Former North Bay Battalion star Barclay Goodrow agreed to terms on a six-year contract with the New York Rangers on Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The Rangers acquired the forward in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday for a seventh-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Goodrow could have become an unrestricted free agent July 28.
The 28-year-old netted 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in 55 regular-season games and six points (two goals, four assists) in 18 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help the Lightning win the Stanley Cup for the second straight season.
Rangers general manager Chris Drury said earlier this week that Goodrow's winning pedigree and ability to play anywhere in the lineup made him a priority target for the Rangers this off-season.
"I think he's pretty versatile," Drury said.
"I could see him do all different things for Gerard, whether that's more time in the middle, whether it's face-offs in the [defensive] zone. But we think he's got a pretty complete game. He's going be able to help a lot of different areas.
"He's a guy that we targeted and obviously went out and made a deal with Tampa early to get a jump on it."
Drury said Goodrow fits into the Rangers' plans of developing a more straight-line approach because of his combination of skill, grit and north-south skating up and down the ice.
"Obviously the bigger the game, the better he seems to play," Drury said.
"He's a winner. He's able to walk in our locker room and talk about what it's like to play in the playoffs and to win Cups. That's a unique thing and obviously a very special thing."
Goodrow has scored 93 points (32 goals, 61 assists) in 331 regular-season games with the Lightning and San Jose Sharks, and 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 65 playoff games. The Lightning acquired him from the Sharks on Feb. 24, 2020.
Goodrow also led the North Bay Battalion to an OHL Eastern Conference Championship in his only season in North Bay back in 2013-14.
Goodrow scored 33 times in the regular season and another 14 in the 2014 playoff run.
