The New York Rangers and Brendan Lemieux have settled on a two-year contract, avoiding arbitration. As reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the deal carries an average annual value of $1.55 million.
Lemieux was selected by Buffalo in the second round, 31st overall, of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Lemieux was acquired by the Rangers from Winnipeg on February 25, 2019.
New York #Rangers cap update:
After signing forward Brendan Lemieux to a 2 year deal with an AAV of $1,550,000, we now show the Rangers with $4,829,367 in projected cap space.
Roster: 23 (14F-7D-2G)
All of the clubs RFA's have been signed.https://t.co/f2kf2oYyVq pic.twitter.com/oisMMTv7bB
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) November 6, 2020
The 6-1, 213-pounder has skated in 131 career NHL games over parts of three seasons (2017-18 – 2019-20) with Winnipeg and the Rangers, registering 19 goals and 17 assists for 36 points, along with 240 penalty minutes. Lemieux is one of two NHL players who have recorded at least 100 penalty minutes in each of the last two seasons (along with Evander Kane). He ranked second in the NHL (min. 20 games played) in minor penalties drawn per 60 minutes of ice time in 2018-19 (2.63), and he leads the NHL (min. 20 games played) in penalties drawn per 60 minutes of ice time since the start of the 2018-19 season (2.84). Lemieux has skated in 78 games with the Rangers over parts of two seasons (2018-19 and 2019-20), registering nine goals and 15 assists for 24 points, along with 155 penalty minutes.
Lemieux skated in 59 games with the Rangers this past season, registering six goals and 12 assists for 18 points, along with 111 penalty minutes. He established career-highs in several categories in 2019-20, including assists, points, penalty minutes, and hits (164). Lemieux ranked second in the NHL in penalty minutes and tied for fifth in the league in major penalties (five) this past season. In addition, he ranked third in the NHL (min. 30 games played) in penalties drawn per 60 minutes of ice time (2.53) and ranked seventh in the NHL in penalties drawn (32) in 2019-20. Lemieux led the Rangers in penalties drawn and ranked second on the team (led team forwards) in hits this past season, and the Rangers posted a 12-3-1 record in games which he registered a point in 2019-20. He also skated in one game during the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers.