Dylan McIlrath’s days as a Ranger might be numbered — and the number could be a single digit one if the club recalls Raphael Diaz from the AHL Wolf Pack rather than permit the veteran defenseman to abscond to his native Switzerland.
Diaz, 29, signed a one-year, $700,000 contract as a free agent last summer with the Blueshirts with the understanding the organization would allow him to return to Europe after a mutually agreeable period if he did not make the varsity out of camp.
When Diaz cleared waivers just before the season opened after the Rangers opted to keep the 23-year-old McIlrath as their seventh defenseman, the parties agreed to revisit the situation after about a month.