3. Brandon Pirri
It’s still amazing to see how far Brandon Pirri fell on the free agent market. Despite having youth and upside on his side, the former Florida Panther and Anaheim Duck fell under the radar, as GM Jeff Gorton was able to ink the center to a modest one-year deal in late August.
The Rangers gain has been the loss of the 29 other teams, as Pirri has been a revelation in the Big Apple.
Because of the organization’s tremendous depth at forward, Pirri has been situated on the fourth line alongside the aforementioned Grabner and Jesper Fast. The threesome, however, has been able to take advantage of the opposition’s defense — and the 25-year old has been a big part of that.
Pirri is not only tied for the team-lead in goals (4), but he’s also revitalized a struggle power play unit, as his two goals in man-up situations paces the team while his three points are tied for tops as well. He’s been an offensive threat since day one and he could be seen as the team’s best free agent signing.
Grade: B+
