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Five bold predictions for Rangers 2024-25 season

The New York Rangers have gotten off to a great start, and after one game, you can make some bold predictions for the rest of the 2024-25 season. What are they?

By Justin Bonhard |
Chicago Blackhawks v New York Rangers
Chicago Blackhawks v New York Rangers / Elsa/GettyImages
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The New York Rangers have gotten off to a great start in 2024-25. With a dominating 6-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first game of the year, they solidified themselves to the rest of the NHL that they are still the same team that won the Presidents' Trophy.

So, with that said, what kind of bold predictions can you think of with 81 games remaining? Let's take a look.

The Rangers Win Stanley Cup

The first bold prediction on our list is that the Rangers will ultimately win the Stanley Cup. It looked like things were going that way last season, with it being the 30th anniversary since the Rangers last won the most coveted trophy in sports, but it was just delayed by a year.

This team is on its last-ditch effort to win the Stanley Cup. The salary cap plays a big factor after this season comes to a close, and the Rangers will look a lot differently next season. So it is a now-or-never situation.

For argument sake, even the NHL 25 video game has the Rangers taking home the Stanley Cup this season, in seven games over the Edmonton Oilers. What a fun series that would be.

Igor wins Vezina, signs at $12.5 Million

The most talked about topic this offseason has been Igor Shesterkin and this looming contract situation. Things were going steady, up until the Rangers decided to throw a monkey wrench into the whole thing by offering him an eight year deal worth $11 million AAV. Shesterkin declined it, sending the rumors flying over whether or not he should remain a Ranger after the 2024-25 season.

After the first game of the 2024-25 season, Shesterkin continues to prove that he is worth every single penny he will eventually get. With a 29-save shutout against the Pittsburgh Penguins, he is well on his way to winning his potentially second Vezina trophy in just six seasons in the NHL. He did so well, he earned an excellent grade in his outing of the year.

No matter the final result of this season, whether it is a Vezina trophy or even the Stanley Cup trophy, the Rangers will re-sign Shesterkin at $12.5 million. No matter how much salary cap space it eats up, it is a necessary expense for a Stanley Cup-contending team, year in and year out.

Fox has 100 point season

Of this list, this is most likely to happen. If not this season, it will happen eventually for the 26-year-old defenseman. Adam Fox will become the second blueliner to reach the 100-point milestone in a single season, joining Brian Leetch.

Fox has been flirting with the possibility of hitting that plateau for the past couple of years. The closest he has gotten to the century mark for points, was in 2021-22, when he had 74 points. But, looking at the past three years, collectively, he has been consistent with 74 points, 72 points and 73 points, respectively.

Last season showed Fox take a big stride toward the 100-point mark by reaching a new career-high in goals. He found the back of the net 17 times in 2023-24, which was tied for sixth-most in the NHL for defensemen, with Quinn Hughes of Vancouver.

Panarin joins 50-goal club

After coming just one goal shy of joining an exclusive club of 50-goal scorers in Ranger history, Artemi Panarin gets over the hump in 2024-25. He continues to prove he is worth every single penny of his massive contract, and he is a large part in the success of this team.

If Panarin can accomplish this feat, he will join Vic Hadfield, Adam Graves, Jaromir Jagr, and Chris Kreider as those who scored 50+ goals in one season. That is an impressive list of players for an extraordinary feat.

If there is one player on this current roster to do it, it is Panarin. Kreider's magical 52-goal season in 2021-22 was a masterpiece, but very unlikely to happen again. And, even though there are some fantastic goal-scorers on this team like Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere, either of those guys will get close to hitting 50. Well, maybe Lafreniere. So, that leaves Panarin hitting that 50-goal plateau and smashing it.

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Lafreniere is a top-5 scorer for the team

The final bold prediction on this list is a rising star making his mark on the Rangers and the NHL in 2024-25. Alexis Lafreniere will be a top-five scorer on the Rangers, and once again, smash his career-highs in goals and assists. If I were to put a number on it, I would argue that he will be a 40+ goal scorer, and he may match that in assists on that productive line with Vinny Trocheck and Panarin.

Lafreniere has already begun his 2024-25 season with a bang. Having that beauty of a first goal of the season, he has carried over some of the confidence gained last campaign to this year. He will be a crucial member of this team, as he will likely be the face of this franchise after this "last dance" of a season with the core group.

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