#4 – Scott Gomez (2007)
When the Rangers signed center Scott Gomez in the summer of 2007, they accomplished two things. They acquired one of the marquee free agents that summer and they dealt a blow to their cross-river rivals.
The 28-year old Gomez was at his peak when he signed a seven-year deal worth $51.5 million. He gave the team a top second line center to play with Brendan Shanahan. Newly signed Chris Drury was slated to center Jaromir Jagr’s line.
The Gomez signing can be seen as a failure simply because of inflated expectations. In eight years with the Devils, he had topped the 20-goal mark only once. Known as a playmaker, Gomez had led the NHL in assists in 2004, but Rangers fans expected him to score goals.
In his first season in New York, he scored 16 goals and had a career high 70 points. In his second year he matched that goal total but his points slipped to 58. By that time, Rangers fans were calling for his head and bemoaning a contract that overpaid a player who was never meant to be more than a second or third line play-maker.
That Glen Sather was able to trade Gomez to Montreal in exchange for Chris Higgins and a former first round draft pick named Ryan McDonagh took some of the sting off this signing. This was clearly the case of free agency inflating the perception of a player’s value. Scott Gomez hung around for seven more seasons as a defensive forward, a role he was much better suited for.