Rangers Agree to Terms With RFA Defenseman Vincent Iorio

The New York Rangers have signed restricted free agent defenseman Vincent Iorio to a one-year, two-way contract.

His deal is identical to the one Scott Morrow signed as his cap hit at the NHL level will come in at $850,000 while his AHL earnings will be $125,000. As Mollie Walker of the New York Post mentioned, the Rangers view him as a solid depth piece for the organization.

Like Morrow, Iorio's place on this team is far from guaranteed thanks to all the offseason additions to the Rangers blue line. As I mentioned in his season preview piece, Iorio is mainly competing with Urho Vaakanainen and Matthew Robertson for a spot on this team as a seventh defenseman, assuming Alberts Smits makes the team out of camp. In the event Smits starts the year in the AHL, Iorio's chances become greater but because he's a right shot, it's still looking like he's the odd man on the outside looking in.

The Rangers must be strategic about their roster decisions throughout preseason as both Morrow and Iorio need to clear waivers to be assigned to Hartford. While many folks worry about Morrow passing through waivers, there's just as high a chance that Iorio could be claimed as that's how the Rangers got him in the first place.

Iorio was held pointless in six games with the Rangers last season, spending more nights in the press box than on the ice. Prior to joining the Rangers, he had three assists in 21 games with the San Jose Sharks and seven assists in six games with the San Jose Barracuda.