Head coach Peter Laviolette had an impressive first season behind the New York Rangers bench last season. The club set career highs in games, won points, and captured the President’s Trophy as the NHL’s top team in the regular season.
He was able to check all the boxes except one. The team made it to the Eastern Conference Finals but lost to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. It was a disappointing end to an incredible season.
With the start of their 2024-’25 season on Wednesday night, it’s time to look at this year’s Blueshirts.
Subtraction & Addidtion
At the end of every season, some players leave, and some new players arrive.
Subtractions
Blake Wheeler, Barclay Goodrow, Erik Gustafsson, Alex Wennberg, Jack Roslovic.
Additions
Reilly Smith, Saam Carrick.
Smith was acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1. He had 40 points (13 goals, 27 assists) in 76 games for the Penguins last season. He won the Stanley Cup while with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023.
The Rangers signed Carrick to a one-year, $1 million contract on July 1. Carrick had 16 points (10 goals, six assists) in 77 games combined with the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers last season. He had one assist in 10 Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Oilers, who lost to Florida in the Stanley Cup Final.
Offense
The Rangers have many of the same personnel this season as last, though some questions remain to be answered. The projected line combinations could look like this in Pittsburgh.
Chris Kreider – Mika Zibanejad – Smith
Artemi Panarin – Vincent Trocheck- Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle – Filip Chytil – Kappo Kakko
Adam Edstrom – Carrick – Matt Rempe
Jonny Brodzinski
Jimmy Vesey is out of the lineup due to an injury. The club is leaning towards placing him in LTIR, and based on what they decide to do will determine if the team has enough cap space to carry 13 forwards.
Panarin has had injury issues during training camp that have seen him miss games and, more importantly, practice time. He should be in the lineup when the team visits Pittsburgh on Opening Night.
Defense
Zac Jones has locked in a spot on the blue line this season. The club has been looking at players who can fill in for injured defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who missed time with an injury suffered early in the preseason schedule.
Rookie Victor Mancini, Chad Ruhwedel, and Mathew Robertson (who returned to play in the last preseason game after missing almost all of training camp) have been battling for the spot. Mancini has had the edge, and Ruhwedel has the experience. As with Vesey, where Lindgren winds up (IR or LTIR) will dictate how many defensemen the team will carry.
Laviolette and his coaching staff have been using different defensive pairings throughout camp. This is the most likely projection;
K’Andre Miller – Adam Fox
Zac Jones – Victor Mancini
Bradeen Schneider – Jacob Trouba
*Ruhwedel – Should the team be able to carry seven defensemen.
Goaltenders
Entering his sixth season, Igor Shesterkin will again be the team’s number-one goalie. He is entering the final year of his contract and will be an unrestricted free agent. Shesterkin’s agent and their team have stated that if he and the Rangers have not agreed to a new contract before opening night, they will not negotiate through the season.
Shestrkin is coming off a strong season following a slow start last year. He had a 36-17-2 record, a 2.55 GAA, and a .912 save percentage.
Three-time Stanley Cup winner Johnathan Quick will again back up Shesterkin. Quick showed confidence in goal for the Blueshirts while compiling an 18-6-2 record.
Question Marks
There are many question marks as the regular season begins this week.
Can Igor play through the contract distractions?
Will Panarin be able to duplicate last season?
Is this the year Kakko steps up?
Did Lafreinere have a fluke of a great year last year, or is this the player the team has been waiting for?
Most of these answers we are looking for will dictate how successful or bad the season will be.
Wednesday night, the fun begins for Rangerstown.
Follow Frank on X at @RangerProud
