Naslund to join Rangers, likely ending Jagr's Broadway tenure

By letting Jagr go, the Rangers are removing a 36-year-old winger and replacing him with the soon-to-be, 35-year-old Naslund, who spent 12 seasons with the Canucks and had been captain since 2000.

"Markus is one of the greatest athletes to ever represent the Canucks both on and off of the ice," Vancouver general manager Mike Gillis said in a statement. "His on-ice success sees him leave the organization among the club leaders in almost every offensive category."

The Swede, who began his NHL career with Pittsburgh, was a five-time All-Star with the Canucks and was the runner-up for NHL MVP in 2003. He reached the 40-goal mark three times.

Coincidentally, he replaced Mark Messier as captain in Vancouver, and Jagr did the same in New York in 2006.

Naslund's scoring numbers have gone down in recent years from a career-best 48 goals and 104 points in 2002-03 to 25 goals and 55 points last season.

"Since July 1, my eyes have been set on the Rangers. It ended up taking a little bit longer but I'm very pleased that I'm a Ranger now," he said on a conference call from Sweden. "I want to feel that I play on a level where I know I can play. I want to play better hockey than I have the past few years. That's why I'm looking at this as a challenge for me to prove that."

Naslund's point totals have dipped each of the past four seasons, and his goals dropped three consecutive before he went from 24 to 25 last season. None of that was a concern for Sather.

Playing alongside either Chris Drury or Scott Gomez -- the star free-agent centers the Rangers signed a year ago -- Naslund could again find the scoring touch.

"He's a good skater, he's got a great shot, he sees the ice well. We think that he's going to be able to play a give-and-go kind of a game that we'd like to develop," Sather said. "We've changed the style of our team considerably in the last few days. We want to be more of a puck-movement team and a little more of a freewheeling team with defensive responsibilities.

"This guy has been a great player. I think he's got a lot of hockey left in him."

The agreement with Naslund was announced with one for former Buffalo Sabres defenseman Dmitri Kalinin, who got a one-year deal with the Rangers.

New York needs to replenish the blue line after dealing defensemen Fedor Tyutin and Christian Backman on Wednesday to Columbus for forwards Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche.

Forward Sean Avery took his agitating ways to Dallas on Wednesday, and Martin Straka accepted a deal to play in Europe next season.

On Tuesday, the Rangers signed free agent defenseman Wade Redden and forwards Patrick Rissmiller and Aaron Voros.

Sather said the Rangers made a contract offer Thursday to defenseman Paul Mara, who spent the past season-and-a-half in New York. Sather also didn't rule out the return of veteran forward Brendan Shanahan in a reduced role.