Rangers sign Juuso Parssinen to 2-year contract
On the same day the New York Rangers named Mike Sullivan their new coach, they also signed forward Juuso Parssinen to a two-year contract.
Clearly, one of those news items is a bit more important than the other. But Rangers general manager Chris Drury was able to check a couple boxes from his offseason to-do list.
Though the Rangers didn’t reveal financial terms, Parssinen reportedly will receive $1.25 million annually. He could’ve been a restricted free agent this summer, and will be an RFA with arbitration rights at the end of this new deal in 2027.
The 24-year-old from Finland played for three teams this season and finished with 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in an NHL career-high 48 games. After playing for the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche, the Rangers acquired Parssinen from the Avalanche in the Ryan Lindgren trade March 1.
“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.”
With the Rangers, Parssinen had five points (two goals, three assists) in 11 games. He came alive late in the season, recording his first three points with the Rangers when he had a goal and and two assists in a 9-2 win against the Islanders on April 10. He added a goal and assist in a 5-3 comeback win against the Florida Panthers four days later.
In his first eight games with the Rangers, Parssinen not only failed to register a point, he didn’t record a single shot on goal. He did step in to fight Washington Capitals defenseman Matt Roy after Roy ran Rangers forward Brennan Othmann hard into the boards in his third game after being acquired from Colorado.
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Juuso Parssinen wants ‘to play more’ for Rangers
Parssinen was actually scratched for more games (12) than he played (11) with the Rangers. When he was in the lineup, Parssinen skated in the bottom six, both at center and on the wing. He won 40.3 percent of his face-offs in limited opportunity. The Rangers had only a 28.57 percent expected goals share when Parssinen was on the ice 5v5, per Natural Stat Trick, and were out-chanced by a whopping 77-21 margin with him on the ice.
Though he’s shown some flashes of offensive skill in his three-season NHL career, Parssinen projects to once again contend for a spot on New York’s third or fourth line next season.
“I want to play more, for sure, but if you take that away, I think my experience was really good,” Parssinen explained at break-up day.
A seventh-round pick by the Predators (No. 210 overall) in the 2019 draft, Parssinen has 53 points (20 goals, 33 assists) in 137 NHL games. He recorded an NHL career-high 25 points (six goals, 19 assists) as a rookie in 2022-23 with Nashville, and then scored a career-best eight goals in 44 games the next season.
At the moment, The Rangers have J.T. Miller, Vincent Trocheck, Mika Zibanejad (if he doesn’t play on the wing), Sam Carrick, Jonny Brodzinski and Parssinen that played center at the NHL level. Matt Rempe could play the position, as well.
Prospects Noah Laba and Dylan Roobroeck — who scored 20 goals in his rookie pro season — are up-and-coming options with Hartford of the American Hockey League.
The Rangers still have six NHL restricted free agents to re-sign this offseason. That group is led by defenseman K’Andre Miller and forward Will Cuylle. Rempe, Adam Edstrom, Zac Jones and Arthur Kaliyev also need new deals.
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