The Rangers website, via Bon, lists the new numbers for Taylor Pyatt and for Jeff Halpern.
Pyatt will wear 14 and Halpern will wear 15.
Rangers who have worn #14 in the past are Brendan Shanahan, Don Murdoch, Theo Fleury, Craig MacTavish and Mattias Norstrom.
Rangers who have worn #15 in the past are Blair Betts, Brad Isbister, Anders Hedberg, Muzz Patrick, John MacLean and Darren Langdon.
Rick Nash will wear #61 and while it is not confirmed, it is believed that Arron Asham will wear #45.
At TSN, Scott Cullen looks at the Rangers signing of Taylor Pyatt and writes, “A big winger who isn’t fast enough or nasty enough to make the most of his physical gifts, 30-year-old Taylor Pyatt is nonetheless capable of playing a third or fourth-line role.”
He notes that Pyatt will be able to replace the minutes that Ruslan Fedotenko played for the Rangers.
He had 9 goals and 10 assists last season and he is from the same town, Thunder Bay, Ontario, as Marc Staal.
His former teammate Alex Burrows said of Pyatt in 2009, “We need that big body back in the lineup. He’s strong along the boards and I’m sure he is going to contribute big time.”
On Pyatt, Canucks blog Pass It To Bulis writes “Pyatt found his legs in Phoenix, playing a third-line role that seems to fit him better than the top-six expectations did in Vancouver. He was re-signed by the Coyotes after his first season and is now in his third year with the club. Pyatt has 3 goals and 1 assist so far in the playoffs, but his role is mainly defensive: his line starts the bulk of their shifts in the defensive zone, with Pyatt starting just 35.7% of his shifts in the offensive zone.”
In another post, they write of Pyatt, “He’s a big body with decent defensive skill and the ability to occasionally chip in offensively. Yes, for the love of all that is good, keep him off the first unit powerplay, but Pyatt would be an acceptable depth winger. Plus he’s still got the best set of baby blues in hockey.”
At the time he was drafted, 8th overall in 1999, Islanders GM Mike Milbury said to the Daily News, “Pyatt is as good a skater as there was in the draft. He’ll be the best skater at our training camp and he brings good size and finish.”
The man who picked Pyatt for the Islanders was “draft guru” Gordie Clark.
Adam Rotter: I think Pyatt has a chance to replace Brandon Prust as Brian Boyle’s wingman both in the bottom six and on the PK. They are both hard workers, have size and willing to play in the dirty areas. Both players are used to starting their shifts in the defensive zone as well.
Hopefully Pyatt can knock in between 12-15 goals and get somewhere close to 30 points and help the Rangers become a deeper team, which is something that John Tortorella wanted to accomplish in the offseason.
Rangers GM Glen Sather continued bargain hunting for affordable forward depth with the signing of UFA LW Taylor Pyatt to a two-year deal Tuesday. The AAV of Pyatt’s deal is $1.55 million. In essence Sather utilized the money saved by allowing Brandon Prust to leave by allocating it to two players, Asham and now Pyatt. The stated plan this summer was to improve the depth on the roster and getting two useful players for the price of one is a good way to do just that. Just how useful Pyatt will be remains to be seen but we can at least get an idea based on past performance.
Here’s how Pyatt has fared in the advanced metrics I like to use to analyze a player’s effectiveness in helping his club possess the puck and tilt the ice in their favor.
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Last night the Ranger signed 6-4 winger Taylor Pyatt to a two-year deal worth $3.1 million.
Pyatt, 30, broke into the league with the Islanders, was traded to the Sabres for Michael Peca, and then spent time with Vancouver before playing the last three years in Phoenix.
While he didn’t kill penalties last season, Pyatt has averaged between 45 seconds to close to two minutes a game killing penalties during a season in his career
He had 137 hits last season and averaged about 12 minutes a night.
Pyatt was drafted by Rangers Director of Player Personnel Gordie Clark in 1999 when he held the same title with the Islanders.
The Rangers drafted his brother Tom but traded him, along with Scott Gomez, to acquire Chris Higgins and Ryan McDonagh.
He was teammates with Marty Biron in Buffalo.
Video of Pyatt
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Darren Dreger is reporting that the New York Rangers have signed Taylor Pyatt to a two-year contract with an average salary of $1.55M per year.
Pyatt had 9 goals and 10 assists for the Phoenix Coyotes last season.
In 2010-11, he recorded 31 points on 18 goals and 13 assists.
Nick Licalzi: Pyatt will be a good addition to the Rangers bottom 6. While he does not address their need for scoring, he will fit right into their black and blue style. Pyatt is coming from the Coyotes who played a game similar to the Rangers and will help to offset the losses of Brandon Prust and potentially Ruslan Fedotenko.
