Ville Meskanen is leaving the Rangers’ organization

24-year-old Ville Meskanen and the New York Rangers are parting ways. He has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract.

Meskanen was signed as a free agent out of Finland in 2018. He’s currently in the second year of a three-year entry level deal. He showed good promise in the first part of the 2018-19 season with the Hartford Wolf Pack, managing to put up 25 points through 38 games. 

There was even talk of promoting him to the NHL at one point. Unfortunately, it didn’t last. His play declined severely in the second half of the season and with an improved Hartford roster this season, Meskanen had been mostly relegated to fourth line duty. He recorded no goals and just four assists in 20 games this year before agreeing to the contract termination.

It’s assumed Meskanen will return to his home country of Finland once everything has been sorted out. Before coming to North America, he had spent four seasons with his hometown team of Ilves Tampere of SM-liiga (Finnish Elite League) putting up 44 points in 48 games. There’s a good possibility that’s his plan for the future.

Meanwhile, it what appears to be a related move, the Hartford Wolf Pack have recalled forward Ryan Gropp from the Maine Mariners of the ECHL. Gropp, 23, had seven points in 10 games with the Mariners this season. He was drafted in the 2^nd round, 41^st overall, but the Rangers in 2015. 

There's no word on whether Meskanen asked to have his contract terminated, or whether it was suggested by the Rangers.