When the Rangers get to the end of camp, the real question isn’t just who looks good in preseason. It’s who survives the roster math. That’s the problem hanging over New York right now, and it starts with the 23rd spot.
Mike Sullivan didn’t shut the door on carrying three goalies, and that alone makes this worth watching. He was asked about the possibility and said, "Is that an option that's on the table for us?
Yes." He added that it isn’t ideal long term, but he’d be fine with it short term.
That matters because both Joonas Korpisalo and Dylan Garand would need waivers to go to Hartford.
Korpisalo feels like the easier call. He’s 32, carries a $4 million cap hit, and comes in with three straight seasons below .900 in save percentage.
Garand is a different story. The Rangers should absolutely be worried about losing him on waivers, and there doesn’t seem to be much appetite for a goalie battle between him and Korpisalo.
Garand looks like Igor Shesterkin’s understudy, with Spencer Martin still in the mix as the veteran presence.
If the Rangers don’t go with three goalies, then the fight shifts to the skaters and, more specifically, to who New York wants to protect from waivers. Assuming the established NHL regulars are safe, the lineup picture would leave Tye Kartye, Joe Veleno, and Taylor Raddysh on the fourth line, with Matthew Robertson and Braden Schneider on the third defense pair. That would leave three spots still up for grabs.
One of those spots has to be a defenseman, because the Rangers need at least seven on the roster. Urho Vaakanainen looked like the obvious seventh defenseman before camp started, but the way things opened on day one suggests the team may not be locked into that plan.
If New York decides it can’t risk losing Scott Morrow or Vincent Iorio on waivers, then the final blue-line spot likely goes to whichever one they value more. Right now, that feels like Morrow.
Anaheim losing the entire right side of its blueline this summer only complicates things, because either Morrow or Iorio would likely be claimed if exposed.
Up front, the path is narrower. The Rangers need at least one extra forward, and while some fans may be done with the Matt Rempe experiment, waiving him feels unlikely because another team would probably grab him. That leaves a cluster of younger names needing a strong preseason to force the issue: Jaroslav Chmelar, Adam Sykora, Liam Greentree, Dylan Roobroeck, Brody Lamb, Cole Beaudoin, and Jusso Parssinen.
Beaudoin is day-to-day with an injury and would be better served by top-six minutes in Hartford, so he’s effectively out of the running here. Lamb and Greentree both look like better fits for development time in Hartford than a fourth-line role.
Parssinen is useful because he can play anywhere, but it doesn’t feel like the Rangers are prioritizing him over the younger options. Roobroeck has dark-horse appeal, though Hartford minutes still make more sense than burying him on the fourth line.
That leaves Chmelar and Sykora as the real forward battle, and the day one groupings hint that Chmelar may have the edge. Eeli Tolvanen now factors into the mix too, which makes the climb even steeper.
Still, one of Chmelar or Sykora could beat out Taylor Raddysh for a fourth-line job. If not, the Rangers seem comfortable using Raddysh and Rempe as extra forwards, but they probably won’t carry Chmelar or Sykora unless it leads to real playing time.
Between the two, Chmelar looks like the likelier one to break through.
In Other News...
Lafrenire Suddenly Looks Like A Rangers Answer They Desperately Need
Alexis Lafrenire came into Rangers training camp with a real chance to lock down a top-six role, and the opportunity feels bigger now than it has in a while. After finishing last season strong, he arrived with momentum and the sort of lineup-opening runway that can change the conversation around a young forward in New York. For a team looking for more dependable scoring support, that kind of timing matters.
What has stood out early is not just the role, but the way he has carried himself through camp. The coaching staff has pointed to an improved work ethic and a more mature approach, signs that suggest he is starting to fit the day-to-day demands that come with being counted on more heavily. The Rangers do not need a flash of promise from Lafrenire anymore, they need the kind of consistency that can hold up when the season starts and the minutes get harder. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Camp Schedule Is Suddenly Raising The Stakes For Young Defensemen
After three straight days of training camp work, the Rangers took a breather on the fourth day, a small pause that comes with a larger complication. Mike Sullivan pointed to a preseason slate packed into four games over five nights, which means the club has to keep more bodies around longer than usual before it can really start narrowing the field.
For young defensemen, that schedule matters. Eighteen-year-old Alberts Smits is in line to get plenty of preseason looks as he pushes for a roster spot, and Matthew Robertson remains his main competition for the left side of the third pair. With so little room to trim the group in the immediate future, every camp practice and exhibition shift carries a little more weight than it normally would. [Read more 🡒]
Shesterkin Just Added Real Weight To The Rangers Roster Overhaul
Igor Shesterkins opinion carries extra weight around the Rangers, especially after a season in which his own numbers remained strong even as the team struggled to keep pace. So when he talked about feeling good about the clubs recent defensive additions, it was another sign that the overhaul in front of him is being noticed by the most important player on the roster.
The Rangers have remade the blue line with Sean Durzi, Marcus Pettersson and Alberts mits joining the mix, and Shesterkin is already focused on getting the group back to the playoffs. Mike Sullivan has also been quick to back his goalie as the best at his position and trust him with a heavy workload, which only adds to the sense that New York is asking a lot of the player who may determine how far this reset can go. [Read more 🡒]