At the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, the Rangers chose Alexei Cherepanov 17th overall. Cherepanov had been ranked by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau as the number one European skater and was considered to be a top-five pick leading up to the draft, but fell due to teams being unsure whether he would ever come to the NHL from Russia. Despite the departure of Michael Nylander in free agency, the 2007 free agency season started with a bang for the Rangers, with the signing of two high-profile centerman, Scott Gomez from New Jersey on a seven-year, $51.5 million contract, as well as Chris Drury from Buffalo on a five-year, $32.25 million deal. The moves, along with retaining most other key players, had been met favorably, as the Rangers appeared to be strong Stanley Cup contenders, making the playoffs for the third consecutive season and the second round for the second season in a row. However, despite these streaks, the Rangers failed to meet expectations, losing their second round series four games to one to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The following off-season saw the departures of captain Jaromir Jagr to the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), and alternate captains Martin Straka and Brendan Shanahan, who returned to play in the Czech Republic and with the New Jersey Devils, respectively. Following these departures, Chris Drury was named captain on October 3, 2008.