The New York Rangers and general manager Chris Drury are banking on their moves this offseason being enough to bring them back into not just playoff contention, but Stanley Cup contention. On paper, it is an improve team, as compared to the compiled roster that finished last place in the Eastern Conference this past season. Some of their big additions included Pavel Dorofeyev, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Sean Durzi, and Marcus Pettersson.
Drury didn't want to go through a full rebuild, and instead went for a "retool." The hope is that it would re-open their championship contention window, which looks to be sealed shut. That hurts, especially when the Rangers have one of the best goalies in hockey in Igor Shesterkin. If last season showed anything, it's that it's impossible to tank for a high draft pick when Shesterkin is starting. He's just that good. But, with Shesterkin under contract, they need to start getting closer to Stanley Cup contention, and soon.
After all, despite him still being in the prime of his career, Shesterkin is viewed as a potential Hall of Famer.
Rangers can't afford to waste Igor Shesterkin's career
The Athletic's Peter Baugh and Max Bultman unveiled their tiers of current NHL players and their chances at making the Hockey Hall of Fame. Shesterkin is in the "check back in a few years" tier, saying that he's probably another top five finish in the Vezina Trophy race away from increasing his Hall of Fame odds.
"We considered bumping the New York Rangers goalie up a tier from last year because of his 2021-22 Vezina win and a recent run of goalie inductions. But Shesterkin has only one other top-five Vezina finish (fourth in 2023-24), and there’s no way to know how the Hall of Fame committee will view goalies when he’s up for election," write Baugh and Bultman. "So he probably needs another season at least around Vezina finalist-level to move into 'On track.'"
As The Athletic writers mention, Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy for the 2021-22 season. But since that season, he only had a top five finish in the Vezina Trophy race in the 2023-24 campaign, where he finished in fourth place. Hence why the two writers believe that Shesterkin will need to have another top five finish to really help his case of making the Hall of Fame in the future.
The good thing for Shesterkin is that he is only 30 years old, so he has time to play at the top of his game. However, the clock is ticking for the Rangers to ensure they can capitalize on having one of the best goalies in hockey on their roster. As hockey fans know, it's incredibly difficult to find one.
Igor Shesterkin's chances at Vezina Trophy in 2026-27 should increase
The Rangers' chances at making the playoffs were always kind of slim entering last season, but they fell off of a cliff after Shesterkin and defenseman Adam Fox both got injured. It's not a coincidence that Drury sent out his "retool" letter in January shortly after both were sidelined.
While Shesterkin put up good numbers when he was healthy (a .912 save percentage and a 2.50 goals allowed average), he can only take a lackluster team so far. It certainly didn't help that the Rangers' defensive core was middling this past season. Yes, it didn't help that Fox was injured twice this past season, but the overall construction of the depth chart was not great. The Rangers allowed 3.04 goals per game last season, which ranked 18th-highest among all NHL teams. Not awful, but not great.
Entering next season, the Rangers defense should be much better, on paper. They add Durzi, who is the puck-moving defenseman, filling a need that head coach Mike Sullivan brought to the fanbase's attention during his end of season press conference. Plus, they bring in Pettersson, who has familiarity with Sullivan's defensive system during their lengthy time on the Pittsburgh Penguins together. Those two will make up the Rangers' second pair, behind Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov. That leaves Braden Schneider on the third pair, which could benefit him as he didn't exactly shine last season with an increased workload. It's likely that the Rangers would pair Schneider with Matthew Robertson, or fifth-overall pick in this year's draft Alberts Smits if he impresses in training camp.
So, up front, Shesterkin should have much better help on defense than he had last season.
In terms of the offense, the Rangers added a scorer in Dorofeyev, who could very well slot in on the top line, considering he has been a consistent 35-plus goal scorer during his time with the Vegas Golden Knights. Bjorkstrand in the middle six should help them, especially if he is on the third line. Not having Vincent Trocheck could hurt the Rangers, production wise. The Rangers could afford to add another forward before training camp. That, or hope that one of their top prospects like Liam Greentree or Cole Beaudoin win a roster spot in the preseason.
Overall, the Rangers chances at making the playoffs this season should be better, especially when compared to last season. However, the onus is on Drury to ensure that he can continue adding to the roster to increase their odds of winning their first Stanley Cup since 1994. That would mean adding a star down the line, potentially as early as next summer.
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