Report: Rangers set to deal Grabner?

According to a report from Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the New York Rangers aren’t putting any pressure on forward Michael Grabner to sign a new deal in advance of the NHL’s February 26th trade deadline.

Speculation amongst the team’s fanbase is that Grabner’s not willing to sign on the dotted line before the deadline, the team will look to move him in order to recoup some assets before his departure. Not so though, according to Brooks. Grabner’s agent Jerry Buckley and the team have had negotiations on a new deal, but they haven’t set an official deadline for coming to terms.

“Jeff and I have had several conversations but we haven’t gotten into negotiations,” Buckley says. “I don’t have the sense that there’s urgency attached to this because of the deadline.”

“There’s time between the end of the playoffs and for us to talk and reach a deal. Michael loves New York and playing for the Rangers, and I have to believe the feeling is mutual. When the time is right, we’ll get down to negotiating.”

Grabner is in the final year of a two-year, $3.3 million deal but with 27 goals last season and 18 already this season, the 30-year-old Austrian winger is due for a significant raise on his next deal. Don’t be surprised if the Rangers have to ante up as much as $4 or $5 million per season to keep Grabner in The Big Apple.