The Rangers’ final tune-up got derailed by the weather, and that’s not exactly what Mike Sullivan wanted with the opener sitting right in front of him.
After an abbreviated training camp and a preseason trimmed to four games, New York was already short on practice time. Then a Nor’Easter knocked out power at the club’s Westchester facility on Sunday, wiping out another scheduled workday and leaving the Rangers with an unscheduled day off before Tuesday night’s opener against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
It’s another small hit to a camp that never offered much breathing room. The Rangers had already wrapped the preseason with a 6-1 win on Long Island Friday night, then had Saturday off as planned before Sunday disappeared, too.
Sullivan has made no secret of how much he values every rep, so losing one more practice isn’t ideal. Still, the staff kept the lines and defense pairs intact throughout camp, and that continuity should help as the season begins.
That matters because there are still plenty of new faces and moving parts. Pavel Dorofeyev, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Eeli Tolvanen and Joe Veleno all have some settling in to do, while 18-year-old rookie defenseman Alberts Smits and the new second pair of Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi will be under the spotlight right away.
The Rangers do get one full practice and a morning skate before they hit the ice in Boston, which means the wait is almost over for the 2026-27 season to begin.
There’s also roster business still hanging in the air. New York is down to the final moves needed to get to the 23-player limit, and Dylan Garand is likely hoping to clear waivers so he can land a fresh start with another organization. Smits making the opening-night roster has also become a story of its own, with his spot carrying real historical significance.
And the schedule doesn’t exactly ease them in. John Kreiser broke down a busy opening stretch for the Rangers, who start the expanded 84-game season with four games in six nights.
Around the league, New Jersey claimed goalie Remi Poirier off waivers from Dallas, a move that led to the Devils waiving veteran goalie David Rittich and sorting through other final roster decisions. In Boston, the Bruins named David Pastrnak captain. Sportsnet’s latest 32 Thoughts podcast touched on the Alexander Nikishin stand-off with the Carolina Hurricanes and the Oilers’ search for a right-shot center.
There were more camp decisions elsewhere, too. Toronto signed defenseman Nick Blankenburg to a one-year, $1.4 million contract after he won a roster spot on a PTO.
Nathan Bastian also turned a PTO into a deal, agreeing to a one-year contract with Florida. Pittsburgh’s goalie picture came into focus with Arturs Silovs and rookie Sergei Murashov beating out Joel Blomqvist for the two roster spots.
And in St. Louis, the Blues made a flurry of defense moves, claiming Justin Barron off waivers from Nashville, recalling 20-year-old Adam Jiricek, waiving Calle Rosen, and still waiting on an update for Logan Mailloux after his upper-body injury Saturday.
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Rangers Just Opened A Goalie Debate Fans Didnt Expect
Four preseason games have already given the Rangers a clearer picture of where some roster battles stand, even if the results themselves were uneven. They opened with losses to the Devils and Islanders before turning around and beating both rivals, while the front office also started trimming the group by waiving Taylor Raddysh and losing William Trudeau to Nashville on waivers.
The bigger conversation, though, has shifted from exhibition scorelines to how the roster is taking shape behind the scenes, and how much confidence fans should have in the clubs early-season direction. A tough injury blow has only added to the uncertainty, and with the way the depth chart has been shuffled, there is now real debate around a spot many expected to be settled sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Were Closer To A Major Blue Line Move Than Fans Knew
The Rangers were closer to a significant blue-line addition than it looked from the outside earlier this offseason, with a trade framework in place with Carolina for Alexander Nikishin before things stalled. For a team that has spent plenty of time searching for ways to strengthen the defense, the idea of landing a highly regarded young blueliner from the Hurricanes underscored just how active the market was behind the scenes.
Nikishin was not only on New York's radar, either, as the St. Louis Blues also reportedly had interest. Carolina is still believed to be looking for a meaningful return in any deal involving the defender, and the wider picture may not be finished yet, with the Hurricanes continuing to explore big-picture roster moves that could send the conversations in another direction. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Trade Twist Could Still Open The Door To A Bigger Upgrade
The early-season trade market has already started to move around the edges, and the Rangers were part of one of the more intriguing conversations before camp really got rolling. Carolina had been talking with New York about defenseman Alexander Nikishin, a player whose size and upside would have fit the kind of bold swing teams make when they think a bigger addition could be available.
The wrinkle is that the dialogue did not get all the way across the finish line, leaving the Hurricanes to keep looking and the Rangers to keep an eye on a market that could still shift again if other teams keep chasing upgrades. Montreal is weighing its own possibilities with Columbus forward Kirill Marchenko, while Edmonton is also exploring help down the middle, so the larger picture is still fluid and the kind of deal New York was linked to may not be the last one of its sort. [Read more 🡒]