The New York Rangers had a busy free agency period, and it may prove to be well worth it. Of course, we will have to wait until October to find out, but on paper, this organization may have righted its wrongs this summer.
Here are two signings that really helped push that narrative that they improved.
Taylor Raddysh
As an integral part of the Washington Capitals team last season, Taylor Raddysh was a great pickup at just a $1.5 million AAV over the next two years. The fourth line is going to a revolving door in 2025-26, with the Rangers re-signing Matt Rempe and Adam Edstrom. Edstrom deserves to play in all 82 games, and Rempe will likely get split with Raddysh depending on matchups and rivalry games.
Raddysh brings a respectable game with him to New York. In limited minutes, he has shown an ability to put up an 82-game average of 26.9 points per season. You should not rule him out as a player that is destined to play on that bottom line, as there could be a chance for him to get some third-line minutes depending on the performance of Jonny Brodzinski.
As the Rangers really needed to lock down some depth for that fourth line, and with Raddysh being a potential top-nine skater as well, this was a fantastic UFA signing.
Vladislav Gavrikov
The blockbuster signing of the summer belongs to the $7 million AAV defenseman, Vladislav Gavrikov. The Rangers finally answered the Garden Faithful's prayers for a dependable and comparable blue-liner to share a line with defenseman Adam Fox.
Gavrikov was on almost every team's radar this offseason, but it was clear from the jump that the Rangers were the frontrunners the whole way. Locking him up for the next seven seasons is a fantastic job by General Manager Chris Drury, as the Rangers now have a dependable left-side d-man for the first pairing. Not to say that Ryan Lindgren was anything short of that, but injuries kept him sidelined for a good chunk of his tenure in New York. I would not expect that to happen to Gavrikov.
Now that the dust has settled, it is clear that Gavrokov was the Rangers' best UFA signing of the summer. Not only that, but he might also be the steal of the summer for the entirety of the NHL, depending on how it goes in October.
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