The Rangers made one clear move to help their scoring on Friday night, landing Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights in a blockbuster trade. They also took a swing at the blue line by selecting defenseman Alberts Smits with the fifth overall pick in the NHL Draft.
Both moves point in the right direction. Neither one, though, fixes the real problem fast enough.
The Rangers defense is still a mess, and it’s hard to argue otherwise. Even with Smits in the system, the group looks basically the same as it did last season. That’s not a foundation built for much of anything.
Adam Fox remains the anchor, and Vlad Gavrikov joining him on the top pair gives New York a strong start at the top. After that, the drop-off is steep. The rest of the unit simply doesn’t inspire much confidence.
Braden Schneider looks like the kind of second-pair defenseman New York would be better off moving than extending, and the rumors around his availability suggest Chris Drury may already be thinking along those lines. Will Borgen can handle his own end, but his puck movement is a major problem. Matthew Roberton fits as a third-pair option, Drew Fortescue still needs time, and Urho Vaakanainen works best as a seventh defenseman.
That leaves the Rangers with a clear offseason mandate: they need at least two defensemen to push this group into much better shape.
One possible target is Alexander Nikishin, who has already been linked to the Rangers. Pulling him out of Carolina would take a lot, and the Hurricanes appear willing to move him only in the right package. This doesn’t read like a smokescreen, either, since Nikishin’s contract ask is reportedly beyond what GM Eric Tulsky is prepared to do.
It’s the same kind of situation that brought Dorofeyev to New York. Nikishin is young, he can step right into the top four, and he would be a huge win for the Rangers.
Draft picks were already turned away earlier, so any deal would likely require a roster player instead. Even so, he would give the defense a major jolt.
Vince Dunn is another name that makes sense on paper. He’s a clean puck-mover, he’s on a reasonable contract with one year left, and Seattle may be willing to deal him if the Kraken don’t see themselves as real playoff contenders.
The Rangers could try to acquire and extend him, and even work Braden Schneider into the return to help the salaries line up and give Seattle a longer-term piece. Still, Dunn is 29, and even a 40-50 point defenseman may not be the ideal answer for New York.
Then there’s Mason Lohrei. The Bruins and Lohrei seem headed for an inevitable split, which could give the Rangers a chance to see whether he fits their long-term plans.
He has shown NHL potential and, most importantly, he can move the puck out of his own zone. At the moment, that alone would make him an upgrade over what New York has been rolling out there.
In Other News...
Rangers Finally Addressed One Center Problem But The Bigger Tension Remains
The Rangers have at least checked one box in their center search, adding a low-cost option who should help stabilize the bottom six and give the lineup a little more speed and defensive reliability. The move comes with some practical value, too, since the club needed a center who could fit into a checking role without forcing bigger pieces out of place.
Joe Velenos arrival may ease one immediate concern, but it does not settle the more important one. New York still has to sort out what happens at the top of the middle of the ice, and the possibility of a future change there is why this signing feels more like the first step than the answer. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Still Have One Offseason Question Drury Has To Answer
The Rangers have spent the opening stretch of free agency reshaping the edges of their roster, and the work is not close to finished. With roughly $15.675 million in cap space to work with, Chris Drury has already added pieces through a mix of trades and contract business, including deals for William Trudeau and Massimo Rizzo, plus new contracts for restricted free agents Dylan Garand and Pavel Dorofeyev.
Even with those moves on the board, the bigger offseason question still hangs over the roster: what comes next to fill the remaining needs? New York is still looking for help through free agency and potential trades, and the market should keep the Rangers active as they try to plug holes without losing flexibility. Whether that answer comes from another depth addition or something more significant, Drury still has a choice to make before the roster feels complete. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Make Major Blue Line Swing Fans Have Been Waiting For
The blue line shuffle Rangers fans have been circling for has finally arrived, and it comes with real long-term weight. New York landed Marcus Pettersson from Vancouver in a deal confirmed by multiple reputable sources and beat reporters, adding a veteran defenseman to a group that has been under the microscope for much of the season.
What makes the move especially notable is the commitment behind it, with Pettersson locked in for five more seasons at a $5.5 million cap hit. The kind of trade return New York sent out suggests this was not a short-term patch, but a sign the front office is trying to keep the club in the fight while addressing a need that has lingered on the back end. [Read more 🡒]