The New York Rangers are sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference just two seasons after winning the Presidents’ Trophy. In 2021-22 and 2023-24, they made it to the Eastern Conference Final. They deployed the same group of top-four defensemen in both of those postseasons, but they have traded away three of those four in the last two seasons. They now need to focus on the growth of their young blueliners with the hope that some can develop into reliable top-four defensemen.
The Rangers’ Defense
Last season, the Rangers traded Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks and then traded Ryan Lindgren to the Seattle Kraken. They continued to make changes on defense this offseason, including moving K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes for Scott Morrow and draft picks, and then signed free agent Vladislav Gavrikov to a seven-year contract. Late last month, the Rangers traded defensive defenseman Carson Soucy, who had played on the second pair and is in the final season of his contract.
Adam Fox and Gavrikov formed a dominant top-pairing, but Fox is in the midst of his second stint on long-term injured reserve, so Braden Schneider has replaced him on the top pair, and Gavrikov has replaced him on the top power-play unit. The team has a lot of defensive defensemen, but as a group, they have struggled without Fox.
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One bright spot has been the solid play of 6-foot-4 rookie defenseman Matthew Robertson. He has made a few defensive mistakes, but for the most part, he has used his size and strength effectively to clear the front of the crease, and he has done a nice job on the penalty kill, too. He has a shoot-first mentality in the offensive zone and scored a beautiful overtime goal against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 26. He has four goals and seven assists in 46 games and was moved up to the team’s second-pairing after the Soucy trade.
Though most of the Rangers’ young blueliners are defensive defensemen, Morrow has offensive upside, though he has struggled this season. Last season, he had 13 goals and 26 assists with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL), and one goal and five assists in 14 games with the Hurricanes. This season, he has no goals and six assists through 28 games with New York, and has committed too many giveaways; however, it makes sense to continue giving him consistent playing time since the team is well out of playoff contention.
The Rangers claimed 23-year-old Vincent Iorio off waivers from the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 31. The 6-foot-4, defensive defenseman has no goals and four assists in 30 career NHL games with the Washington Capitals and Sharks. He is a candidate to get ice time instead of Urho Vaakanainen, who has spent a lot of this season as a healthy scratch.
Rangers’ Defense Prospects
The Rangers have a few promising prospects playing college hockey. Fox, Miller, Lindgren, and earlier Ryan McDonagh all developed in college and went on to have success in New York. Now, E.J. Emery is playing for North Dakota, while Drew Fortescue is playing for Boston College, and the hope is that they will become top-four defensemen in the NHL.
Emery was the Rangers’ first-round pick in 2024, after spending two seasons with the U.S. National Development Team. He has a long reach at 6-foot-3, and is a strong skater with a defense-first mentality. He had no goals and one assist in 31 games at the University of North Dakota in 2024-25, and he has two goals and three assists in 24 games this season.
Fortescue was the Rangers’ third-round pick in 2023, after he, like Emery, spent two seasons with the U.S. National Development Team. He is also a defensive defenseman, who at 6-foot-2 uses his reach to his advantage, and makes smart decisions with the puck. He had four goals and four assists in 40 games at Boston College in 2023-24, no goals and 11 assists in 36 games last season, and four goals and eight assists in 23 games this season.
The Rangers Need to Focus on Developing Their Defensemen
The Rangers’ young defensemen played a key role in their runs to the Eastern Conference Final in 2022 and 2024, but they’ve since lost most of those players. While they have an excellent top pair when Fox and Gavrikov are healthy, their other defensemen are not as skilled, and they have struggled defensively with Fox out. They need some of their young blueliners and prospects to develop into reliable players sooner rather than later.
