The Rangers are close to signing top prospect Gabe Perreault and may be throwing him right into the NHL fire.
Less than 24 hours after his sophomore season at Boston College ended Sunday with a 3-1 loss to Denver in the NCAA quarterfinals, the 19-year-old forward is set to ink his entry-level contract, according to multiple reports.
It's expected to be a three-year, $2.825 million deal that would come with an annual salary cap hit of $941,667 and another potential $875,000 in achievable performance bonuses over the course of the contract, including $500,000 in the final year, as first detailed by PuckPedia.
When #NYR '23 #23 pick Perreault signs ELC, expected terms:
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) March 31, 2025
Yr 1 NHL 830K, Signing Bonus 95K, GP Bonus 25K
Yr 2 855K/95K, "A" PB 350K
Yr 3 855/95/500
Cap Hit 942K, AAV $1.23M
Rep'd by Pat Brisson @CAAHockeyhttps://t.co/7etS2rT6ga
The contract will begin immediately, with Perreault and his agent, Pat Brisson, successfully convincing the Rangers to burn the first of his three entry-level years on the remainder of the 2024-25 season.
It's not an ideal situation for New York, which surely would have preferred delaying the start until next season to maximize the years of team control. But the 2023 first-round draft pick has emerged as one of the top talents in the NCAA and had the bargaining power to speed up his clock, putting him on pace to become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2027 as opposed to 2028.
Since the Rangers are already losing that extra season, they might as well get a look at their consensus top prospect now. There's a real chance Perreault will make his NHL debut in the coming days, perhaps as soon as Wednesday's 7 p.m. home game against the Minnesota Wild.
The Blueshirts only have eight games remaining in the regular season, which will make for a fleeting trial run. That'll be especially true if they fail to make the playoffs, as they entered play Monday trailing Montreal by .007 percentage points for the Eastern Conference's final wild-card spot.
How much Perreault will help the cause − and how prominent of a role he'll be asked to play − remains to be seen.
He's been one of the most productive players in college hockey the last two years, accumulating 108 points (35 goals and 73 assists) across 73 games played in that span. Scouts universally rave about his skill, offensive creativity and processing speed, with most grading his playmaking and hockey IQ as elite.
"How quickly his brain works is the part that really jumps out to you," said BC head coach Greg Brown, who recently noted the strides Perreault has made in other areas, as well.
"He's been more detailed, more sound all over the ice," he said last week. "His game has been improving to where he's not just helping us with the offense. Of course, that's going to be his calling ...
