Wendell Cruz-Imagn ImagesOn Monday, we got our first look at the New York Rangers’ opening-night roster as we transitioned from training camp to the regular season.
Over the weekend, the Rangers made a couple of roster cuts and tough decisions, finalizing their 23-man roster for the 2026-27 campaign.
The most substantial roster decision came with the 2026 fifth overall pick, Alberts Šmits.
At just 18 years old, Šmits’ play stood out throughout training camp and over the course of the preseason.
The speculation going into training camp was that Šmits would likely start the year in the American Hockey League with the Hartford Wolf Pack, but his play flipped that narrative completely.
Mike Sullivan was thoroughly impressed with Šmits’ maturity for a young defensemen, and he quickly realized that the 2026 first-round pick was worthy of making the Rangers’ opening-night roster.
“He’s made the team, he’s made the opening roster because he’s deserving,” Sullivan said of Šmits. “We feel based on where he’s at, we don’t think he’s overwhelmed. We think he belongs. The reason we think he belongs is through his play.
“The size and strength of him as a player at this point, the path that he’s taken to get here and playing the game against men, for all of those reasons, we think he’s deserving of being here… He played extremely well throughout the course of training camp, played well in the exhibition games. We think he’s deserving.”
The Rangers have also decided to carry two extra defensemen on the roster, with Matthew Robertson and Scott Morrow serving as extras.
Robertson started the 2025-26 campaign in the same position as an extra defenseman, but he eventually earned a full-time role with the Blueshirts, playing in 72 of the team’s 82 regular-season games.
The 25-year-old defenseman is in a prime position to slot right back into the lineup if the team feels it’s necessary to send Šmits down to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League in order for him to develop his game further.
Morrow was acquired by the Rangers from the Carolina Hurricanes last summer as part of the K’Andre Miller sign-and-trade deal.
With Morrow not waiver-exempt, the possibility of another team claiming him off waivers may have driven the Rangers to keep him on the 23-man roster, but Sullivan was also impressed with his training-camp performance.
“We think Scott had a strong camp also. Right now, our roster is the way it is. We feel like the guys that are here are deserving of being here. That’s why they are here. Both Scott and Robby (Robertson) have had pretty good training camps also, and based on what we have, the roster, the business side of the game, all those things, the decisions were made accordingly.”
The backup goaltender position was up for grabs going into training camp after the retirement of Jonathan Quick.
Dylan Garand was called up from the AHL at the end of last season and had a strong three-game audition with the Blueshirts, earning himself a two-year contract extension from the organization.
However, the Rangers also went out and acquired Joonas Korpisalo from the Boston Bruins over the offseason in exchange for Kalle Väisänen and a 2028 fourth-round pick.
Korpisalo’s $3 million cap hit and Garand not being waiver-exempt complicated the backup goaltending competition. Sullivan even confirmed to the media early in training camp that the idea of carrying three goaltenders on the 23-man roster was not off the table.
However, the Rangers ultimately opted to keep Korpisalo and waive Garand, who cleared waivers and reported to the Wolf Pack.
According to Mollie Walker of The New York Post, the Rangers organization believes Garand still has some developing to do and needs to be getting No. 1 goalie reps in the AHL.
“Was that conversation on the table? Of course,” Sullivan said about how seriously the team considered carrying three goalies. “We think very highly of Dylan. He’s an excellent goalie. He's played extremely well. He had a strong finish for us last year. He's a great kid. He's a good teammate. So these decisions are difficult.”
Matt Rempe, Jaroslav Chmelař, and Taylor Raddysh competed for the right-wing, fourth-line spot on the roster.
The Rangers decided to waive Raddysh despite his veteran status and having played 68 games for the Rangers last season. The 28-year-old forward cleared waivers, and reported to the Wolf Pack.
Rempe is slated to start the season in the lineup, playing on the fourth line alongside Joe Veleno and Tye Kartye. Meanwhile, Chmelař will serve as the extra forward, but Sullivan hinted at giving him an opportunity in the lineup at some point.
“I think for any player, but in particularly young players, it's not advantageous to be on the sidelines for extended periods of time,” Sullivan said. “That's probably an obvious response, and we're going to have to manage that accordingly, based on how we make decisions on who's in the lineup on given nights. And we will.”
The Rangers’ opening-night roster is set, and only time will tell how these decisions shake out.
