Los Angeles Kings forward Jarret Stoll.
Agencies/Los Angeles
The Rangers announced Monday they signed the former Los Angeles Kings forward Jarret Stoll, who was arrested in April and charged with felony possession of cocaine. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but reports have said Stoll accepted a one-year, $800,000 contract.
Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton told media on a conference call that the organization was thorough in speaking with former teammates, trainers and others who have known Stoll in a professional setting. The club was impressed.
“It all comes out the same, as a real character guy that made a mistake,” Gorton said.
Stoll, who pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors, said he has completed the legal process and the 32 hours of community service he received as a sentence.
“What I’m focusing on now,” Stoll said, “is playing for the New York Rangers, helping our team win, getting to New York and playing in Madison Square Garden. It’s an exciting time.”
Gorton said the Rangers always want players who “have won and been through it,” and Stoll certainly meets those qualifications. The 33-year-old played a key role as a leader on the Kings’ Stanley Cup winners in 2011-12 and 2013-14, the latter at the expense of the Rangers.
The Rangers fell to Los Angeles in five games in 2014. They reached the Eastern Conference finals last season, losing to Tampa Bay in seven games.
“We view this as somebody that can help us possibly get over that hump,” Gorton said. “He’s been a winning player in the league a couple of times ... and always in a leadership type of role.”
Stoll had six goals and 11 assists in 73 games last year. He has not scored more than 27 points in a season since 2010-11, when he had 20 goals and 23 assists. But he has been one of the NHL’s best in the faceoff circle. He won 50 percent of his 1,125 faceoffs last year, the worst mark of a career in which he has won 55.1 percent.
“As far as the faceoff circle goes, I take a lot of pride in that,” Stoll said.
But he wasn’t too proud to speak about his spring arrest, making a promise to Rangers fans about his character.
“That’s not who I am,” Stoll said. “That’s not the person I was brought up to be, and anybody important in my life knows that.”
