New York Rangers Sign Erik Gustafsson
The New York Rangers have signed defenseman Erik Gustafsson to a one-year contract, per a team announcement. The deal carries a $825k cap hit, according to the New York Post’s Mollie Walker.
The Rangers have been proactive in signing veteran players to affordable, sub-$1MM AAV contracts today, and Gustafsson is the latest one. They’re likely looking to clarify their financial picture before finalizing extensions for key RFA’s such as Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller, or deciding on the future of highly-priced bottom-six leader Barclay Goodrow.
Rangers GM Chris Drury is walking a salary-cap tightrope, and with that in mind, this Gustafsson signing appears to be an absolute coup for New York. Just one year ago Gustafsson’s NHL career seemed to be in a difficult spot, as his 2021-22 season with the Chicago Blackhawks was a far cry from his earlier times in Chicago, such as 2018-19 when he scored 60 points.
But after signing with the Washington Capitals, Gustafsson had a resurgent season under head coach Peter Laviolette.
He stepped up after a major injury caused John Carlson to miss extended time, and finished his time in Washington with 38 points in 61 games.
He was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs and scored five points in 11 combined regular-season and playoff games.
One might have assumed that a 42-point defenseman could get more than a one-year, $825k deal, but Gustafsson’s inconsistency as well as the leaguewide lack of cap space likely put a damper on his free-agent market. So instead of truly cashing in and signing a pricey free agent deal, Gustafsson returns to Laviolette and places himself in a high-upside playing situation.
He’ll be competing against Zac Jones, Ben Harpur, and Connor Mackey for one of the Rangers’ final two defensive roster spots, and likely has the inside track for the third-pairing LHD spot next to Brendan Schneider.
His high-octane puck-moving offensive game could mesh well with Schneider’s more traditional style, and perhaps more significantly Gustafsson could also occupy a quarterback-like role on the Rangers’ second-unit power play.
The Rangers’ first unit is the dominant one, of course, soaking up the vast majority of available minutes on the man advantage, but at the very least Gustafsson provides a greater degree of insurance in case of an Adam Fox injury than the team had before this signing.
There’s certainly a risk that Gustafsson regresses and plays the way he did in, say, Philadelphia, where he was less than well-received by Flyers fans. But at an $825k cap hit, that risk is very minimal.
At worst, Gustafsson provides excellent competition for Jones and Mackey and injury insurance in case the Rangers’ top power-play maestro goes down with an injury. At best, Gustafsson gives the Rangers a 40-point third-pairing defenseman who is able to be utilized effectively thanks to the Rangers’ existing defensive depth.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
New York Rangers Sign Connor Mackey, Nikolas Brouillard
The New York Rangers have made two additions to beef up their defensive depth, signing Connor Mackey from the Arizona Coyotes and Nikolas Brouillard from the AHL’s San Diego Gulls to one-year contracts.
Both are likely destined for AHL Hartford next season, especially with the Rangers further fortifying their blueline by signing Erik Gustafsson to a one-year deal today. Both players were signed to a league-minimum cap hit of $775K, with Mackey earning a $400K salary in the minors and Brouillard earning a $225K salary in the minors with $275K guaranteed.
Mackey joins the Rangers with three professional seasons under his belt, spent in the Calgary Flames and Arizona Coyotes organizations. He’s shown some solid offensive acumen in limited NHL time, and he was a member of Team USA at the recent IIHF Men’s World Championship. After recording 36 points in 53 games with the AHL’s Stockton Heat in 2021-22, he’s destined for top-pair duty and heavy minutes in Hartford.
This is the first NHL contract for Brouillard, 28, who’s spent the last three seasons on minor-league contracts with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls and done quite well, totaling 92 points (and 279 penalty minutes) in 168 AHL games. He’s obviously got a bit of snarl to his game and will join Mackey in Hartford’s top four on defense.
New York Rangers Sign Nick Bonino
The New York Rangers have added yet another experienced veteran forward, this time securing two-time Stanley Cup champion Nick Bonino on a one-year contract. The deal is worth $800K, according to TSN’s Chris Johnston.
Even in the latter stages of his career, the 35-year-old Bonino has posted great defensive results in a bottom-six checking role and looks to be a solid fit as a fourth-line center in New York, a position that saw some tumultuous times for the team last season. Bonino posted 10 goals and 19 points in 59 games with the Sharks before a deadline day deal to his former team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, but his second stint there lasted just three games before he sustained a lacerated kidney.
The Rangers will be his second Eastern Conference team after spending most of his career in the West. He’ll fill a role well at the bottom of their lineup, and it’s an acquisition made with the postseason in mind. Bonino’s done some of his best work there, putting up 48 points in 105 career playoff games.
New York Rangers Sign Tyler Pitlick, Riley Nash
The New York Rangers have signed forward Tyler Pitlick to a one-year contract, per the team. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports it’s worth $787.5K. The AP’s Stephen Whyno also reports they’ve signed veteran forward Riley Nash, who spent last season on an AHL contract, to a two-year contract.
This has been a very active day for the Rangers as GM Chris Drury aggressively targets depth players to fill spots in his lineup at affordable prices. The Rangers have precious little cap space to maneuver this offseason, so adding experienced contributors at minimal costs is a major priority.
In Pitlick and Nash, Drury has added two veteran forwards who should be able to capably fill fourth-line or reserve roles. Nash, 34, can play both center and wing and has over 600 games of NHL experience.
He’s got playoff experience as well and can be an asset at the face-off dot. He’s a possibility for the Rangers’ fourth-line center role, or could spend the year with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack waiting on a call-up.
Nash spent this past season in the AHL, scoring 24 goals and 59 points for the Chicago Wolves. That AHL form proves there’s still some gas left in Nash’s tank, and now the Rangers are hoping he can be similarly effective for Hartford.
As for Pitlick, The 31-year-old has less NHL experience than Nash but spent the whole year in the NHL, not the AHL. He got into 61 games for the St. Louis Blues and scored 16 points, and he should be able to compete for and potentially hold down a fourth-line right winger spot.
New York Rangers Sign Blake Wheeler, Jonathan Quick
The New York Rangers have nabbed former Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler on the free agent market, per the team. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports the 35+ contract has an $800K cap hit and carries $300K in potential bonuses. The team’s also made the long-reported Jonathan Quick signing official at an $825K cap hit plus bonuses, says The New York Post’s Mollie Walker.
They’ve also signed forward Alex Belzile to a two-year deal, says TVA’s Renaud Lavoie.
The Rangers’ offseason has been significantly impacted by their dearth of cap space, so adding a veteran scorer like Wheeler at such a cheap price is a major coup.
While he’s no longer the back-to-back 90-point man he was earlier in his time with the Winnipeg Jets, Wheeler remains a lethal weapon on the power play and a solid all-around offensive threat. He scored 55 points in 72 games last season and scored 60 points in 65 games the year before.
The Rangers’ biggest need heading into next season was talent along the right side of their forward corps, and Wheeler is just about the best possible option they could afford. He’ll now have a chance to play with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, or Vincent Trocheck and Artemi Panarin.
Assuming he stays healthy, he’s set himself up to have a monster season, especially if he can land a place on New York’s top power-play unit.
While he might not be able to set himself up for a long-term, pricey contract next summer as he’ll be set to turn 38 in August of next year, he’s put himself in a prime position on a Stanley Cup contender and under some of the brightest lights in the hockey world.
For Quick, this move allows him to back up one of the NHL’s best goalies, work with one of the NHL’s most highly-regarded goalie coaches in Benoit Allaire, as well as move closer to where he grew up. A legendary netminder whose earlier days with the Los Angeles Kings came to define that era of hockey, Quick’s form has declined sharply in recent seasons.
He posted a .876 save percentage in 31 games with the Kings last season and a .901 in 10 games with the Vegas Golden Knights. That might not be good enough to cut it in New York, but the hope is that with such a renowned coach in his corner, his numbers could rebound. In any case, he’ll now land with a potential Stanley Cup contender and be able to provide guidance to one of the league’s top goalies.
Now for Belzile, he’s reportedly getting a two-year contract which is a nice reward for a player who has worked his way up from the ECHL to the NHL. He became a top scorer for the Laval Rocket with the Montreal Canadiens and when the team faced significant injury issues he became a regular face in head coach Martin St. Louis’ lineup.
In 31 games at the NHL level Belzile scored a solid 14 points, showcasing the possibility for him to become a valuable bottom-sixer on a more regular basis. With the Rangers looking to fill depth lineup spots on the cheap and potentially also improve their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, Belzile could quickly prove to be a savvy signing by Rangers GM Chris Drury.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Agent: No Talks Between Rangers And Patrick Kane
- While the Rangers found a way to make the money work to acquire Patrick Kane at the deadline, it doesn’t appear like that will be happening again this summer. The veteran’s agent Pat Brisson confirmed to Larry Brooks of the New York Post that there have been no discussions between the two sides about a contract for next season. Kane, who is currently recovering from hip-resurfacing surgery that will keep him out of the lineup for at least the start of 2023-24, doesn’t appear to be a candidate to sign early in free agency and is instead expected to wait things out and see how things go with his recovery.
Rangers Expected To Sign Jonathan Quick
- Once the market opens up on Saturday, it is expected that the New York Rangers will find their veteran backup goaltender rather quickly. Kevin Weekes of ESPN reports that Jonathan Quick will land with the Rangers shortly after the market opens. This season, New York employed Jaroslav Halak as their main backup, who posted a record of 10-9-5, earning a .903 SV% and a 2.72 GAA. It’s expected that Igor Shesterkin will continue to shoulder much of the load in net next season, but the Rangers have reportedly coveted an upgrade to their backup netminder.
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Jaroslav Halak Expected To Hit Free Agency
- One of the longest-tenured netminders in the league is looking to extend his career in 2023-24, but it could be with a new team. Player agent Allan Walsh said today his client, Jaroslav Halak, will hit the unrestricted free agent market on July 1 and won’t re-sign with the New York Rangers before then. Halak, 38, is now sorely planted in “serviceable backup” territory, but there are certainly worse options for the No. 2 spot on your depth chart. The veteran of 17 NHL seasons posted a 10-9-5 record, .903 save percentage, and one shutout in 24 starts (and one relief appearance) with the Rangers this season.
New York Rangers Confirm Coaching Staff Additions
The New York Rangers have confirmed the hires of three previously reported coaching staff additions this morning. Former Buffalo Sabres head coach Phil Housley has been named an associate head coach, while Dan Muse and Michael Peca were named assistant coaches.
Housley is the main attraction here, bringing over two decades of coaching experience (nearly a decade in the NHL) to the Rangers’ completely overhauled bench, led by veteran head coach Peter Laviolette. Housley had worked under Laviolette with the Nashville Predators from four seasons (2013 to 2017) before heading to Buffalo, where he spent the 2017-18 and 2018-19 campaigns as their head coach. He then spent three years as an assistant coach with the Arizona Coyotes until the 2022-23 campaign, which he took off from coaching.
Housley also has a solid bit of experience dealing with younger players and achieving success in the process, capturing the gold medal at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship with the United States. Muse joins him in that regard, spending the last three seasons as the coach of the U.S. National Team Development Program, which has churned out a number of elite prospects such as Cutter Gauthier, Frank Nazar, Jimmy Snuggerud, Lane Hutson, Logan Cooley, and Luke Hughes, as well as 2023 eligibles such as Gabe Perreault, Oliver Moore, Ryan Leonard, and Will Smith in that time. He was the video coach for Housley’s win at the 2013 World Juniors and got a gold medal of his own as the Americans’ head coach at this year’s U18 World Juniors tournament.
Muse and Peca have both also worked with Laviolette, with Muse spending three years as an assistant in Nashville while Peca worked with Laviolette as a player development coach with the Washington Capitals in 2020-21. The Rangers didn’t disclose the specific roles each coach will be taking on with the team.
The additions fill out a coaching staff that was nearly wiped clean after the team parted ways with head coach Gerard Gallant and assistants Gord Murphy, Jim Midgley, and Mike Kelly. Only goaltending coach Benoit Allaire remains from last year’s core coaching staff.
New York Rangers Hire Phil Housley
Earlier today, there were reports indicating that Peter Laviolette and the New York Rangers had an interest in bringing in Phil Housley as an assistant coach for the team’s upcoming season, and that’s exactly what they did. Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports that Housley will indeed be joining Laviolette’s staff as an assistant coach for the Rangers.
Before the Nashville Predators brought in Laviolette prior to the 2014-15 season, Housley had actually already spent a season on Nashville’s bench. The two would go on to coach the next three years with each other, helping the Predators to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Because of his success in Nashville, the Buffalo Sabres were the first team to give Housley a shot at head coaching, beginning before the 2017-18 season. In 164 games spent manning the bench in Buffalo, Housley would produce a record of 58-84-22, well outside the playoff picture in both years.
After being fired from the Sabres after the 2018-19 season, the Arizona Coyotes, along with then-head coach Rick Tocchet signed Housley to a multi-year deal. During his time with the Coyotes, which ended after the 2021-22 season, Housley was primarily used as the team’s defensive and power play coach.
Aside from Laviolette bringing in some familiar faces to his coaching staff, this is quite the shrewd move for Housley as well. Since the run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017, Housley has failed to be on the bench of a competitive team. During those separate times with the Sabres and Coyotes, Housley did not manage to find any success at all. Joining a Rangers team that is expected to contend for the Cup next year, this will be an opportunity for Housley to gain back confidence and strengthen his resume.