Juuso Parssinen joined the New York Rangers at the National Hockey League trade deadline, and initially it appeared that he was just a guy going back in the deal to balance salaries and free up another roster spot for the Colorado Avalanche. That idea went out the window after the Blueshirts inked Parssinen to a two-year extension, a puzzling move which just adds to an already crowded situation in the bottom six.
Expectations
Parssinen was "just a guy" before joining the Rangers, and he skated in 22 games with the Avalanche and 15 games with the Nashville Predators prior to being acquired by the Blueshirts. With the Avalanche he posted a line of 2-4-6 skating 9:47 a night, and with the Nashville Predators he posted a line of 2-3-5 in 15 games skating 12:13 a night.
Parssinen is 24, and as a 7th round pick not much has ever been expected of him, which explains why he was so underutilized in Colorado. Part of the reason he ended up in Colorado is because his effectiveness with the Predators dropped off in a big way, and Parssinen never returned to the form he showed during his rookie season in 2022-23.
Performance
Parssinen appeared in 11 games for the Rangers and offensively exceeded any expectations that the coaching staff, front office, and fans could have had for him. He averaged 9:46 across that span and with a line of 2-3-5 posted a points per game average of 0.45, 18 basis points higher than his time in Colorado, and 12 basis points higher than his time with the Predators.
Analytically speaking, things didn't go great for one of the Rangers' newest forwards. In a very small sample, with emphasis on small, he posted a Corsi for Percentage of 36.57, an expected goals for percentage of 35.6, and a goals for percentage of 57.46.
With the Avalanche his slash line included a 67.1 GF%, a 53.47 CF%, and a xGF% of 45.71. And with the Predators he had a 19.87 GF%, a 45.48 CF%, and a 37.2 xGF%
The gap between his actual and expected goals number with the Rangers speaks to an element of luck he had in tallying 5 points in those 11 games, and his poor possession numbers (Corsi) reinforces how more often than not he was chasing play as opposed to driving it with both the Predators and Rangers. In the grand scheme of things, he projects to be a bottom-six option for the Rangers, but the extension given to him suggest the front office sees something in him. As to what it is that they see in him, your guess is as good as mine.
Where They Go From Here
This grade seems harsh, but it takes into consideration his play with the Rangers, and the time spent with the Avalanche and the Predators. If you take everything and average it together, he skated in 48 games and had 16 points while posting a 45.08 GF%, a 46.31 CF%, and a 39.5 xGF%.
The Rangers already had players putting up numbers like that, and the reason they showed faith in those players is because they had already invested time into them whether it be draft capital of just development hours after acquiring them. Those players also happened to be a little younger with more time to figure things out, which would also explain why the team was keeping them around.
Parssinen was acquired as part of a larger deal, and the team extended him almost immediately. There's a chance he's the type of player who benefits from being coached by Mike Sullivan, but based on what he's done up to this point in his career, it is unlikely his ceiling is much higher overall.