New York failed to make the playoffs resulting a coaching change. After a run to the Eastern Conference Finals and being the toast of Broadway, coach Peter Laviolette was shown the door. Replaced by Mike Sullivan, who was an assistant coach under John Tortorella for the Blueshirts. Pittsburgh decided to go in a new direction, resulting in Sullivan becoming available and GM Chris Drury pounced, adding a coach he wanted for years. New York’s offensive numbers fell across the board. In some cases, regression was expected, in others, the decline was surprising. Artemi Panarin went from 120 to 89 points. Mika Zibanejad fell from 72 to 62 points, and that decline doesn’t come close to describing how poor of a season he had. Vincent Trocheck went from 77 to 59 points while Alexis Lafreniere, after a strong start that netted him a seven-year deal, collapsed completely, finishing with just 45 points. For those Blueshirts who were with the team all season, Will Cuylle is the only player who showed improvement. He went from 13 goals and 8 assists to 20 tallies, 25 apples and 301 hits, earning a two-year, $7.8 million deal. If one other positive existed, it was the play of JT Miller, who notched 13 markers and 22 helpers in 32 games after coming to New York for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini and a first-round pick. Miller was named the franchise’s 29 captain on September 16. The top-six, if Zibanejad skates on the wing, which he did after Miller arrived, is fairly set. Cuylle gets a chance at skating with Miller and Zibanejad, filling the role that was Chris Kreider’s. The second line, at least to start the season, is slated to be Panarin, Trocheck and Lafreniere. One would hope/expect that the production of the top six will revert back to prior levels, especially with Sullivan at the helm. Once you get past the first six, the next six is up in the air. New York’s fourth line is most likely Adam Edstrom, healthy after missing the last 31 games of the season with a lower body injury, Sam Carrick, who was one of the few to acquit himself well, and Matt Rempe, no longer viewed as a side show. Taylor Raddysh, signed to a two-year, $3 million deal, is a candidate for the fourth line, depending on the configuration of the third trio. As camp opens, Jusso Parssinen is penciled in as the third line center. Parssinen has yet to show he deserves a full-time role. If he fails in this chance, Zibanejad could shift back to center on that unit or Jonny Brodzinski will start there. Noah Laba is a name to keep in mind down the road. Brett Berard, recovered from his labrum tear, is the early leader to slot in at left wing. Right wing might be Raddysh, but this is where Brennan Othmann, who skated in 22 games last season, Gabe Perreault, off a cup of coffee with the team following his BC season, Conor Sheary or Raddysh will have a chance to break camp with the team. Adam Fox is the main offensive blueliner. While his advanced metrics were good, anyone who watched Fox last season knows that he did have as good of a campaign as usual. Now healthy, Fox should benefit substantially from skating with Vladislav Gavrikov, who signed a seven-year, $49 million deal with the Blueshirts. Gavrikov’s steady defensive presence will be a boon for Fox. The second and third pairings are not set. Braden Schneider, who played all season with a torn labrum, undergoing April surgery, could move from the right to left side and skate with Will Borgen. Acquired in December from Seattle in Kaapo Kakko deal. Borgen got off to a good start and was rewarded with a five-year, $20.5 million contract with the Rangers in January. After signing that day, his play fell off dramatically, making the contract look questionable. The third pair could be Scott Morrow, acquired in the K’Andre Miller deal, who would be the second best offensive blueliner, though he is not guaranteed to break camp with the team. If Morrow starts, he is likely paired with Carson Soucy, in the final year of a deal that pays him $3.2 million. The hope was Soucy would find his game paired again last season with Borgen. That proved to be far from the case as he was nightmarish in New York. If Soucy doesn’t start, Urho Vaakanainen, acquired in the Jacob Trouba deal, will. Igor Shesterkin did not have his usual fine campaign. He went 27-29-5 with a 2.86 goals-against average (GAA) and a .905 save percentage. It was the first time he missed the 30-win mark in four years, and the ratios were career-worsts for the netminder. Igor’s GAA rose and SV% fell for the third straight year. An improved defense and system should help. Jonathan Quick, brilliant in 2024-25, saw his numbers decline across the board and could be in the final season of his Hall of Fame career. Prediction: The offense is better across the board. Cuylle builds off his prior success while Zibanejad is better at wing. Parssinen loses the job partway through the season with Brodzinski and others filling the spot until the trade deadline. Othmann makes the team, adding 18 goals. Fox rebounds under Sullivan and David Quinn to have a Norris Trophy like campaign and make the us Olympic team. Morrow breaks camp with the team and posts 30+ points. Shesterkin turns back the clock as well, winning 35 games. The Rangers make the playoffs as the seventh seed but bow out in the first round. All stats courtesy of naturalstattrick.com, moneypuck.com, hockeyviz.com, allthreezones.com, hockey-reference.com, eliteprospects.com unless otherwise noted
