by LARRY BROOKS , The New York Post

"We'll scout him at the tournament and see what, if anything develops. But I've always liked Peter and I've always been interested in finding a way to bring him to New York, if possible."

The Rangers , who go into tonight's game here against the Oilers and assistant coach Tom Renney having scored five goals while losing three of their last four in regulation, are in desperate need of a playmaking center, of that there is no question.

The questions, however, are, a) whether Forsberg is healthy enough to compete in the NHL following a series of surgeries on his right foot and ankle; and, b) whether the center has interest in coming to New York.

"Well," said Sather in response to the latter, "I'd have to say a lot of that would probably depend on money."

Ah, money, of which Jim Dolan's team has plenty. But then there's that pesky cap space, of which the Rangers have plenty of nothing. Fact is the Blueshirts have approximately $685,000 of space at the moment.

So even if a healthy Forsberg were to decide to play in the NHL - it has been reported that Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL is prepared to throw money at him the way Omsk threw money at Jaromir Jagr - and decide that the Rangers would be a fit, Sather would have to find a way to clear substantial cap space to accommodate the center, who is believed on the radar of the Flyers, Caps, Canadiens and Avalanche as well.

In this regard, the scenario is somewhat similar to last year, when the Blueshirts lusted after Mats Sundin, only to have No. 13 reject an offer because the team couldn't come close to matching Vancouver's prorated $10 million. The difference, however, is that Washington, Philadelphia and Montreal are in equally stressed cap situations.

Forsberg, arguably the greatest player in the world for six or seven seasons from the mid 1990's through early 2000's, has not played in the NHL since joining the Avalanche for the final nine games of 2007-08. He hasn't made it through a full season since the lockout. He played only three games last year in Sweden before being forced to get more repair work on his foot.

It's a long shot, no doubt, but the Rangers are doing their due diligence.

Can't, uh, hurt.

*

Dane Byers has been suspended for tonight's match by the NHL for picking up an instigator penalty at 18:50 of the third period in Wednesday's 4-1 defeat in Vancouver in a fight with Tanner Glass. It was Byers' only shift of the third period.

NHL Rule 47.22 mandates a suspension for players hit with instigator penalties in the final five minutes of a game. Head coach John Tortorella will be fined $10,000 under the rule while Byers will forfeit $2,590.67 based on his salary.

"I have no reaction to it," Tortorella said. "That's my reaction to it."

Rangers at Oilers - Tonight 9:30 MSG; WABC (770 AM)

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