Aaron Boogaard Arrested in Minneapolis on Drug Related Charges

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune Aaron Boogaard, the brother the late Derek Boogard, has been arrested in Minneapolis on drug charges.  The charges revolve around suspicion of prescription fraud/possession of prescription pills and he is being held on an immigration hold.  Beyond the issue of his arrest is timing of these alleged violations.

The Minneapolis police record listing Aaron Boogaard's arrest says that the date and time of his alleged crime is May 13, the day that family members found Derek Boogaard, 28, dead in his Warehouse District apartment.

The arrest resulted from the investigation into Derek Boogaard's death, said Minneapolis police Capt. Amelia Huffman. The details of the allegation have not yet been made public. The Hennepin County Attorney's office has until noon Friday to charge him with a crime.

Regarding any possible linkage between the charges against Aaron Boogaard for prescription drugs and the fact that Derek was determined to have died from mixing prescription drugs and alcohol was refuted by Boogard’s attorney in a statement.

"This a very unfortunate circumstance and we believe Aaron is involved because he may have potential information about a larger investigation. One thing is certain, the charges brought against Aaron have nothing to do with his brother, Derek Boogaard's death.  The family continues to grieve the loss of Derek and is troubled by this turn of events, which makes the pain for the family even more difficult."

The Boogaard family has been through such tragedy over the past few months and this issue with Aaron, if he is formally charged, is yet another thing that they have to cope with.

Brandon Dubinsky Talks About New Contract Keeping Him With Rangers

Newly re-signed forward Brandon Dubinsky talked with Larry Brooks of the New York Post this morning following the four year, $16.8 million agreement that allowed him and the New York Rangers to avoid the arbitration hearing that was scheduled for today. 

“I wanted to be in New York, it’s the place I live, it’s the place I love and I want to be here forever,” Dubinsky, who led the Rangers in goals, assists and points (24-34=58) last season, told The Post by phone before flying home. “At the end of the day, I think it’s a homerun for me. I hope the team feels the same way.”

Both sides should view the final outcome as that homerun not only because of how important Dubinsky is to the Rangers and the price he is locked up for over the next four seasons, but for the animosity and discord that was averted by the avoidance of the hearing where the team would have had to diminish Dubinsky's value to the club in order to lower his cost.

“I can’t even tell you how much I’m looking forward to the season,” Dubinsky said. “With all the guys we have coming back plus the signings we’ve made with Richie [Brad Richards] and Mike Rupp, I think we’re going to be a contender in the East; I really feel that way.

“I high have expectations for myself and for the team. The last couple of years we’ve talked about being contenders. Now I truly believe we have the team to do it, not just talk about it.”

Completing the long-term deal with Dubinsky continues the positive steps the Rangers have taken this summer.  While this deal doesn't change the expectations of the team because he was always going to be here, the fact that he will be looking to prove he is worth the money should lead to even bigger things from Dubinsky on the ice.

Rangers Avoid Arbitration, Re-Sign Brandon Dubinsky Four-Year, 16.8 mil Deal

Today was supposed to be arbitration day for Brandon Dubinsky and the New York Rangers, but according to Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet they have instead finally agreed to a long-term deal.  Kypreos reports the deal as a 4-year, $16.8 million deal.  Tim Wharnsby of CBC follows up by tweeting the details of the deal.

Dubinsky avoids arbitration w/ NYR. Agrees to 4 yr deal, breakdown is as follows: $3.75M $3.75M $4.65M $4.65M.

Compared to the open market this could make Dubinsky look like a steal for these terms as he is a top line quality forward who plays in all situations for New York and is a leader in the locker room.  Some might argue that it is overpaying for what he has done to this point, but this is right where Dubinsky should be on a long-term deal.  Not only that, getting this deal done takes away what was going to be a major headache for the organization with the bad blood another failed attempt to agree on a contract would have caused. 

Rumor: Rangers Seek One-Year Deal On Dubinsky; Large Gap In Salary Requests

The need for an arbiter to decide the value of Brandon Dubinsky to the New York Rangers has arrived today as the two sides could not come to that agreement without one.  According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post the contract that will come out of that ruling will be for one season with the Rangers submitting a contract request of $2.8 million while Dubinsky has requested a salary of $4.6 million.

The Rangers have elected to go for a one-year salary award in today's arbitration hearing in Toronto with Brandon Dubinsky, The Post has learned.

The fact that the Rangers chose the one-year option will keep Dubinsky as a restricted free agent again next summer.  The positive in that is it gives the two sides another year to work on a long-term contract to keep Dubinsky as a Blueshirt, but it also sets up another potentially contentious summer of negotiations.  The move to not take the two-year verdict could signal that the two sides were not as far apart as we might think, or is just simply a leverage move to keep him under control for the next negotiation round.

Sources with knowledge of the briefs submitted on behalf of the 25-year-old winger and on behalf of the club have told The Post that Dubinsky has requested a contract worth $4.6 million while the Rangers have come in at $2.8 million.

The fact that there is a wide gap between the two requests is part of the business of shooting for the best for their particular side.  Once it gets to this point the Rangers are going to aim very low while Dubinsky is going to be on the high end of his value, with the arbiter allowed to choose any number within the two bounds requested.  To see the Rangers request a mere $2.8 million is still somewhat shocking since the value is clearly a significant amount higher than that, but that is part of the business side of this.  To their “credit” the Rangers seem well aware that the ruling is more likely to come out in Dubinsky’s favor in terms of the gap between the two sides requests.  

Both sides expect Dubinsky, who will still owe one more season to the Rangers as a restricted free agent at the conclusion of this year, to gain an arbitration-directed salary of between $3.8 million and $4.4 million.

If the request was for a one-year award, then I would predict that Dubinsky comes out with $3.9 million as his salary for the 2011-12 season.

Later this morning I will have more thoughts on the fact that it even came to this and if either side can truly win from it coming to this.