The Rangers’ search for depth at center won’t be found in the Ivy League.
Stud Harvard center Alex Kerfoot told the Rangers on Wednesday he would not be signing with the team, after they were among his final few choices. TSN reported that Kerfoot will instead sign with the Avalanche.
Kerfoot, a Hobey Baker finalist who recorded 45 points (16-29) for the Crimson last year, was originally selected by the Devils in the fifth round of the 2012 entry draft at 150th overall but decided to go the route of one-time teammate Jimmy Vesey and become a free agent after four years of college.
The Rangers appear painfully thin at center with teenage 2017 first-rounder Lias Andersson and veteran David Desharnais apparently 3 and 4 on the depth chart down the middle.
Mika Zibanejad and Kevin Hayes are 1 and 2, with each moving up a rung in the aftermath of Derek Stepan’s departure to Arizona via the draft-day trade for the seventh-overall selection used on Andersson and young righty defenseman Anthony DeAngelo.
With Larry Brooks