Rangers extend veteran center who has been unheralded contributor this season

The Rangers have signed center Jonny Brodzinski to a two-year extension, according to a team announcement Wednesday. The contract is a one-way deal with a cap hit of $787.5K, Peter Baugh of The Athletic and Mollie Walker of the New York Post report. In total, the contract will earn him $1.575MM.

Brodzinski, 30, was in the final season of a two-year, two-way $1.525M extension signed in 2022. Without a new deal, he would have been a UFA for the third time in his career this summer.

The minor-league mainstay has been a quietly important piece on the Rangers’ third line. With four goals, 15 points and decent possession numbers in 37 games, he’s helped shoulder the season-ending injury to Filip Chytil that’s kept him out since November.

Centering a solid two-way depth unit between William Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko, Brodzinski’s games and points marks are the highest of his career. This year is the most NHL action he’s seen since logging six points in 35 games with the Kings in a limited role in the 2017-18 campaign.

A fifth-round pick of Los Angeles in 2013, Brodzinski has never inked a full one-way contract. He did earn a one-way salary of $650K in the 2018-19 season as part of the second half of a two-year deal with Los Angeles.

The now-former captain of the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack has recorded over a point per game in all four seasons with the Rangers’ primary affiliate since joining the organization as a free agent in 2020. Dating back to his pro debut in 2015 after wrapping up his collegiate career with St. Cloud State University, Brodzinski has 126 goals, 141 assists and 267 points in 313 AHL games across nine seasons.

His pro career has been split entirely between the Kings and Rangers, aside from a one-year stint with the Sharks in 2019-20. He’s been a decent per-game producer in his limited NHL opportunities thus far, scoring 32 points in 138 career big-league games, but his 0.41 points per game this season is a career-high.

Brodzinski will earn the league-minimum salary of $775K in 2024-25 and $800K in 2025-26, per CapFriendly. He will be a UFA upon expiry.