The month of August is almost here, and with that will mean one more month to pass by until the return of the NHL and training camp. As of this writing, there are a number of former Blueshirts who have yet to land a roster spot for the upcoming season. The list includes some notable players, ones who can still be important contributors, and let's take a look at some of those names on the final day of July 2026.
Vladimir Tarasenko
The former Ranger winger spent this past season with the Minnesota Wild, and it was one of his more productive seasons in recent memory. He became a Blueshirt during the 2022-23 season and in 31 games he scored eight goals and added 13 assists for 21 points after coming over in a trade from St. Louis. Tarasenko will turn 35 in December, but he still has a lot to give.
He is coming off a season where he made $4.75 million, and he rewarded the Wild with 23 goals, 24 assists, and 47 points in 75 games. Tarasenko had just 11 goals and 33 points in 80 games the year prior, and there is a good chance a team will get a nice bargain on someone capable of scoring 15 to 20 goals a season. He's also a two-time Stanley Cup winger, and that's a little something extra teams generally care about when going through options to fill out their final spots on the roster.
Reilly Smith
Smith turned 35 in April, and he's in a spot where he could sign a one-year deal with a team that is built with bonuses if a team is skeptical of what he's still able to bring to the table. Smith played with the Rangers during the 2024-25 season, and in 58 games he scored 10 goals while adding 19 assists for 29 points.
This season he appeared in 69 games with the Vegas Golden Knights this year, and still scored 16 goals while adding 10 assists for 26 points. He's a Stanley Cup winner that can bring valuable experience to a team, and could be a great fit on the third line for a team that is looking to take the next step toward being a contender.
Kevin Hayes
Hayes started his career with the Rangers back in 2014-15 after he spurned the Chicago Blackhawks and became a free agent after spending four years in college, and it has been a wild ride for him in the league. He was quite productive to start with the Blueshirts, and really hasn't reached similar heights elsewhere.
This most recent season was the last of Hayes' deal that carried a cap hit of $7,142,857, and he appeared in just 28 games with the Penguins while adding four goals and assists for eight points. Hayes historically has been a strong 5v5 player, and he feels like someone who will get a PTO for training camp before signing a deal.
Carson Soucy
Soucy's stint with the Blueshirts was pretty short, 16 games last year and 46 this season, and they certainly got more out of him that the Islanders did. With the Rangers he had three goals and five assists for eight points, and the Isles saw him tally a pair of goals and assists for four points in 30 games.
He turned 32 a couple of days ago, and over the last few years he hasn't had the greatest underlying metrics. That said, he stands 6'5" and weighs 212 pounds, and there will always be a market for someone with that size. He won't get the $3.25 million he just made, but feels like a depth signing for around a million or less just before training camp begins.
Ryan Reaves
We might be at the end of the road for Reaves as an NHLer, and if that's the case, it was one hell of a run. The 6'2" and 225 pound pugilist has always been known for being a great teammate and having a larger than life personality. He's always been willing to give up and comers a shot to prove themselves by dropping the gloves, and that was a lesson Matt Rempe learned the hard way.
Reaves' most recent contract was a three-year pact with a $1.35 million cap hit, and if he were to return for one last season, you'd imagine it would be at the league minimum.
Brendan Smith
Another player that could be at the end of the road as a NHLer is Mr. Smith, someone who only logged 15 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets this past season after appearing in only 32 the year before that. Smith joined the Rangers via trade from the Detroit Red Wings back in 2017, and he played well enough at the time to earn an extension worth $4.35 million a season.
The contract didn't age as well as the team would have hoped, interestingly enough there were points in times in which he rotated between defense and forward, and it didn't help matters that his arrival coincided with the Rangers announcing a rebuild with the Letter 1.0. In any case, Smith appeared in 741 NHL games, and if this is truly it, it was a good career in which he earned a fair bit of money.
Kevin Rooney
Like Reaves and Smith, Rooney is another name who could be at the end of the road as an NHL player. He last played for the Blueshirts during the 2021-22 season, and was quite productive with six goals and six assists for 12 points in 61 games in a bottom-six role. Rooney is only 33 years old, but he logged one game in the NHL last season with Utah and 44 in the AHL with the Tuccon Roadrunners.
There he scored 12 goals and added a dozen assists for 24 points in 44 games, and at 6'2" and 201 pounds he has the size teams generally like to have in the bottom six. During the 2024-25 season he posted a line of 5-5-10 in 70 games with the Flames, and he's not that far removed to the point where he could earn a PTO and contract if he has a decent camp.
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