The Rangers have been a rather impressive team, especially after the run they went on this past season. The Blueshirts battled their way through the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. They would eventually lose out to the Tampa Bay Lightning but kept it competitive as they forced six games. Since the start of their re-tool back in 2017, the Rangers have turned things around for the direction of their franchise. For a team that was known for how competitive they were in the 2010s when Henrik Lundqvist was the master netminder in Madison Square Garden, the team looks to be headed back to their true championship contending ways. When you attract stars like Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin, and Jacob Trouba and draft/develop guys like Alexis Lafrenière, Igor Shesterkin, and Kappo Kakko you kickstart your re-tool very quickly.
Last summer the Rangers sidestepped the approach of their methodical rebuild and began to lean on grit and intangibles. They added guys like Kevin Rooney and Ryan Reaves but didn’t really address any major needs in their depth. Still, it led to a conference finals berth where it seems things were right on track despite the missteps taken last summer. The Rangers still created a strong competitive squad that could make the playoffs, but they depended far too much on the mind-boggling play of goaltender Igor Shesterkin. Another nice development for the Blueshirts was that their prospects stepped up big time, especially when called upon in the playoffs. The Rangers built themselves one of the best prospect pools in hockey leading up to last year’s playoff run. Yet, despite solid play in their roles, they’re still waiting for one of the kids to take a big leap forward. Having a competitive roster and developing it properly is one thing. But managing to sustain success after a solid run and grow their roster shows the true strength of a team.
The drafting has been good, but development has been a major issue. The same goes for the team’s cap management which puts them in an interesting spot after the additions they got. But the Rangers despite this still looked to take their depth issues head-on. The Rangers this offseason added Vincent Trocheck, and Ryan Carpenter to strengthen depth at center, and Jaroslav Halak to back up Shesterkin. Trocheck, the former Florida Panther and more recently Carolina Hurricane, was added to be the Rangers’ new second-line center in place of Ryan Strome. Trocheck had 51 points (21 goals, 30 assists) in 81 games for the Carolina Hurricanes last season and 10 points (six goals, four assists) in 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Trocheck is a solid replacement and even upgrade over Strome. Trocheck excels at creating dangerous chances for himself in tight, especially deflections and one-timers.
He also brings great passing ability and secondary playmaking behind Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin in the lineup. Carpenter brings meaningful depth to a Rangers roster that definitely needed it this past postseason. The veteran forward can play anywhere up front and provides plenty of grit like the Rangers, while also being a useful checker and penalty killer. Finally, Jaroslav Halak was signed to a one-year contract to back up Igor Shesterkin. Halak replaces Alexandar Georgiev, who was traded to the Colorado Avalanche on July 7. Last season, Halak did not get a lot of playing time in Vancouver but has always been known as a solid backup goaltender even at his age.
The Rangers look to be in a solid position heading into next season. They are still one of the stronger teams in their division and have the potential to become a major player in the Eastern Conference. Now led by new captain Jacob Trouba, who will be the Rangers’ first captain since Ryan McDonagh (2014-15 – 2017-18), the Rangers are stronger than they have been in recent years. Only one major thing concerns them heading into this season. The New York Rangers don’t have much cap space left heading into next season. And they still need to address the need of adding a veteran defenseman who can play on the left side with Braden Schneider. According to CapFriendly, the Rangers have just around a million at the moment ($1,008,531). General manager Chris Drury has suggested that they may be in the market for a veteran left defenseman in the $800,000 range. They have five of their six defensemen locked into the lineup. But much remains to be said as to who will play alongside sophomore Braden Schneider.
If the Rangers really feel the need for a veteran left defenseman, they can wait until the preseason and maybe sign one to a PTO (Professional Tryout). But, the Rangers could use Zachary Jones in that spot. The only concern being is that they may not want a third pair that features a 21-year-old (Jones) and a 20-year-old (Schneider), and should one of the youngsters not seize the role, New York wouldn’t. t have a failsafe already in place. Even with this issue, the New York Rangers are in a much better position than a lot of teams in their conference. They have a solid foundation led by arguably the best goalie in the world. With a high chance to make it deep into the playoffs again, they’re going to be looking to bring something back to Madison Square Garden that hasn’t been there since 1994.
.