The New York Rangers have signed defenseman Derrick Pouliot to a two-year contract at a league-minimum cap hit of $775,000.
The #NYR signed 31 y/o LD Derrick Pouliot to 2 year $775K Cap Hit Deal
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) July 2, 2025
Year 1 775K NHL, 400K Minors, 425K Guaranteed
Year 2 775/400/450
Rep'd by Rick Valette @OctagonHockey https://t.co/3r4N0lBuAD
Pouliot was an unrestricted free agent after the conclusion of his one-year, $775,000 contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. It’ll be the sixth straight season that he’s been signed to a league-minimum cap hit, although this contract will be the first time since his entry-level contract that he’s signed for longer than one year.
Pouliot spent the entirety of his 2024-25 season in the AHL with the Lightning’s minor league affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. In 70 games, he had seven goals and 46 assists for 53 points, which also set a career high for him in assists and points in the AHL.
Pouliot also got into all three playoff games with the Crunch, where he was held without a point. After getting a first round bye, Syracuse was eliminated in the division semifinals after they were swept in three games by the Rochester Americans.
Pouliot is a former eighth-overall pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, although outside of a two-year stint with the Vancouver Canucks that saw him play 133 of his 226 career NHL games and 34 of his 54 career NHL points, he has struggled to live up to that draft pedigree and establish a consistent role for himself at the NHL level.
Across a 12-season professional career, Pouliot’s had stops with the Penguins, Canucks, St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers, Vegas Golden Knights, Seattle Kraken, San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars, and most recently with the Lightning, although he hasn’t always played with the NHL squad during some of these stints. Despite only two career playoff games, he does have a Stanley Cup under his belt, with the 2015-16 Penguins team.
The Rangers have made a few moves this summer, most notably signing Vladislav Gavrikov and Taylor Raddysh, re-signing Will Cuylle, trading Chris Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks and K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes. They now have just almost $778,000 in salary cap space entering the season, with only five minor league restricted free agents to re-sign.