Juuso Parssinen was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche yesterday in the trade that sent Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Lindgren to Denver. The Finnish forward has been a long-time target for the New York Rangers due to his abundant talent and underrated size. He's finally arriving to help the iconic Blueshirts, so what will he bring to this organization? Why is he on his third team this season, and will he be here for the long term?
Let us start with Parssinen himself. At 6'3, he fits the mantra of meat and potatoes that the Rangers want. He'll sometimes use his body, but he is more dangerous with the puck. In 37 games this season split between the Nashville Predators and the Colorado Avalanche, Parssinen has four goals and seven assists for nine points, but that is mostly playing in a bottom-six role confined to limited ice time. If he gets opportunities, he will do better.
In Denver, he was confined to the fourth line, but he showed us a flash of that brilliance in Nashville as a rookie when he put up six goals and 19 assists for 25 points. The offense is there with this player, and the Rangers will hope that his combination of size and skill helps rejuvenize the bottom six of this organization, as the Ranger's depth has struggled to keep up with the remainder of the roster at times this season.
He was traded from Nashville to Colorado in the trade that sent Scott Wedgewood to Denver, and he was there to fill a role as the Avalanche were effectively using the Colorado Eagles' bottom six as their own due to their injury crisis. Now, he was surplus to requirement, and the Rangers were able to pick up a long-time target for a couple of pending UFAs. They now hope the 24-year-old helps the cause in New York.