Artem Anisimov is taking another crack at North American hockey by returning to the Rangers organization, the club that drafted him No. 54 overall in 2006.
Before the excitement rises in anticipation of seeing a No. 42 Blueshirts jersey on the ice again, Anisimov signed a professional tryout contract with the Rangers’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, on Tuesday.
A source described the signing as “strictly” an AHL PTO.
Since Riley Nash is week-to-week with a lower-body injury and Jonny Brodzinski is filling in for the Rangers, Hartford is in need of some reinforcements and that’s where Anisimov came into play.
After the Rangers selected him in the second round of the 2006 draft out of Russia, Anisimov signed his first professional contract with the Rangers and reported to the Wolf Pack to start the 2007-08 season.
He qualified for the AHL All-Star Classic in January 2009 before earning his first NHL promotion in February.
Anisimov played two full 82-game seasons with the Rangers from 2009 to 2011 before helping the team reach the Eastern Conference Finals in 2012.
Memorably skating on a line with Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky for part of his time on Broadway, Anisimov racked up 46 goals and 62 assists in 244 total games.
In 26 playoff contests, the Russian also posted four goals and seven assists.
Anisimov and Dubinsky were part of the package the Rangers sent to the Blue Jackets for Rick Nash in a blockbuster 2012 trade.
“Played with him for a few months, but he’s a big body with a lot of skill,” said Chris Kreider, who is the only current Ranger who overlapped with Anisimov on Broadway. “He seemed like a very detail-oriented player at the time.”
The 35-year-old is coming off 55 games with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season, over which he scored 19 goals and dished 17 assists.
He hasn’t played an NHL game, however, since May 12, 2021, when he was with the Senators.
Between the Rangers, Blue Jackets, Blackhawks and the Senators, Anisimov has 376 points (180 goals, 196 assists) in 771 NHL games.
The Rangers gave up two power-play goals in the first period Tuesday night, marking just the second time they’ve allowed more than one man-advantage score in a game this season and the first since Oct. 19 against Nashville.
While the Canes went 2-for-4 with the man-advantage, the Blueshirts whiffed on all three of their power-play opportunities.
“You’re not going to win many games you lose the special teams game that bad,” Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. “I think it has been pretty good all year. Giving up two in the first on the PK isn’t something we’re used to. It’s tough to over come.”
Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves on 26 shots in his 23rd start of the season.