Rangers sign backup goalie Biron, 6-8 Boogaard

For three weeks last July, goaltender Martin Biron waited by the phone at his home near Buffalo for an offer from an NHL team.

Thursday, it took just a few minutes.

"I'm planning on being the best insurance policy in the league," said Biron, who signed a two-year, $1.75-million deal to back up Henrik Lundqvist and be reunited with Rangers goaltending coach Benoit Allaire.

"When I was 14, 15 years old, Benoit and Francois [Allaire's brother] had a camp north of Montreal," said Biron, 32. "I went there one year as a student, another as a teacher. I had a conversation with [former goaltender] Sean Burke last year when we were in Phoenix and what it meant for him to work with Benoit, how it changed him and his game. It's something that stuck with me.

"We were looking for a fit, looking for a place to feel comfortable to regain what I lost over the last year and a half, two years," said Biron, a popular teammate as a member of the Islanders last season. "I went into my first year in Philadelphia extremely confident and ran into some roadblocks. I felt I lost a little bit of an edge. Going here, it's the right way to get back to where I was."

Or at least to the way he finished with the Islanders.

"It was a tough season," the 13-year veteran said. "Early on, I felt I was playing well but I wasn't getting the results. Then, for a month, starting around the new year, I was watching from the press box many nights. That's extremely hard . . . After the Olympic break, I went 7-0-2 and really got my confidence back, but I felt the damage had been done. I want to make sure I start the season the way I finished the season."

Left wing Derek Boogaard, 28, a 6-8, 257-pound enforcer, also signed Thursday along with returnees Vinny Prospal (one-year deal for $1 million plus performance bonuses) and Erik Christensen (two years for $1.85 million).

When Rangers president Glen Sather declined to offer Jody Shelley, 34, a three-year deal because of his age, he targeted Boogaard. Edmonton and at least one other team wanted Boogaard, but he grabbed the Rangers' four-year, $6.6-million offer.

"Me and Gabby [Marian Gaborik] go back from when [the Wild] drafted me when I was 19," Boogaard said. "It was sad to see him go last year. New York, when you're on the ice out there, you're on center stage. You can't hide that. You've got to play to the best of your abilities, and I'm ready to do that. To be able to play with Gabby again was definitely a push to be in New York."

Boogaard had nine fighting majors last season and 105 penalty minutes, which is the jam Sather wanted, apparently at whatever price.

"Last year, there were too many times when I saw guys scraping snow into Henrik's face, and I didn't like it," Sather said. "I don't think you'll see that now."

The Dolan family owns

controlling interests in the Rangers, MSG and Cablevision. Cablevision owns Newsday.