Two down, two to go. The Rangers signed the second of their four arbitration-bound restricted free agents Friday when they agreed to a one-year, $800,000 contract with defenseman Dylan McIlrath
But, the fact that McIlrath is signed doesn’t necessarily signal a change in his status with coach Alain Vigneault, who virtually never played McIlrath when his other six defensemen were healthy last season – no matter how exhausted fellow right-siders Dan Girardi or Dan Boyle were or how poorly they played.
McIlrath, 24, played in only 34 regular-season games as a rookie last season, and one playoff game (the Rangers’ only win, by the way) and if he doesn’t get into at least 42 games this coming season he will be an unrestricted free agent next July 1.