Chris Drury set out to fix the Rangers’ defense, and early on, the makeover is doing exactly what it was supposed to do.
After a last-place finish in the Eastern Conference last season, New York went into the offseason with a clear priority: shore up the blue line. The free-agent market didn’t offer much, so Drury went shopping via trade, targeting Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson to form the club’s new second pair. Through eight games, that move looks sharp.
The Rangers are 6-2-0 and sit second in the Metropolitan Division entering Thursday. Most of the buzz has centered on the scoring, especially Alexis Lafreniere, but the real surprise has been how steady the defense has been. In some ways, it’s the most important thing the Rangers have going right.
Durzi fit the brief immediately. He’s the puck-moving defenseman Mike Sullivan said the team needed before the offseason even got rolling.
Pettersson brought something else: familiarity. He and Sullivan were both with the Penguins from 2019 until 2025, and that comfort level has shown early.
The numbers back it up. According to NHL EDGE stats, Durzi and Pettersson have been on the ice for just one five-on-five goal against through the Rangers’ first eight games. They’ve also been on the ice for two Rangers goals overall.
That matters even more when stacked against what happened last season, when Adam Fox’s injury helped send the defense into a tailspin. This year, the whole group has looked far sturdier.
New York is allowing just 1.75 goals per game through eight contests, the second-best mark in the NHL. Only the Dallas Stars have been better at 1.71 through seven games.
The bigger picture is clear: the Rangers have more depth, and it shows. Fox and Gavrikov were already penciled in as the top pair, but the front office knew they needed more support - especially with Braden Schneider struggling in a bigger role last season. So Drury made the moves for Durzi and Pettersson, sending out Vincent Trocheck and a 2030 first-round pick, respectively.
Those bets have already paid off. New York can now lean on more than one pair to hold the fort, and Schneider has been pushed down to the third pair on the right side. In camp, rookie and fifth-overall pick Alberts Smits earned the third-pairing spot with a strong preseason, beating out Matthew Robertson.
It hasn’t been a soft opening schedule, either. The Rangers have beaten playoff teams from last season, including the Tampa Bay Lightning twice and the Utah Mammoth.
For now, Drury’s gamble looks like a good one. The real test comes later, but in the season’s opening stretch, Durzi and Pettersson have done exactly what the Rangers needed.
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Rangers Fans Will Want To See Chytils Next Step In Vancouver
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The roster move to make it happen came with a cost, as the Canucks waived center Aatu Raty to open a spot. For Rangers fans still tracking Chytils path, this is the next checkpoint to watch: how he looks coming off the injury, and how quickly he can settle back into a lineup that has been waiting for his arrival. [Read more 🡒]