After the frenzy of free agency began to die down, the New York Rangers set about filling out the rest of their roster for the season. One of those acquisitions made by General Manager Jeff Gorton was center Desharnais for one year at one million dollars.
Since the organization had traded away Derek Stepan, there were holes on the team at center. It was uncertain whether some combination of J.T. Miller moving to the middle and/or newly drafted Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil could get the job done.
Desharnais was acquired as a low risk, potentially high reward, player.