Monday: New York has officially announced the deal.
Saturday: The Rangers have agreed to terms on a two-year, entry-level contract with defenseman Yegor Rykov, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). Financial details were not disclosed but the deal contains a European Assignment Clause.
Rykov was a fifth-round pick (132nd overall) of the Devils back in 2016 but was dealt to New York as part of the Michael Grabner trade leading up to the 2018 trade deadline. The 22-year-old has spent the last three seasons as a regular in the KHL and just wrapped up his first season with HK Sochi where he had three goals and six assists in 47 regular season games while averaging 19:24 per night of ice time, a number that jumped by more than two minutes a game in the postseason.
Considering the group of youngsters that the Rangers now have on their back end – a group bolstered by the acquisition of Adam Fox earlier this offseason – Rykov will be in tough to contend for a roster spot right away. They may prefer him to spend some time with AHL Hartford but he will have the final say over whether or not that happens with the assignment clause in his contract.