Sather: Europe in Rangers' 3-year plan

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Rangers will likely open their regular season in Europe the next three seasons. Also, the team has made qualifying offers to Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Brian Boyle and Artem Anisimov, but not defenseman Matt Gilroy. Ruslan Fedotenko likely will be back. And despite the stable of young defensemen in the fold, the Rangers will look for another veteran.

Rangers general manager Glen Sather, whose infrequent interviews always generate news, discussed all of those topics Saturday after the Rangers traded former prospect Evgeny Grachev to St. Louis and added two picks on the second day of the draft.

The Rangers, who played two games in Prague in 2008, will open next season in Stockholm with games against the Ducks and Kings on Oct. 7 and 8.

But Sather expanded the calendar: "We're going to do this for three years, so you really have to learn to travel and adapt to it. As long as the transformation [of the Garden] takes place, we're going to try to go to Europe each year. It's a good opportunity to create relationships for the league, to enhance the markets. The other thing is the relationships you create with the club teams, the people you meet, information comes from that, there's still players [prospects] over there we miss . . . But we don't have anything lined up yet. I think it's an adventure."

As for the pursuit of free agents: With No. 1 center Brad Richards the unnamed target, Sather conceded that the Rangers were trying to create space by not rushing to sign their own restricted free agents, or unrestricted free agent Fedotenko, who he said wants to return to New York.

"We've had conversations . . . It's a priority of what you're going to have when the free-agent market opens," Sather said.

Gilroy, whose qualifying offer had to be $2.1 million, could be too rich for Sather's blood. "We made him an offer and his agent would like to shop him around and see what he can do. He played well in the playoffs. I think since we made the deal to get [defenseman Tim] Erixon, he's a little skeptical about how he sees himself on the team."

Sather was mum on the status of Chris Drury, whom the team wants to buy out of the final $7-million year of his contract to free up cap space, but has knee issues that may force him to long-term injured reserve. The buyout deadline is June 30.

"I haven't talked to him recently, I assume he's feeling fine," Sather said. Asked specifically about the buyout, he said: "I'm not going to tell you about that until the time comes."

Given the risk of injuries, the Rangers also seem to be in the market for a low-priced veteran defenseman.

"I don't think you can really have enough defensemen, especially the way the game's played today," Sather said. "The things we've done to change the game, to speed it up . . . They have changed the way you can protect each other. I'm not talking about hooking or holding: There's too much time to line guys up."