Chris Trotman / Getty Images file

Jaromir Jagr has broken the team record for points in a season (115) and tied the team mark for goals (52).

“The chemistry on the team is great, and so far it’s been fun for everybody here,” Jagr said.

He saw it come together quickly and boldly predicted a playoff appearance for a team other pegged for last in the league.

“I don’t think you ever go into a season admitting anything to anyone that you’re going to win the Stanley Cup, you’re not going to make the playoffs or you are going to make the playoffs,” Sather said. “I knew that they were going to be a good team as soon as we had them together in training camp.”

For years, the Rangers brought in big name after big name: Pavel Bure, Theo Fleury, Eric Lindros and Alex Kovalev. All had All-Star backgrounds and their best days mostly behind them.

Jagr was an outsider when Sather plucked him out of Washington, where the five-time NHL scoring champion never got comfortable after starring with Mario Lemieux in Pittsburgh.

The move was made as a last gasp try to make the 2004 playoffs, but that flawed team never had a chance. Sather couldn’t spark the team as coach and gave up that title so he could strip away the veterans and cut down the payroll.

The Rangers never seemed willing to try to sell a rebuilding phase to its fan but now they had the salary cap as an excuse.

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Jagr has bought into Renney’s system of total accountability and has responded with his best season in years. He has already broken the team record for points in a season (115) and tied the team mark for goals (52).

With an ’A’ on his sweater, Jagr has taken over the on and off-ice leadership from Mark Messier, who retired before this season.

He has carried New York to its first postseason berth season Messier and Wayne Gretzky teamed up nine years ago for an unlikely trip to the Eastern Conference finals. That run ended in Philadelphia in the same arena that gave this Rangers team its early boost.

“It took so much for us to be here,” Weekes said. “We pretty much stripped away whatever was here before that wasn’t positive, we held onto whatever was here before that was positive and we put the two together.”

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