Well, here we go again. Just seven years after the New York Rangers sent out the letter to their fans to announce a rebuild, the Blueshirts are back in a similar position. But now, instead of committing to another rebuild, they are calling it a “retool.”
Related: Rangers Might Be Stuck in Dark Place
While president and general manager Chris Drury was clear in saying it would not be another rebuild, the organization plans to say goodbye to some veteran players and bring in some fresh young blood and build around their prospects. While the thinking is correct, it’s fair to question whether Drury and the current regime should even be given the opportunity to oversee this process.
The Rangers Have Already Started the Retool
If you look at the moves made over the past couple of years, Drury has already started to retool the roster. This includes trading Kaapo Kakko, Jacob Trouba, Ryan Lindgren and K’Andre Miller, while bringing in J.T. Miller, Vladislav Gavrikov, Will Borgen, as well as draft capital.
A Message from Chris Drury to Our Fans pic.twitter.com/JVimBJ59B7
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 16, 2026
So really, the letter is just a continuation of the moves, but now with more of a focus on bringing in younger and hopefully star players. The reason the Rangers can’t call it a rebuild is that it’s not feasible to completely dismantle the roster. Mika Zibanejad is signed long-term with a no-movement clause, as is Igor Shesterkin. Drury has already gotten his chance to shake up the roster, and it hasn’t worked. Now, he’s forced to pivot.
Another Head Coach
Since taking over as president and GM of the Rangers, Drury has fired and hired three different head coaches. This season, he brought in a likely future Hall of Famer in Mike Sullivan.
After making changes to the defensive core and bringing in a new voice, the Rangers were supposed to at least make a dramatic turnaround compared with last season and compete for a playoff spot. Instead, this looks like a lottery team that has been playing non-competitive hockey against teams not currently in a playoff position.
That’s not a good look for Drury and speaks to the personnel that he’s brought in.
Who the Rangers Will and Likely Trade
That said, given that Drury was able to get owner James Dolan’s blessing to send out the so-called “Letter 2.0,” it’s likely he will be the one making personnel decisions at least through the end of the season. Players who are almost a guarantee to be dealt are impending unrestricted free agents Artemi Panarin, Carson Soucy and Jonathan Quick.
Panarin is a little more complicated, with his no-move clause in effect, but Drury’s history with getting rid of players like Trouba and Barclay Goodrow, with no-trade protection, tells you he’ll find a way to ship off a 34-year-old to a contender. Panarin will be far and away the best rental on the market, and the assets coming back will be too good to pass up.
Then you get to players that are likely to get moved: Jonny Brodzinski (pending UFA) and Vincent Trochek, who has a 12-team no-trade list, according to PuckPedia. Add Conor Sheary, another pending UFA, to this category as well, assuming he’s healthy by the trade deadline.
It can go 50/50 with various other players, depending on how the organization values them. This includes Urho Vaakanainen, Braden Schneider, Alexis Lafreniere, Sam Carrick, Matt Rempe and Taylor Raddysh.
Everybody else, from Shesterkin, Adam Fox, and Zibanejad, to younger players like Gabe Perreault and Noah Laba are likely to stay or be safe from trades. That could, of course, change if someone like Zibanejad or Borgen agrees to waive to go to another team.
In the next couple of months, the Rangers will be busy working the phones. The thinking to sell off veteran players from Trochek to Soucy is correct – but it’s fair to question if Drury is the right person to oversee this process, given his past mistakes and failure to turn things around.
But it appears that Dolan will allow him to do that at least through the rest of the season. Now that the Rangers have decided not to re-sign Panarin, they must acquire as many assets as possible and be ready to pounce once a young star player becomes available via the trade market. This year, there is no free agent that the Rangers can sign that will change the dynamic for the organization, with Connor McDavid and Kirill Kaprizov recently signing extensions.
