losses this offseason, a veteran with the leadership abilities and goal-scoring touch Shanahan possess is definitely an asset they can use right now. And based on their current group of forwards, the Rangers appear in need of another top six forward, which Shanahan still is. I think it's safe to assume Scott Gomez, Markus Naslund and Nikolai Zherdev will make up the Rangers' top line. But Chris Drury is the only definitive forward for the second line. Returning Shanahan to his wing would be of great benefit to a team that seems geared toward filling many of its numerous holes at forward with youngsters.

I also don't think Shanahan's age, declining offensive prowess and questionable bill of health should be of concern to the Rangers. At 39, he's still better than a lot of younger players in the NHL. He also still puts up over 20 goals a season and shouldn't have a problem playing around 70 games next year.

It's tough to figure exactly what Shanahan is going to want monetarily on a new one-year deal. Last season, he earned $2.5 million in base salary with $2.8 million in fairly easy to reach bonuses for a total of $5.3 million. I doubt Sather is going to pony up that kind of dough, especially because the Rangers currently possess under $4 million in cap space. But at something around $2.5-3 million on the season, period, bringing back Shanahan will be more than a no-brainer. If he's reaching for over $3 million to return for another year, it's going to be tough to say no. But Sather may have to play it safe instead of bringing the Rangers right up to the cap. Hopefully, though, Shanahan is committed enough to the idea of another year in New York that he will accept a sizeable cut in pay from last season.

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Glen Murray is added to the free agent pool: The Boston Bruins weren't interested in paying $4.15 million next season to somebody that's had his fair share of injury troubles and only banked 17 goals last season in 63 games. So, they bought out the final year of Glen Murray's contract, immediately placing the 34-year old right wing into the free agent pool. As a result of the buyout, the Bruins owe Murray $1.383 million in each of the next two seasons.

Murray instantly becomes the second or third best player on the market. As a result, I'm sure he's already getting a lot of interest around the league from teams that still need a top six forward and can afford to risk him being out of the lineup for perhaps as much as 20 or so games in a season.

On the right team, Murray can definitely be effective. He needs to play on a line with a center that can get him the puck. His best days were when he had Joe Thornton feeding him the biscuit in Boston. He was a perennial 30-goal scorer and even topped 40 during the 2002-03 campaign. Now, he might not be a 30-goal guy anymore. But he can still contribute as a secondary scorer and post 25 goals or more if he is surrounded well on his line.

Due to the limited number of options on the market now, Murray's price will probably be a bit inflated. Now that he's one of only three players with a great deal of talent (joined by Mats Sundin, who may not even return to the NHL, and Brendan Shanahan, who is New York Rangers first), he's going to cost a little more than he would had Boston released him sooner when there were a bunch of high quality players to choose from. But I doubt his price tag will be anything astronomical. He has to be keen to the fact that he brings a risk of injury along with him and isn't the star player he used to be. I don't think he'll get anything lower than $2 million wherever he goes, and I wouldn't be surprised if he lands something around $2.5 million on a one year deal.

Nothing has surfaced yet as to which teams have contacted Murray. But if they can clear up just a smidge of cap room, San Jose seems like an intriguing spot to me. Reuniting with Thornton could be pretty incredible for both players and the team as a whole.

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John Tortorella

Interviewed with Garth Snow on Sunday

Islanders hunt for new head coach continues: When New York Islanders general manager relieved Ted Nolan of his head coaching duties, the door opened for several qualified candidates to take over the three-ring circus on Long Island. Outside of being a paying job, I can't understand why anybody would actually want to be a part of that organization. But alas, the interview process has begun to decide who is taking over.

The man that I don't think even needs to interview and I would hire in a moment's notice met with Snow on Sunday. He was the third candidate to meet with the former backup netminder, following former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Paul Maurice and former Atlanta Thrashers head coach Bob Hartley. Newsday reports that Tortorella's interview went "as well as the interviews with Hartley and Maurice," according to a team source. Next on the docket is former Boston Bruins head coach and current Tampa Bay Lightning assistant Mike Sullivan on Monday, followed by head coach of the Providence Bruins in the AHL, Scott Gordon, on Wednesday. Rounding out the list is former Colorado Avalanche head coach Joel Quenneville and current Islanders assistant, Gerard Gallant. The same source from Newsday said that the process should be completed within the next two weeks.

As I previously alluded to, Tortorella would be my obvious choice. He was unceremoniously let go by new ownership in Tampa Bay that wanted to go in a different direction. And while he was behind the bench during their last place showing in 2007-08, Tortorella also played a big role in turning the franchise into a winning one after taking over in 2001. And in 2004, he guided the Lightning to the franchise's first Stanley Cup Championship and scored a Jack Adams Award as the league's coach of the year. One bad season should not have cost him his job.

But Tampa Bay wanted Barry Melrose behind the bench. And now their loss will be somebody else's gain. Will that gain go to the Islanders? I doubt it, since that organization hasn't made any logical decision as of late. But, I guess we'll know within the next few weeks.

Photo Credits: daylife.com

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Until next week, you have just been Inside The Penalty Box!

~ Neil Borenstein