Dubinsky got what he wanted from Rangers

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- On the morning after signing a four-year, $16.8-million contract, Brandon Dubinsky was back at a familiar spot: the workout room at the Rangers' training complex. Any aftereffects from a Manhattan night on the town? "Had a lot of good plans and intentions, but the thing that was most exciting was my pillow," Dubinsky said.

Some overnight negotiations in Canada avoided his 9 a.m. arbitration hearing Thursday. The deal was done at 10:30 a.m.

"As much as I didn't want to be in Toronto, everything in the day goes perfectly," Dubinsky said. "I get a great deal I want to get done; I get a flight upgrade to first class for free. After a great sushi lunch with my agent, maybe have a glass of champagne or two, we taxi out and all of a sudden, come back, mechanical problems. By the time we get a new plane, the pilots are over their hours, we have to wait; then the flight attendants are over their hours. We get out at 9:30 p.m. for a 5:15 flight. Derek Stepan was waiting at my apartment. He says, 'So you want to go hang out?' I said, 'Dude, I can't do it. I'm exhausted after the last couple days.' "

Dubinsky, 25, didn't lose hope in the talks. "We knew something was going to get done . . . Talking with management, even through the tough times of the negotiations, both of us expressed that I wanted to be here a while; they wanted me here a while."

The Rangers landed free-agent center Brad Richards to line up with sniper Marian Gaborik, and Dubinsky is a candidate to play with them. "I think I'll get there at some point," he said. "I think I'll play with 12 different guys this year. That's how it is here; things go well for a while, but it's very rarely that one line stays together. But with Cally [Ryan Callahan] and Artie [Artem Anisimov], we have a pretty good combination, so if there's somebody who can jump in and play with those other two guys and contribute, why not? It'll make us deeper and make us stronger."

Dubinsky knows he has to be more consistent. "I'm trying to work on my shooting, getting the release quicker," he said. "If I do that, I think I can score more with the positions I put myself in."