Nikolai Zherdev's time as a New York Ranger has come to an end. Rangers president and general manager Glen Sather announced on Tuesday that the team decided to exercise its right to decline the arbitration award granted to Zherdev.
Zherdev was awarded $3.9 million for a salary for the 2009-10 season, if the Rangers were to re-sign the Kiev, Ukraine native.
“With the additions we’ve been able to make this summer, we feel we’ve been able to add scoring and offense from the wing position,” Sather announced. “Following the arbitration process and subsequent award given, we feel it is in our best interest to walk away and continue to explore all available options to improve our roster.”
Zherdev played in 82 games for the Rangers last season, scoring 23 goals and adding 35 assists for 58 total points. He tied Scott Gomez for the team lead in points during the regular season, but he was kept quiet in the Rangers' seven postseason games, failing to score a point against the Capitals.
