He admits he wished he had one last season. Now Rangers coach Tom Renney said he wants to select a successor to Mark Messier as Ranger captain, and is expected to ask Jaromir Jagr first.
“I’ll have a chat with the fella I think could [be captain]. At the very least, we’ll have a good leadership group again. If I have to go with three again, I will. If I can name a captain, I will,” Renney said yesterday at the Rangers’ training facility in Westchester.
Renney mentioned Jagr, Brendan Shanahan and Darius Kasparaitis as candidates. It is believed, however, that Renney is leaning toward Jagr.
Jagr, voted the NHL’s Outstanding Player by his brethren last season, passed on the chance to be captain last year, but has indicated he’d accept the honor this year.
Jagr is recovering from left shoulder surgery he had this summer. The injury helped sink the Rangers in their first playoff appearance since 1997, a first-round sweep by the Devils.
“Jags is doing fine,” Renney said. “He’s skating every day. He has a full range of motion and can handle the puck.”
Renney also said Jed Ortmeyer, who was diagnosed with an embolism last month, will not be ready to rejoin the lineup until probably after Christmas.
CAP QUESTIONS FOR DEVS
Devils training camp next week is looking more like tryout camp.
Goalie Scott Clemmensen is expecting that Lou Lamoriello will sign him for another year as the backup to Martin Brodeur. He’ll likely train and play exhibitions on a pro tryout basis, but he may be challenged for the backup job. The Post reported last month that former Ranger goalie Mike Dunham was in the running to return to the Devils.
Meanwhile, the Devils have invited 37-year-old New Jersey native Jim Dowd – who won the cup with the 1995 Devils – to return to his first NHL team on a tryout basis, and are also believed to have either invited or signed former Ranger Dan LaCouture. In addition, the Devils have signed former Albany captain Alex Brooks and Mike Pandolfo, brother of Jay, probably for duty in Lowell, their new farm home.
Some of the signing delays have to do with the salary cap trouble that Lamoriello has to face. Unsigned restricted free agents Brian Gionta and Paul Martin are deciding whether to attend camp and play preseason games.
The Devils are already at the $44 million cap, and although they have a $4.4 million cushion until the season opener, they’d risk more trouble by signing those they intend to sign, before clearing space.
Clemmensen said he received unrestricted interest from “four or five teams,” and said “more than a couple offered me contracts. I wouldn’t have turned down contracts if I wasn’t pretty sure I was going to sign here.”
