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New York Rangers Sign Tim Gettinger

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The New York Rangers have signed a restricted free agent, though it’s not the one many fans are waiting for. Tim Gettinger has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $750K at the NHL level, according to PuckPedia. CapFriendly reports that it pays him $75,000 in the AHL.

Gettinger, 23, played in two games for the Rangers this season, taking his career total to eight. He still hasn’t managed to score a goal a the NHL level, but was a strong contributor for the Hartford Wolf Pack this time around. The 6’6″ forward, selected 141st overall in 2016, registered 19 points in 23 games at the AHL level this season, showing signs that he may finally be starting to use his size to full advantage.

Given the Rangers’ new focus on size and physicality in the bottom-six, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Gettinger for more than two games this year. He’s not at all an enforcer, but can certainly hold his own in that type of physical role. The team went out of their way to add players like Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Reaves this offseason, showing just how different they want the bottom of the lineup to look. If Gettinger can continue to improve offensively, it seems like a path to the NHL is right in front of him.

Front Office Notes: Penguins, Flyers, Maple Leafs, Rangers

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Once a model organization for goaltending performance and depth, the Pittsburgh Penguins play in net has largely gone downhill since the departure of goaltending coach Mike Bales in 2017. His replacement, Mike Buckley, watched as young starters Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry suffered through struggles and was unable to right the ship. The Penguins have decided that it is time for a new voice, especially after failing thus far in free agency to add a veteran mentor for Jarry. The team has announced that Buckley has been relieved of his duties and former Pittsburgh keeper Andy Chiodo has been hired as his replacement. Though new to the job, Chiodo has been with the organization in a development role since 2018. He has also previously worked as a goalie coach in the OHL and Canadian college ranks. Chiodo was considered a high-IQ goaltender during his playing days and will look to take his knowledge of the game and use it to improve the Penguins’ young, inconsistent net.

  • Across the state, the Philadelphia Flyers have made some new additions of their own. The team announced that ten new names have joined the organization, five in hockey operations, two to the Flyers’ coaching staff, and three to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ coaching staff. The headliner of the group is veteran executive Mike O’Connell, named Senior Advisor to the General Manager. A former GM of the Boston Bruins, made infamous as the architect of the Joe Thornton trade, O’Connell has quietly made a very positive difference for the Los Angeles Kings for the past 15 year in various roles in scouting and player development. O’Connell contributed to two Stanley Cup champions and has now helped to draft and develop arguably the best prospect pipeline in the NHL. Among the other front office hires were Pro Scout Nick Beverley, who has spent the past 16 years with the Nashville Predators and Amateur Scout Matt Bardsley, a former GM of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. In Lehigh Valley, the team named two assistants to Ian Laperriere’s staff, former WHL coach Jason Smith former ECHL coach Riley Armstrong.
  • While the New York Rangers have lost some big names from their front office this off-season, they just poached a notable name for themselves. The Toronto Sun’s Lance Horsby reports that Toronto Maple Leafs Director of Amateur Scouting John Lilley has decided to leave the team to become Director of Player Personnel in New York. Lilley has been with Toronto since 2006, including the past three years as leader of amateur scouting and therefore the Maple Leafs’ drafts. His new title means even more responsibility with the Rangers, though Lilley will still be in charge of amateur scouting and will run the draft. The Maple Leafs have not named a replacement.

New York Rangers Re-Sign Adam Huska

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The New York Rangers are bringing back a familiar face to their goaltending depth chart. CapFriendly reports that the team has re-signed netminder Adam Huska to a one-year, two-way deal for the 2021-22 season. It pays $750,000 in NHL salary and $80,000 in minors salary.

Huska, who hails from Zvolen, Slovakia, re-signs with the only NHL organization he’s ever known. Now 24 years of age, Huska was drafted by the Rangers in the seventh round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Huska’s spent most of his development playing in North America, including a three-year stint with the University of Connecticut. He’s only spent the last two full seasons playing professionally in the Rangers organization, though, and that’s not counting a pre-season loan this season to Huska’s hometown team.

Despite not putting up spectacular numbers at the AHL level, Huska’s showed signs of promise at the ECHL level with the Maine Mariners and overseas. However, if Huska does want a long-term shot with the Rangers, he’ll likely need to demonstrate solid improvement at the AHL level this season in Hartford. If not, he runs the risk of not being qualified by the team when he’s a restricted free agent again next season. There’s still upside in his game, and could eventually challenge for NHL starts, but he’ll need to give the Rangers a reason to believe sooner rather than later.

Rangers Reportedly Among Teams Interested In Vladimir Tarasenko

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Thomas notes that Tarasenko has expanded his list of teams he’s willing to go to and at this point, he’s willing to go pretty much anywhere to get the change of scenery he so desires.  In terms of potential suitors, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period suggested in a recent appearance on the NHL Network (video link) that the Islanders, Rangers, and Devils are in the mix but others that had interest such as the Flyers have since dropped out.  Of those three, New Jersey has the cleanest cap situation to make a move for Tarasenko without needing any sort of salary offset.

Rangers Making Progress On Igor Shesterkin Contract

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When Sunday’s arbitration-filing deadline came and went without Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin being on that list, it caught some by surprise.  However, it appears there was a reason for that as USA Today’s Vince Z. Mercogliano reports that the two sides are making progress on an agreement in the $5.75MM to $6MM per season range.  Evidently, those discussions have gone well enough without needing to put the pressure point of a hearing in place.

The 25-year-old was drafted in the fourth round by the Rangers back in 2014 but they had to wait a long time to sign him; Shesterkin only came to North America two years ago.  After spending most of his rookie campaign in the minors, Shesterkin was New York’s starter last season, posting a 16-14-3 record along with a 2.62 GAA and a .919 SV%, numbers that were both better than the league average.  At this point, he’s clearly their starter of the present and future which is why Alexandar Georgiev has been in trade speculation for more than a year now.

One of the challenges in finding a viable deal that works for both sides is Shesterkin’s lack of experience as he has just 48 career appearances under his belt (including one playoff game in the bubble in 2020).  There aren’t many comparables to work with which would have made an arbitration hearing particularly interesting.  Vancouver’s Thatcher Demko was one of those reasonable comparable options but it appears his five-year, $25MM will represent more of the floor than the ceiling.

The Rangers have ample cap space to work with to fit Shesterkin’s eventual contract in as they have more than $13MM in cap room per CapFriendly with only the netminder and blueliner Libor Hajek to re-sign.  Getting this deal done sooner than later would give GM Chris Drury a better idea of what he’s able to spend this summer and between this report and the fact his camp didn’t file for arbitration suggests they’re getting close to having an agreement in place.

Rangers Among Teams Still Interested In Jack Eichel

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The Rangers and Golden Knights are among the teams that are still interested in Sabres center Jack Eichel, notes Larry Brooks of the New York Post.  Brooks suggests that Buffalo retaining salary might be enough to get New York to part with a top young asset like Kaapo Kakko in a deal although with five years left on that contract, retaining would be a sizable cost for Buffalo which may not be something they want to do.  Meanwhile, Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon mentioned earlier in the week that he expected that the team they have now is what they’ll go into training camp with but as we’ve seen in the past, they’re willing to make big moves and move players around to make the salary cap fit work.

New York Rangers Acquire, Extend Ryan Reaves

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July 31: The Rangers have announced the one-year extension for Reaves.  ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports that the deal is a true extension for Reaves, bringing him back for the 2022-23 season at the same $1.75MM cap number.

July 30: The Rangers not only acquired Reaves for this season, but are also working on a one-year extension according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Reaves is signed through 2021-22 at a $1.75MM cap hit, and Friedman expects the extension to come in around the same number.

July 29: The New York Rangers are adding some serious grit to their lineup. According to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, the team has acquired veteran grinder Ryan Reaves from the Vegas Golden Knights. The return heading to Vegas is a 2022 third-round pick.

The Rangers wanted to get bigger and more physical this off-season and they are certainly doing that. Reaves joins Barclay Goodrow, Sammy Blais, and Jarred Tinordi as recent additions who all play a hard-nosed, aggressive game. As the team battles through the difficult Metropolitan Division, they have added plenty of size and grit to complement their considerable skill.

However, Reaves in particular is pretty limited in what he brings to the team beyond hits, PIMs, and locker room presence. An old-fashioned grinder, Reaves is good for aggression and aggression only. Essentially a match-up player who sees limited ice time, Reaves is an expensive acquisition for the Rangers, both in his $1.75MM cap hit and the third-round pick required to land him.

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Brendan Smith

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The blue line remodel in Carolina continues. The latest addition is veteran Brendan Smith, who the team announced has signed a one-year, $800K contract. The Hurricanes are very familiar with Smith, who has played for the Metropolitan Division rival New York Rangers for the past four plus years and in the Eastern Conference his whole career.

Smith is a solid addition for the Hurricanes as an experienced physical presence. The 32-year-old has had some ups and downs in his career, but has remained a consistent checking threat throughout. A hard-nosed defender who works hard in puck battles and takes charge in front of the net, Smith is the type of character defender who plays a physical game but does it the right way. He can also chip in on offense from time to time and has even been known to ply his trade as a checking forward.

Perhaps the Hurricanes are considering a hybrid role for Smith, as their blue line is looking awfully crowded. Even with the departures of Dougie Hamilton and Jake Bean, the Hurricanes are already back to having one of the deepest defense corps in the league. Mainstays Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei, and Jake Gardiner have now been joined by veteran signings Smith and Ian Cole, reclamation project Anthony DeAngelo, and trade acquisition Ethan Bear for eight legitimate NHL defenseman, not including rumored signing Jalen Chatfield and unsigned RFA Maxime Lajoie. That’s quite the logjam on defense for Carolina, which could lead to some difficult waivers decisions down the road.

New York Rangers Sign Filip Chytil

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The New York Rangers have taken care of a little restricted free agent business, signing Filip Chytil to a two-year contract. Chytil was not eligible for salary arbitration. Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that the contract will carry an average annual value of $2.3MM.

Now several years into his NHL career, Chytil has become a valuable part of the Rangers forward group even if his offensive production still hasn’t quite risen to expected levels. He registered eight goals and 22 points in 42 games this season while playing just over 13 minutes a night, mostly alongside young wingers Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere. That trio, who are all 21-or-under, are an extremely important part of the future in New York but will all be expected to take a step forward this season.

In Chytil’s case specifically, the Rangers were not comfortable using him on the powerplay this season, which obviously limits his offensive potential. With Pavel Buchnevich gone, there may be more opportunity with the man-advantage, though it of course may not all go to Chytil. There is also the addition of a more traditional bottom-six option in Barclay Goodrow, one that may be able to take on heavy defensive minutes and allow players like Chytil to feast on weaker competition.

At the end of this contract Chytil will still be a restricted free agent, but will also be arbitration-eligible. If he wants to cash in on a big-money deal, he’ll have to put up improved scoring stats over the next two seasons. Still just 21, the first-round pick certainly has the talent to be a legitimate middle-six contributor. Now he just has to prove he can do it on a consistent basis.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

New York Rangers Bring Back Greg McKegg

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After one year away in Boston, the New York Rangers have signed forward Greg McKegg for a second stint in the Big Apple. The contract is a one-year, two-way deal with the NHL minimum $750K salary and a $350K AHL salary, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. McKegg will return to his role as a dependable extra man on the roster or next man up in the minors.

McKegg, 29, seems like he has been around far longer than he actually has. The veteran forward has only played 190 NHL games over 10 seasons, but having spent time with seven different teams and played 40+ games with four of them, it seems like McKegg has been a key depth piece for a long time. In reality, he still has plenty of gas left in the tank and this will be far from his last NHL contract if he continues to bring value to his teams.

For the first time in his career, he is beginning a second stint with a team by returning to New York after suiting up for 53 games with the Rangers in 2019-20. Though used sparingly by the Boston Bruins this season, McKegg played well in his five games with a noticeable physical presence and a dominant face-off record. The Rangers will be looking for the same this year, as the team has a very young, skilled forward group and could look to McKegg to provide veteran presence and grit, either as an extra man or possibly even the anchor of the fourth line.

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