New York Rangers: Which minor league free agents will be brought back?

The Hartford Wolf Pack, the New York Rangers’ AHL affiliate, are going through a myriad of organizational turnover this offseason. With 10 free agents on their team, who will be brought back?

The Hartford Wolf Pack hired former New York Rangers’ captain Chris Drury as their general manager a few weeks ago. He will have had about a month and a half to prepare for his first offseason in his role, where he is in charge of a complete revamp of the Wolf Pack, a team who finished in last place in 16-17.

With that comes a lot of tough decisions. Drury has to sift through 10 different free agents track records, some UFA and some RFA, and decide who will be back for 17-18 and beyond. Hartford certainly can’t get any worse, but Drury, who also must hire a minor league coach now, is facing a lot of pressure to get this thing right.

Here’s what he has to work with.

Nicklas Jensen and Marek Hrivik

The right winger Jensen turned 24 in March. In 70 games for the Wolf Pack last season, the Demark native tallied 32 goals to go along with 23 assists for 55 points.

Even with those numbers being so promising, with each passing day it’s looking like his ceiling is a really good AHL player but not quite an NHL player. In seven games with the big club this past year, Jensen didn’t notch a single point. For the most part, he was invisible on the ice for the Rangers.

With that said though, he is only 24 so he is still young enough to make an NHL impact in the future. But even if he doesn’t, the Wolf Pack need people who can score. He’s a RFA so the ball is in Chris Drury’s court here.

Things are different for Hrivik.

He’s a UFA that will turn 26 in August and, while he’s had two solid seasons in a row down in Hartford, it may be time for his to walk. Hrivik proved to be a decent enough fourth line injury replacement with the Rangers, tallying two assists in 16 games and being a puck possession stud. Since he’s a UFA, he ultimately make the decision on his own. After six seasons with Hartford, it might be best for both parties to move on.

Verdict: Re-sign Jensen, let Hrivik walk

Taylor Beck, Chris Brown, Daniel Catenacci

Taylor Beck is a 26-year-old, former third-round pick of the New York Islanders who has only played seven career NHL games, two of which were with the Rangers this past season.

The 6′ 2″ Beck might not have much NHL success, but just like Nicklas Jensen, Beck is an AHL beast. His 16-17 numbers are incredible, as he notched 19 goals and 47 assists in 56 games split between Hartford and Bakersfield, the Edmonton Oilers’ AHL affiliate.

Beck is an RFA so he could be had for cheap if Drury wants in. He just has to decide whether somebody who clearly won’t make an NHL impact is worth keeping.

Speaking of players traded to the organization at this past trade deadline, Daniel Catenacci is a guy to talk about. A defensive-minded centerman, he has never notched more than 29 points in any of his four AHL seasons.

This past season, he notched nine goals and 13 assists split between Hartford and Rochester–Buffalo’s affiliate. It is worth noting that his points per game numbers skyrocketed when he came to Hartford. His nine points in 19 games were a great start to his Wolf Pack career, one that he hopes continues on going forward.

Chris Brown was acquired two trade deadlines ago from the Capitals. The 26-year-old from Texas is the quintessential minor league third liner. He tallied 14 goals and 13 assists in 16-17 to go along with 78 penalty minutes. Brown, who can play both center and right wing, is unrestricted. At his age, he might try to go to a team that is not too deep at the NHL level so he can break into the league.

The Verdict: Re-sign all three

Troy Donnay, Chris Summers, Michael Paliotta, Tommy Hughes

Of these defensemen, two are UFA’s and two are RFA’s. Let’s start with the UFA’s.

UFA’s

Chris Summers is the only thing the Rangers still have to show from the Keith Yandle trade. The 29-year-old was brought back last season to be a veteran leader in Hartford. His past two seasons have been the best statistical seasons of his career.

He played in 74 games in each of them boasting 11 points in 15-16 and 12 points in 16-17. He also had 71 PIM this past season showing that he isn’t afraid to get involved in the rough stuff. Perhaps it’s time for Summers to try to break in somewhere else although the Rangers defensive unit will hopefully have lots of openings.

Tommy Hughes has been with the Wolf Pack for four seasons now. The 6′ 2″, 225 lbs defenseman has posted underwhelming numbers throughout his whole AHL career as he has never tallied double-digit points in a season. Hughes is always one to miss a big chunk of the season, too. In his first season with Hartford, Hughes played in 72 games. Since then, the 25-year-old has yet to play 60 games in a season and has only played in more than 55 once.

RFA’s

The 23-year-old Troy Donnay has only played one career game in Hartford back in 15-16 and has spent the last two seasons in the ECHL with the Greensville Swamp Rabbits. Donnay recorded 17 points to go along with 72 penalty minutes in 61 games this past season. Donnay is a young kid that is still growing into his massive frame at 6′ 7″. He only weighs 207 pounds right now, so until he puts on that wait, he isn’t going to be as effective as he could be.

Michael Paliotta signed with the Rangers as a UFA on July 1st. The hometown boy just turned 24 years of age hopes to make a bigger impact next season after a very disappointing one in Hartford. Paliotta only tallied one goal and 13 assists in 52 games this past season. He was solid defensively and used his big frame (6’2″, 207) to make it difficult for whoever he was defending.

The Verdict: Re-sign Donnay, let the rest go.