Rangers sign Brendan Brisson to 1-year contract, after trade with Golden Knights last season
The New York Rangers signed Brendan Brisson to a one-year, two-way contract worth a reported $775,000 at the NHL level Sunday. He was a restricted free agent coming off his entry-level contract.
The 23-year-old center was acquired by the Rangers from the Vegas Golden Knights ahead of the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline as part of a deal that included veteran forward Reilly Smith heading to Vegas.
Brisson was assigned to Hartford of the American Hockey League after the trade and didn’t appear in any games with the Rangers. He had six points (two goals, four assists) in 16 games with Hartford.
A first-round pick (No. 29 overall) by the Golden Knights in the 2020 draft, Brisson played 24 games with them the past two seasons, totaling eight points (two goals, six assists). He was scoreless in nine games with Vegas last season and had 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 45 games for Henderson of the AHL.
Brisson, a high-scoring forward for the University of Michigan, scored 19 goals with Henderson in 2023-24 and 18 the season before,
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Brendan Brisson faces long odds to land spot on Rangers roster
If new coach Mike Sullivan decides to play Mika Zibanejad on the wing this season, that leaves the door ajar for Brisson to contend for a spot on the Rangers roster. In that scenario, J.T. Miller, Vincent Trocheck, and Sam Carrick are locked in to three of the four center positions, but the 3C role would be unfilled.
The Rangers do have Juuso Parssinen and Jonny Brodzinski to compete for that spot. Another option is to move Carrick up from the fourth line if the Rangers believe newcomer Justin Dowling deserves a regular turn between Matt Rempe and Adam Edstrom.
The other option is to see if Brisson is ready for a steady role on the third line. His defense needs to improve, but if Brisson sparks that line offensively in training camp and the preseason, it’s not out of the question that he could make the team as the 3C or as the extra forward.
Brisson made the Golden Knights out of training camp a year ago and was in the opening-night lineup. He played seven of their 11 games in October before being sent down to Henderson.
The road to make the Rangers out of camp this fall is more difficult for Brisson if the Blueshirts keep Zibanejad at center.
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