"With the Rangers continuing to go with a young group on the blue line, they did not have to look far for the veteran presence they wanted to round out their defense rotation. Steve Eminger is coming back to Broadway.

The 27-year-old Eminger had two goals, four assists and a minus-5 rating with 22 penalty minutes in 65 games in his first season with the Rangers, playing on both the left and right side depending upon what John Tortorella needed him to do. It is a little bit strange to think of Eminger as a super veteran, given that he is six months older than Dan Girardi, but having previously played with the Capitals, Flyers, Lightning, Panthers and Ducks, Eminger has more "life experience" in the NHL, as it were. He's also the only Rangers defenseman who has played more than 400 games in his career.

A one-year, $800,000 contract represents a pay cut for Eminger, who just completed the two-year, $2.25 million deal he signed with Anaheim before the Ducks traded him to the Rangers last summer in exchange for Aaron Voros. The new deal is in line with the expectation that Eminger will be the No. 5, 6 or 7 defenseman for the Blueshirts."