Sean Avery was fined $2,500 and the Rangers were tabbed for $25,000 as a result of the left wing’s water bottle throwing incident on Sunday. This news came courtesy not of the league or the Rangers, but of Avery himself.

I won’t detail the attire he was sporting when he announced as much. Let’s just say it wasn’t pretty.
In other news, everyone practiced today, although Marek Malik and Paul Mara were each still in non-contact green jerseys. Malik is day-to-day, and Mara said he’s about a week away.

More in a bit, including Jaromir Jagr’s response to Glen Sather’s statement in Prague that he wants to re-sign the captain at season’s end….

Stephen Valiquette said he hasn’t had any discussions with the Rangers about a contract for next season, but that he wants to be back.

Neither of these revelations should come as much of a surprise. One, given the other free agents on the team’s roster, the backup goalie might not be much of a priority right around now. And the team probably already has a good idea that Valiquette isn’t interested in walking away.

Just much does Valiquette like being a Ranger? This is how he described it to me:

“The staff is the best in the league. It’s the best facility. The best plane. The best food on the plane. The best workout facilities. The best coaches. There isn’t one negative aspect of being a New York Ranger. The quality of life is great here.”

In other words, he’s pretty miserable.

Truth is, the Rangers have stumbled on a gem with Valiquette, not only because he’s capable of stealing a game from time-to-time, but because he has no ego to speak of, and is happy to be the starting goalie’s biggest supporter. That’s not a common combination of traits.

And given all that, you wonder if Valiquette’s success opened the door for Al Montoya being shipped out of town. Valiquette shot down that theory when I asked him, and Tom Renney only said the combination of Henrik Lundqvist and Valiquette allowed the team to feel comfortable making the deal.

Obviously. But I would have to think holding on to Montoya would be much more important to the Rangers if Valiquette turned out to be a disappointment this season.

As we know now, though, that hasn’t been the case, and my guess is the Rangers will feature the same goaltending tandem in 2008-09 that they do now. And unlike some of his teammates, Valiquette doesn’t sound like he’s going to push the Rangers too hard when it comes to a new deal.
“No,” he said when I asked him if there’s been any talk so far. “But should I be like Sean Avery and tell you what I think I’m worth?”

Update, 1:33 p.m: The Rangers just announced they’ve agreed to terms with forward Justin Soryal.

A startling admission: I don’t know who that is. Apparently he’s in the OHL playing for Peterborough, and has 15 goals and 22 assists in 56 games. He was a free agent, so I assume that means he wasn’t drafted. That’s OK, Justin. Neither was I.

It’s never a good reflection on an officiating crew when an infraction that goes unpunished during a game leads to a suspension. That, however, is what happened to Andrew Peters, who was suspended one game for his punch from the bench on Colton Orr on Monday night in Buffalo.Tom Renney didn’t have much to say about the news when asked about it now, and really, what can he say? The Rangers and Sabres are done for the season, and won’t likely meet again until 2008-09. So in other words: a lot of good it does his team now.

Meanwhile, some notes from practice:

A project for my boss just now involved submitting a list of teams the Rangers might face in the first round of the playoffs.

From what I recall about last year, only sixth through eighth place were viable options at the same point in the season, and I’m pretty sure there were only four realistic first round opponents: Buffalo, New Jersey, Tampa Bay, and Atlanta (where the Rangers ended up going).

This year? There are seven different possible opponents (eight if you count the Sabres three points out of eighth, and 10 if you think Washington or Florida storming back to win the Southeast Division is still a possibility).

Not only that, but there is still the chance the Rangers could claim home-ice advantage, meaning there are something like a thousand different scenarios for where the Rangers would play their first round game and who they’d be playing against.

A couple of reactions to this:

First off, I should reiterate I am really bad at math so I’m pretty sure “a thousand” is probably not accurate.

And secondly, I’m aware that this isn’t something any of you want to discuss right now since it’s woefully premature. But that’s just what I do.

Not surprisingly given Tom Renney’s admission last night that his team is “spent”, the coach gave the Rangers a day off today. The team certainly earned it in going the distance in these back-to-back wins.

The only minor concern is if they lose momentum before they play next in Florida on Friday. But frankly, that’s a concern whether they practiced today or not.

In other news:

“This team is in a bad way, folks. There’s no sugarcoating it.”

That was me on Jan. 20, after the Rangers dropped a clunker at home against Boston, and the growing sense was this team was going nowhere in a hurry. Now the point streak is at 13 games after tonight’s shootout win in Buffalo, and the Rangers are tied with Ottawa for fifth place.

This all leads to an important question: Why do I even bother covering this team the first three months of the season?

Look, I will make no proclamations or predictions about what lies ahead. The playoffs are goofy, and the Rangers aren’t even there yet.

But yes, to answer your question, you officially have reason to be excited.

While I don’t question the validity of John Dellapina’s story about a Rangers game in the works at Yankee Stadium—despite being a lifelong defenseman, he usually knows what he’s talking about—the official NHL stance on the matter is a tad more tempered.

According to league VP Frank Brown, the Rangers are only “among the many teams that have expressed interest aggressively” about an outdoor game for next season. He also said there’s no time frame for locking down teams or a site for the game.

Naturally, it’s in the league’s best interest to make sure everything is lined up before they announce anything official. But I wouldn’t expect that announcement to be anytime soon.

Update, 1:25 p.m.: The King remains on his throne tonight in Buffalo. And a a banged-up Marek Malik is a possible scratch in favor of Jason Strudwick.

Update, 12:05 p.m.: My colleague Peter Abraham, despite being a good friend, has a different opinion. This doesn’t necessarily make him a bad person. Or at least not completely.

There’s also a report from John Dellapina at the News saying the Rangers are close to a deal to play a game at Yankee Stadium next winter.

Bring it on, I say! Peanuts, Cracker Jacks, and HGH for everyone!

Seriously, I’m all for anything that puts hockey on a grander stage, and given my well-documented affection for all things involving outdoor hockey, this would be even better.

The question is who should the opponent be. Does it need to be another New York team? If not, does it have to be an Original Six franchise? I say yes to the latter. Given the rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox, Rangers-Bruins at the Stadium would be a welcome new twist.

What exactly is Jaromir Jagr talking about when he says he has a plan for the future, but doesn’t want to  say anything to distract the team?

Is he going to re-sign with the Rangers? Is he going to retire? Is he going to be Barack Obama’s running mate for the Democratic nomination (OK, maybe the whole Czech native thing might get in the way)? It’s all interesting stuff—by way of Larry Brooks—and I’m not sure what to make of it.

Either way, Jagr said he was at peace with his decision and he’s focused on this season. Still, how about a hint?

Give the Washington Capitals rookie credit: He didn’t just tap a shot into his own goal in today’s NBC matinee. He ripped it!

I say if you’re going to bring your own team’s playoff chances crashing down, do it with authority!

A couple of other thoughts: