2025-26 NHL team preview: New York Rangers

LAST SEASON

It’s easy to forget just how quickly the Rangers crumbled from top-tier Stanley Cup contender to a non-playoff team hosting a fire sale. One year ago, they were the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners, fresh off an Eastern Conference Final berth. Artemi Panarin had just delivered a career-best 120 points. Alexis Lafreniere had broken out to the point he was being talked up as a 4 Nations Face-Off roster candidate for Canada. The Blueshirts opened their 2024-25 campaign 12-4-1. But something shifted on a Western road trip during which they dropped five consecutive games. General manager Chris Drury opened the phone lines for calls on his veterans and began disassembling the Ranger leadership group.

They traded their captain, defenseman Jacob Trouba, to the Anaheim Ducks in December. Not even two weeks later, the Rangers gave up on 2019 No. 2 overall pick Kaapo Kakko, sending him to the Seattle Kraken. Filip Chytil headed to the Vancouver Canucks in a splashy January trade for J.T. Miller. Ryan Lindgren and Reilly Smith received new homes later that winter, too, as the Rangers struggled to stay alive in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt. Come April, they missed the postseason by half a dozen points and jettisoned coach Peter Laviolette. The Rangers then dealt franchise mainstay power forward Chris Kreider to Anaheim and two-way defenseman K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes over the summer. All that happened in less than a year.

So the question heading into 2025-26 is…who the heck are the Rangers now? Are they hoping to immediately return to contention under new head coach Mike Sullivan? Are they laying low for this season, waiting to attack the loaded 2026 UFA class with their wallet? And how much runway does Drury have before mercurial owner James Dolan has had enough?

KEY ADDITIONS & DEPARTURES

Additions

Vladislav Gavrikov, D
Taylor Raddysh, RW
Scott Morrow, D
Conor Sheary, LW (PTO)
Andrej Sustr, D (PTO)
Mike Sullivan, head coach

Departures

Chris Kreider, LW (Ana)
K’Andre Miller, D (Car)
Zac Jones, D (Buf)
Calvin de Haan, D (SHL)
Arthur Kaliyev, RW (Ott)
Peter Laviolette, head coach

OFFENSE

The Rangers finished in the top half in goals last season, but that was buoyed by one of the league’s better shooting percentages. They actually generated fewer 5-on-5 scoring chances than they did the previous season, while their power play cratered from third to 28^th in the league. An aging core was likely to blame; Panarin’s explosive 2023-24 was an anomaly at age 32, he went from a 120-point player to an 89-point player, and his linemate Lafreniere regressed as a result. Kreider wrestled with a slew of injuries and slid from 39 to 22 goals. Mika Zibanejad was a shell of his peak self, managing only 20 goals and generating 5-on-5 shots and scoring chances at the lowest rates of his career.

The Rangers’ offense is a clear concern given they really haven’t replaced Kreider’s production, with all due respect to depth addition Taylor Raddysh, and that they rely on so many players north of 30 to be their key drivers. That said: the Miller trade was impactful. He was better than a point-per-game player in his 32 contests post-trade – and so was Zibanejad as Miller’s linemate. So the Rangers still have the upside to be a slightly above average offensive team, particularly if Lafreniere can correct course and if Will Cuylle can continue his power forward breakout. The latter delivered 20 goals as a sophomore and should replace Kreider as a full-time top-sixer in 2025-26. A bigger breakout similar to Matthew Knies’ with the Toronto Maple Leafs last year is within reach.

DEFENSE

While the Rangers maintained a decent penalty kill last season, they mostly left elite goaltender Igor Shesterkin swimming around his crease with little help. Only four teams allowed more shots at 5-on-5, and the Rangers allowed the third-most high-danger chances at 5-on-5. Only the Montreal Canadiens’ Sam Montembeault had a higher expected goals against mark than Shesterkin.

Adam Fox remains one of the best all-around defensemen this generation, but last season won’t go down as a career highlight. He was maligned for his play on the American blueline at the 4 Nations Face-Off, and that seemed to be the lasting anecdotal taste from his season. But guess what? He was still pretty elite in what was perceived as a down year. Even though the Rangers were a below-average defensive club, they got 55.93 percent of the shot attempts, 56.67 percent of the scoring chances and 55.70 percent of the expected goals with Fox on the ice. Their 5-on-5 goal differential was plus-19 with Fox on the ice and minus-8 without him. He wasn’t – and isn’t – the problem. The problem was his lack of a reliable No. 2, and the Rangers addressed that in a big way by signing Vladislav Gavrikov away from the Los Angeles Kings on a seven-year, $49-million deal. The big lefthander is one of the best shutdown defensemen in the NHL at 5-on-5 and on the penalty kill. Whether he plays with Fox or not, he should significantly soften Shesterkin’s difficulty of workload.

We can expect Fox and Gavrikov to log massive minutes this season, as the D-corps depth drops off significantly behind them now that Trouba and Miller are gone from last year’s top four. Carson Soucy and Will Borgen will likely form a physical second pair that would ideally be a third pair on a true contender, while the Rangers will hope the big, mobile Urho Vaakanainen and Braden Schneider, still only 26 and 23, respectively, will progress under year 1 of Mike Sullivan.

GOALTENDING

Shesterkin, 29, snatched many headlines signing an eight-year contract last December, making him the highest-paid goalie in NHL history at an $11.5-million AAV. It thus wasn’t the best look when he posted the worst goals-against average (2.86) and save percentage (.905) of his career last season. But those stats were highly deceiving. No goalie faced or saved more shots in 2024-25. He still miraculously managed six shutouts. Among 53 goalies who played 25 or more games, he sat 11^th in goals saved above expected per 60. He’s still the same Shesterkin, arguably the most athletic puck-stopper in the NHL, armed with incredibly quick reflexes. He was not the Rangers’ weakness by any means, and merely average defensive play in front of him would help him post All-Star numbers again.

Backing him up is Jonathan Quick, who, after a few years struggling in purgatory as a declining starter, has settled in as a respectable No. 2 goalie. He can eat 20 starts to keep Shesterkin fresh but, at 39, Quick can no longer bail out bad defensive play. He placed near the bottom of the league in goals saved above expected per 60 last season.

COACHING

Sullivan brought home two Stanley Cups across 10 fruitful seasons as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ head coach, during which the team held a .602 points percentage, but it was time for a change. They last won a playoff series in 2017-18 and had missed in three consecutive years. The mutual parting of ways made sense. When the Pens were at their best under him, they played speedy, aggressive, north-south hockey. The Rangers have plenty of scrappy personalities who could flourish under his tutelage, from Cuylle to Vincent Trocheck to Miller. But it will be interesting to see if a team with so many thirtysomethings in prominent roles can keep up with Sullivan’s demanding style. He has years of runway as one of the league’s most respected bench bosses, so it remains to be seen if this is the group he’s been brought in to guide or whether he’s more of a long-term investment who will have a very different team a year from now.

ROOKIES

Given the Rangers’ additions beyond Gavrikov were modest this summer, whether they return to the playoffs could depend on the contributions of a couple notable rookies. Their No. 1 prospect, scoring left winger Gabe Perreault, turned pro after a decorated college career late last season and debuted with the Rangers, albeit with fairly minimal usage. He projects to get a long look in the top nine this time around, and he has the talent to force his way onto a scoring line at some point. He set the single-season scoring record at USA Hockey’s National Team Development program in 2022-23. The Rangers badly need a playmaker with upside like his. Brennan Othmann hasn’t made noise across his first 25 NHL games (three in 2023-24 and 22 last season, meaning he’s still officially a rookie) but doesn’t have much left to prove as a goal-scorer in the AHL. At 22, he’s inching toward “If it was going to happen, it would have by now” status.

We should also keep an eye on Scott Morrow, who came over from the Hurricanes in the Miller trade. Morrow, an offensive defenseman, impressed with 39 points in 53 games in the AHL last season. He saw seen minimal NHL opportunities with the Canes, blocked by veterans and/or superior prospects. Given the Rangers’ depth problems on ‘D,’ Morrow has a real opportunity to push for full-time duty this season. He’s 22, like Othmann, but that’s younger in defenseman years than it is forward years.

BURNING QUESTIONS

1. Is this Artemi Panarin’s final season as a Ranger? Inked in the summer of 2019 on a seven-year contract at an $11.64 million AAV, Panarin is one of the greatest UFA signings of all-time. Across the first six seasons of his deal, he’s fourth in NHL scoring. He’s the franchise leader in points per game by a significant margin at 1.28. But does it make sense to retain him when he’ll turn 35 in October of next season? The Rangers may be wiser to chase their next version of Panarin next summer, someone in his late 20s. The silence on extension talks for the Bread Man speaks volumes; he’ll also fetch a fantastic return at the Trade Deadline should the Rangers be sellers. An alternative plan would be to bring him back at a discount should he be open to one. But if he wants to be paid at full value, the Rangers will be better off seeing who else goes to market next July 1.

2. Was 2023-24 Alex Lafreniere an anomaly, not a breakout? The season before last, Lafreniere came into his own, setting career bests in all the important individual offensive play-driving metrics at 5-on-5. Last season, he regressed to the rates of his first three seasons, making his one big year the outlier. Did the 2020 No. 1 overall pick simply have one great season because he was hitched to Panarin during his own career year? Or can Sullivan get Lafreniere’s ascension back on track?

3. What are the Rangers planning for the 2026 offseason? With Panarin’s deal off the books and the salary cap projected at $104 million, the Rangers have close to $30 million in cap space squirreled away, just in time for an epic summer that includes, at least for now, UFAs such as Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov, Jack Eichel, Kyle Connor and many more. The Rangers are perennially a strong bet to pursue, and successfully woo, any top-end free agent. Will they make a run at one or even two of the big names in hopes of a major reload?

PREDICTION

What the Rangers did do was fix the left side of their defense with Gavrikov and their culture with Sullivan stepping in behind the bench. But what they didn’t do intrigues me far more. They didn’t pursue an extension with Panarin or do much to replace Kreider up front. I get the sense the Rangers are hedging in 2025-26, hoping for a return to the postseason but not needing one. It might be better for the franchise if they miss the playoffs again, trade Panarin for a big futures package, load up at the Draft (they already have two first-rounders) and spend big in 2026 free agency. A Rangers reload a year from now would be pretty formidable.

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