The Rangers have announced that Brady Skjei has avoided arbitration and signed a six-year contract.
The deal is worth $5.25 million per season. (Johnston)
It was suggested earlier in the offseason that the Rangers could sign Skjei to a long-term deal in the same way that they had previously signed Marc Staal and Ryan McDonagh to long-term deals.
Skjei was slated to become a UFA in three season.
From the Rangers release:
- Skjei, 24, skated in 82 games with the Rangers this past season, registering four goals and 21 assists for 25 points, along with 39 penalty minutes.
- He was the only Ranger who skated in all 82 games in 2017-18.
- Over the last two seasons (2016-17 and 2017-18), Skjei ranked ninth among NHL defensemen 24 years old or younger in assists and tied for 10th among NHL defensemen 24 years old or younger in points.
- Skjei was named to the NHL's All-Rookie Team in 2016-17, becoming the third defenseman in franchise history to accomplish the feat (along with Brian Leetch and Michael Del Zotto).
- Skjei has skated in 17 Stanley Cup Playoff games in his career, registering four goals and three assists for seven points, along with a plus-seven rating and 12 penalty minutes.
Adam Rotter: Buying out three-years of UFA time from Skjei is what brought his cap hit up over $5 million. Had Skjei signed a bridge contract he likely would have been in the $3.5 to $3.75 million range but that would have put Skjei one-year away from being a UFA and potentially cost a lot more to lock up. The Rangers are making an investment in Skjei and hope that three-years from now, when he could have been a UFA, $5.25 million will seem like a bargain. He's a big part of the Rangers future, and this deal certainly confirms that, and there will be a lot of expected of him under David Quinn. He's likely going to be the top-pair LD and get all of the minutes and most of the situations that Ryan McDonagh had. Skjei and Kevin Shattenkirk were a good pair at times last year as was Skjei with Brendan Smith after Smith was acquired.