With center Noah Laba nearing a return to the lineup, the Rangers have made a roster move. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned center Juuso Parssinen to AHL Hartford.
After showing some promise down the stretch in New York last season where he had five points in 11 games, the Rangers signed him to a two-year, $2.5MM pact with the hopes that he could emerge as a capable contributor in the bottom six. However, that hasn’t exactly been the case. He has just two goals and one assist in 20 contests this season and cleared waivers back in November. Parssinen only has a few days left in his waiver exemption and since he hasn’t played much lately – just once in the last two weeks – it makes sense for him to be playing back in Hartford over sitting in the press box in New York.
Parssinen has been more productive with the Wolf Pack, albeit in limited action. Despite spending more than three months in Hartford, injuries limited him to just 11 games although he has five goals and an assist in those appearances. Hartford enters play today six points out of the sixth and final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division and he should be a key piece for them as they try to get back into the postseason picture.