Preseason Performance Earns Fedotenko Deal With Rangers

When most players agree to join a team on a tryout basis during the preseason, it's probably not going to work out when cuts need to be made. Plenty of them have occurred in recent weeks to players that otherwise wouldn't have had any trouble inking actual deals in previous yearss. But when it comes down to proving themselves in this tryout capacity, a player really needs to go above and beyond.

For the New York Rangers, Ruslan Fedotenko most certainly did that. Throughout the Rangers' six-game exhibition schedule, Fedotenko established himself as a reliable scorer who led the team in points (seven) and developed a great deal of chemistry on the team's third line with agitator Sean Avery and young hopeful Derek Stepan.

The cap-cautious Rangers did not have a ton of wiggle room under the $59.4 maximum allowable salary to sign the 31-year old Ukrainian native. But the two parties agreed on a one year deal worth $1 million, which is $800,000 less than he earned in a down year with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season.

This signing may have less of a financial impact if reports are true from The New York Post's Larry Brooks about Vaclav Prospal's right knee injury status. Brooks' sources have indicated to him that the rest Prospal is receiving over a mandated two-week period may not cure his ailments and season-ending surgery could be required to fix the problem. Prospal re-signed with the Rangers this summer on a one year deal with a base salary of $1.08 million and bonuses totaling $1.4 million. If placed on long-term IR, the Rangers would be free to spend his $2.48 million in total compensation elsewhere.