NHL Off-Season Rankings: No. 7, New York Rangers

There’s no bigger market for the NHL than the New York City area.

There’s a hockey history in Manhattan that’s lasted nearly as long as the league itself, and the New York Rangers almost always try to push the needle as far as possible.

But the Rangers haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1994, and for the past two years the Blueshirts have missed the playoffs entirely. Underscoring their troubles last season, they were the Eastern Conference’s worst regular-season team. 

There’s still legitimate questions about the makeup of this new-look Rangers team, but in the weak Metropolitan Division, the Rangers have a great opportunity to step up in 2026-27 and reward their veterans for choosing to stick around.

Let’s analyze the Rangers' additions and subtractions from the off-season and discuss where their competitive future stands.

Pavel Dorofeyev (RW), Joonas Korpisalo (G), Marcus Pettersson (D), Sean Durzi (D), Oliver Bjorkstrand (RW), Joe Veleno (C)

The Rangers could’ve pivoted to a new era after trading superstar Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings last season.

Instead, they doubled down on their core and added a legitimate star in Pavel Dorofeyev, who was the victim of a salary cap crunch with the Vegas Golden Knights. Dorofeyev is a legitimate difference-maker who scored a career-high 37 goals last season and is only 25 years old. Drury instantly signed Dorofeyev to a seven-year, $77-million contract. 

That’s one of the best acquisitions any team has made this summer, but it’s not the only solid move. The Rangers needed help in their own zone, and Drury addressed that need with the acquisition of two defensemen – former Vancouver Canucks D-man Marcus Pettersson, and Sean Durzi of the Utah Mammoth.

Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov remain the Rangers’ top two defensemen, but Drury has essentially reshaped his bottom-two pairings, and they’ll provide much more help for star goalie Igor Shesterkin.

Veteran winger Oliver Bjorkstrand is also a nice acquisition, as he finished with 12 goals and 32 points in 80 games in limited minutes with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. But the biggest reason the Rangers are ranked this high is Dorofeyev. As the Blueshirts build toward a new generation, he'll be one of the franchise's foundational pieces.

Vincent Trocheck (C), Will Borgen (D), Jonathan Quick (G), Conor Sheary (LW)

The primary trade-off Drury made this summer was slotting in Dorofeyev's goal-scoring and taking out Trocheck's two-way prowess, sending him to the Mammoth in return for Durzi. 

Trocheck posted 53 points in 67 games last season, but when he’s healthy, he’s one of the better two-way forwards in the game who can give you 25 goals and 65 points in a full season.

The Rangers will be weaker down the middle in his absence, and with how difficult it is to acquire elite centers, they'll have to either develop a premier pivot or trade for one down the line.

Will Borgen, a perfectly serviceable fourth or fifth defenseman, was sent to the Boston Bruins. Jonathan Quick wrapped up a Hall-of-Fame career and retired, while Conor Sheary signed with the Buffalo Sabres. Ultimately, other than Trocheck, the Rangers didn’t part ways with any meaningful talent that was going to be part of the team's long-term plans.

There may be moves that come back to haunt Drury, but we don’t see anyone the Rangers will truly miss.

Are the Rangers better after this off-season? Yes, that can’t be questioned. Drury has followed through with his words last season that this would be a retool and not a rebuild.

However, the other thing that could be true is the Rangers are destined to be a mushy middle team that gets close to a playoff spot but ultimately falls short, while landing nowhere near the top of the draft. That type of competitive trajectory amounts to a wasted season.

But this is the bet that Drury has made, and his job security depends on how well the Rangers bounce back.

There are still some significant concerns about the Rangers. If anything happens to Shesterkin and coach Mike Sullivan has to turn to Joonas Korpisalo for any extended stretch, the effect on their playoff hopes will be considerable.

But there’s no question the Rangers had a great off-season, and that’s why they’re nearly a top-five team on this list.

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