Predicting the 2026-27 Rangers’ Team Award Winners

The New York Rangers return to action this month as the 2026-27 NHL season gets underway in a few weeks. They are hoping for a more successful season than the previous two, and that means they are going to have to get strong performances from their top players. It also means they are going to have to get contributions from players they were not expecting. In this piece, we are going to predict which players will win certain awards for the Rangers this season, such as Team MVP, Most Improved, and more.

Team MVP: Igor Shesterkin

There is no real doubt in anyone’s mind that Igor Shesterkin is going to once again be the Rangers’ MVP this season. He has been their most valuable player since joining the team during the 2019-20 season, and he was the main factor in getting them to two Eastern Conference Finals between 2022 and 2024. We saw how the team struggled last season when he was injured and missed a month, and his injury was a major factor that led to the team releasing the second letter about retooling. If the Rangers get back to being a playoff team this season, you can bet Shesterkin has led the charge.

Bounce-Back Player: J.T. Miller

It was a bad first season for J.T. Miller as Rangers captain, as the team struggled and he struggled with injuries. He got hurt in training camp, and that injury, along with other injuries he sustained throughout the season, impacted his play. He finished the season with 17 goals and 53 points in 68 games, not good enough for a player who is capable of putting up 80-90 points in a season as he has in the past.

With the trade of Vincent Trocheck, the Rangers are relying on Miller and Mika Zibanejad to carry the load as their top two centers. With a full offseason to rest and recover, Miller needs to come into this season healthy and motivated to be better than he was a season ago. If he can’t get back to a high level, the Rangers are going to be in serious trouble. However, with a few new linemates to work with, Miller can, and hopefully will, get back to being the top center the team thought he would be when they brought him back via trade two seasons ago.

Breakout Player: Gabe Perreault

Gabe Perreault was a bright spot last season, who was called up in December and produced well over the rest of the season with 12 goals and 27 points in 49 points on a line with Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere. This line was one of the more productive ones in the league coming out of the 2026 Winter Olympic break, and it is likely they will start this season together. If Perreault can build off the success he had last season and find more chemistry with his new linemates, he could be a big breakout player not only for the Rangers, but in the entire NHL.

Most Disappointing Player: Vladislav Gavrikov

The Rangers’ major signing last offseason was Vladislav Gavrikov, and he had a great first season in New York with a career-high 14 goals and 35 points in 82 games. He and Adam Fox were a strong pairing when Fox was healthy, but that was the issue: Fox missed long periods of time last season due to injury, and that meant Gavrikov had to be the number-one defenseman despite not being suited for that role. He struggled when playing with partners other than Fox, and the Rangers should not expect him to be as good offensively this season as he was last.

For example, they should not expect him to score 14 goals again when his previous career high is six. All the Rangers need him to be is a steady and reliable defensive defenseman who can complement Fox, considering the latter is the more offensively gifted player. While it was surprising to see Gavrikov provide so much offense last season, those numbers are likely to regress this season. While that would be disappointing to see, offense is not the reason the Rangers brought him in. The team is simply hoping he remains strong defensively.

The Rangers are hoping luck is on their side this season as they look to get back to the playoffs. Some players are going to have good seasons, while others might disappoint in unexpected ways. Other players might finally have the breakout the team has been waiting for, and the Rangers are hoping for more good performances than bad. These are just predictions: some may come true, while others may not. We’ll begin to find out soon.