Rangers sign centers Kevin Rooney & Colin Blackwell

The New York Rangers stepped into the free agent marketplace, signing 2 depth centers

Former New Jersey Devil center Kevin Rooney has signed with the New York Rangers.  He signed a two-year deal valued at $1.5 million.  He has seen action with the Devils for the last four years after being signed as an undrafted free agent out of Providence College.

They also signed free agent center Colin Blackwell, most recently with the Nashville Predators organization.  He was a seventh round pick by the Sharks in 2011.

With centers Boo Nieves, Danny O’Regan and Vinni Lettieri all free agents and likely to move on, these moves are to bolster the Wolf Pack at center.

There’s not much to say about these signings.  Rooney played 49 games for the Devils last season, scoring four goals and adding five assists.  He is  a left-shot center who had a faceoff winning percentage of 47%, just about his career average.  He stands 6’2″ and weighs 190 pounds and is 27 years old.

He is getting a $50k raise over what he made with the Devils. He was a commendable plus eight last season for a defensively challenged Devils team and looks to be a quintessential depth signing who could end up in Hartford.

Colin Blackwell is a smaller center, at 5’9′ and 190 pounds. He signed a two year deal worth $725k per year.  He played in 27 games for Nashville last season, scoring three goals and 10 points. He took only 66 faceoffs, but won 37 of them for a 56.1% winning percentage.  If he is good on draws, he could be helpful.

Signed after leaving Harvard Unversity, Blackwell, 27,  has spent most of the last three seasons in the AHL.

The pair will be competing for an NHL job with Morgan Barron, Patrick Khodorenko and Justin Richards for the job vacated by free agent Greg McKegg.  Considering that those three just turned pro, it is helpful to have players with NHL experience ready to step in. At any rate, the Rangers have to still be in the market for center depth and are probably not done yet.

In other deals, Braden Holtby signed with Vancouver and Kyle Turris signed a two year deal with Edmonton. Turris, a center bought out by Nashville, could have been a target for the Rangers.