"We love his character, the way he plays," Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton said. "He plays hard. Going to the front of the net is something he makes you pay a price for. Jumping into the play is something he can do. He's a very well-rounded player. He's got high character."
And Hajek has at the very least a semi-realistic goal of making the Rangers out of his first NHL training camp this season. He will have plenty of competition, but he's in the mix and there are spots up for grabs with Kevin Shattenkirk, Brady Skjei and Marc Staal as arguably the only three locks on defense.
Neal Pionk has a step on some others because he performed well in his 28 games last season with 14 points (one goal, 13 assists). Fredrik Claesson, who played 113 games in three seasons with the Ottawa Senators, was the only unrestricted free agent the Rangers signed.
There's also Brendan Smith, who still has three years left on his contract after finishing last season in the American Hockey League, John Gilmour, Tony DeAngelo, Rob O'Gara, Steven Kampfer, and rookies Ryan Lindgren, Sean Day and, of course, Hajek.
"That would be something this organization could really use, somebody who could make our team like that, especially on defense right now," Gorton said of Hajek.
"Listen, if he comes into camp and he's close and he's ready and he's pushing, we'll just keep giving him rope and see how far he can take it."
Hajek has no doubt he can take it all the way.
"I feel strong, I feel I'm ready," he said. "I don't want to be selfish or something like that, but I believe in myself and I want to make it this year."