Rangers sign ex-Kings center Jarret Stoll - New York Daily News
Jarrett Stoll has found his second chance as the cap-strapped Rangers signed the free-agent veteran playoff performer to an affordable deal on Monday morning despite the center’s recent off-ice missteps. Rangers GM Jeff Gorton inked Stoll, 33, the former Los Angeles King and two-time Stanley Cup champion, to a one-year, $800,000 contract. “I know what kind of hockey player I am. For the outside world to think what they think … that’s not who I am, that’s not the person I was brought up to be, and anybody who knows me knows that. Doing his homework on Stoll (6-1, 213 pounds), Gorton said the April arrest felt like an instance of a good person making a bad mistake. The first-year Rangers GM pointed to Stoll’s leadership qualities, face-off ability (51% last year), versatility to play all three forward positions and penalty-killing as reasons for Monday’s signing. But all four of the Rangers’ starting centers from last season are returning – Derick Brassard, Derek Stepan, Kevin Hayes and Dominic Moore – so the right-handed Stoll’s presence mostly means flexibility for coach Alain Vigneault. Stoll has been durable since entering the league with Edmonton in 2002. He played in 506 of 540 regular-season games the last seven years as a King. Source: www.nydailynews.com
