OK, raise your hand if you thought there was an ice-hockey rink's chance in hell of the New York Rangers clearing enough salary-cap space to add an impact player this summer.

Put your hand down, Mr. Sather. No one believes you.

Still, Rangers GM Glen Sather pulled off the unexpected—if not impossible—in finding a taker for the $7.3 million annual cap hit attached to disappointing center Scott Gomez's contract on June 30, and then flipping that cap space into the signing of marquee Minnesota free agent winger Marian Gaborik on July 1.

Gomez was dealt to Montreal in a six-player deal—with the principle return Long Island product Christopher Higgins, a serviceable winger who scored more than 20 goals in three straight seasons before an injury-prone ...More