The Rangers have taken care of one of their remaining restricted free agents. PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that New York has signed forward Brendan Brisson to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay $775K in the NHL, $100K in the minors, and contains a guaranteed salary of $125K, meaning he took less than his qualifying offer to secure more guaranteed money.
The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by Vegas back in 2020, going 29th overall after a promising season with USHL Chicago. Brisson continued to be a strong producer in college, averaging a point per game over two seasons at the University of Michigan before turning pro in 2022.
Unfortunately for Brisson and Vegas, his production slowed after that. He picked up 37 points in 58 games in 2022-23 with AHL Henderson but wasn’t able to build off of that too much the following year with 38 in 52. Brisson did, however, get into 15 games with the Golden Knights that season, notching two goals and six assists, providing some hope moving forward.
This season, things didn’t go as well. Brisson was held off the scoresheet in seven games to open the season before being demoted back to the Silver Knights and didn’t notch a point in a two-game stint in January either. In between, Brisson was limited to just five goals and 14 assists in 49 games in Henderson. That was enough for Vegas to make him available at the trade deadline as they sent him and a third-round pick to the Rangers for Reilly Smith, a pending UFA at the time who ultimately re-signed last month. Brisson didn’t get any looks with New York down the stretch but managed just two goals and four assists in 16 games with AHL Hartford.
Brisson is now waiver-eligible and while his 2024-25 performance wouldn’t be enough on its own to justify a potential claim, teams have been known to take flyers on fairly recent first-round picks in the hopes that a change of scenery could get them going. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Rangers take a long look at Brisson in training camp to see if he can land a spot on the fourth line or at least break camp as a reserve forward.
The Rangers now have two remaining restricted free agents to deal with this summer, goaltenders Dylan Garand and Talyn Boyko.