"Rangers coach John Tortorella chuckled when informed that Wojtek Wolski, his newest player after being obtained on Monday from Phoenix, had said that he was looking forward to the move because the Eastern Conference is more wide open than the West.

Wolski used the phrase "a little more run and gun," and said the Rangers' system was more offense-minded than the one he left.

"Well, I just met him five minutes ago," Tortorella said before the Rangers' 2-1 loss to the Canadiens last night at the Garden. "But we will not get in the way offensively, and we're certainly going to look for him to express himself with his creativity.

"I'll watch him play, and then we'll have a chance to go over things. There's going to be give and take, but a big part of our club is our grind, and he's going to have to join in with that also."

Wolski, the 24-year-old former first-round draft pick (21st overall by Colorado in 2004), is known as a skilled athlete, but he now has washed out with two teams and has been traded twice within 10 months. He came to the Blueshirts in exchange for Michal Rozsival after going to the Coyotes at last year's deadline for Peter Mueller and Kevin Porter.

Wolski, who recorded 23 goals and 65 points last year, had just six goals and 16 points in 36 games this year. He was a healthy scratch five times, including three times in an eight-game stretch in late December.

"This second trade is a little easier, maybe because I'm more welcome to being traded," said the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Wolski, who was born in Zabrze, Poland, before he and his family moved to Toronto at the age of five. "At the end, I wasn't playing much, and it was definitely tough not getting the minutes I wanted to be able to contribute."

Tortorella said he spoke to a number of Western Conference coaches regarding Wolski, but added that he "would not go on other people's commentary on him.""