Rangers reward Jonny Brodzinski's long journey with two-year contract extension
TARRYTOWN − The only person who may be more excited than Jonny Brodzinski about signing a contract extension with the New York Rangers on Wednesday is his wife, Lauren.
"She was fired up," said a smiling Brodzinski, shortly after inking the two-year deal.
It's a one-way contract that will pay him an average annual value $787,500 over the next two seasons and is worth $1.575 million in total, according to one person familiar with the negotiations, who spoke to lohud.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, on the condition of anonymity.
After years of bouncing from one city to the next for the better part of a decade, Jonny, Lauren and their two daughters are hopeful they can finally plant some roots.
Brodzinski indicated that contract talks began in November when he was initially recalled from AHL Hartford, then quieted for a bit. But with the 30-year-old forward playing well while finally getting the chance to prove he can cut it as an NHL regular, "things heated up" again in recent weeks.
"I told them I don’t want to play anywhere else," he said. "I love the team, love (head coach Peter Laviolette), love all these guys. I think it's a great spot for us. My family loves it here, so there's no place I'd rather be."
It took a while for the Brodzinskis − who have followed Jonny wherever he goes, including several long hotel stays with all four of them and their dog packed into one room − to find a home.
Since signing his entry-level contract with the Los Angeles Kings in 2015, the Ham Lake, Minn. native has been involved in 85 total transactions, according to CapFriendly. In that time, he's played more than twice as many AHL games (313) as he has in the NHL (138), yet that never deterred him from chasing his dream.
Brodzinski has now appeared in 37 games for the Rangers this season, passing his previous single-season career high of 35 with L.A. in 2017-18.
"It’s something that I’ve wanted for a long time," he said. "I know I can produce at this level and play at a high level. It’s just nice to see that in the contract, too."
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Throughout those ups and downs, Brodzinski kept plugging away.
He embraced his role as Hartford captain the last three seasons while continuing to evolve his game, impressing the Rangers' brass with his speed, work rate and leadership. He was leading the AHL in scoring at the time of his November recall, with the loss of Filip Chytil for the remainder of the season opening the door to stick New York.
"He went down (to the AHL) and did exactly what he was supposed to do and put himself in a position to get called up," Laviolette said. "It's nice to see people like that get rewarded (after) the price he's paid over the years."
Since then, Brodzinski has registered 15 points (four goals and 11 assists) with a plus-four rating and 53.4% faceoff win rate, with six of those points coming in his last eight games.
He's proven to be a capable third-line center in a pinch, with his line featuring young wingers Will Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko ranking first on the team among trios that have logged at least 75 minutes together with a 58.1% xGF, according to moneypuck.com. And his individual 53.38% xGF sits third behind only Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafrenière, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The 6-foot, 204-pounder has earned a spot in the lineup, but because he's what Laviolette called "a multi-functional player," changing positions or even providing depth as the 13th forward are all feasible options, depending what the Rangers do at the upcoming March 8 trade deadline − and how their roster looks the next two seasons.
There's value in having a player they trust to use in a variety of roles at such a team-friendly salary.
"He's been terrific," Laviolette said. "We were in need of somebody to come up here and play well and provide some offense, some speed. He's got such a great attitude, too. Great kid, great family, great attitude every day."
Brodzinski's teammates clearly appreciate that commitment and selflessness, as well.
Wednesday's practice at the MSG Training Center ended with a round of stick taps and a few shoves to encourage No. 22 to breakdown the team huddle. Then, while Brodzinski was conducting interviews in the locker room, veterans Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad playfully popped their heads into the scrum.
It all makes for a feel-good story, but Brodzinski's experiences have taught him that an elusive one-way contract − while guaranteeing he'll receive the same paycheck whether he's in the NHL or in the minors − doesn't mean his work is done.
This is no time for complacency.
"As soon as you get comfortable, bad things happen," he said. "So, you keep pushing, keep driving every day."
Artemi Panarin, Jimmy Vesey miss practice
While Brodzinski was the center of attention at Wednesday's practice, we'd be remiss not to mention the absence of two key forwards.
Artemi Panarin and Jimmy Vesey both sat out with lower-body injuries, with Laviolette vague when asked about the severity of their ailments and whether either is in jeopardy to miss Thursday's 7 p.m. game in New Jersey against the Devils.
"We’ll see," he said. "Right now, they’re day-to-day."
Panarin blocked a Jamie Benn shot with his foot early in the third period of Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars and limped back to the bench, but took five more shifts after that and finished the game. The 32-year-old is far and away the Rangers' leading scorer this season, with 75 points (32 goals and 43 assists) while appearing in all 56 games.
It's unclear when Vesey, who moved up to the top line last week to replace injured forward Blake Wheeler, may have sustained his injury.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY Rangers reward Jonny Brodzinski with contract extension
