Three signings

The biggest one being a two-way contract to ex-Avalanche center Tyler Arnason. No contract numbers yet.

Also, the Rangers re-signed Hartford (AHL) stalwart P.A. Parenteau and also signed AHL veteran Corey Locke.

The press releases are below.

Meanwhile, ex-Ranger and now ex-Red Wing Mikael Samuelsson signs a three-year deal with Vancouver. That would lead more credence to the notion that when agent Jay Grossman spoke with Rangers GM Glen Sather yesterday, it was in regards to veteran defenseman Sergei Zubov. Grossman represents both Zubov and Samuelsson.

ARNASON:

Arnason, 30, skated in 71 games with the Colorado Avalanche last season, registering five goals and 17 assists for 22 points, along with 14 penalty minutes.  He finished seventh on the team in scoring with 22 points, and tied for seventh on the Avalanche with 17 assists.  He also ranked third on the club with 58 takeaways.  Arnason recorded four multi-point games on the season, including a three-assist performance, which tied a career-high, on March 8 at Chicago.  He posted a season-high, four-game point streak from January 10 against Pittsburgh to January 16 vs. Edmonton, collecting four points (one goal and three assists) over the span.

In 2007-08, Arnason finished second on the Avalanche with 179 shots, registering 10 goals and 21 assists for 31 points in 70 games.  He ranked eighth on the team in assists and ninth in goals and points.  He also led Colorado with nine points (three goals and six assists) during the month of February.  Arnason posted eight multi-point performances, including two, three-point games – January 30 against Chicago (one goal and two assists) and February 9 at Vancouver (one goal and two assists).  He also registered 16 points in a 13-game stretch from January 12 at Carolina to February 9 at Vancouver (four goals and 12 assists).  On February 24, Arnason notched the fastest goal to begin a game by an Avalanche player during the season, tallying a goal 27 seconds into the game at Edmonton.  He recorded his 200^th NHL point with an assist on November 16 at Dallas, and skated in his 400^th career game on March 1 against Los Angeles.  In addition, Arnason registered five points (two goals and three assists) in 10 playoff contests with Colorado.  He tied for third on the team in postseason goals (two) and fourth in assists (three) and points (five).

            The 5-11, 204-pounder has skated in 487 career regular season contests with the Chicago Blackhawks, Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche, registering 88 goals and 157 assists for 245 points, along with 140 penalty minutes.  He established career-highs in goals (22), assists (33), points (55), power play goals (six), and shots (222) as a member of the Blackhawks during the 2003-04 season.  In his first year with the Avalanche in 2006-07, Arnason tied his career-high for assists (33), and finished third on the club with 211 shots.  In 2005-06, he posted a career-high, seven-game scoring streak from December 3 at Florida to December 18 vs. Dallas, registering nine points (four goals and five assists) during the stretch.  In addition, Arnason has recorded two career hat tricks, and was selected to the 2003 NHL All-Rookie Team following his first full season with Chicago.

The Oklahoma City, Oklahoma native was originally Chicago’s seventh round selection, 183^rd overall, in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.

PARENTEAU:

Parenteau, 26, skated in 74 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL) this season, registering 29 goals and 49 assists for 78 points, along with 142 penalty minutes.  His 49 assists tied a career-high, and he established a new career high in penalty minutes (142).  Parenteau ranked among league leaders in several statistical categories, ranking ninth in points, while tying for 10^th in assists and 16^th in goals.  He also tied for 12^th in the AHL with 24 power play assists.  Parenteau led the Wolf Pack in assists, and ranked second on the team in goals, points and power play goals (12).  In addition, he recorded a team-high, 24 multi-point performances, including a four-point effort on November 16 at Lake Erie (two goals and two assists).  Parenteau registered a season-high, eight-game assists/scoring streak from January 6 at Manitoba to January 19 at Portland, including a four-game multi-point streak, collecting 14 points (four goals and 10 assists) over the span.

In 2007-08, Parenteau established career-highs with 34 goals and 81 points in 75 games with Hartford.  He ranked fourth in the AHL in points, sixth in goals and ninth in assists (47).  He also tied for fifth in the league with 15 power play goals.  In addition, Parenteau appeared in five post-season contests for Hartford, recording three goals and two assists for five points, along with 13 penalty minutes.  He led the Wolf Pack in playoff goals (three) and points (five), and tied for second on the team in assists (two).

The 6-0, 195-pound forward has skated in 415 career AHL games in six seasons with Cincinnati, Portland, Norfolk and Hartford, registering 146 goals and 212 assists for 358 points, along with 390 penalty minutes and a plus-25 rating.  In 2006-07, Parenteau split the season between Portland and Norfolk, and achieved career-highs in assists (49) and plus/minus rating (plus-19).  In addition, he appeared in five NHL games for the Chicago Blackhawks, registering one power play assist.  He made his NHL debut on February 7, 2007 at Vancouver and collected his first NHL point on February 14, 2007 at Pittsburgh.

Parenteau has also skated in 46 AHL post-season games with Cincinnati, Portland, Norfolk, and Hartford, tallying 13 goals and 22 assists for 35 points, along with 53 penalty minutes and a plus-12 rating.  In the 2006 Calder Cup Playoffs he established career-highs in games played (19), goals (five), assists (17), points (22), penalty minutes (24), and plus/minus rating (plus-13).  His 17 assists tied for third most in the league, while he tied for sixth in scoring with 22 points.

The Hull, Quebec native was acquired by the Rangers on October 11, 2007 from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a conditional seventh round draft pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

LOCKE:

Locke, 25, skated in 77 games with the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League (AHL) last season, registering 25 goals and 54 assists for 79 points, along with 60 penalty minutes.  He established career-highs in assists and points.  Locke ranked among the league leaders in several statistical categories, ranking fourth in assists, tied for seventh in points and tied for 13^th in power play goals (13).  He also tied for the AHL lead with 29 power play assists.  Locke led the Aeros in assists, points and power play goals, and finished second on the team in goals.  In addition, he recorded a team-high, 23 multi-point performances, including a four-point effort on October 18 vs. San Antonio (two goals and two assists).  Locke registered a career-high, 10-game scoring streak from March 1 at Milwaukee to March 25 at Milwaukee, collecting 12 points (four goals and eight assists) over the span.

In 2007-08, Locke established a career-high in goals (30), while leading Hamilton (AHL) in goals, assists (42) and points (72).  He tied for 11^th in the AHL in goals and points.  He also tied the AHL season-high, and set a new career-high, for points in a game with six points on April 9 against Rochester (three goals and three assists).  In addition, Locke made his NHL debut with the Montreal Canadiens on January 8 vs. Chicago.

The 5-9, 175-pound forward has skated in 390 career AHL games in five seasons with the Hamilton Bulldogs and Houston Aeros, registering 110 goals and 198 assists for 308 points, along with 251 penalty minutes.  The three-time AHL All-Star (2006, 2008 and 2009) is Hamilton’s all-time leader in goals (85), assists (144) and points (229).  In addition, Locke has skated in 46 AHL postseason contests with Hamilton and Houston, collecting 22 goals and 23 assists for 45 points, along with 44 penalty minutes.  Last season, Locke established career-highs in playoff goals (12) and points (23) while skating in 20 games for Houston.  In 2007, he led Hamilton to the Calder Cup Championship, setting the franchise record for most points in a single postseason (22).

The Toronto, Ontario native was originally Montreal’s fourth round selection, 113^th overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

Comments

[Keith]

Big deal-minor league signings and Arnason is probably not going to make the team unless someone else stumbles I think. It's too late for Zubov so hopefully they don't go that route-the guy is way way past his time. They never should have let him go anyway. Still waiting for Sather to make a good decision-I like the Gaborik signing although it's a bit high on the salary and I don't mind Brashear even though he's a dirtbag. I think he is an upgrade over Orr-he brings size and presence around the net and he can score every now and then. He is also a nasty sob-just don't think he deserved that much salary. We'll see what else Sather does-I just hope he is working with Torts and getting guys that Torts wants

[Bill]

Regarding the anemic power play - A Sergei Zubov on medicare is a significant upgrade over a healthy Wade Redden!

[LI Joe]

nash signed long term with columbus

[Sec67RowG]

Really not sure where Sather, and presumably Torts, are going with all of this. You dump Gomez' salary, but basically transfer it to a supremely talented point a game guy who's under 30, but who's only played 60% of the regular season games since the lockout. Seems like the Rangers overpaid. The saved Naslund (and Hopefully Zherdev) dollars haven't been put in Staal, Dubi or Cally's pockets yet and we essentially dumped one of the five best young enforcers in the league for a carbon-dated goon who has said he doesn't want to fight anymore and proved it with his vicious, dirty hit on Blair Betts in the playoffs.

Renney realized early on that with the talent (or lack there of) he had to play defensive hockey with his team and build from Lundquist out. That led to strong defensive forwards, which showed through on the penalty kill and in the playoffs, taking a far superior Caps team to the brink. But sacrificing the penalty kill while not picking up enough goal scorers doesn't seem like a step forward. Hopefully Dubi's game goes back to his rookie year on a line with Gaborik, like with Jagr. Hopefully it frees up Drury as well to not have to be a top scorer. But there is still no power play improvement on the blueline and unless Torts is convinced the kids in Hartford are capable of a step up, the difference between this season and last is going to be not racing out with 50+ points in the first 3 months.

[Keith]

SEC67ROWG-I have to agree with a lot of what you wrote above. Even if they keep Z I don't see much of a big time improvement over last year and still no center. It also looks like maybe the big deals are done now? I don't know... Like I have posted before-I would feel better if I knew that Torts was comfortable standing pat and going with these guys-if he's confident they can compete. I still keep hearing rumors of a Marty St Louis trade but for whom? I don't think that is the sensible move either-to bring another very talented winger into the fold. They need a top Center and a PP point man on Defense-Schneider is out there-I know he's way past his prime but he can qb the PP. Also even Seidenberg is still out there-he's a solid stay at home d guy-something on that blueline

[Sec67RowG]

i'm annoyed we didn't try for Cammalleri from the Flames who went to Montreal. He's young, not injury prone and might have been able to get at a decent price to come to NY. No one's giving the Habs kudos on that signing, but he might have been the sleeper. Granted Iginla helps those stats, but man, he should have been on the target list.

I can't see Zherdev sticking around, but if he does, Sather's going to need to do a one year deal and make the kid prove it. And if he's on a line with Dubi and Gaborik, he'll need to put up points immediately. A slow start for Z will put him deeper in Torts doghouse and the fans doghouse and he doesn't have the huevos/stones/cajones to get out of either.

Maybe Sather/Torts think they're going to get a Mara back at reduced cost, Higgins, et al. I don't see it. Maybe they're prepared to roll the dice on the youngsters. Haven't seen enough to tell me we're going to scare Pittsburgh, the Devs or even the Flyers in the division, Caps, B's, Hurricanes outside it. That puts us right back at #7 fighting it out for the playoffs and putting it all on Hank again. Yikes.