After a hectic first day of the new season, Rangers General Manager Chris Drury continued his goal to build depth throughout the organization, signing 28 year old defenseman Dennis Cholowski to a two year with a cap hit of $875,000. The move brings the organization’s total left handed blueliners under contract up to nine, joining Marcus Pettersson, William Trudeau and Marc Del Gaizo as additions this off-season.

Having so many defensemen under contract seems a luxury at this stage but may simply be Drury hedging his bets against late season roster changes like in 2022 when Nils Lundqvist asked for a trade right before training camp and then losing Jarred Tinordi on waivers to Chicago early in the season. Ty Emberson was similarly claimed in 2023, and with Scott Morrow and Vincent Iorio both waiver eligible, there’s a possibility of that happening again.

Another possibility is that the Rangers GM is considering further trades, which might include Braden Schneider or Urho Vaakanainen. In the past he has been reluctant to lose assets for nothing early in the season and has kept veterans at the expense of inserting rookies into the line-up. Moving one of the two might provide an opportunity to keep Morrow and/or Iorio on the NHL roster without risking them being claimed.

What It Means For Albert Smits

During last week’s Development Camp, there were reports that Alberts Smits was expected to sign his Entry Level Agreement and come to training camp in September with a chance to compete for an opening night roster spot. The acquisition of Marcus Pettersson all but eliminates that scenario – barring injury, but having him sign a professional contract still seems probable.

Having Smits adjust to playing in North America with the Hartford Wolf Pack is certainly not the worst thing, and relieves some of the pressure that might have been placed on him should he have been expected to perform immediately at the NHL level. Should he have some success there, it would not surprise to see him get a call up during the regular season at some point. Alternatively he could head back to Europe for another year, though that would seemingly be less preferrable for the Rangers.

Cholowski Projects To Start In Hartford

At 6-2 210lbs, Cholowski has size, but has not been able to convert his opportunities in his five previous stops including Detroit, Washington, Seattle, the Islanders and most recently New Jersey. He does have 13 goals and 42 points in his career, and has averaged third pair duty for most of his career outside his first couple of seasons with Detroit where he played over half his games.

In addition, he can play both sides which provides some options given the Rangers appear to be a defenseman or two short on the right down in Hartford. Whether Hartford Coach Jay Leach elects to use him on the off-side, or perhaps one of the many other options at his disposal remains to be seen.

Career Statistics – Dennis Cholowski