The New York Rangers have reached an agreement with depth defenseman Ben Harpur on a two-year extension, which will carry an average annual value of $787.5K, according to Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press.
Harpur, 28, has rarely ever seen regular minutes in the NHL, but seems to have found a bit of a home in New York. The big, 6’6″ defenseman has now played in 18 games this season, all of them since the middle of December.
Signed to a one-year, two-way deal in the offseason, this contract is a very nice reward for the depth defender, who lands some security and stability. A veteran of 174 NHL games, he’s now locked into a seventh or eighth-defenseman role on a good team and will make some good money in the process.
For the Rangers, this doesn’t really move the needle. His cap hit can be entirely buried in the minor leagues if necessary, and Harpur isn’t going to be playing big minutes or providing many points. In his 18 appearances this year he has averaged just over 13 minutes a night, while putting up three points – including just his second NHL goal.
Still, if they like him as an organizational piece, there’s no reason why not to sign a contract like this to lock him up. The deal is low-risk low-reward but keeps a player in the picture that the coaching staff is comfortable icing when needed.
Just wondering if it’s a one way or two way deal.
one way per capfriendly
I hope Sammy Blias never comes back from the minors. Harpur is better than Hyjack and any other 6th def we have rolled out past few yrs.
Still a place for a big lumbering Dman in the NHL.