Daigle has been a real bonus
12/17/99
By Bridget Wentworth
STAFF WRITER
RYE, N.Y. -- Alexandre Daigle will reach a milestone of sorts tonight when he plays his 10th game as a member of the Rangers.
As part of the agreement the Rangers made with the Tampa Bay Lightning to acquire Daigle in October, Daigle will earn $100,000 for reaching the 10-game mark at the NHL level. If he reaches the 20-game mark, he'll get another $100,000, and if he gets all the way to the 40-game mark, he'll make a total of $400,000. That's the sum that will bring him back up to the $1 million salary he was scheduled to earn before taking a serious pay cut to get out of Tampa.
The club was so anxious to get rid of him that it agreed to pay the Rangers the remaining part of Daigle's salary.
One wonders if Tampa Bay regrets it, because Daigle, a 24-year-old winger, has been a key part of the Rangers' rebirth in the past couple of weeks. His work on a line with Tim Taylor and John MacLean has been, for the most part, spotless.
Daigle still walks a tightrope and probably will until he shows over a long period of time that he has the mental tools and the attitude to enjoy NHL longevity. Those qualities had been in question since he came into the league at 18, and Daigle is just starting to show that maybe he can hack it and do well.
The extra $100,000 in his paycheck next week is nice, but Daigle is more excited about the milestone itself. When he was sent directly to AHL Hartford after the Rangers acquired him, no one knew whether his name would appear on an NHL roster again.
"The 10th game is special. It's a step in the right direction," Daigle said. "I've been playing on a consistent basis, on the same line for 10 games, and that's surprising. Usually, when you're called up, you're shuffled around a little bit."
There was no need to shuffle Daigle around. He made an impression immediately. Coach John Muckler was asked if Daigle's play is one of the reasons behind the Rangers' better play of late.
"He's one of the reasons, yeah," Muckler said. "You look at his line, and I think every one of them contributes to our success. He is accepting responsibility, and I think Taylor and MacLean should get some credit for that."
It's hard to say when the next step in Daigle's renaissance will come. He still is staying in a hotel in Westchester, because he has not yet been given the green light to look for more permanent housing. He might be in the hotel for the rest of the season, which doesn't bother him, and which might keep him more focused on the fact that it would be very easy for the team to tell him to check out of that hotel and go back to Hartford.
"A player has to come to the rink to be the best player he can be. He has to come to work," Muckler said. "I don't think (Daigle) is on a daily probation -- one mistake and you're not going to be here. Obviously, that's not going to happen. We never intended it to be that way. We just want him to recognize the fact that there was a reason why he wasn't here to start with. Once he accepts that responsibility, I don't think there will be a problem. So far, he has shown that he's accepted that responsibility."
And the humiliation that marked his final days with the Lightning has been erased.
"It (leaving Tampa) might be a blessing in the long run," Daigle said. "I'd rather be here than anywhere."
