New York Rangers: 10 worst free agent signings in team history

The New York Rangers have made some pretty big mistakes on the free agent marketplace.  Here’s a list of the 10 worst.

The New York Rangers have had a long, strange relationship with unrestricted free agency.

For every successful free agent signing like Adam Graves or Marian Gaborik there is a one that just didn’t work out. Reasons can range from poor performance to onerous contracts, or in some cases, both.

Here is a list of the 10 that deserve inclusion as the worst in New York Rangers franchise history.  To be eligible for this awful list, We’re keeping the list to players who came to the Rangers from other franchises only. This means contracts like Marc Staal’s and Dan Girardi’s were not eligible since the team was re-signing them.

If you think we missed one, tweet us at @Bluelinestation.

Honorable Mentions

Greg De Vries (2003)

Coming off a season when he scored a career high 32 points, he was rewarded by signing a four-year $13 million contract.  Touted as a skilled defenseman who would solidify the blueline, his Ranger career lasted all of 31 games as he was part of the great sell-off of 2004, dealt to Ottawa at the trade deadline for two players.

Stephane Quintal (1999)

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Stephane Quintal signed at four year, $11.4 million contract in the summer of 1999.  With only four games left in a tumulteous season that saw the team miss the playoffs and fire their general manager (Neil Smith) and coach (John Muckler), Quintal gave and interview to a Montreal newspaper bemoaning that fact that he had signed in New York.  He was quoted as saying “My heart is in Montreal.”

Not wanting a player who didn’t want to be a Ranger, Quintal was immediately suspended and put on waivers before the next season.  Claimed by Chicago, he never played another game as a Blueshirt. By the way, it was no great loss as he had two goals and 14 assists in 75 games and was minus ten in his one season on Broadway.

Sylvain Lefebvre (1999)

Lefebvre was a Stanley Cup winning defenseman for the Colorado Avalanche when the Rangers signed him to a four-year $10 million contract.  Signed the same year as Quintal, the team thought that they had solidified their blueline for years to come. Lefebvre’s Ranger career wasn’t awful, but the last two seasons were hampered by injuries.