High floor, high reward: Rangers get it right in free agency

For nearly the entire Chris Drury New York Rangers era, the Blueshirts have been spoiled with talent. The core that the Rangers have had in place for years now - which includes some of the NHL's elite in Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin, to name a few - is one that not other teams can boast. That's why the Rangers have made two of the past four Eastern Conference Finals.

But, every year, the flaws became apparent for the Blueshirts. In the 2024-25 season, those flaws showed up early and deemed to be unfixable. That led to New York being the fourth team in NHL history to miss the postseason the year after winning the Presidents' Trophy.

Since New York's disastrous season ended, Drury and company have made multiple moves to improve the roster, and it is a different approach from previous years: the Rangers want players who have a high floor around their team, rather than the flashy fits.

That's going to help New York not only next season, but for years to come.

The Rangers have prioritizing reliability this offseason, starting behind the bench

During the 2024-25 season, even with the elite talent New York had, it was not enough to cover up all the negatives night in and night out. Igor Shesterkin might be one of the best goalies in the NHL, but it did not matter when New York was top five in the NHL high-danger and mid-danger stats allowed, per moneypuck.com. The power play might have been one of the league's best for three straight years, but during the past season, fans almost felt more confident when the unit was not on the ice.

These were just a few of the flaws former coach Peter Laviolette had to deal with. Since the season ended, Drury has worked on fixing every one of them.

It started with firing Laviolette and replacing him with Mike Sullivan, a proven head coach in multiple destinations. Sullivan has coached generational greats in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, and most recently was behind the bench for team USA in the Four Nations Faceoff. It's clear that he has the trust of top NHL-ers, and New York needed a new voice.

Sullivan provides that new voice for the Blueshirts, and he already has an established relationship with some of the Rangers core; Vincent Trocheck, J.T. Miller and Adam Fox all played under Sullivan in February and know his coaching style. That should be a fit for what was a fractured leadership core last year.

In free agency, the Rangers have kept a "high-floor" mentality

Everyone in the NHL knew roster changes were coming for New York this offseason, and in free agency, the Blueshirts have made multiple signings who have proved reliable in other places.

That starts with Vladislav Gavrikov, who New York signed to a seven-year, $49 million contract. Gavrikov proved as a top-pair guy in Los Angeles - he was sometimes the Kings' top defenseman in the abscence of Drew Doughty - posting a career-high +26 rating in 2024-25. Gavrikov was reliable on the defensive side of the ice time and time again.

It is safe to assume that Gavrikov will be paired with Adam Fox on the Rangers' first defensive pair to start the 2025-26 season, and this is an immediate upgrade over anyone Fox has played with recently. Now, Gavrikov's defensive stability should limit chances in the defensive zone when the pair is on the ice. It does not matter what he gives offensively, because Fox is one of the NHL's best on that side of the ice.

With the signing of Gavrikov, the Rangers let go of K'Andre Miller, sending him to the Carolina Hurricanes after letting the team negotiate a contract before finalizing the sign and trade. Carolina now has Miller on an eight-year, $7.5 million AAV contract.

There's no doubt that Miller has potential, and he showed that throughout his career in New York. He can skate, has unprecedented reach and makes flashy plays on both ends of the ice. But, for every one of those, there is a mistake or two that has set New York back.

New York might have let go of a flashier player in Miller, but to replace him with a top defensive defenseman in Gavrikov has to be an upgrade, especially for a New York team that has had so many defensive inefficiencies.

The Rangers also extended Will Cuylle to a two-year bridge deal worth $3.9 million annually, which is less than the forward was expected to get. Cuylle, going into his third year, had 45 points for New York and is a proven middle-six forward. It was massive for New York to lock down Cuylle.

While the 23-year-old might not be an offensive powerhouse, he is a player who can give a team a full 200-foot game and make an impact. He had 20 goals in 2024-25 and will continue to contribute there for the Rangers; along with that, he kills penalties and is good defensively at 5v5. There's more room to grow for the youngster, and right now, this contract is a slam dunk.

Then, in the rest of the new acquisitions the Rangers have made, New York has prioritized less risky players. Whether that's Taylor Raddysh, who had 27 points in 80 games for Washington last season, or Justin Dowling, who set career highs in goals and points for New Jersey while also providing a stable defensive presence.

The message is clear: make the floor as high as possible around the Rangers' core.

A final synopsis

There's no doubt about it: even after a disappointing season, the Rangers still have a core full of talent. They have experienced veterans like Panarin, Shesterkin, Trocheck, Miller and Fox along with youngsters like Alexis Lafrenière and Cuylle. To add on to this, Gabe Perreault, Brennan Othmann and Brett Berard should all get meaningful ice time next season.

That is a deep talent pool, and for a Rangers team that could not cover up their flaws with the talent in 2024-25, Drury has taken a completely different approach. Whether the signing of Gavrikov, trading Miller or the other low-ceiling players the team has brought in, it's clear New York tends to limit the mistakes that set them back.

Down the road, this is going to help as the Rangers look to bounce back. It could turn them into a contender sooner rather than later.