A half-hour after the bell rang to start free agency, the Rangers announced the signing of veteran defenseman Patrik Nemeth to a three-year contract that reportedly will pay him an average of $2.5 million per year.
The 6-3, 228-pound Nemeth, 29, split last season with the Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche and had three goals, seven assists in 52 games, with 20 penalty minutes. Acquired by Colorado at the trade deadline, he appeared in 10 playoff games for the Avalanche, earning one assist, with six penalty minutes.
Nemeth, a lefthanded shot, will presumably plug into the third defense pair, where he will likely partner with rookie Nils Lundkvist, a 2018 first round pick who was the Borje Salming Award winner last season, as the best Swedish-born defenseman in the Swedish Hockey League.