Photo: Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Photo: Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Per Ryan Kennedy, the Rangers appear to have signed Daniel Paille to an unknown contract. Paille has been in the AHL this season after spending six years with the Bruins. The 31-year-old left wing is a fourth line/depth player, and his role with the team is currently unknown. He could be Jayson Megna’s replacement as the 13F, or he could be an AHL depth signing.

Update: Sean Hartnett reports that Paille is officially a Ranger. His deal is one year at $575,000. It looks like he will be with the club, and not with the Wolf Pack. Steve Zipay is reporting that he will be an AHL depth player. The contract is two-way, paying Paille $110,000 in the AHL.

If he winds up with the Rangers, then this signing is a bit perplexing. My guess is that the Rangers wanted a bottom-six depth guy, as Megna doesn’t really fit into that role. If I were a betting man, I’d say that Megna gets sent to Hartford relatively soon.

Paille played this season in the AHL, so he is in game shape. He will probably join the Rangers right away in a 13F capacity, filling in for Tanner Glass and/or Viktor Stalberg when they serve as scratches.

Paille was never a possession darling –in fact his numbers are comparable to Tanner Glass’–nor does he have a reputation as a defensive stalwart. He’s a “grinding” guy who has decent skating ability. He’s also a bit flexible and can play both wing positions. A potential Glass-Moore-Paille fourth line does scare the bejesus out of me though.

If he stays in Hartford, then this signing doesn’t really have an impact unless there are multiple injuries.

Share: 

Mentioned in this article:

More About: