Just when you thought the summer roster reshuffling was quietly winding down, the New York Rangers decided to make a low-risk, high-reward splash. The Blueshirts have signed 27-year-old Finnish winger Eeli Tolvanen to a clean, one-year contract worth $1.5 million. It is a tidy piece of business that injects some serious upside into the team’s middle six without poking a hole in their salary cap balance sheet.
Low Cost for High Potential
The $1.5-million tag on Tolvanen’s name is like buying a high-end leather jacket in the bargain bin, says general manager Chris Drury. Tolvanen has already demonstrated his ability to put the puck past the net from the top of the net, as he has scored a career-best 23 goals for the Seattle Kraken so far this season. He slumped dramatically on shooting games last year and ended up in a quieter 36-point game in 78 games. But those statistics mask the reality that shot-making is still quite tangible. On a short single-year term, the Rangers get a motivated winger eager to prove that last season was simply a statistical blip.
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