Rangers try to right a wrong, place Juuso Parssinen on waivers
Juuso Parssinen never quite seemed to fit with the New York Rangers, especially under the new coaching staff led by Mike Sullivan. So, it’s not a big surprise that the Rangers placed the 24-year-old forward on waivers Tuesday.
If he’s not claimed by another team, Parssinen will be assigned to Hartford of the American Hockey League, continuing his up-and-down career in North America. He split his first two seasons between the Nashville Predators and AHL Milwaukee, before spending all of last season in the NHL. However, Parssinen bounced from team to team to team, playing 48 games with the Predators, Colorado Avalanche, and Rangers in 2024-25.
“Not ideal, for sure, of course,” Parssinen said on break-up day about being moved twice in the same season. “First time for me to see and feel the business side of things. It’s been tough in a way. But at the same time I’m in a great spot now, so I’m really happy about that. I hope I can stay here.”
After the Rangers acquired him from the Avalanche as part of the Ryan Lindgren deal ahead of the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, Parssinen was a healthy scratch in more games (12) than he actually played (11).
So, it was somewhat surprising that the Rangers quickly signed Parssinen, an unrestricted free agent, to a two-year, $2.5 million contract shortly after the 2024-25 season ended. Fortunately for the Rangers, they can bury $1.15 million of his annual $1.25 million salary cap charge if he clears waivers and heads to the minors.
Parssinen played in 14 of New York’s 24 games this season and recorded three points (two goals, one assist). He saw very minimal ice time and wasn’t a good fit on the fourth line, where there’s an opening with Matt Rempe injured. Simply, Parssinen isn’t considered reliable enough defensively, and doesn’t produce enough offensively, to be trusted in any significant role by the Rangers.
“I think it’s been sporadic. … I think he’s had some games where he’s played very well for us,” Sullivan said after practice Tuesday. “It’s just competitive with some of the guys that we have and we’re trying to make the best decisions for the team as possible.”
Juuso Parssinen failed to land a regular role with Rangers
Parssinen was the favorite heading into training to land the third-line center role with the Rangers. But he was beaten out by rookie Noah Laba, who had an outstanding camp and preseason, and continued his strong two-way play into the regular season.
Laba’s played all 24 games, averaging 12:47 TOI. He has six points (three goals, three assists) and won 51.0 percent of his face-offs to date. The 22-year-old brings speed, size (6-foot-3, 212 pounds) and grit to New York’s bottom six, and has the look of a prototypical 3C for a playoff contending team.
“We tried [Parssinen] a lot in the middle early on (in training camp). We were exploring options for that third-line center role, and we felt that the way ‘Labs’ game evolved over the course of training camp, we thought Labs was the best option for us,” Sullivan explained.
Parssinen, a healthy scratch in six of the past eight games, was held out of practice Tuesday for “roster management” reasons, per the team. It’s not known if the Rangers were exploring trading Parssinen, or if they simply knew he’d be placed on waivers.
