The New York Rangers wanted to ensure they never had a campaign like last season, where they finished in last place in the Eastern Conference. With a lackluster free agency class, general manager Chris Drury decided to make his splash moves on the trade market, and one of his main areas of focus was to improve the defense. The main additions that Drury made was to bring in Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson to make up New York's new second pair defensive duo.
Through eight games this season, the Rangers are 6-2-0 and second place in the Metropolitan Division entering Thursday. A ton of the attention has been given to the Rangers' scoring, especially to Alexis Lafreniere. But the defense has really flown under the radar in comparison. Yet, they might be New York's biggest strength through the early portion of the season.
As it turns out, the additions of Durzi and Pettersson has paid massive dividends early on this season.
Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson additions have turned Rangers' defense into one of the best in the league
The additions of Durzi and Pettersson made sense for Drury and the Rangers. Durzi is a puck moving defenseman, the type head coach Mike Sullivan said they needed before the team left for the offseason. As for Pettersson, he has a familiarity with the scheme Sullivan runs, as they were both on the Penguins from 2019 until 2025. Little did Rangers fans know was how perfect of a fit the two were onto the team, and they have reaped the benefits thus far.
NHL EDGE stats revealed that with Durzi and Pettersson on the ice, they have allowed just one goal in five-on-five situations through the Rangers' first eight games of the season. Additionally, the duo have been on the ice for two Rangers goals in general.
This is welcoming news, especially when seeing how the Rangers' defense collapsed last season once Adam Fox was injured. In turn, the whole defense is flourishing as well. Through their first eight games, the Rangers allowed an average of 1.75 goals per game, which is the second-best in hockey. The Dallas Stars are the only team with a lower average at 1.71 through seven games.
So far, so good for Chris Drury's offseason additions
When looking at the roster on paper, the defense looked much deeper. We've seen what can happen when they are without Fox for a significant period of time. But now, they seem more prepared.
Entering this offseason, Fox and Gavrikov were locked in as the top pairing on defense. But they needed some more depth, especially with Braden Schneider struggling last season with an increased role. So, Drury made the trades for Durzi and Marcus Pettersson, which came at the cost of Vincent Trocheck and a 2030 first-round pick, respectively. And the proof is in the pudding that the two have been more than seamless fits for the team, and helped the team pick up six wins with relative ease.
They have a true surplus of depth, considering they moved Schneider down to the third pairing on the right side. In training camp, rookie and fifth-overall pick in the draft Alberts Smits won the spot on the third pairing with his strong play in preseason action, beating out Matthew Robertson.
It's not to say that the Rangers are only benefitting defensively because of the competition. They are defeating teams that made the playoffs last season, such as the Tampa Bay Lightning (twice) and Utah Mammoth.
Thus far, the gambles made by Drury are paying off for the team. Of course, we'll evaluate these moves again once we are further down the season to see if the likes of Durzi and Pettersson can keep up with their strong play.
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