New York Rangers player preview: C Greg McKegg

On the first day of free agency, the New York Rangers brought back forward Greg McKegg on a one-year, two-way contract. At the NHL level, it will carry a $750,000 cap hit. It is simply a depth signing, but it is still kind of interesting that it occurred.

McKegg played the 2019-20 season with the Rangers and got into a pretty decent chunk of action. In 53 games that year, he scored five goals and recorded nine points. He was primarily a fourth-liner and when looking at his production, it is easy to see why. He was primarily there for depth in the lineup. Yet, he did his job well.

He left the Rangers last off-season and signed a one-year contract with the Boston Bruins. In Beantown, the 29-year-old only suited up in five NHL games with the team. In them, he scored one goal and was a -3. He primarily was a member of their taxi squad, but also did play two games with the Providence Bruins, too. In those pair of games, he picked up two assists, which is certainly not bad.

With McKegg barely getting any NHL time last season, it does make sense that the Rangers elected to give him a two-way deal. He is a veteran who will not play every night, but that is nothing to complain about. In fact, having him could actually benefit the team a bit.

McKegg will be fighting for the 13th forward spot.

McKegg is known as being a center, but he has also played left wing at times during his career, too. Therefore, he could be a candidate for the 13th forward spot. To be blunt, though, Dryden Hunt seems to be the more likely choice for it. With the Coyotes last season, he ended up playing in 26 games and recorded eight points. Therefore, he was not only more productive, but also simply played more at the NHL level.

Also, when looking at the Rangers’ forward group, it is hard to envision him fighting his way to a regular spot in the lineup. The Rangers have pretty decent depth down both the middle and on the wing. There is no way he will manage to beat out a player like Sammy Blais on the fourth-line, for example. Kevin Rooney also has cemented himself a permanent spot on that line after his strong season with the team last year. The Rangers protected him in the Expansion Draft for a reason.

McKegg may be able to keep a spot on the NHL squad as a healthy scratch, but he likely will not play all that often. However, if multiple injuries occur with their forwards, expect to see him on the ice.

Even with this, McKegg offers both experience and even a bit of physicality.

The Rangers are a young team, so bringing a veteran back like McKegg is not a bad thing at all. He is about to enter his ninth season in the league, so he does have his fair share of experience. Even though he’s been limited to 190 total NHL games, he has been a part of the league for almost a decade. That shouldn’t be ignored.

It also is nice that McKegg is another new addition who will throw the body. He is not as well-known for it as newcomers like Jarred Tinordi and Ryan Reaves, but it is still an apparent part of his game. In his lone season with the Rangers, he had 69 hits in the 53 games he played. That is something the Rangers will want to see more of. They spent this entire off-season trying to get tougher and stronger.

At the end of the day, this is not the game-changing signing that Ranger fans wanted, but it is not bad by any means. McKegg is the kind of depth player worth having. It will be interesting to see what he is capable of doing with the Rangers in his second stint with them.