Puck Drop Preview: 2026-27 New York Rangers
Last Word On Hockey‘s Puck Drop Previews are back for the 2026-27 season! As the regular season approaches, Last Word will preview each team’s current outlook and stories to watch for the upcoming year. We’ll also do our best to project how things will go for each team throughout the campaign. Today, we’re previewing the 2026-27 New York …
The 2026-27 New York Rangers are set to embark on a retooling journey with a fresh slate of players joining the roster this offseason. General manager Chris Drury aimed to prove his claim that the current team is in a state of retool, as major changes were made in the offseason.
Vincent Trocheck was dealt to the Utah Mammoth, while Will Borgen and Conor Sheary signed elsewhere. The Rangers acquired Pavel Dorofeyev from Vegas and signed him to a seven-year, $11 million average annual value extension. Alberts Šmits was selected fifth overall and signed an entry-level deal in July.
Other signings include Sean Durzi and Cole Beaudoin from Utah, Marcus Pettersson from Vancouver, and Joonas Korpisalo from Boston. Oliver Bjorkstrand, Joe Veleno, and Eeli Tolvanen also signed one-year deals with the team.
In terms of the lineup, the top six is projected to be strong, with Mika Zibanejad, Mika Zibanejad, Gabe Perreault, Pavel Dorofeyev, J.T. Miller, and Will Cuylle forming the core. The bottom six features Oliver Bjorkstrand, Noah Laba, and Eeli Tolvanen, with Matt Rempe, Chmelar, Sykora, and Tye Kartye making up the rest of the lineup.
Defensively, Vladislav Gavrikov and Adam Fox form the top pairing, with Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi making up the second pair. Braden Schneider is set to be the third pair's bottom pairing, with Alberts Šmits potentially taking over if necessary.
Goalie Igor Shesterkin remains the starter, with backup Joonas Korpisalo and Dylan Garand on the roster.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
