With their first signing, the Rangers have filled one of their needs, signing 26 year old center Joe Veleno to fill the fourth line center role to replace Sam Carrick after he was traded at last year’s deadline. Veleno comes to the Rangers on a one year deal worth $1.2M, having played 367 games with Detroit, Chicago and most recently Montreal where he recorded 2 goals and 3 assists in 61 games last year.
The 6-1 201lb Montreal native is a low risk signing for Chris Drury, and provides a relatively proven option for the bottom six, including being proficient in the face off dot where he had a 51.6% win rate last season, including a 56.6% in the defensive zone. He averages just under 13 minutes of ice across his career, though he was closer to 12 this past season in Montreal. In addition to his faceoff proficiency, he also provides a penalty killing option for coach Mike Sullivan, giving the team another dimension to his game.
While he likely won’t get close to his career highs of 12 goals and 28 points set with Detroit in 2023-24, the Rangers will be hopeful he can return close to the numbers he had with the team that drafted him, rather than his more recent outings with Chicago and Montreal.
| Scor | Scor | Scor | Goal | Goal | Goal | Goal | Assi | Assi | Assi | Shot | Shot | Ice | Ice | Face | Face | Face | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Age | Team | Lg | Pos | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | EVG | PPG | SHG | GWG | EV | PP | SH | SOG | SPCT | TOI | ATOI | FOW | FOL | FO% | BLK | HIT | TAKE | GIVE |
| 2020-21 | 21 | DET | NHL | C | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 12.5 | 75:31 | 15:06 | 17 | 17 | 50.0 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021-22 | 22 | DET | NHL | C | 66 | 8 | 7 | 15 | -14 | 22 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 11.0 | 872:09 | 13:13 | 222 | 238 | 48.3 | 25 | 123 | 19 | 12 |
| 2022-23 | 23 | DET | NHL | C | 81 | 9 | 11 | 20 | -12 | 30 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 85 | 10.6 | 1034:51 | 12:47 | 277 | 374 | 42.5 | 44 | 152 | 30 | 17 |
| 2023-24 | 24 | DET | NHL | C | 80 | 12 | 16 | 28 | -16 | 25 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 86 | 14.0 | 1116:31 | 13:57 | 305 | 317 | 49.0 | 35 | 108 | 23 | 13 |
| 2024-25 | 25 | 2TM | NHL | C | 74 | 8 | 9 | 17 | -23 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 10.7 | 896:45 | 12:07 | 201 | 228 | 46.9 | 44 | 139 | 13 | 44 |
| 2024-25 | 25 | DET | NHL | C | 56 | 5 | 5 | 10 | -14 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 10.0 | 669:15 | 11:57 | 136 | 152 | 47.2 | 32 | 93 | 10 | 35 |
| 2024-25 | 25 | CHI | NHL | C | 18 | 3 | 4 | 7 | -9 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 12.0 | 227:30 | 12:38 | 65 | 76 | 46.1 | 12 | 46 | 3 | 9 |
| 2025-26 | 26 | MTL | NHL | C | 61 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -12 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 3.8 | 737:34 | 12:05 | 163 | 153 | 51.6 | 32 | 166 | 8 | 19 |
| NHL | NHL | NHL | NHL | 367 | 40 | 46 | 86 | -77 | 117 | 35 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 5 | 1 | 379 | 10.6 | 4733:21 | 12:54 | 1185 | 1327 | 47.2 | 184 | 695 | 94 | 105 | |
| NHL | NHL | NHL | NHL | 82 | 9 | 10 | 19 | -17 | 26 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 85 | 10.6 | 1058 | 12:54 | 265 | 296 | 47.2 | 41 | 155 | 21 | 23 |
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