Mike Sullivan Is the Rangers’ Biggest X Factor This Season

However, Sullivan may need to delve deeper into certain areas. How did a team that won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2024 go down in flames a year later? No question, the trade rumors surrounding several big names last season played a toll. It will be up to Sullivan to come in (and maybe with some help from president and general manager Chris Drury) to fix that. Offering a clean slate will help – but he may need to have honest and heartfelt conversations with some of these players if he hasn’t already. We know that Sullivan has flown to Sweden to meet with Mika Zibanejad at his home, according to his wife Irma, who was cited in a recent New York Post article (from “Mika Zibanejad’s wife gives big hint about Rangers star’s future as speculation swirls,” New York Post, 6/16/25). So that’s an inter esting development as the future Hall of Fame coach continues to build rapport with his players as we approach training camp.

Getting the Most Out of Less Than Ideal Defenses

One thing that separates elite coaches from average ones is the ability to find success in less-than-ideal situations. For the Rangers, the biggest challenge on the ice remains on the blue line.

While Drury made important additions with the Vladislav Gavrikov signing and the addition of young talent, Scott Morrow , the Rangers don’t have an obvious answer for the left side on the second defensive pair, although we anticipate it will be Braden Schneider to st art off. Either that, or the Rangers can ask Carson Soucy or Urho Vaakanainen to play inside the top four; both of whom have been featured on the third pair for the majority of their NHL careers.

Regardless, all of the options aren’t great. Can Sullivan manage through it and win enough games in the short term until the trade deadline? That’s what elite coaches do. And we’ve seen him take defensemen like John Marino and Marcus Pettersson’s games to another level when he coached them in Pittsburgh.

Growing Young Players

In a hard salary cap world, young and cheap talent isn’t just a desire – it’s a necessity. The Rangers, over the past couple of years, have gotten a bargain play out of Will Cuylle, who posted 45 points in 82 games played last season.

Now it’s time for a new wave of prospects . Brennan Othmann, Gabr iel Perreault, Morrow and Brett Berard will dominate the headlines for younger names that can make the roster out of training camp in the coming weeks. And at least two of them will probably make it. Plus, you have to throw in some darkhorse candidates like Dylan Roobroeck and Noah Laba.

Then there are younger and more established players like Alexis Lafrenière and Cuylle. Good coaches identify talent, they don’t shy away from developing it and putting it in the best positions to succeed.

Sullivan has proven he can get the job done in the past as one of the premier coaches in the league. Now, a new challenge lies ahead. The 2025-26 Rangers have their flaws, from the defense to no obvious answer to replace Chris Kreider. It’ll be up to Sullivan and his coaching staff to figure it out and put his players in the best positions to succeed. Injuries and slumps happen along the way for every team, but an elite coach can overcome flaws and buy the front office time to fix the obvious holes on the roster as trade deadlines approach.