New York Rangers Are Interested In NCAA Free Agent Mike Reilly
The New York Rangers have an opportunity to bolster their blue line.
According to Eliotte Friedman the New York Rangers are one of the finalists for the services of NCAA free agent Mike Reilly.
BTW, Rangers are another team Mike Reilly will meet with Thursday. So, that's CHI, MIN, NYR, LA. Wouldn't surprise if PIT was involved, too.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 3, 2015 Reilly was a teammate of current Rangers defensive prospect Brady Skjei in Minnesota. He was drafted in the fourth round (98th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets and has informed them he will look to see what options are out there for him in the NHL. According to reports he hasn't ruled out the Blue Jackets, but it can't be good that he's exploring other options.
His statistics are below if you're interested:
It's important to note a few things here:
1) Reilly cannot sign with anyone until the middle of June (I'm working on an actual date, but it's 30 days from when he re-registered from the University of Minnesota to go pro).
2) It's somewhat astounding the Rangers are really in contention here, since they're particularly loaded at defense.
We were saying the same thing about Kevin Hayes last year, though, and you already know how that turned out. The Rangers seem to be a pretty organization at landing this type of talent, and the Rangers did find a place for Hayes to blossom even though everyone said they wouldn't be able to. I'm sure that's going to be a point of emphasis when the two sides meet. Maybe Skjei will help there, too.
Our own Adam Herman provided a quick glance of what Reilly might bring:
Reilly is a player that NYR completely lack in the system: Big shot from the point.
— Adam Herman (@AdamHerman_BSB) June 3, 2015 He also projected Reilly to have the upside of a second pairing defenseman, so again, these are all really good things.
There are other good teams in the mix, though, so it might get a little interesting as we get closer to the open period on him. Either way, I think it's a really good thing the Rangers are attracting interest from these types of players.
And as Hayes proved last year, you never know the impact they might have.
