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New York Rangers: Five free agents that must be avoided

By John Cavanagh

Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 5, 2017; Saint Paul, MN, USA; San Jose Sharks forward Joe Thornton (19) skates with the puck in the third period against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The Minnesota Wild beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2017; Saint Paul, MN, USA; San Jose Sharks forward Joe Thornton (19) skates with the puck in the third period against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The Minnesota Wild beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /

Joe Thorton-

Joe Thorton has been a member of the San Jose Sharks since 2005, but is now an unrestricted free agent.

Thorton is one of the better two-way centers in the league, and recorded 50 assists this past season. But, he only found the back of the net seven times. While he’s more so known as a distributor, that’s still a very low number.

The  New York Rangers already have one of the better two-way centers in the game in Derek Stepan. Thorton would provide nice experience, but at 37 coming of an ACL and MCL tear, can he keep up with the Rangers fast paced system?

Thorton is likely to take less than the $6.75 million he earned this year, but not enough for the Rangers to consider him.

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