suffered a broken orbital bone and was out indefinitely. Colin Campbell ruled that the hit was late on an unsuspecting player; he also believed it targeted the head, and as a result caused significant injury. For his actions, Brashear was given a six-game suspension by the League — one for the pre-game altercation and five for the hit on Betts. Later career Brashear was not given an extension during the season, and prior to the start of the free agency he indicated that he would like to return to Washington, citing the prospect of winning a Stanley Cup. Brashear noted that at his age and place in his career, taking care of his family was his top priority and that money would be the deciding factor in his destination. The Capitals, however, opted not re-sign him. After initial talks with the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)'s Vityaz Chekhov, he eventually agreed to a two-year, $2.8 million contract with the New York Rangers. At an event for season-ticket holders, Brashear was booed due to the altercation with the Rangers in the previous post-season. He set a personal milestone during the 2009–10 season by playing in his 1,000th NHL game on November 12 against the Atlanta Thrashers. Brashear struggled in New York, however, registering just one assist and 73 PIMs in 36 games; he became unhappy with his role in New York and asked the Rangers for a trade. Following a stretch of seven-straight and 12 of 13 games where he was a healthy scratch, the Rangers placed Brashear on waivers. After clearing waivers, he was assigned to the Rangers' AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. Despite the demotion, Brashear was happy to be receiving steady ice time whilst in Hartford. At the end of the season, the Rangers again placed Brashear on waivers, making him eligible for a contract buyout. Instead of buying-out his contract, however, the Rangers traded Brashear on August 2, 2010, along with Patrick Rissmiller, to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for centre Todd White. Atlanta then placed Brashear on waivers and bought-out the remaining year of his contract, thus making him an unrestricted free agent. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Brashear ranked 15th all-time in NHL history for penalty minutes. After not receiving serious interest from any NHL teams, Brashear opted to return to the LNAH and signed with Sorel-Tracy GCI. He noted that his decision