The New York Rangers have some high-level talent, and these talented players are the ones who get paid the most money out of everyone else on the team. They are expected to perform at a high level every time they step on the ice, and the fans have the right to get mad at them when they fail to meet those expectations. In this piece, we are going to go over the five highest-paid players on the Rangers and discuss what the expectations are for them this season after last season turned into a disaster.
#5: J.T. Miller: $8 Million for 5 More Seasons
In one of the NHL’s biggest trades last season, the Rangers brought back J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks. He became an impact player right away, scoring two goals in his first game back with the team that originally drafted him in the 2011 NHL Draft. He finished the season with 13 goals and 35 points in 32 games played as a Ranger. He was one of the better offensive performers on the team to end the season, and going into this season, he is going to be relied upon to be an offensive force once again.
Miller will once again take on the role of first-line center, and that means he will be going against the top players on every other team on most nights. He is going to have to still provide offense, while also making sure he plays a good defensive game, because as a top-line center in the NHL, playing a two-way style is the best way to succeed. If he can play a full season and remain healthy, he could once again hit 90-100 points, as he did two seasons ago in Vancouver, when he had 103 points. Miller was brought back to New York to be a leader and an offensive force, and that is exactly what they are going to need him to be this season.
#4: Mika Zibanejad: $8.5 Million for 5 More Seasons
One of the players who benefited the most from the arrival of Miller last season was Mika Zibanejad. Overall, last season was the worst of his nine seasons in New York, as it seemed he lost the ability to be an overall impactful player like he had been for many seasons before. He finished the season with just 20 goals and 62 points, six fewer goals and 10 fewer points than the season before. He scored 11 of those goals and 33 of those points in the 32 games after being put on a line with Miller to end the season. That was the only bright spot for Zibanejad last season, his newfound chemistry with Miller and being put on the right wing of that line.
If the Rangers are going to get the most out of him this season, starting on the right wing again and playing with Miller is the best place to start. You now know that they have chemistry, and playing with Miller really made Zibanejad elevate his game, so having them be on the same line together is likely the best use for him, at least to start the season. If his season goes poorly again, the fans are going to want him gone even more than they did this offseason. Zibanejad needs to put last season behind him and focus on playing at a high level this season, and help the Rangers get back to the playoffs.
#3: Adam Fox: $9.5 Million for 4 More Seasons
Once again, Adam Fox is going to be the backbone for the Rangers’ defense this season. After coming off a down season offensively, plus a poor performance at the 4 Nations Face-Off for Team USA, many are questioning if Fox is still one of the top defensemen in the league. However, these doubters could be silenced very quickly if he is able to bounce back this season in the way many think he will. With a new coach in Mike Sullivan and a new defensive partner in Vladislav Gavrikov, this could be the season that Fox finally proves that he is the best defenseman in the NHL if everything goes to plan for him and the Rangers this season.
Related: New York Rangers Must Trust Young Forwards in 2025-26
Fox has not had the best of luck these past few seasons with the defensive partners he has had to play with and practically carry. Ryan Lindgren was his partner for many seasons, and they were very good together for a while, but once Lindgren’s game began to decline, Fox had to carry that pairing. When Lindgren got traded, Carson Soucy became his new partner, and that wasn’t any better. With Gavrikov coming in now and being one of the best defensive defensemen in the league, Fox won’t have to worry about whether his partner is playing poorly and can just focus on his own game on both sides of the puck. The Rangers are going to need Fox to bounce back this season, as he is the glue that holds the defense together.
#2: Igor Shesterkin: $11.5 Million for 8 More Seasons
The title of highest-paid goalie in the NHL now belongs to Igor Shesterkin. This season is the first of an eight-year deal that pays him $11.5 million per season, and now, the expectations are going to be higher on him than ever before. Nobody can question his play when the playoffs come around, as he has been one of the best playoff goalies over the past several seasons. What fans are concerned about is his play in the regular season, as his numbers have gone down each season since he won the Vezina Trophy during the 2021-22 season, when he had a record of 36-13-4 with a 2.07 goals-against average (GAA) and a .935 save percentage (SV%). Those numbers have declined in the three seasons since, with a 2.48, 2.56, and 2.86 GAA, and a .916, .913, and a .905 SV% to go along with it. If he wants to prove that he is worth this contract, he is going to need to have a better season, and he needs to play more consistently at a high level rather than going through multiple cold stretches throughout the season like he has done in the past.
For so many seasons now, Shesterkin has been the backbone of the Rangers, and even if the team in front of him is playing poorly, his play alone gives them a chance to win on any given night. If the Rangers are going to get back to the playoffs this season, they are going to need him to step up his game from what it was last season and play at the high level they know he can play at on a more consistent basis. Shesterkin is likely going to be far from the main issue for the Rangers this season, but with this new contract, all eyes are going to be on him to see if he can live up to his new deal.
#1: Artemi Panarin: $11,642,857 For This Season Only
It’s hard to believe that Artemi Panarin is entering the final year of the seven-year contract he signed with the Rangers back in 2019. He has been worth every penny of this deal and has been the team’s best offensive player and point leader in every season he has been on the team. Even though he couldn’t get back to the 49-goal, 120-point season he had two years ago, he was still able to put up 37 goals and 89 points on a team last season that was basically a no-show from November to the end of the season. Once again, he will have to be the top offensive player on the team and is likely to lead the team in goals and points, assuming he has a healthy season. Despite not having a contract extension yet, if he can get off to a hot start to the season, the Rangers may have no choice but to sign him to a new deal.
He is likely to start on a line once again, playing with Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere. This line two seasons ago was the best in the entire league, and no other team had an answer for how to stop them. Last season was a complete 180, as it seemed like this line lost all of its magic, and they were not producing at the same level. Trocheck and Lafreniere are going to need to bounce back from their poor seasons in 2024-25, and maybe Panarin can help them get back to playing at the high level they were playing at two seasons ago. If this is going to be Panarin’s last season in New York, fans are hoping that he can help the team get back to the playoffs and maybe even win them a Stanley Cup.
The pressure this season on the Rangers is going to be higher than ever before. They are expected to bounce back and return to the playoffs, but nothing is guaranteed in this league. They went from the NHL’s best to one of the worst in just one season, and now, they are going to be relying on these five players to help get them back to the top of the league. If all of these players can play up to their expectations, this season should be a fun one in New York. If they can’t, expect more changes to be made as the season goes along and into next offseason.
