New York Rangers Extend Defender

Urho Vaakanainen Signs Extension with New York Rangers

Vaakanainen has played for the Boston Bruins, Anaheim Ducks and Rangers over his seven-year NHL career. The 26-year-old has two goals and eight assists for 10 points in 35 games this season. He has a Corsi for of 42.4 and a relative Corsi of -9.2.

The Joensuu, Finland native has three goals and 31 assists for 34 points in 171 career games. Boston originally drafted him in the first round, 18th overall of the 2017 NHL Draft. Vaakanainen came over from the Anaheim Ducks as part of the deal that sent former Rangers captain Jacob Trouba out west.

We’ve seen Vaakanainen represent his native Finland at the international level. He was part of the gold-medal winning squad for Finland at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championships. The defender was also on the Finnish squad at the most-recent Four Nations Faceoff.

What It Means

The move is another depth signing for the Rangers and general manager Chris Drury. We’ve already seen the Blueshirts ink Will Borgen to a contract extension before the deadline. New York is trying to take care of the third pairing on its blueline and Vaakanainen can help in that department.

He won’t add a lot of goals, but Vaakanainen has been serviceable for the Rangers. Many thought New York would be a contender for the Stanley Cup, but shaky play has caused them to be fighting for their post-season lives.

It may not be a flashy move, but it’s a decent depth signing for the team. This is also a low-cost deal for the Rangers and a deal that could be moved if needed.