Rangers G Biron out with broken collarbone

NEW YORK (AP) - Rangers backup goalie Martin Biron broke a collarbone Monday after being struck with a shot during practice.

New York general manager Glen Sather said Biron, the backup to workhorse goalie Henrik Lundqvist, will be out indefinitely.

That was the biggest news of NHL trade deadline day for the Rangers, who completed a minor deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

New York received center John Mitchell for a seventh-round pick in next year’s draft. Sather looked into getting another veteran backup before the deadline, but found the asking prices to be too high.

“There wasn’t an awful lot of time,” Sather said during a conference call. “There were a couple of possibilities, but when you’re looking for something with short notice like that, it gets very expensive to find an NHL backup goaltender that has experience.

“We just didn’t want to lay a lot of things on the line. I know it’s risky, but I know that Henrik loves the work and he loves to play.”

Instead, New York called up Cam Talbot from Connecticut of the AHL. He will be available for Tuesday night’s home game against Buffalo.

Biron was solid in backing up Lundqvist this season, his first with the Rangers. He was 8-6 with a 2.13 goals-against average and .923 save percentage in 17 games.

“It’s a big loss for our team,” Sather said. “He was a big part of it, a very enthusiastic, upbeat, positive guy. We’re sorry to lose him.”

Lundqvist will be counted on to carry much of the load over the final 18 games of the regular season. The busiest part of the Rangers’ season has passed, and Talbot _ or any other backup _ is expected to make only one or two starts down the stretch.

“It’s always a bit of concern, but he’s had a lot of time off this year already,” Sather said of Lundqvist. “Henrik likes to play every day, if he can.

“I know it’s risky, but I know that Henrik loves the work and he loves to play. We think that he is going to be able to get through this fairly well.”

The Rangers made two bigger deals in the days leading up to Monday’s deadline. They acquired forward Wojtek Wolski from Phoenix in January after Alex Frolov sustained a season-ending injury, and then got defenseman Bryan McCabe on Saturday from Florida to serve as a quarterback for the power play.

Sather and coach John Tortorella stressed several times they didn’t want to mortgage the future or give up their prized young assets in a deal. They stuck to that plan on Monday.

“When you get down to the end, it’s really a frenzy for the last six to eight hours,” Sather said. “There was a lot of names thrown around, a lot of people that were interested in our young guys. We really didn’t want to trade any of our kids.”

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