Interesting tidbit on Steve Zipay’s blog for Newsday. Zipay observes that recently re-signed Rangers winger Petr Prucha is getting a hefty raise over the $550,000 he made last season. Prucha – coming off a somewhat disappointing sophomore campaign – will make $1.6 million in each of the next two seasons.

Maybe the Rangers are just taking care of their own here. Or maybe, as Zipay speculates, the team is adding salary to pull off a cap-complient deal on the trade market.

Prucha has become a fan favorite at the Garden, however the return of UFA Brendan Shanahan and RFA Sean Avery would preclude the 24-year-old from seeing much ice time as a top-six forward, and the organization must be at least a little curious to see if prospect Nigel Dawes could produce given similar minutes. Prucha could be a key asset if the team chose to pursue a top-4 defenseman via trade, though I imagine the speedy Czech’s value is not what it was a year ago.