FREE AGENCY AND THE NEW YORK RANGERS 

By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The annual NHL free agency shopping spree has begun for the New York Rangers; with serious salary cap issues, they’re shopping for deals in the clearance bins.

On Friday, the Rangers announced who they made qualifying offers to and who they didn’t.

The Rangers qualified their two most important restricted free agents, Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller.

The Hartford Wolf Pack had three players qualified. After a solid second half, Ty Emberson is in the unique CBA Group 6 category. Also qualified after his original two-year deal ended was fellow rearguard, and one of the few on the roster with significant size, at 6’4 “, was Brandon Scanlin. Lastly, and a bit of a surprise, was right-wing Lauri Pajuniemi.

At times Pajuniemi was an unhappy camper. He saw no recalls in his two years in Hartford and had already signed with his Swedish team Malmö IF (Sweden-SHL). He likely has a window before training camp in Sweden begins next month, where he’ll be allowed to sign an NHL deal without penalty.

Winger Anton Blidh signed a new two-year deal paying $775K for play in the NHL and $350K for play in the AHL two weeks after the playoffs ended.

UFA’s Ryan Carpenter, Tim Gettinger, and Wyatt Kalynuk got new deals with other teams on the same terms.

Carpenter re-signed with the San Jose Sharks, who he broke in with his first year. He signed a one-way, one-year deal at $775K.

Kalynuk signed with the St. Louis Blues. He also signed a $775K one-way contract and could wind up playing up the road at the Blues’ affiliate in Springfield.

Gettinger signed with the Detroit Red Wings for $775K. He will likely play for the Grands Rapids Griffins in the AHL, moving closer to his friends and family in Ohio.

Will Lockwood, Adam Clendening, Patrick Khordorenko, who played in just four games before separating his shoulder and ending his season, and Libor Hajek, all remained unsigned as of the end of business on Saturday.

RANGERS SIGNINGS

The Rangers signed veterans Jonathan Quick, Blake Wheeler, Alex Belzile, Riley Nash, a Pack killer in Charlotte with the Checkers last year, and Connecticut product and resident Nick Bonino.

Quick is from Hamden and received a one-year $825K deal from the Blueshirts.

The three-time Stanley Cup Champion started last year in LA and was traded twice on Trade Deadline Day in March. He spent half a day with the Columbus Blue Jackets before being dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights, where he earned that third Stanley Cup ring.

Quick went to and played for Hamden High School Green Dragons under Todd Hall, the ex-Pack assistant coach. Hall was then a recently retired player and retired as Hamden’s head coach a year ago.

Quick also went on to play prep school hockey at the Avon Old Farms (AOF), the acclaimed program coached by John Gardner, who also had Cheshire’s Brian Leetch there at one time too.

At the time, AOF’s assistant coach was former Hartford Whaler, Ranger, and Wolf Pack assistant coach, Ulf Samuelsson.

AOF has produced several Stanley Cup champions starting with Leetch (the first to go to the NHL), Quick, Bonino, and 12 others who have gone on to play in the NHL, including the retired Matt Martin (Hamden), ex-Bridgport Sound Tiger/Wolf Pack and Yalie, Jeff Hamilton, another former Yale Bulldog, Chris Higgins, and presently Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras.

Wheeler comes to New York after spending over a decade with the Winnipeg Jets on a super cap friendly $800K deal for one year.

Belzile was with the Montreal Canadiens last year. He gets a two-year cap complaint deal at $775K per season. He is a depth addition and will likely play in Hartford. He split last year between Laval and injury-riddled Montreal and was Laval’s captain. He has been in the Montreal system for the previous five years. He’s been in Laval for the last three years and the team’s last two years in St. John’s. He is an 11-year minor pro veteran who played in San Antonio for his first three years.

Riley Nash gets two years at $775K on a one-way ticket.

Bonino is from Unionville, near the RI border. He grew up in Farmington. He signed a one-year deal at $800K and played for the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins last year.

The Rangers added depth at defense for Hartford in signing Connor Mackey to a one-year, two-way deal at $775K for NHL play and $400K in the AHL. He split thirty games last season between the Calgary Flames and Arizona Coyotes and played ten more for the USA WC Team, where he replaced Nikko Mikkola on the depth chart, who left for the Florida Panthers.

More relief was brought for the Wolf Pack blueline, which began the day with just four players. Signed was Nikolas Brouillard, to a one-year, $775K one-way money. He played in San Diego Gulls for the last three years. In Juniors, he played for five years in the QMJHL for Drummondville, Quebec, and Rouyn-Noranda and was an All-Star three times.

He spent three years in Montreal at McGill University (OUAA) in Canadian college hockey under the guidance of head coach and ex-Pack, David Urquhart before heading to San Diego.

NOTES:

Ex-Pack Jesper Fast re-signs a two-year deal in Carolina with the Hurricanes for $2.4M.

Two ex-Wolf Pack goalies sign deals as Cam Talbot departs Ottawa for the LA Kings signing a one-year $1M contract, and Dustin Tokarski signs a one-year, two-way deal with the Buffalo Sabres for $775K.

New Canaan’s Max Pacioretty (Taft) moves up the East Coast and signs a one-year $2M contract in Washington with the Capitals.

Former Sound Tiger Kyle Burroughs heads down the West Coast from the Vancouver Canucks to the San Jose Sharks for three years at $1.1M annually.

Ryan MacKinnon leaves Bridgeport for Belleville Senators, whose contract has not yet been posted.

Nick Bjugstad, the nephew of ex-New Haven Nighthawk Scott Bjugstad, leaves the Edmonton Oilers and signs in Arizona for two years at $2.1M.

Vladimir Namestnikov, a former Ranger and son of ex-Pack Evgeny “John” Namestnikov, re-ups with Winnipeg, who Tampa Bay traded for two more years at $2M.

Connor Clifton (Quinnipiac University), who faded at the end of the season in Boston, incredibly gets three years at $3.3M per in Buffalo. Another former Bobcat, Brogan Rafferty, leaves Coachella Valley and the Seattle organization and signs a two-year, one-way deal for $775K with Detroit.

The Red Wings sign former Yale Bulldog Alex Lyon, who was largely responsible for the Florida Panthers getting in the playoffs. The goalie signs for two years at $900K per one-way with a Calder Cup title in his back pocket.

The Seattle Kraken signed ex-Yale Bulldog John Hayden to a one-year extension at $775K.

Ex-Pack Vinni Lettieri returns home to Minnesota and signs a two-year, two-way deal $775K-NHL/$550K-AHL with the Wild. Former CT Whale Jayson Megna departs San Jose to replace him in Providence. The Bruins signed him to a one-year deal at $775K.

Ex-Pack Ryan Graves leaves the New Jersy Devils for Pittsburgh and signs a six-year deal for $4.5M per season. He led the NHL plus/minus the last two years.

Justin Richards, who couldn’t throw the puck in the net two years ago, leaves Columbus for Buffalo for a one-year, one-way $775K deal.

Leaving St. Louis for Tampa Bay is Logan Brown, the son of former Whaler Jeff Brown, signs a one-year, two-way deal for $775K-NHL/$250K-AHL.

Noel Acciari (Kent School), who split last year between St. Louis and the Toronto Maple Leafs, signs a three-year deal in Pittsburgh for $2M per.

And still searching for new deals in the NHL, AHL, or Europe are;

Michael Del Zotto (Anaheim ex-Pack/Ranger)
Jack McBain (Arizona, son of former New Haven Senator Andrew)
Malte Stromwall (Carolina ex-Pack)
Andy Welinski (Chicago via Rockford ex-Pack)
Keith Kinkaid (Colorado with ex-Pack)
Ross Colton (Taft) (just acquired this week by Colorado, and before he could even put on an Avalanche jersey)
Jon Gillies (Columbus, Salisbury School, played with three teams last year)
Magnus Hellberg and Danny O’Regan (Detroit, ex-Pack)
J.F. Berube (Florida, ex-Sound Tiger/Wolf Pack)
Anthony Bitetto (ex-Pack)
Oliver Wahlstrom (Islanders/ex-Sound Tiger)
Kieffer Bellows (Philadelphia ex-Sound Tiger)
Peter Diliberatore (Pittsburgh, via Scranton/Wilkes Barre – was acquired at the trade deadline, Quinnipiac)
Strauss Mann (San Jose, Greenwich/Brunswick School)
Vitali Kravtsov (Vancouver, but already bolted back to Russia to Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL)
Morgan Barron (Winnipeg ex-Pack)

The Bridgeport Islanders did not qualify Collin Adams, Blade Jenkins, and the already-in-Europe, Bode Wild.

Ivan Nikolishin, the son of former Whaler Andrei Nikolishin, has left Amur Khaborvsk (Russia-KHL) with no new destination yet.

NEW YORK RANGERS

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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