Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox remain the standard-bearers for the Rangers in The Athletic’s preseason Player Tiers, with both landing in the publication’s “Franchise Players” category for a second straight year.
That group sits just below “MVP” in The Athletic’s five-tier system, and it is reserved for “someone who is the best player on a contending team or second-best on a championship-caliber team. An unquestionably elite player.” Shesterkin was placed in 2B, while Fox came in at 2C.
Shesterkin was the No. 2 goaltender on the list, trailing only Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, and the panel was lavish in its praise. “The Rangers are nothing without their franchise goaltender” was the opening line of the evaluation. The writeup pointed to New York’s shaky team defense and Shesterkin’s ability to keep games within reach, noting that he posted 34 quality starts in 51 appearances and finished with 21 goals saved above expected, fifth in the league.
One former player took the praise even further.
“I still have Shesterkin as my best,” he said. “Look, I wouldn’t put him as a Tier 1 guy either, but maybe the only one that would be 2A. If you asked me to pick a guy for my team right now that is gonna give me the best chance to win the Cup, that’s the guy I would go with.”
Fox, meanwhile, drew a more divided response. Some evaluators questioned his footspeed and shot, with one former player saying, “I don’t think he’s fast enough,” while another scout said, “He doesn’t have that speed and athleticism to crack a shift open the way the [Quinn] Hughes, [Cale] Makar types can, but he’s a really good defenseman.”
But the larger theme around Fox was his intelligence and efficiency. One former player called attention to the details that make him so effective, while an executive went even further, saying, “I think he’s brilliant.”
The review also projected Fox to have the third-best Net Rating among defensemen this season at plus-17.8 and described him this way: “He may not have speed or size,” but his smarts are unparalleled. He’s an on-ice genius.
Four other Rangers showed up in the final tier, “Support,” which The Athletic defines as a top-150 player “who would offer strong support to a contending or championship core, but who wouldn’t be an integral piece within it.”
Pavel Dorofeyev was the first of that group, landing in 5A after joining the Rangers from the Vegas Golden Knights and quickly signing a seven-year, $77 million contract with an $11 million average annual value. His scoring track record - 35 and 37 goals over the last two seasons - earned him praise, though one analyst warned, “I think it’s fair to expect a regression now that he’s away from the Vegas system.”
J.T. Miller also checked in at 5A, a full tier lower than he was last season.
His first full season with New York after the January 2025 trade from the Vancouver Canucks was described in unflattering terms, with “lackluster defense” and “injury issues” cited as the main reasons for the drop. Still, the assessment added that New York’s offseason moves “should help boost his scoring and stabilize his game.”
Mika Zibanejad was the third Ranger in 5A, and his placement reflected a rebound season after a disappointing 2024-25. He finished with 34 goals and 78 points, prompting one executive to say, “He had a solid year on a team that wasn’t going anywhere.”
Alexis Lafreniere was the lone Ranger in 5C, and the former No. 1 overall pick has still not become the player New York envisioned when it selected him in the 2020 NHL Draft. Even so, his play picked up after the Rangers traded Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings just before the Winter Olympic break in early February.
Playing with Zibanejad and rookie Gabe Perreault, he showed more of his offensive game and became stronger on the forecheck. One scout said, “He really came out of his shell after Artemi Panarin’s departure,” adding that Lafrenière “seemed to grab the bull by the horns when his role expanded.”
At the top of The Athletic’s annual list, Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid is ranked No. 1 for the third straight season. McDavid, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon are the only players placed in 1A, the highest level of the “MVP” category.
In Other News...
Rangers Still Have One Roster Decision That Could Backfire Fast
The Rangers opening-night roster is mostly taking shape, and the biggest reason for optimism is a blue line that looks sturdier than it has in a while. Adam Fox is still the anchor, and offseason additions Vlad Gavrikov, Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson give the defense a deeper, more balanced look than the group that has been carrying so much of the burden in recent seasons.
Igor Shesterkin remains locked in as the starter, but one remaining choice in net still carries some real weight for the organizations depth chart. With the backup role unsettled, the Rangers are weighing how they want to handle a spot that could matter more than it seems in the long run, especially if the season starts testing the margins of their goaltending depth early. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Backup Goalie Battle Is More Complicated Than Fans Realize
Dylan Garand spent last season splitting his time between a brief but impressive NHL look and the heavier workload of being Hartfords primary goalie, giving the Rangers a much clearer sense of what they have in a young netminder who is edging closer to a full-time role. That progress has turned this training-camp job into more than a simple veteran-versus-prospect race, especially with Igor Shesterkin locked in atop the depth chart and the organization still sorting out how much runway it wants to give Garand.
Joonas Korpisalo arrived in the offseason to give New York a proven option behind Shesterkin, but Garands path is more complicated than a standard backup challenge. The Rangers have already committed to him with a two-year extension, and the way they handle the final roster spot will say plenty about how they value immediate insurance versus long-term development. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Retool May Hinge On Prospects Arriving Faster Than Expected
Chris Drurys retool for the Rangers is leaning heavily on a younger pipeline that looks closer to the NHL than a typical rebuild would allow. The idea is to keep the club competitive by adding prospects who can eventually fit alongside the current core, with Liam Greentree, Alberts mits and Cole Beaudoin all part of that next wave.
mits has already signed his entry-level deal, and the expectation is that he begins in Hartford, while Greentree and Beaudoin are also projected to spend time developing in the minors before pushing for jobs in New York. For a roster trying to thread the needle between winning now and staying relevant later, the pace of that prospect arrival may end up shaping how fast the retool really moves. [Read more 🡒]