The Rangers have reportedly signed UFA defenseman Anton Stralman to a one year $900K offer, though no official announcement has yet been made. The 25 year old Swedish defender became an unrestricted free agent this summer after the Columbus Blue Jackets elected to not give him a qualifying offer on his $1.95M salary.
Stalman attended camp with the New Jersey Devils, and appeared to come close to earning a contract, but ultimately returned to Sweden without a contract. Tom Gulitti of the Newark Star-Ledger reported on October 24th that the Rangers offered a contract to Stalman, and it’s taken this long for the player to accept.
The deal terms will see Stralman earn $900,000 to play this season, and he’ll become a restricted free agent this Summer, giving the option to the Rangers to retain his rights if they want to.
As for the player himself, he was likely a casualty of his contract with Columbus, who overpaid him following a 34 point season in 2009-10. At least one Blue Jackets blogger wasn’t too unhappy to see Stralman go, relaying the following “he spent part of the year injured and much of it in the press box after making miscue after miscue, frequently negating the very power plays he was supposed to be aiding“.
From a Rangers perspective Stralman will be looked to provide some additional depth with Marc Staal remaining out indefinitely and Tim Erixon apparently not ready to step up as a full time NHLer. Ultimately it would not be surprising to see Stralman end up as another part time defender who rotates in and out from time to time.