The Rangers took two dramatic steps toward improving themselves yesterday, adding two of this summer’s most coveted free agents — Scott Gomez and Chris Drury — to their already formidable lineup. The lucrative deals have without question raised expectations for the Rangers, who will now enter the 2007–08 season as a favorite to win the Stanley Cup.

By signing Gomez for seven years and $51.5 million — and subtracting him from the cross-town rival Devils’ — the Blueshirts accomplished two critical tasks with one bold move. He had reportedly been working out with Rangers forward Brendan Shanahan—also an unrestricted free agent — in recent weeks, leading to speculation that he was Broadway-bound. And with the talented Alaskan now in the fold, it becomes far more likely that Shanahan will join him with the Blueshirts for the 2007–08 season.

Meanwhile Drury, inked to a five-year deal worth $35.25 million, is one of the NHL’s most wellrespected leaders. He will slot in quite nicely as the Rangers’ new second line center, giving them a one-two punch amongst the finest in the entire league.

“He’s been a winner everywhere he’s been,” Rangers GM Glen Sather said of Drury during a conference call with the media last night. “He’s a hard-working guy, he’s been productive with every team he’s been on. He’s a terrific athlete, and he brings that kind of determination and spunk that we need. He’s great on the faceoffs, he’s an offensive and defensive player, so he fits many roles for us.”

Without question, many will criticize the moves as yet another example of the Rangers overpaying free agents. But in this case, that assessment would appear to be incorrect. The difference between these Rangers and those of years passed — whose free agents signings delivered atrocious results — is that they finally have a valuable core of young talent assembled, in particular in goal and on the blue line.

With highly touted young rearguards Marc Staal and Bobby Sanguinetti (amongst others) expected to battle for spots in the lineup, the Blueshirts boast some nice, top-tier talent that will be working on the (relative) cheap. And assuming they lock up Henrik Lundqvist — a Vezina Trophy finalist in each of his first two seasons — to a long-term deal, he (and top prospect Alvaro Montoya) leave the Blueshirts fine in goal as well.

“We had (Gomez and Drury) ranked as the first picks as far as free agents were concerned,” Sather said. “Initially, we thought we were going to have (Michael) Nylander here, so we weren’t going to be able to sign both of them. When the decision came along not to sign Michael because we had a chance at both of these guys, I jumped at the opportunity.”

Indeed, Nylander must now leave his cushy spot alongside Jaromir Jagr on the Blueshirts’ top line, and the Devils and Sabres, looking to make up for Gomez’ and Drury’s departures, are one possible destination for the skillful Swedish playmaker.

Of course, the Rangers were hardly the only active buyers in the marketplace. With Scott Niedermayer reportedly on the verge of retirement, the Ducks signed Mathieu Schneider away from the Detroit Red Wings to take his place in the lineup. And in response, the Wings quickly ripped a key player from the Devils’ core, Dearborn, Michigan native Brian Rafalski.

The Devils have survived the departures of numerous free agents deemed previously to be indispensible, with goaltender Martin Brodeur consistently emerging as the difference-maker no matter how depleted their lineup might be. But it’s hard to imagine them surviving the departures of both Gomez and Rafalski with similar aplomb. Look for GM Lou Lamoriello to aggressively pursue replacements this summer, either through trade or free agency, with San Jose quite possibly emerging as a willing dance partner.

Yesterday morning, the Sharks inked 2006 Hart Trophy winner Joe Thornton to a three-year contract extension worth $21.6 million, thus preventing him from testing the waters as an unrestricted free agent next summer. It’s telling that the Sharks locked him up before coming to terms with captain Patrick Marleau (also a UFA-to-be in 2008) on a new deal, sending a very clear message that Thornton — and not Marleau — is the Sharks’ franchise player.

If Marleau is made available in trade, the Devils should emerge as worthy suitor. With Gomez and Rafalski both gone, New Jersey GM Lou Lamoriello has the cap room to take on Marleau’s contract and sign him to an extension. And perhaps most importantly of all, because the Devils are moving into a new arena this coming fall, it’s mission critical that they christen the building with a formidable lineup. And with the stakes also raised by yet another division rival, it’s clear that Lamoriello cannot stand pat if he wants his team to remain a contender for their first season in Newark.

Philadelphia Flyers GM Paul Holmgren continued his aggressive overhaul of the Flyers’ roster, signing Daniel Briere to a sevenyear, $52 million deal and trading defenseman Joni Pitkanen and forward Geoff Sanderson to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Joffrey Lupul and Jason Smith.

Much as the Devils suffered yesterday, so too did the Islanders. Irascible forward Jason Blake signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs for four years and $20 million, forward Viktor Kozlov and defenseman Tom Poti left for the Capitals, (two years, $5 million and four years, $14 million, respectively. And Ryan Smyth was also reportedly mulling offers from at least nine different teams at press time. Needless to say, with Blake, Kozlov, and Poti gone, and Smyth likely leaving as well, the Isles can be expected to take a meaningful step backwards in 2007-08.

The signings early in the day yesterday by Thornton and Jarome Iginla—who inked a four-year,$28 million extension with the Calgary Flames — set the market price for free agents, and the timing of the signings was probably not coincidental. In the days before the institution of the salary cap, the NHLPA was very concerned that its members only sign for the most lucrative contracts possible.

Today, with the cap now guaranteeing the players a fixed percentage of total league revenue, the individual players’ salaries are less a focal point for the union. And as a result, Thornton and Iginla accepting less paves the way for their teams to make improvements elsewhere that will increase the likelihood that they’ll get to celebrate with the Stanley Cup next spring.

Over the next few days, look for the moves and counter-moves to come at a furious pace, this high-stakes game of musical chairs having a very dramatic impact on teams’ strengths and weaknesses. But as we’ve seen over the years — in particular from the Rangers — free agent signings are no guarantee of postseason success.

Indeed, it is equally important to assemble a talented young core of cheap talent, and that — even more than the Gomez signing — is the reason why the Rangers have turned the proverbial corner. They — like the Ducks last summer — appear to have complemented their young core with a seemingly perfect combination of capable veterans. And as a result, the Blueshirts have earned their spot amongst the front-runners in the race for the Cup.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.