Have the Rangers already achieved their offseason goals?

From a Presidents Trophy to missing the playoffs, the 2024-25 campaign was a disaster for the New York Rangers.

The downward spiral left the Rangers needing to make a series of fixes to what is clearly an extremely talented core. The draft is done and we’re only a day into free agency, but have the Rangers already achieved what they set out to do?

Former coach Peter Laviolette had clearly lost his locker room. Moving on from him was necessary, and the club didn't wait around to do so. Replacing him with long time Rangers target Mike Sullivan could prove a masterstroke.

Sullivan has a penchant for developing systems to suit his troops, rather than forcing square pegs into round holes, as well as being a superb communicator. Both factors make him an immediate upgrade over Laviolette, even if he comes with some questions of his own.

The Rangers defense was appalling last season, partly due to Laviolette’s ill-fitting 1-3-1system, partly through apathy and partly as a result of poor personnel. General manager Chris Drury did attempt to upgrade on-the-fly last season, acquiring Will Borgen, Urho Vaakanainen and Carson Soucy. The results were good, meh and awful, respectively.

Focusing on the blueline, Drury made an immediate free agency splash, signing Vlad Gavrikov from the Kings for seven years at an AAV of $7 million. That’s perfectly fair money for a lockdown defender who can chip in with a point every three games. While imposing, he’s not a hitter in the Ryan Lindgren mold, though his positional sense and responsible blueline play should allow Adam Fox to do what he does best.

It may have been wise to hold onto the enigmatic K’Andre Miller for another season, to see what Sullivan could extract from him. That said, he’s not a $7.5 million AAV player, which is the deal he inked with Carolina after a sign-and-trade. Getting two draft picks (one first-round, one second-round), as well as an intriguing defensive prospect in Scott Morrow (five points in 14 games last season and an ideal replacement for the perennially underrated Zac Jones), Drury has extracted maximum value for a player who failed to meet expectations.

Locking down emerging power forward Will Cuylle was another priority. While the team would undoubtedly have liked to ink him to a long-term deal, signing him for two years at $3.9 million AAV seems fair for the 23-year-old. Cuylle established career highs in goals (20), assists (25) and points (45) last campaign, earning top six and powerplay minutes.

Cuylle looks to be the natural successor to the now-moved Chris Kreider, with speed, power, skills and a nasty streak. His 301 hits ranking third in the NHL last season. He is a key building block for the Blueshirts.

Cuylle’s re-signing ties in with New York’s final objective: finding room for their prospects. Alongside Cuylle, Adam Edstrom carved out a role as a swift skating giant and Brett Berard proved a pleasant find, mixing a scoring touch with a pest’s mentality. Brennan Othmann showed flashes, and prized prospect Gabe Perrault also made a handful of appearances.

They won’t all play (Perrault still looks a season away from regular NHL hockey) but the Rangers, staggeringly short of cost-controlled youngsters, simply must see what they have in this group. That, though, is a question for Sullivan as much as it is an off-season puzzle for Drury to solve.

So, have the Rangers achieved their goals?

New coach: check. Improved defense: check. Cuylle re-signed: check.

So far so good for Drury.