It’s been a busy offseason for New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury, who has made multiple changes to the club that he oversees in terms of on-ice personnel.
And now, multiple reports indicate that the club is set to add another forward to their roster that they hope should further offset some of the offense that was lost upon the February trade of Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings and the summer trade of Vincent Trocheck to the Utah Mammoth.
Per Puck Pedia, the Rangers are signing former Seattle Kraken forward Eeli Tolvanen to a one-year contract with an expected $1.5 million salary cap hit.
The New York Rangers Are Expected To Sign UFA Forward Eeli Tolvanen To A One-Year Contract
The Rangers, who traded Vincent Trocheck to the Utah Mammoth but also acquired and extended Pavel Dorofeyev, are hoping to make a serious push to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after having missed in each of the last two seasons.
Tolvanen was taken by the Nashville Predators in the first round (30th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft, and began his NHL career in 2018, appearing in three games after signing his entry-level contract and making his debut against the Buffalo Sabres . He spent much of the following two seasons with Nashville’s American Hockey League affiliate Milwaukee Admirals, where he scored 36 points in 63 games during the Covid-19 shortened 2019-20 campaign. Tolvanen also briefly returned to Finland’s Jokerit on loan in 2020.
But his time in Music City came to a close in December 2022 after having scored just four points in 13 games. The Kraken claimed him the next day, and he hit the ground running with his new club with seven points over his first eight game; he eventually finished the season with 16 goals and 27 points in 48 appearances.
Tolvanen also made history in Seattle’s first ever Stanley Cup Playoff appearance, scoring the franchise’s first postseason goal against the Colorado Avalanche, a series they won in seven games. Tolvanen would tally three goals and five assists in 14 playoff games that spring, as they were eventually eliminated in seven games in the second round by the Dallas Stars.
Tolvanen scored 16 goals with 25 assists in 81 games played the following season, though it wasn’t enough to help Seattle back to the playoffs. He followed that up with a career-best 23 goals in 2024-25, though his offensive dipped to just 12 goals in 78 games this past season.
So far in his NHL career, he’s appeared in 423 games and scored 92 goals with 98 assists for 190 points. He’s also contributed four goals with five assists in 21 career playoff games.
Will The Rangers Make The Playoffs In 2027?
The Rangers have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the last two seasons, a far cry from their position when they were defeated in the 2024 Eastern Conference Final after winning the President’s Trophy as the NHL’s best regular season club.
Report: Rangers To Sign Former 23-Goal UFA Forward