NYR Re-sign Defenseman Chris Summers
One-year: $600,000 NHL salary, $350,000 AHL salary
OFFICIAL: #NYR have agreed to terms with free agent defenseman Chris Summers on a new contract.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) June 15, 2016
The New York Rangers have officially agreed to terms with free agent Chris Summers on a new one-year contract for the 2016-17 season. The 28 year-old played the majority of the 2015-16 season with the Hartford Wolf Pack and skated in just three games with the Rangers. In the 74 games Summers played in Hartford, he registered three goals and eight assists.
Summers was aquired by the Rangers from the Arizona Coyotes in March 2015 in the same trade that brought super-star defenseman Kieth Yandle to the big city.
The Ann Arbor native will be returning to the Wolf Pack next season and will continue to represent the team’s role model for Ranger’s prospects. Summers is known to have a positive presence on and off the ice and also benefits the team as a Veteran on the blue line. However, the defenseman still has a lot to learn on Madison Square Garden’s ice.
The good news is that Summer’s new contract will have little to no effect on other signings the Rangers will make before the NHL Draft starting on June 24, and when the free agency market opens July 1. It is a fine move because even though the Rangers have more pressing contracts to address, having a big body in the AHL with other Ranger’s prospects is also a good thing.
For Rangers fans, it is definitely not the action from the organization we necessarily wanted or anticipated, but it does show the Ranger’s are willing to make moves before the Draft. Hopefully next the Rangers will move their focus to the other Coyote acquired from Arizona, as they have not yet discussed an extention with Keith Yandle.
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