The New York Rangers’ third-line center role is up for grabs, and it’s Juuso Parssinen’s job to lose.
Last season at around the trade deadline, the Rangers acquired Parssinen from the Colorado Avalanche in a deal that included Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey.
While Parssinen played 11 games with the Rangers to close out the 2024-25 campaign, he wasn’t successful in seizing the third-line center role, as he was in and out of the lineup due to his inconsistent play.
The Rangers still believed in Parssinen enough to give him a two-year, $2.5 million contract extension during the summer.
“It feels like they have confidence in me, which is nice,” Parssinen said. “I have it in myself too, and now, I just gotta be my best and show that I’m worth the contract too.”
Given his new contract extension, the Rangers will give Parssinen the leeway to earn the third-line center position.
Through the first three days of training camp, the 24-year-old forward has been playing alongside Will Cuylle, a sign that the Rangers brass is giving him an opportunity to thrive and showcase his skills.
Mike Sullivan provided confirmation of Parssinen’s probability of taking over a critical role for the Rangers.
“I would envision Parssinen be given a significant opportunity,” Sullivan said. “When we think about if you build a criteria around the types of players that we're going to build an identity that I just described, we think Parssinen has a lot of those attributes.
“He's big and strong, so if he has to defend, he can lean on people, he's got a long reach, he skates well, he has awareness defensively, and there are attributes there that I think are admirable.”
Parssinen knows that he didn’t play up to his usual standards last season, but it was a difficult year for him, so it’s hard to fully blame him.
He was traded twice in one season, first from the Nashville Predators to the Colorado Avalanche, followed by a trade from the Avalanche to the Rangers a couple of months later.
When you watch Parssinen play, it’s easy to tell that he possesses the attributes and talent to be a truly impactful NHL player.
Mike Sullivan Opens The Door To Braden Schneider Playing The Left Side
There’s an expectation that Braden Schneider will play an increased role for the New York <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers">Rangers</a> this upcoming season, but it will require him to make one major transition to what he’s traditionally accustomed to.
Now, it’s about putting all of the tools together and proving that he can be a reliable option for Sullivan.
“I feel like I have the ability to play, but I gotta do it night in and night out,” Parssinen emphasized. “Consistency has to be high… I better execute really, really good whatever the role is. Like I said, I feel I have confidence in myself. Of course, I just gotta put it out.”
A key aspect of the third-line center position is the ability to play a strong two-way game, with an emphasis on the defensive end.
If Parssinen were to earn this role, he would be tasked with going up against some of the best offensive players while being called upon to win crucial face-offs in the Rangers’ own zone.
The Finnish forward is confident in himself to take on those responsibilities.
“I feel like I’ve always been a 200-foot player,” said Parssinen. “Whatever the role is, I’m buying into that, and I’m gonna accept it.”
Until the Rangers’ season opener on Oct. 7, Parssinen will be given the chance to prove that he’s worthy of taking on an increased workload, and we’ll learn if he's up to the challenge.