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Dylan Garand motivated to never return to Rangers farm system again

Garand wants to stay in New York.
ByScott Rogust|
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Mar 27, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand (33) reacts after being announced as the first star of the game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Madison Square Garden. The win was the first in his NHL career. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Mar 27, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand (33) reacts after being announced as the first star of the game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Madison Square Garden. The win was the first in his NHL career. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The New York Rangers' 2025-26 season is mercifully over. The team banked on new head coach Mike Sullivan to turn things around, but there was no improvement, thus pushing the Rangers to undergo a retool. While it's not a full committed rebuild, the Rangers did call upon some of their prospects to play in late regular season games to see what they could bring.

One of those players was goalie Dylan Garand. Seemingly stuck in the AHL, Garand finally received his opportunity in March after Jonathan Quick suffered a lower body injury. He received two starts and shined in both. It's no surprise that he did the same in the Rangers' regular season finale against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Garand stopped 29-of-31 shots faced in a 4-2 victory over the playoff-bound Lightning. With that, Garand has a 1.62 goals allowed average and a .948 save percentage through three starts.

After the game, Garand was asked about his experience playing for the Rangers. Garand said he is motivated to train this summer to ensure that he will never go back to the AHL ever again.

"I never want to go back to the American League, honestly," said I'm so hungry to be here. I want to be in this league and a part of this organization. There's nothing else like it. It's the best city in the world. Yeah, it's been a great taste and definitely going into the summer very motivated to be back here."

Dylan Garand is motivated to remain on Rangers and not get demoted back down to AHL

Garand didn't get too many opportunities after being called up after the March 6 trade deadline. Three total starts. But in that limited stretch, he showed serious promise. Plus, there is now an opening at the backup goaltender spot.

Earlier this week, Quick announced his retirement from the NHL before his start against the Florida Panthers. Quick lost 3-2 to the Panthers in his final ever start. With that, the Rangers will be searching for a new backup behind Igor Shesterkin.

The Rangers have had luck in finding quality backup goaltending over the years. The likes of Quick, Antti Raanta, Cam Talbot, Alexander Georgiev, just to name a few. The Rangers have filled the backup role with prospects from their farm system or veterans outside of the organization.

New York doesn't need to explore the top of the goaltender market in free agency, since they have Shesterkin. Could they go below the Sergei Bobrovsky tier and bring in a veteran option as a backup? Certainly. In fact, you can probably count on them bringing in a free agent.

But if this latter portion of the season proved anything, it's that Garand deserves a chance to prove he is the worthy backup goaltender for the Rangers. And from his comments, he is motivated to work towards that goal.

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