The New York Rangers and general manager Chris Drury's goal this offseason was to improve the roster to help them get back into playoff contention, while also replenishing their prospect pipeline. The Rangers' main additions were Pavel Dororfeyev and Oliver Bjorkstrand to improve their scoring, while locking in a second pairing defensive duo in Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi. Given these additions, the veterans on the roster, and the young players who impressed this past season, the hope from the Rangers is that they can make it back to the playoffs.
But should that be the only indication for the upcoming season to be considered a success?
During a recent appearance on the Rangers Recon podcast with Arthur Staple and Andrew Chelney, former Rangers goalie Martin Biron was asked how he would classify the upcoming season as a success. Biron said the Rangers need to not only make the playoffs, but also to make it out of the first round.
Martin Biron says Rangers must make it past first round of playoffs to have successful season
"Now, it shouldn't be just the playoffs. It should be the playoffs and more," said Biron. "Does that mean winning the Cup this year? I don't look at that roster as a Cup-winning roster just yet. We've got a lot of teams in the Metropolitan Division that are gonna wanna make some noise. But making the playoffs should be the very bare minimum, so I don't wanna say making the playoffs for the Rangers. I'm gonna say you have to win a round."
Making the playoffs should be the bare minimum for the Rangers, as Biron says.
Drury gave not only a lot of money to sign Dorofeyev to a seven-year, $77 million contract extension, but also gave up draft capital to bring him and Pettersson onto the roster.
Not to mention, Drury traded away Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings and Vincent Trocheck to the Utah Mammoth. Even with his playoff struggles, Panarin was easily the Rangers' most productive scorer on the team. With no intention of signing him to a contract extension, they dealt him for prospect Liam Greentree. As for Trocheck, he was not only good scoring wise, but also thrived in the face-off circle and on the penalty kill. Not having Trocheck on the roster was a risk.
These are gambles that Drury made, and he needs to see results. If the plan backfires, and the team continues to be near the basement of the Eastern Conference standings, one has to wonder if his job will be in jeopardy, despite how glowingly team owner James Dolan has spoken of him recently.
Where Rangers stack on paper in the playoff picture next season
The Rangers' best chance of making the playoffs would be to finish within the top three places in the division, given how ridiculously tough the Atlantic will be entering next season.
From there, they'd have to hope they don't match up against the Carolina Hurricanes, who look like the team to beat entering next season yet again.
The Hurricanes boast the same roster that won the Stanley Cup last season, so they feel like locks to finish in first place in the division. From there, it would be second or third place that would be ideal finishing spots for the Rangers. Those spots were held by the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers this past season. The Penguins are getting older, so the Rangers would have to bank on a drop-off. The Flyers, meanwhile, are a relatively young team that could contend for the playoffs for quite some time.
One team who really improved on paper this offseason are the Washington Capitals. In what might be Alex Ovechkin's final season, the Capitals added Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou, and Boone Jenner, giving them a loaded forward corps.
It's up to the Rangers players and coaches to show that this is a team that can not only make the playoffs, but also to make a run. Their best bet in doing so is if they go through the Metropolitan Division, and avoid a Wild Card spot at all costs, given they'd likely have to face Atlantic Division teams.
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