Oh, the wacky world of the NHL.

	Marian Hossa scored four goals in an 8-1 win over the Thrashers the day after the Senators failed to meet payroll.

The extravagant New York Rangers, with their $74 million payroll, are 13th in the Eastern Conference and in danger of missing the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the relatively restrained Ottawa Senators, with a $28 million payroll and a shaky ownership that couldn't even pay the players on Jan. 1, are ensconced at the top of the East.

The best team can't make payroll.

The highest-paid team can't make the playoffs.

Disregarding the Senators' ownership problems and assuming the paychecks eventually will come on time the rest of the season, some will see the Senators' success as a victory for sensible spending and responsibility.

But that's not necessarily the conclusion to be drawn.

Outside of the Rangers, the NHL's other top six payroll teams -- including Detroit ($65 million), Dallas ($62 million), Colorado ($60.5 million), St. Louis ($60 million), and Philadelphia ($55 million) -- all again likely will be among the Stanley Cup contenders.

They're getting reasonable bang for their considerable dollars.

Boston, Vancouver, Ottawa and Minnesota all are competitive, or better, from the league's bottom half of the payroll list. But are they legitimate Cup threats?

The Senators are. Maybe.

So far, the signs all point to the fact that you can't buy a Stanley Cup, but spending sure increases your chances.

(Know what's funny? The Blackhawks, for all the criticism owner Bill Wirtz takes for allowing stars such as Jeremy Roenick and Tony Amonte to leave, still are among the top half in payroll.)

Sure, stranger things have happened than the Bruins and Canucks sneaking through. But the Senators were more aberration than the norm even before the recent refinancing plan unraveled, at least temporarily, and the players were told the checks were being held up in the neutral zone. (At least that was more honorable than telling Daniel Alfredsson, "Uh, would you believe the checks are in the mail?")

The Rangers had me fooled, too. I thought they were on the right track. But so far this season, the Rangers look like one of those $10 "Rolexes" available on Canal Street.

Before we got any farther, it's time for a sheepish confession, based on archived lunacy: The Rangers had me fooled, too. I thought they were on the right track. But so far this season, the Rangers look like one of those $10 "Rolexes" available on Canal Street, within a short subway ride from Madison Square Garden.

They are frauds.

Those who bought into the proposition should be embarrassed.

The assumption was that Glen Sather, the veteran of limited payroll strategies in Edmonton, was a savvy enough hockey man to do a better job of spending the Rangers' money than did the once-successful Neil Smith in the final years of his reign. So far, there is little proof Sather is going to build and perpetuate a winner in Manhattan.

Is that enough penance?

The Rangers' first-half problems -- they had 37 points in their first 42 games -- can't be rationalized by injuries, although some New Yorkers talk as if the Rangers are the only NHL team that has kept its team physicians busy. The Kings and the Blues, among others, would be jealous of the Rangers' health this season.

So how has ridiculous divergence of fortunes come about?

Let's look at the Sens and the Rangers:

General managers
The two-man tag team of John Muckler, the ex-Rangers coach, and Anders Hedberg is in its first season at Ottawa. Many of the decisions that have forged the Senators were engineered by Marshall Johnston, the veteran hockey man who semi-retired over the summer. Johnston is low-key, solid, stubborn and willing to spend the money as if it is his own.

In New York, so many of the benchmarks Sather is working with were holdovers from the Smith era. The test here will be if Holik ever is healthy long enough to show that he can be one of the best complementary centers in the game again, the thorn in the side of the other teams' stars who can pitch in offensively here and there.

The problem is, he is what he is, and the expectations raised by that salary can't transform him into something else. If the Rangers have the right cast around him and he makes the team that much better because of his versatility, then that salary won't look so gross. And he's a waste on a bad team.

Coaches

	Trottier

	Martin

At last check, Jacques Martin has been on the verge of being fired 3,274 times -- and not just after those early playoff exits. But he's a bi-lingual and adaptive French-Canadian who can handle his international cast and adjust to fluctuations in the game.

In New York, Bryan Trottier might not get the chance to show that his quiet demeanor involves the same sort of thoughtfulness he brought to the ice as a player, not bewilderment on the bench. When the team is bad, seemingly "quirky" decisions about whom to have on the ice are viewed with derision.

When the team is good, they are portrayed as method lurking behind madness. If Sather doesn't at least give Trottier a full season, the GM should be culpable for making what he would be admitting was a bad hire.

Captains

	Alfredsson

	Messier

The good news is Mark Messier is an amazing player, considering he turns 42 on Jan. 18. The bad news is he turns 42 on Jan. 18.

His leadership remains both overt and ineffable. But inspirational? At some point, when one of the reasons a guy still is around because of the qualities that supposedly are spelled out by the "C," the proof is how his team plays and follows that supposed peerless leadership. The Rangers too often look like a bunch of guys who know that, unlike at Ottawa, the paychecks are coming and that's all that matters.

In Ottawa, Alfredsson is a "young" 30, has the respect of his teammates and doesn't have to be fiery to lead. He also makes $4.5 million, or more than Messier, but his salary isn't a career achievement award; he's worth it (when he's paid).

Stars (now and future)

	Hossa

	Leetch

That's one of the lessons here: The Sens have a layered roster, and their best player -- Marian Hossa -- turns 24 on Jan. 12 and makes $2.05 million. And while the NHL girds for the battle over the next collective bargaining agreement, Hossa's situation underscores that this league has the most sensible deal of all -- one other sports would kill for.

Under the terms the NBA plays under, Hossa won't be eligible for unrestricted free agency for seven more years. Martin Havlat is only 21, and he's a budding star. And if Jason Spezza is the player everyone agrees he will be, the core up front is solid -- and better -- for years to come. Yes, Chris Phillips hasn't quite lived up to billing, but he's still only 24 and the breakthrough could be imminent.

The Rangers? In too many cases they're overpriced and ill-fitting. Brian Leetch is a class act and he plays nearly 26 minutes a game, but come on: $9.68 million? Again, money isn't so much the issue as is construction: If the Rangers blew everyone away, the payroll wouldn't be considered the damning indictment it is now. But when you're paying so much because of benchmarks you've nudged up yourself with ill-conceived signings or moves in the past, and the payroll has more to do with reputation and the past than what can be done now, it all adds up to disaster.

Goaltending
Mike Richter is through, don't you think? (We've said that before, too, and been wrong.) But now Mike Dunham, who had regressed at Nashville, is playing well for the Rangers -- and for $2.8 million a season, he should. In Ottawa, Patrick Lalime makes $1.8 million and has been solid, but he needs another playoff run to erase the stigma there.

The Rangers are the worst team money can buy.

The Senators can't even get paid.

And my Manhattan Rolex says the date is Jan. 37.

Terry Frei is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. His book, "Horns, Hogs, and Nixon Coming," was released last month by Simon and Schuster. On Friday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m., he will sign copies of the book at Borders, 10720 Preston Road, in Dallas.