Shanahan returning, but where?

Brendan Shanahan has never scored fewer than 20 goals in any of his 20 NHL seasons. Lou Capozzola/Sports Illustrated

Brendan Shanahan, one of the NHL's most prominent players, will return for the 2008-09 season.

After mulling retirement after the New York Rangers' second-round playoff exit last May, the 39-year old winger has decided to play at least another year.

He would like to return for a third season with the Rangers, which recently shuffled veteran, name forwards by cutting ties with Jaromir Jagr, who signed with Omsk in Russia's Continental Hockey League, and Martin Straka, who signed with a Czech League team, then bringing in former Vancouver Canucks captain Markus Naslund. After the season, Rangers president Glen Sather told Shanahan he would like to bring him back but would need time to reconfigure the club, which accounts for the delay in repatriating the 650-goal scorer.

Shanahan, a free agent, is seeking a one-year contract. If a deal with the Rangers can't be worked out -- and currently New York is his only focus -- he would be willing to listen to offers from other teams. He already has deflected off-ice offers, including from media outlets.

Shanahan is coming off a 23-goal, 23-assist season -- he has scored at least 20 goals in every season since his rookie year, 1987-88 -- in which he has hampered by a strained knee sustained in early January. He had eight goals in the final three months and was a non-factor in the playoffs, finishing with one goal in 10 games.