The Rangers can dream about a blockbuster center addition all they want, but the 2027 free-agent board doesn’t offer much help where they need it most.
That matters because New York is already trying to patch together a future down the middle. The club dealt Vincent Trocheck to the Utah Mammoth this offseason as part of its roster “retool,” bringing back defenseman Sean Durzi and center prospect Cole Beaudoin.
The idea is obvious: get younger, keep competing, and hope Beaudoin develops into a real option at center sooner rather than later. But Trocheck’s departure leaves a hole, and it’s not a small one.
He brought offense, face-off wins and strong penalty-killing work.
The Rangers also can’t pretend this is only about replacing Trocheck. Mika Zibanejad and J.T.
Miller, their top two centers, are getting older, which means the organization is going to need internal growth somewhere. If not, the front office will have to find help elsewhere.
Free agency looked like the easy answer for a while. Next summer, though, that path looks far less appealing.
The Athletic’s Vince Mercogliano laid out the Rangers’ cap picture for the next couple of years and pointed out that the 2027 free-agent class is much more attractive on the wing than at center. The names at the top of the scoring-wing pool include Alex DeBrincat, Jason Robertson and reigning Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov. At center, the list is much thinner.
"Alex DeBrincat, Jason Robertson and reigning Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov will lead a talented group of scoring wingers who are set to hit the market, but the center pool is considerably thinner. We’re talking Kirby Dach, Barrett Hayton and Casey Mittelstadt. (That’s assuming a 40-year-old Sidney Crosby isn’t leaving Pittsburgh)," writes Mercogliano.
That’s not exactly the kind of class that changes a franchise. Dach and Hayton are bottom-six forwards for the Montreal Canadiens and Mammoth, respectively, while Mittelstadt is a second-line forward for the Boston Bruins. None of that screams long-term answer for a team trying to rebuild its center depth.
Mercogliano did include the Sidney Crosby caveat, but that feels more theoretical than realistic. Crosby has not exactly sounded like someone eager to play anywhere but Pittsburgh for the rest of his career.
So if the free-agent market comes up short, the Rangers’ best internal bet is Beaudoin. Beyond that, they may have to turn to the trade market next summer, especially if the right star becomes available.
That’s where the bigger names enter the conversation. Before last season, Rangers fans were hoping the team could land one of the headline free agents scheduled to hit the market this summer.
Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Kirill Kaprizov all loomed as possibilities. Instead, each signed extensions with his current team.
Of that group, McDavid still stands out as the one with the most realistic path to New York.
He signed only a two-year extension with the Edmonton Oilers, a short-term deal that gives him flexibility later. McDavid took less to stay in Edmonton and help general manager Stan Bowman build on back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final, but the situation hasn’t exactly gone smoothly.
The Oilers fell apart last season and were knocked out in the first round by the Anaheim Ducks. McDavid was openly critical afterward, and this offseason he and other top players reportedly pushed for the team to hire embattled head coach Mike Babcock, a move that carries real boom-or-bust energy.
If Edmonton stumbles again, a trade request from McDavid wouldn’t be out of the question. And if that never happens, his contract still runs out after the 2027-28 season.
Auston Matthews is another name that could eventually shake loose. He’s the face of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but after Toronto missed the playoffs this past season and finished only slightly better than the Rangers in the Eastern Conference, he didn’t commit to the team.
Reports said he wanted to see what the Leafs would do this offseason. Toronto did respond with a strong summer, adding No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna, goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and defenseman Darren Raddysh.
Even so, the Maple Leafs still have to navigate a crowded Atlantic Division, and Matthews’ contract also expires in 2028.
If McDavid or Matthews becomes available, whether through a trade request in 2027 or free agency in 2028, the Rangers will be part of the chase like everyone else. But the bigger point is simple: New York has to give those stars a reason to look twice. This offseason already showed the Rangers they still have work to do after Brady Tkachuk and Dylan Larkin shut the door on them.
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