from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,
Once was the time, and not so very long ago at all, the Rangers had to bribe players to come to play for, and then stay with, their Original Six team in the world’s greatest city.
But those days are history. Blue bloods are willing to take less in order to remain a part of the culture club that has been constructed in midtown Manhattan.
Mats Zuccarello became the latest to spurn his chance to become a free agent and maximize his value on the open market — just as Henrik Lundqvist, Dan Girardi and Marc Staal had done over the preceding 15 months — by signing the Rangers’ take-it-or-leave it (and town) offer of $18 million over four years.
There’s no doubt the Norwegian could have commanded more on the market in July, perhaps a significant amount more when factoring in the difference in taxes from one locale to the next, but the promise of additional riches did not sway No. 36.
“I told [my agents] enough is enough, I’m happy with the offer and it’s important for me to stay here for a long time,” Zuccarello told The Post following Monday’s two-assist performance in the Rangers’ convincing 4-1 victory over the first-overall Predators at the Garden.
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