Anton Blidh orchestrated a scoring burst with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack after the Rangers acquired him on the trade deadline, and the left winger agreed to terms on a two-year extension that can keep him with the organization through the 2024-25 season, the Blueshirts announced Thursday.
Blidh, a 28-year-old who also spent parts of six seasons within the NHL with the Bruins after they drafted him within the sixth round in 2013, played the last season on a one-year deal he signed with the Avalanche and would have been a free agent.
His extension carries a median annual value of $775,000, in keeping with Cap Friendly.
Blidh could compete for a spot on the Rangers’ fourth line — held by Jimmy Vesey, Tyler Motte and Barclay Goodrow at the top of the season, with Motte an unrestricted free agent — in training camp, and he also flashed some scoring potential with Hartford in the ultimate 17 games of the regular season and the AHL playoffs.
He compiled 18 points across 26 games with the Wolf Pack, giving him 123 across 365 profession AHL games.
On the NHL level, Blidh has contributed 12 points in 84 games, and he logged a careerbest 32 games — averaging nearly 11 minutes of ice time — with the Bruins in 2021-22.
That offseason, he departed for the Avalanche and appeared in 14 games for the reigning Stanley Cup champions and one other 36 with their AHL affiliate before the March trade sent him to the Rangers in exchange for forward Gustav Rydahl.
Blidh handled a scary incident during Game 1 of the AHL’s Atlantic Division finals, though, when he collapsed on the bench in the primary period of a game against Hershey last month.
Hartford said that Blidh “received medical attention for a non-life threatening upper body injury out of an abundance of caution” and was eventually cleared to return.
He played in Games 2 and three and added an assist as Hartford fell to the Bears to conclude their first playoff appearance since 2015.
