The New York Rangers had their season officially come to an end, and now a very important offseason will be starting up.
Following one of the worst years in recent memory for the franchise, the Rangers will be going back to the drawing board this summer to try to improve the team. With New York finishing in last place in the Eastern Conference, it is clear that some work will be needed this offseason to improve things.
Fortunately, New York did show some signs of life down the stretch and played better hockey, especially on the offensive end of the ice. However, even though things might have been better down the stretch, there is no hiding from the overall struggles of the team.
As they prepare for the offseason, New York will have two first-round picks, one of which is guaranteed to be in the Top 5. Furthermore, they will also have a good amount of cap space to pursue talent, whether it be in free agency or on the trade market.
With the Rangers wrapping up the season, Chris Drury spoke with the media about the season and what the plan is going to be going forward. With it being a pivotal offseason after missing the playoffs for two straight years, there seem to be two key areas they want to address.
I asked #NYR GM Chris Drury for a specific area of the lineup he wants to prioritize in offseason and he pointed to what head coach Mike Sullivan said this morning about puck-moving D and the bottom six.
“I thought those were two good comments by him and two specific areas.”
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) April 17, 2026
Despite their offensive struggles at times, not mentioning adding a top-six forward is a bit surprising. However, with some of the strong production down the stretch, the Rangers are looking to add some more quality depth and perhaps increase scoring and production in the bottom six, which does make sense.
Furthermore, looking for another puck-moving defenseman to be on the second line could provide some great value. The combination of Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov was good when Fox was healthy this year, and he averaged nearly a point per game for New York.
However, there wasn’t a ton of offensive production from the other defenders after those, too. Braden Schneider was next on the team in points behind the top two with 18 points and 16 assists. Getting some more help for the defense in terms of offensive production makes sense for the Rangers and seems like a logical area to attack.
While it is a bit surprising to see that the team might not go after a top-six forward, things can certainly change. The pressure will be on for Drury to have a good offseason and New York has the tools to make it happen.