New York Rangers: Two more free agents inked

The New York Rangers made the biggest splash among free agents when they signed Artemi Panarin. They added two more depth players as free agent frenzy continued.

The New York Rangers continue to mold their roster, adding two depth forwards on Monday afternoon.  They signed centers Greg McKegg and Daniel O’Regan though terms were not revealed.  McKegg is the more experienced of the two and was a regular for the Hurricanes in their playoff run this spring.

Gregg McKegg

McKegg is 27-years old and was originally drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round of the 2010 Entry Draft.  The Ontario native is 6’0″, 190 pounds. He has bounced around the NHL, playing for Toronto, Florida, Tampa, Pittsburgh and last season with the Carolina Hurricanes.

After starting this season in Charlotte  of the AHL, he was called up in January and played 41 games for Carolina, with six goals and five assists for 11 points. Those were career highs in all categories.  He played in 14 of the 15 Carolina playoff games, scoring two goals.

He’s decent on faceoffs with a career 49.4% winning percentage.  He was over 50% on draws in the playoffs and averaged about 11 minutes per game.  He has a career Corsi percentage of 46%.

Coincidentally, McKegg’s great uncle is former Ranger “Leapin Louie” Fontinato.

Danny O’Regan

Danny O’Regan is no stranger to David Quinn having spent four years at Boston University, graduating in 2016.  The 25-year old was born in Berlin, Germany and is 5’10”, 180 pounds.

He was drafted by San Jose Sharks in the fifth round  (#138 overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

He has had brief stints in four seasons with the Sharks and the Buffalo Sabres.  He spent most of last season in the AHL with Rochester, scoring 20 goals and totalling 48 points.  He got into only one game with Buffalo this season.

The impact

Center is a question mark for the Rangers with Mika Zibanejad the only center set on the first line.  The team still has Ryan Strome, Vlad Namestnikov, Filip Chytil, Brett Howden and Lias Andersson as natural centers.

The possiblity of more deals could change their position in the depth chart, but for now, McKegg and O’Regan are probably destined to play in Hartford as the Rangers continue to rebuild their AHL affiliate.   Both players showed enough last season to warrant the Rangers’ interest.