The Rangers’ preseason has already delivered the kind of odd little sample that leaves everyone squinting a bit. They opened with losses to the Devils and Islanders, then turned around and beat both of those same teams. A strange run, sure, but it was enough to shape the conversation heading into the season.
One of the clearest themes from the week was how much roster churn still hung over camp. Early talk centered on the possibility of waiving Matt Rempe, but it was Taylor Raddysh who ended up on waivers instead. The Rangers also lost William Trudeau off waivers to Nashville, another small but notable piece of the final cutdown.
There was injury news too, and it wasn’t minor. Adam Sykora landed awkwardly into the boards after a hit against the Devils and is out 4-5 months with a lower body injury. That’s a tough blow for a player who had been part of the preseason picture.
Before the games even started, Dave had made the point that no veterans were blocking prospects, and that turned out to be mostly accurate. The roster decisions didn’t fully resolve the debate, though. In fact, the final shape of the group still looks hard to pin down.
That uncertainty is part of why the preseason record itself doesn’t tell the whole story. Brandon argued that even with a “just” .500 record, the Rangers’ preseason play showed they had an excellent offseason. Elsewhere, Live From the Blue Seats dug into Braden Schneider’s future and laid out preseason predictions, while Dave’s Patreon post explored ways the Rangers could address multiple problems by targeting Adam Fantilli - now a moot point - and/or Shane Wright.
There was also the reminder that the roster picture can shift fast. The week’s biggest setback, at least for some, was waiving Dylan Garand to keep Joonas Korpisalo. Woof.
And through it all, the season ahead still feels wide open. JL kept the nostalgia coming with goal compilations, first with Dark Ages Wayne Gretzky and Zucc/Avery, and now with a new series revisiting other fun moments from seasons past.
It all adds up to one obvious takeaway: nobody really nailed the final roster, which may be the clearest sign yet that this season is going to be unpredictable.
In Other News...
Rangers Head Into Bruins Opener With One Worry Still Hanging Over Them
A missed practice is never ideal this close to opening night, and for the Rangers it came at a time when every rep mattered. The team had already gone through a shortened camp and preseason, so Sundays unscheduled day off only added a little more uncertainty before the season opener against the Bruins, even if the coaching staff had tried to preserve continuity by keeping line and defensive pairings steady throughout camp.
Still, the bigger issue for New York is how smoothly the roster comes together once the games count. Several newcomers are expected to fit into the lineup, and there is also a fresh look on the blue line with Marcus Pettersson alongside Sean Durzi, so the Rangers are trying to balance stability with integration at a time when they would rather be fine-tuning than resetting. [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 🡒]