Rangers Agree to Terms With UFA Justin Dowling on Two-Way Contract

It's been a shockingly quiet afternoon on the New York Rangers front after the Vladislav Gavrikov signing and K'Andre Miller trade rumors dropped. Nevertheless, the Rangers have made yet another depth free agent signing as they bring on veteran forward Justin Dowling on a two year, two-way contract with an AAV of $775,000.

At 34-years-old, Dowling may only have 152 NHL games under his belt by he's been playing professional hockey for the last 15 years. After spending five seasons with the Swift Current Broncos in the WHL and going undrafted, Dowling played eight games with the Abbotsford Heat in the AHL where he would spend the next two years as a fringe AHL/ECHL player. In the 2012-13 season, Dowling joined the Texas Stars where he would spend the next five seasons before finally making his NHL debut with the Dallas Stars where he remained right up to 2021.

A true journeyman, Dowling continued to bounce around between the AHL and NHL with the Vancouver Canucks and most recently, the New Jersey Devils. He's coming off a career high season with 52 games played and seven points (2 goals, 5 assists).

Dowling is the type of player I like to label as "best used in case of emergency" at the NHL level. I don't see him as a player that's going to compete much for a fourth line role but could very well replace some of the veteran depth the Wolf Pack lost with Alex Belzile signing back with the Montreal Canadiens and Jake Leschyshyn and Bo Groulx also hitting the open market. He's a smaller center (5-10, 180 pounds) that can slot to the left wing if needed and thrives on his playmaking abilities and two-way game.