NEW YORK RANGERS SIGN RECENTLY ARRESTED CENTER STOLL

The New York Rangers are giving former Los Angeles Kings center Jarret Stoll a second chance a few months after he pleaded guilty to reduced charges in a cocaine case.

The Rangers on Monday signed Stoll to a oneyear, $800,000 contact in a deal that gives the NHL’s best team in the regular season in 2014 a center who is outstanding on faceoffs, good on the penalty kill and a veteran who knows what it takes to win the Stanley Cup.

The negative is obviously Stoll’s recent problems off the ice.

The 33-year-old pleaded guilty in June to two reduced misdemeanor charges to resolve a felony cocaine case stemming from his April arrest at a Las Vegas Strip swimming pool. A felony charge of cocaine possession was dismissed.

Stoll has completed the required 32 hours of community service. He’s also starting a program to help others understand the dangers of using alcohol and controlled substances.

Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton said he spent a lot of time with Stoll talking about the incident. The franchise also talked to those who knew him before he got to the NHL.

“It all comes out the same, as a real character guy who made a mistake,” Gorton said.

Stoll refused to discuss the circumstances surrounding his arrest. When asked whether people had a right to be concerned that the team was signing someone associated with a cocaine charge, he said:

“I know what kind of person I am,” he said. “I know what kind of hockey player I am. People around me know what kind of person I am. For the outside world to think what they think, it really doesn’t have an impact on myself or the way I play hockey. That’s not who I am. Anybody who is important in my life knows that.”