Philip Di Giuseppe

Rangers agree to terms with forward Philip Di Giuseppe

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The New York Rangers announced on Tuesday afternoon that they have agreed to terms with forward Philip Di Giuseppe.

The 27-year-old was a restricted free agent at the end of this season and avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract for $700,000. He will become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the next season.

Di Giuseppe, 27, split this past season between the Rangers and the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL). He recorded four points (one goal, three assists) in 20 NHL games with the Rangers in 2019-20, and the Blueshirts posted a 12-7-1 record in the 20 games which he played during the season.

he 6-0, 193-pounder also skated in 43 AHL games with the Wolf Pack this past season, registering 26 points (14 goals, 12 assists) and a plus-10 rating. Di Giuseppe established an AHL career-high in goals in 2019-20, and he ranked third in the AHL in shots on goal at the time he was recalled by the Rangers on February 2, 2020 (149).

Di Giuseppe has skated in 170 career NHL games over parts of five seasons (2015-16 – 2019-20) with Carolina, Nashville, and the Rangers, registering 15 goals and 30 assists for 45 points, along with 68 penalty minutes. He established career-highs in goals (seven), assists (10), and points (17) with Carolina during the 2015-16 season. Di Giuseppe has also skated in 227 career AHL games over parts of seven seasons (2013-14 – 2019-20), recording 54 goals and 73 assists for 127 points, along with a plus-14 rating and 132 penalty minutes.

He played well with the Rangers last season mainly as part of the fourth line under head coach David Quinn.

The Toronto, Ontario native was originally selected by Carolina in the second round, 38th overall, of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Di Giuseppe was signed by the Rangers as a free agent on July 18, 2019.

 

In Wake of Victory over L.A., Igor Shesterkin Will Be the Starter in Goal

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New York Rangers, Igor Shesterkin

Many are quite aware that the New York Rangers are one of the youngest teams in the NHL. With that youth, there will be some up and downs like the games they played last weekend. After losing a poorly played game against the Buffalo Sabres Friday night, the Rangers rebounded to defeat the Los Angeles Kings Sunday night by a score of 4-1. Eighteen-year-old Kaapo Kakko scored his first goal in 14 games. Greg McKegg, Artemi Panarin and Tony DeAngelo also scored for New York. Igor Shesterkin picked up the win and recorded 42 saves.

New York Rangers end goalie rotation

After Sunday’s win, head coach David Quinn announced that he will no longer rotate goalies and that Igor Shesterkin will continue to start. Quinn indicated that Shesterkin will continue to start regularly because he’s been the most consistent of the Rangers three goalies. “The best guy is going to continue to play,” Quinn said. “Keeping people sharp is no longer a high priority of ours. It’s going to be winning hockey games and the guy who plays well is going to keep playing.” Shesterkin has won three straight starts and five of his first six in the NHL. He is the first Rangers goalie in history to accomplish that feat. On Monday confirmed that Shesterkin will be in net when the Blueshirts travel to Winnipeg to take on the Jets. This is the first of a three-game road trip that includes stops in Minnesota and Columbus.

The “Consistently Inconsistent” New York Rangers

After Friday’s loss, Quinn noted that his young Rangers sometimes will struggle. “We like to keep things interesting. We’re getting better at it, but we have a hard time playing simple hockey from time to time.” This was an especially difficult loss at the Sabres had been struggling before coming into Friday nights games. Sunday night’s performance was much better in defeating a struggling, but pesky Kings team. Quinn pointed out that in order to win, the young players will need to contribute like they did Sunday night when they got big contributions from  Shesterkin,  Kakko, Filip Chytil and the recently called up, Phillip Di Giuseppe. Quinn summed up the night by saying that “it may have not been pretty hockey, but it was hard played hockey”.