The New York Rangers have made moves this offseason that should help, but one recent projection still has them stuck in the NHL’s middle class when 2026-27 rolls around.
That view came from Harman Dayal of The Athletic in an August 4 article about teams that could get trapped in the so-called “mushy middle” - clubs that are good enough to hang around the playoff picture, but not built to go far once they get there.
Dayal didn’t put the Rangers in the same tier as the Eastern Conference’s best teams, and he pointed to the age of the core and the lack of impact youth coming behind it as the main reasons for concern.
“The current lineup isn’t close to the level of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. Sure, there’s a long-shot scenario where Shesterkin steals a series if they squeak into the postseason, but the odds of a deep playoff run feel slim to none.
The bigger issue is that their core is aging - Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, Fox, Shesterkin and Vladislav Gavrikov are all in their late 20s or early 30s - and there isn’t enough of a strong youth movement coming, as the team’s prospect pool is average and they’ve already traded away two of their next four first-round picks.”
That’s the heart of the problem for the Rangers: the roster has enough talent to stay relevant, but not enough certainty beneath the surface to suggest a real jump is coming.
Chris Drury has tried to walk a narrow path with his offseason decisions. The club’s changes, including finally moving on from Vincent Trocheck, brought back Sean Durzi and Cole Beaudoin.
Beaudoin is viewed as the kind of player who could become a meaningful piece, but nothing about that is guaranteed. The same uncertainty applies to Noah Laba, Gabe Perreault, Carey Terrance, and Jaroslav Chmelař.
If those players all develop, the Rangers could end up with a strong young foundation. But that remains an “if.” Right now, the only prospect who looks close to a sure thing is Alberts Smits.
That leaves Drury with a bigger task: keep finding picks and prospects before the roster has to be turned over in a major way.
Igor Shesterkin gives the Rangers a path to stay alive in the standings, but not necessarily a path to do much damage once the playoffs begin. Dayal’s point is that Shesterkin can carry a team for stretches, maybe even enough to add five or six wins, but expecting him to drag the club through multiple rounds is another matter entirely.
And that matters because the Rangers would likely face heavyweights like the Tampa Bay Lightning or Carolina Hurricanes in a first-round matchup. Dayal’s warning was blunt: the Rangers do not appear to have the depth to go head-to-head with Carolina, Tampa, Florida, or even Buffalo in a series.
The other major issue is scoring, which could again be the swing factor. Pavel Dorofeyev should help, but he can’t be the whole answer. The Rangers need more from elsewhere, whether that means Alexis Lafrenière breaking through, Zibanejad and Miller rediscovering more, or some kind of hot streak turning the team into a real threat.
Without steadier offense, the same problem that haunted them last season could show up again. The Rangers may improve, but the gap between “better” and “good enough” is still the question hanging over them.
The bottom line from this outlook is simple: New York should be stronger next season, but that does not automatically mean dangerous. Making the playoffs is one thing. Being built to matter once they get there is something else.
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Joonas Korpisalo and Sean Durzi are the latest attempts to harden that roster against a repeat in 2026-27, giving New York more cover in goal and on defense if the injury bug shows up again. The question now is whether those additions are enough to change the conversation from survival to actual stability, because the Rangers know all too well how quickly a season can unravel when the depth chart gets tested. [Read more 🡒]