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The Rangers opened up the checkbook to sign free agents Chris Drury, left and Scott Gomez.

As in the past, too many second-tier players got first-tier money.

Drury has never registered a 70-point season. Gomez is coming off a 13-goal campaign, 20 fewer than he scored the season before, the only time he’s ever tallied more than 19 goals in a single season.

The Rangers did nothing to address the area where they needed the most help, along the blue-line.

The Flyers, who’ve always favored big-ticket items, went whole hog as they looked to improve from their overall last-place finish of 2006-07. Besides adding Briere, they also dealt to get impending free agents Timonen and Hartnell, signing them before any other team had a chance to make them an offer.

"We’re looking forward to great things from Kimmo and Scott," Philadelphia GM Paul Holmgren said.

The Wings, always willing to throw money at a problem in the old days, acted quickly after losing Schneider to the Cup champion Ducks, paying big money to Rafalski, who, like Schneider, has never won an NHL individual award. If he’s worth $6 million a year, what will five-time Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom command when his deal is done in a year’s time?

In other words, even more money madness is just around the corner.

If it all sounds familiar, it should.

There’s an old saying that the only thing we learn from history is that we never learn from history.

The NHL is living proof of that.

What’s the magic number until the next lockout?

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Heading to the Cup finals

Adam Henrique scored off a wild scramble in front early in OT and the New Jersey Devils defeated the New York Rangers 3-2 to advance to their first Stanley Cup finals since '03. The new Eastern champs will face LA next.

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Highlights: OT goal delivers Devils to Cup finals

  Check out highlights as the New Jersey Devils advanced to the Stanley Cup finals by defeating the New York Rangers, 3-2, in overtime.

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