Prust agrees to two-year deal
New York Rangers right wing Brandon Prust (8) skates with the puck during the game against the Nashville Predators at Madison Square Garden. (Feb. 10, 2010) Credit: Christopher Pasatieri
Brandon Prust, a restricted free agent who became a sparkplug for the Rangers last season after he was acquired from the Calgary Flames, agreed to a two-year contract worth about $1.6 million Friday. The 26-year-old left wing had nine points and 65 penalty minutes in 26 games, and he dropped the gloves when needed.
Prust, acquired with Olli Jokinen in the deal that sent Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins (Smithtown) to Calgary on Feb. 2, had points in five of the last six regular-season games. He received a substantial raise, having earned $525,000 last season. His signing leaves two key restricted free agents to nail down, defensemen Marc Staal and Dan Girardi.
Along with Thursday's re-signings of Vinny Prospal and Erik Christensen and the addition of enforcer Derek Boogaard, the Rangers have two openings for prospects Evgeny Grachev, Derek Stepan and Dale Weise, unless moves are made before or during training camp.
