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-$1M AAV contracts Saturday, with Gustafsson's the latest one. They’re likely looking to clarify their financial picture before finalizing extensions for key RFA 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 the 2018-19 season, when he scored 60 points.
But after signing with the Washington Capitals, Gustafsson had a resurgent 2022-23 season under head coach Peter Laviolette.
He stepped up after a major injury caused John Carlson to miss extended time and finished his stay in Washington with 38 points in 61 games.
Gustafsson was then dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs, after which he 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 league-wide 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.
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