Can Dylan Garand become the Rangers’ savior?

While Garand is slightly older for a prospect, that maturity is an asset here. The Rangers wouldn’t want a 21-year-old fresh out of junior hockey thrown into a high-stakes role to save their season. Instead, they are turning to someone with substantial pro experience – and a netminder the organization holds in high regard internally.

Garand entered this season under immense pressure to perform. Any call-up meant he had to do everything in his power to prove himself, given his waiver status. This represents a massive NHL opportunity he can’t afford to squander.

Through four games, Garand has allowed just four goals, and had a solid 25-save effort against Tampa Bay on Tuesday. Shot volume hasn’t been overwhelming yet, fortunately. He currently boasts an even-strength goals saved above expected of 3.1 – that’s good for 10th in the NHL. By all accounts, he’s been one of the best young goaltenders in the game this season, giving the Rangers a legit chance to win every single night.

Garand isn’t big at six feet, so he’s got to get creative to make saves. Technically speaking, he was one of the better goalies in the AHL over the past few years. He tracks plays well, moves fluently without wasting energy and skates as well as anyone. Garand’s glove hand is typically positioned well and gives shooters little to shoot at, especially up high. Garand’s blocker hand was one of the quickest in the AHL last year, while also doing an excellent job of deflecting pucks out of danger. Few AHL goaltenders were as competitive on an individual play as he was last year.

Even with Garand looking solid early on (he went 2-0-1 last year, as well), the Rangers should continue exploring external depth. Relying on the pair originally slated for Hartford – Garand and Spencer Martin – while Korpisalo remains out until mid-November carries real risk. Martin brings plenty of NHL experience, but inconsistency plagued his time in Vancouver. There’s also 22-year-old Callum Tung, who has looked excellent with the Wolf Pack. He’s not close to NHL-ready yet, but he’s been highly regarded in the goalie scouting community and has performed remarkably well early on this year.

Targeting an elite netminder like Connor Hellebuyck would be the ultimate prize. But is that a real scenario? How would that work next year? If not Hellebuyck, who else? Jordan Binnington is a pending UFA and currently getting outplayed by Joel Hofer. We know he’s capable of game-saving moments (his international resume, for example), but he’s been wildly inconsistent in the NHL. Samuel Montembeault in Montreal makes sense on paper, but he is currently sidelined with an injury as well. Ultimately, teams are increasingly hesitant to trade goaltenders when the league-wide demand for three quality netminders in every system continues to climb. Regardless, it seems unlikely the Rangers will go with just Garand and Martin as the duo over the next few months.

But for now, it’s Garand’s net to lose.

We’ve seen goalies “come out of nowhere” plenty of times to steal the spotlight against all odds. Binnington, for example, spent seven years in the minors before helping the St. Louis Blues win the Stanley Cup (in a year when the club once sat last in points). Patrick Lalime wasn’t close to being Pittsburgh’s starter when he suddenly went 14-0-2 to start his pro career in 1996-97. Of course, there’s also Andrew Hammond, who struggled in the AHL before going 20-1-2 with the Ottawa Senators in 2014-15. How about Tim Thomas? He played four years in the AHL and another five in Europe before going on one of the greatest five-year runs in NHL history.

Garand isn’t a no-name goalie by any means. He was the 24th-ranked goalie prospect in DFO’s top 25 rankings in 2025-26. Garand was the CHL’s top goalie in 2022 with the Kamloops Blazers, too. But given the Rangers were willing to give him up on waivers before literally needing him to save their season, it’s been an unpredictable few weeks for the Blueshirts.

It’s not easy to replace one of the best goaltenders in the world. It’s even more difficult when you enter the season with three career starts to your credit. This is Garand’s best opportunity has had, and it might be his only legitimate chance to prove himself worthy of a full-time NHL gig. With the Metropolitan Division leaving a lot to be desired, the Rangers are a legitimate playoff threat. They’ve been excellent early, and Garand is a big reason why.

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