Rangers Can Be a Top 3 Team in the Metro Division This Season

The past two seasons have not been very kind to the New York Rangers. They have missed the playoffs and have traded away so many familiar faces in order to try to shake the team up. Prior to last season, they were seen as a team that could fight for a playoff spot, but they instead finished last in the Eastern Conference.

Now, heading into this season, with a more concrete idea of what the team is looking like and the additions they have made, the Rangers look like a team ready to compete again. Here, we will go over why they could challenge for a top-three spot in the Metropolitan Division this season.

Rangers Are a Better-Looking Team on Paper

The Rangers have been one of the more active teams this offseason and have made many moves that have made them better than they were at the end of last season. Some of the notable players who left include Vincent Trocheck and Will Borgen, who were both traded away in separate deals. While Trocheck’s departure hurts the Rangers’ center depth, a move needed to be made after months of his name being in the rumor mill. Thankfully, the Rangers have also brought players in who are going to improve both the forward and defense cores.

Up front, they acquired Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights and signed him to a seven-year contract; the 25-year-old has scored 35 or more goals over the past two seasons and scored 12 goals in 22 playoff games for the Golden Knights on their way to the Stanley Cup Final. They also signed Oliver Bjorkstrand as a free agent, who has scored 20-plus goals five times in his career and is looking to bounce back after a tough season in Tampa Bay. These two additions are going to help bring some much-needed goal-scoring to a team that struggled to score last season.

On defense, the Rangers have a new-look second pair after making two trades. They got Sean Durzi as part of the return for Trocheck in the trade with the Utah Mammoth, and acquired Marcus Pettersson from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a conditional 2030 first-round pick. Both of these players are major additions as they are two good puck-moving defensemen, which is something the Rangers have lacked outside of Adam Fox. Having these two behind Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov makes the Rangers’ top four defense look much more formidable when against other top teams in the NHL.

Other Metropolitan Teams Have Not Made Many Moves

The Rangers have been the most active out of all the Metropolitan Division teams this offseason. The next closest is the Washington Capitals, who added Alex Tuch and Jordan Kyrou, while also bringing Alex Ovechkin back for at least one more season. They missed the playoffs last season and are looking to get back to the playoffs in what could be their captain’s last season in the NHL. The teams that finished second and third in the division last season, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers, have not made many moves. The Flyers did send an offer sheet out to Leo Carlsson of the Anaheim Ducks, but the Ducks matched the offer, so the Flyers are back at square one. The Penguins have made a few trades and signings to help fill out their roster, but none that are going to push them over the edge this season.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have been dealing with their own players and have made few moves, while the New York Islanders have been quiet after barely missing the playoffs last season. The New Jersey Devils traded away Jacob Markstrom and Simon Nemec and have yet to bring in another goalie. The Carolina Hurricanes have kept their Stanley Cup-winning roster intact, but still have to sign Alex Nikishin. The Metropolitan was the weakest in the NHL last season and looks to be the same heading into this season, which is good news for the Rangers.

The Rangers Still Have Plenty of Talent

Even with how poorly the last two seasons went for the Rangers, they still have plenty of talent on their roster and have added to it this offseason. If they want to compete for the playoffs this season, they are going to need Fox and Igor Shesterkin to stay healthy. Losing those two players at the same time last season really set the tone for the rest of the campaign and led to the downward spiral that caused this “retool” to occur. Fox is one of the most underrated defensemen in the NHL, and his contributions on both sides of the puck should not be overlooked. Shesterkin is still one of — if not the best —goalies in the league, and when he is on his game, he is unbeatable.

Up front, they got a bounce-back season from Mika Zibanejad, and he showed great chemistry with Alexis Lafrenière and Gabe Perreault. If that line can pick up where they left off last season, they could be one of the more dominant lines in the NHL. They are going to need J.T. Miller to have a better season, as his first campaign as captain did not go well. He also suffered from injuries, so if he can stay healthy and get back to being an 80- to 90-point center, the Rangers have a solid top two centers with him and Zibanejad. Adding Dorofeyev to these players only makes the Rangers’ forward group stronger.

The Metropolitan used to be the most competitive division in the NHL, but over the past few years, that competition has begun to die down. Outside of the Hurricanes, no other team has ever been able to stay on top season over season. With how little most of the other teams have done to improve so far this offseason, the Rangers could and should find themselves battling for a top-three spot. With the moves they have made and the talent they already have, they have all the tools needed to be a top team in a weak division.