Urho Vaakanainen signed a two-year, $3.1 million contract with the New York Rangers on Friday. It has an average annual value of $1.55 million.
The 26-year-old defenseman has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 30 games with New York after he was acquired in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks along with a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft for defenseman Jacob Trouba on Dec. 6. He had one assist in five games with the Ducks before the trade.
He could have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
He has 34 points (three goals, 31 assists) in 171 NHL games with the Boston Bruins, Ducks and Rangers.
Vaakanainen, who played for Finland in the 4 Nations Face-Off, is averaging 15:59 of ice time per game this season.
"Our scouts knew him really well so when we started talking to Anaheim on the trade not only our Western scout, but our Eastern scout who knew him from Boston and Providence,” Rangers general manager Chris Drury said. “We had done enough homework to know we thought there was a good player there, someone that we not only wanted to acquire but we wanted to work with and let grow into our system.
“He's been a good fit not only when he's played with (Braden Schneider), but when he's played with others. Excited to have him as part of the group going forward."
The Rangers (31-26-7) enter Friday tied with the Ottawa Senators for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen contributed to this report
