It was a foregone conclusion that Jaromir Jagr was going to be playing in Manhattan next season. By all accounts, it was more of an issue concerning when and for how much rather than if it would happen. The Capitals blew that out of the NHL trade waters, and in the process, seriously injured the rebuilding plans of Rangers GM Glen Sather while dramatically shifting the balance of power in the Eastern Conference. All this creates a situation where Eric Lindros may yet end up with the Rangers because the Blueshirts need to do something to improve a woeful team, and Lindros is the last player yet to dive into the pool of offseason deals.

Here's a look at the impact of Pittsburgh trading Jagr, the league's top scorer the last four seasons.

Rangers blue in the face
The Capitals destroyed New York's dreams of skating Brett Hull on a line with Jagr, and the Rangers are left to pick up the pieces amid a firestorm of criticism in the New York populace and media.

The obvious next step is Lindros, but Sather has much less leverage with Flyers GM Bob Clarke than he supposedly did with Penguins GM Craig Patrick. Few teams were equipped to land Jagr, but even fewer are willing to risk their future on Lindros, a player whose career could end with one body check at any time. Throw in Clarke's loathing for Lindros -- as well as for his family entourage -- and the Flyers aren't in nearly the same short-term timetable that Pittsburgh was with Jagr and his $20-million contract.

Hull, on the other hand, is an unrestricted free agent, and there likely are several teams interested in the 39-goal scorer despite his age (37 in August) and desire for a two-year contract. The Rangers have plenty of money to pay Hull, but without Jagr, it might be difficult to pry Hull from a more competitive team. It might be farfetched, but perhaps, Washington could swoop in and obtain Hull in an effort to appease center Adam Oates, who asked for a trade but played some of his best hockey in St. Louis with Hull in the late '80s and early '90s.

It's unknown exactly what will happen with the Rangers, but it's clear something must happen. The status of the team's top right wing (Theo Fleury) is up in the air because of a substance-abuse problem, and the best left wing on the roster is Jan Hlavac, who, in his second NHL season, scored 28 goals in '00-01. The Rangers' roster is alarmingly thin at wing after that -- no offense to Colin Forbes, Nils Ekman or Andreas Johansson, but they're not second-line left wings on a competitive NHL team.

Southeast stock goes sky high
Among the five Southeast Division teams, only two (Washington in 1998 and Florida in 1996) have appeared in the Cup finals, and although it's a bit unfair considering the short-term history of the teams, it's the only NHL division without a Stanley Cup champ. Suddenly, however, the Southeast Division possesses talent to go along with whatever intrigue hockey presents when played in the warm climates from Washington to South Florida. Entering the 2001-02 season, the perennially weak division now boasts two of the most exciting talents in the NHL -- Jagr and Pavel Bure, the league-leader with 59 goals last season.

In addition, Tampa Bay and Florida project to be two of the league's most improved teams next season. The Panthers added Valeri Bure, Jason Wiemer and Jeff Norton to complement goalie Roberto Luongo, who looks poised to have a breakout season. Florida rival Tampa Bay upgraded in goal with Nikolai Khabibulin to go along with the additions of Tim Taylor, Vaclav Prospal, Juha Ylonen and Nolan Pratt. No one knows how well both teams will play other than to absolutely guarantee they'll be better than last season.

Then there's Washington, which goes from a bland team that always seemed to excel to a team with league-wide appeal. Jagr is that good. OK, he struggled mightily on and off the ice during the 2001 playoffs, but Jagr isn't even 30 years old and has 439 career regular-season goals. And it's not like Jagr will have to carry an entire team. The Capitals plan to support Jagr up front with Peter Bondra (45 goals), Steve Konowalchuk (24 goals), Jeff Halpern (21 goals) and Trevor Linden (15 goals). If the disgruntled Oates stays, Washington will have the two leading assist-men in the league -- Oates and Jagr tied with 69 helpers last season.

Don't forget Olaf Kolzig won the Vezina Trophy two seasons ago and is an immediate upgrade over any goalie Pittsburgh had since Tom Barrasso backstopped the Penguins' consecutive Stanley Cup wins in the early '90s.

Put it another way: Would the Capitals with Jagr have defeated a Jagr-less Pittsburgh in last season's playoffs? Impossible to prove, but the Caps probably would have won.

Washington owner Ted Leonsis knew he needed a superstar to reach the sometimes apathetic Washington sports fans. In the process of achieving the ability to capture the attention of the hockey world, the Capitals became instant threats to New Jersey's hold on the Eastern Conference. The next step is to start the season and fulfill promise.

Lemieux's back must be strong
Despite Jagr's brooding attitude and average performance in the playoffs -- two goals in 16 games -- the overriding impetus behind this deal from Pittsburgh's perspective was financial. The Penguins need the $10 million due to Jagr next season in order to sign their restricted free agents. With the added cash Washington threw into the Jagr deal, Pittsburgh now has somewhere between $12 million to $15 million to spend on current players, which increases the odds of inking all 19 unsigned players.

Jagr's departure also means owner-player Mario Lemieux is prepared to carry the team's leadership and offensive burden. Barring a relapse of his back problems, the plan could work if Pittsburgh remains playoff competitive and gets a new building. Achieving both objectives secures Lemieux's long-term business interests while further solidifying his deified status in Pittsburgh. It's a major challenge for the 35-year-old center, but there isn't much Lemieux hasn't been able to do in his life. Of course, Penguins fans can't ignore the fact that Pittsburgh likely cannot win the Cup; however, they'll be in better shape to make a run in the future should everything work out -- having newly acquired prospect Kris Beech become a star wouldn't hurt, either.

Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com and can be reached at brian.shactman@espn.com.