You don’t have to tell Brandon Dubinsky that his 2011-12 campaign was something of a disappointment. He knows that and he’s focused on bouncing back next season. The question now is if he’ll be attempting that comeback as a member of the New York Rangers.
TEAM 1200, which is a sports radio station in Ottawa, has heard rumors that the Rangers are “aggressively” shopping Dubinsky. Obviously, rumors always have to be taken with a grain of salt, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he was dealt this week.
The New York Rangers want to make some changes this summer and they are reportedly still after Rick Nash. Their cap situation isn’t bad, but it is a bit murky when you factor in that we won’t know what the salary cap will be after the NHL and players’ union agree on a new CBA.
If they wanted to either pursue a big name free agent or trade for a star like Nash, they’ll probably want to partially offset that by shedding some salary elsewhere. With Dubinsky costing them $4.2 million annually in cap space, he seems like a logical candidate to be shopped.
With the NHL Entry Draft rapidly approaching and the start of the unrestricted free agent period less than two weeks ago, we might not have to wait long to find out if this rumor has legs.