The New York Rangers are expected to be players in Tuesday's free agent frenzy, and they appear to have a plan for their biggest need which is a top pair defenseman to play with Adam Fox. Another major need of the Rangers is versatility in the bottom six, specifically someone for the third line. They currently have some options in the system, but likely are looking for a player with a little more skill that can shift between center and wing. With the team obsessing over every cap dollar they have available to ensure they can improve the team while also retaining their own restricted free agents, they could look to pluck a young player who was not given a qualifying offer. One such option is Philip Tomasino, someone new head coach Mike Sullivan is very familiar with.
Tomasino is a 6'0", weighs 190 pounds, and is a right hand shot who was drafted 24th overall at the 2019 NHL Draft. He joined the Pittsburgh Penguins this season after previously spending his NHL career with the Nashville Predators. Tomasino averaged 13:27 per game for the Penguins in the 50 games he appeared, and he had 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points. He was drafted as a center, but has mostly been deployed as a right winger.
In terms of underlying numbers, he had a 42.13 GF%, a 51.71 CF%, and a 48.12 xGF% per Evolving-Hockey. What stands out here is that Tomasino was a positive puck possession player, and he did enough things right to have a near positive expected goals share. That his expected goals for rate was significantly higher than his actual goals for rate suggests he was a bit unlucky for Pittsburgh.
Another positive for Tomasino is that he's a player that Sullivan believes in. When acquired by the Penguins in November, Sullivan said, "He has a whole lot of potential moving forward. So, sometimes in a different environment, players can find their respective games and can thrive."
Back in March, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran a story on Tomasino and how he was a bit of a test case for Sullivan as a way of highlighting that he is capable of giving youngsters the room to grow and develop as players. In that story Tomasino talked about how he thinks that he'd taken his game to another level, while also realizing that there's always stuff to improve on.
Sullivan agreed and said, "He’s a young player, he’s trying to find his way here and we’re trying to challenge him in different aspects of his overall game to try to help him to become more of a complete player. But there’s no doubt he’s a talented guy.”
Tomasino turns 24 on July 28th, and is still a work in progress. He is known for having a tenacious work ethic and being an aggressive forechecker. At times during the season he played with Evgeni Malkin, and it is a compliment that Sullivan recognized him as someone who could player with skilled players. His versatility, pedigree as a former first round pick, and familiarity with Sullivan all make him an attactive option to sign. In some ways, Tomasino could take the roster spot opened up by not qualifying Arthur Kaliyev. He is also someone who could log minutes if the Rangers were to start Gabe Perreault with the Hartford Wolf Pack.
In any case, Tomasino is another name out there, and one the Rangers could take a chance on at a low price tag. They generally try to do some shopping and add a name or two that can then be waived if the experiment doesn't work out, so keep an eye out once free agency opens on Tuesday and the Rangers dip their toes into the free agent pool.