Arthur Staple, who preceded Steve Zipay on the Rangers beat at Newsday, has a worthwhile take on the Jaromir Jagr situation, saying in the end, No. 68 will simply go where the money is.

I’m not naive enough to think that’s not a huge consideration. But I’ll take it a step further. For one, if it really is just about money, Jagr will indeed go back to Omsk, where he can be paid handsomely, play a shorter season, and not have to worry about fitting under anyone’s salary cap.

More likely, Jagr’s decision will be dictated less by money and more by worth. It’s a small distinction, but an important one.

Like I said, I’m sure Jagr wants to get paid as much as he can. But let’s just take the Rangers for the second. I think more important to him is that the money Glen Sather offers him makes him feel like he’ s still the focal point of the team. And that’s tricky seeing how there are already three players who are making in the neighborhood of $7 million per (Henrik Lundqvist checks in a little shy of that while Scott Gomez and Chris Drury both make a little bit more). For Jagr to make that sort of money, too, the team would either have to extremely creative with bonus clauses, or cut corners elsewhere (or both).

Maybe the player would settle for less in a concession to his age. But there’s always the chance that ego gets in the way—as if often does in these situations—  and he decides to see what he can fetch somewhere else.

UPDATE, 12:22 p.m.: The Rangers just announced that Michal Rozsival will play for the Czech Republic in the World Championships, joining Fedor Tyutin (Russia), Henrik Lundqvist (Sweden), and Brandon Dubinsky (USA) in the tournament. 

You’re right. I did say I’d be back with more yesterday but never returned, and for that you can blame Tom Renney, who didn’t finish up his exit interviews until late and thus didn’t meet with us scribes until shortly before dinnertime.

And then for me there was a newspaper deadline, and kids to feed…and let me guess, no one’s interested in my excuses.

But with a night to sleep on it, there’s still no shortage of questions surrounding the Rangers heading into the offseason, particularly in the wake of Jaromir Jagr’s quasi-declaration that he wanted to be back with the Rangers..

It was certainly the most light Jagr has shed on the subject to date, but there’s still a long way to go before a deal is struck. For one, having never been a free agent before, Jagr may need to be dazzled by a contract offer from Glen Sather. And given Jagr’s age and the team’s salary cap constraints, Sather might not be in much mood for dazzling.

Plus, while Jagr saying he only wants a two-year deal could be perceived as a break for the Rangers, only a one-year contract can be used for the one-time only 35-and-over contract that was used this year for Brendan Shanahan.

Finally, even if Jagr indicated yesterday he wanted to stay in New York, that doesn’t mean he still doesn’t have questions about his role on this team moving forward. And while Renney yesterday said Jagr would return as the team’s No. 1 forward, that doesn’t mean the player is going to completely love everything he hears. So in other words, it’s complicated.

Meanwhile, some other thoughts:

When Brendan Shanahan said yesterday that he thinks he can still be a productive NHL player, I asked him if he would be open to having a different role with the team next year. Because in my mind—and apparently in Renney’s as well since the coach touched on the same subject later—the only way the Rangers can consider bringing Shanahan back is if the veteran agrees not only to less money, but also less ice time. Here was the player’s response:

“I’ve never been a player to complain. I have always done what the coaches have asked me to do. I’ve always tried to set that example, long before I came to New York. But I do feel the eyes of our younger players on me, so I feel a great responsibility in being a professional with all things that come toward me in an NHL season.

“Sometimes the biggest thing you can do for your team is sometimes step back. It’s happened to me this year. You can talk to Tom and talk to anybody and whatever they’ve ever asked me to do I have always done with great determination.”

If Shanahan would agree to a diminished role—fourth line maybe, with most of his ice time on specialty teams—the idea of bringing him back no longer seems so absurd. But even then, a lot has to hinge on whether he can return to the player he was before his injury on Jan. 5. Because if he can’t, it may be time to say goodbye.

When Tom Renney was asked what the difference was in the Penguins series, the coach predictably pointed to himself, specifically when it came to the Rangers’ shortcomings on specialty teams.

“Any honorable coach looks at himself,” Renney said. “Could I have been a difference? I’m on Page 2 of that little novel.”

Here’s what I’ll say about Renney. I know many fans are divided on him, and that’s fine. For all I know, he might not be the best tactician to lead this team. But the mere fact that the coach will recognize his own failures and strive to improve them is something that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Because there’s a lot of coaches out there who are not only wrong in certain areas, but who are not even willing to recognize as much.

There’s a word they use to describe coaches like that: unemployed.

Renney, meanwhile, isn’t going anywhere.

As for the next generation of Blueshirts, I asked Renney how many players out of Hartford he thought could compete for a job next year.

The coach said five, although he wouldn’t specify who. I would have to assume one is Lauri Korpikoski, who introduced himself to the NHL with flair on Sunday. But don’t count on Bobby Sanguinetti. Renney wouldn’t rule the former No. 1 draft pick, but he did say the team would more likely err on the side of giving Sanguinetti another year of seasoning.

OK, that’s all for now.

We’re still in the middle of break up day here, but a couple of quick notes:

Jaromir Jagr said he was still undecided about the future, but he did add a new wrinkle in saying that he dislikes change, and that staying with the Rangers is his first choice.

“First I am going to talk to the Rangers,” Jagr said. “That’s No. 1 option for me. I don’t like to change. I feel very comfortable here, with all the people around this organization who are nice to me. They give me a chance to show everybody I still can play hockey. Everybody doubt me when I was playing in Washington for whatever reason. The Rangers gave me a chance and believed in me. All the trainers, everybody around, are so nice to me and so good to me. All I have to do is concentrate on hockey.”

But Jagr, who’s never been a free agent before, also said he was intrigued by the idea of finding out his worth on the open market. Jagr added that he doesn’t have a standing deal in place with his old team in Omsk, but that he will likely talk to them.

Brendan Shanahan is also on the fence, but he said he did think he can still play in the NHL next year, and quite honestly, didn’t sound like he was ready to retire. The Rangers are still his first choice. Shanahan also said the knee injury sustained in January had residual affects for the rest of the season.

Martin Straka said he’s definitely not done playing hockey, but not sure where. He admitted Jagr’s decision will have a significant impact on his own.

Henrik Lundqvist (Sweden), Brandon Dubinsky (USA), and Fedor Tyutin (Russia) will all represent their respective countries in the World Championships in Halifax and Quebec. Dubinsky was shipping out today. Lundqvist, who had some soreness in his knees from a hit in Game 4, expects to play for Sweden on Thursday.

Sean Avery will start his internship at Vogue on Monday. Nigel Dawes joked he’s going to Newsweek.

More later..

I wrote an analysis piece on the Rangers season for today’s paper that you can read here.

A brief summary: Yes, 2007-08 was a disappointment. Yes, the Rangers face some difficult questions ahead. But given the investment made in a core of young players this season, you can’t call the year a complete failure either.

Meanwhile, some other links:

A couple of other writers have floated the idea of the Rangers pursuing Marian Hossa in the offseason.

There was a time—say, two weeks ago—when I would have said absolutely not given Hossa’s penchant for checking out during the playoffs.

But I was obviously impressed in this past series. And there’s no question the Rangers need someone to play with Scott Gomez next season. But consider me still on the fence.

And speaking of wings for Gomez, Sean Avery is alive and well and tells Larry Brooks he wants to come back next season.

“I bleed Ranger blue,” Avery said, a metaphor that takes on an even deeper meaning seeing how he was bleeding a lot these past few days.

No one questions that Avery is a valuable player to the Rangers. But the question is how valuable. Because if he’s really seeking the type of deal the Flyers gave to Scott Hartnell—six years at more than $4 million per—the contract negotiations might be a stumbling block.

More from break-up day later…

Just as many Rangers opted to shave off their playoff beards upon elimination yesterday, I returned home today to finally mow my lawn, marking my own official end of Season No. 2 for the blog.

I think we can all agree that the Rangers had hoped for more out of 2007-08, a season that began with Stanley Cup aspirations but ended in the second round for the second straight year.

But I can’t express any disappointment with this blog. When I started it in September 2006, I did so only reluctantly—telling my editor I didn’t think Rangers fans would have much interest in anything I would have to say.

More than 1,200 posts, 72,000 comments and millions of hits later, I’m beginning to think I was wrong.

Many of you have been far too kind to me these past two seasons, whether it’s been in comments, in e-mails, or in person at games. If I said that didn’t matter to me, I’d be lying.

Some of you have taken me to task, criticism that would be easy to dismiss if it wasn’t occasionally dead-on.

As for what happens to the blog now that the season is over, the short answer is it’s going nowhere. If anything, there are more questions surrounding the Rangers now than there were during the regular season, and I’m as curious as anyone to find out the answers.But as many of you already know, my life gets more complicated once the hockey season is over since I also have responsibilities covering golf. So as much as I’d like to think I can be as active here as I was during the regular season, there may be times when I’ll be pulled in a different direction, and forced to play catch-up.

But if we got through last summer, we can get through this one, and I look forward to continuing the discussion straight through until the start of training camp.

For now, though, it’s time to again say thanks to all of you who have supported this blog and made it one of the most rewarding ventures of my sports writing career.

I’m tempted to tell you this blog is actually a lot of hard work. For one thing, I don’t think writing about sports ever equates to real work. And that’s especially true when you’re simply doing something you love.

Here’s the exact quote from NBC’s Ed Olczyk during yesterday’s broadcast about his conversation with Jaromir Jagr:

“He told me he wants to play at least four more years. He would love to stay in New York. He told me that is his first choice but he has some family issues back home in the Czech Republic. I think there are a lot of options, there are a lot of teams in the National Hockey League that would love to have Jaromir Jagr in their line up. So a long summer coming.”

If this is in fact what Jagr told Olczyk—and I have little reason to doubt him—the one curious nugget is Jagr saying he would “love” to stay in New York, because he hasn’t been that effusive with any of us.

But who knows what’s going on in that crazy head of his.

I never saw it myself, but I’ve now read a couple of times that Jaromir Jagr talked on NBC about wanting to play another four years in the NHL.

I’m not sure if this was immediately after the game when most of the media was rushing downstairs to the locker room, or after Jagr spoke in front of his locker some 30 minutes later.

If anyone has a link, feel free to pass it on.

Meanwhile, the Rangers take a day to decompress and then have their exit interviews tomorrow. I’m skeptical that anyone is going to drop any bombshells so soon after the season, although I have a pretty good feeling Lauri Korpikoski is going to announce that he would like to be in the NHL next season.

Either way, I’ll be there.

More later…

…disappointment.

Given the expectations around this team when the Rangers signed Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, a second round exit in five games can hardly be considered progress.

This playoff loss is a disappointment when you consider that, and when you consider how the Rangers breezed through the first round against New Jersey so convincingly (by the way, this follows the exact same patten as 1991-1992, when a Rangers team made a handful of key acquisitions and beat the Devils in the first round, only to fall to Pittsburgh in the second).

And when you think about about the disparity  between the Rangers and the Penguins—and it sure came to light today—it was that the Penguins opted to seriously upgrade at the trade deadline and the Rangers, outside of a few tweaks, decided to stand pat.

Was that a mistake? Was Glen Sather too cautious? In the context of this series, sure. It’s become increasingly apparent that the Rangers could have benefited from some improvements down the stretch, particularly on their backline. But unless you’re going to win the Cup, trading some of your brightest young assets for high-end rentals can easily end up becoming something you regret.

The Rangers, meanwhile, at least have a core of young players to build around. None of those players are of the caliber of a Marian Hossa. But unlike Hossa, who might well walk on July 1, all of those players will be around for the start of training camp.

A season is too difficult to put into context right when it ends, so I’ll save that for later.

For now, though, there is this:

The better team won this series. I don’t think you can win four of five on luck, or officiating, or whatever.

In saying that, I think we were all deprived a potentially riveting scene tomorrow at the Garden if the Rangers came back to win this game.

As a reporter, I’m not supposed to root, and in a lot of ways, my life is easier now that the Rangers are out of the playoffs.

But I’ll happily admit that a part of me wanted to see the Rangers score the game-winner in overtime, if only to hear the Garden at a fever pitch during Game 6. Needless to say, I wasn’t the only one.

“There’s always ifs and buts, but I couldn’t imagine what playing in the Garden would be like tomorrow if we pulled this one off,” Chris Drury said. “And I don’t think they wanted to go back there, either.”

In the aftermath of a devastating loss here, one piece of news—or non-news —is that neither Jaromir Jagr or Brendan Shanahan were prepared to comment on their future plans.

Jagr, however, did say his intent was to play hockey somewhere.

More from a very somber locker room later…