Will Borgen is one of a few players being evaluated in this series that joined the New York Rangers during the season. Borgen was acquired on December 18, 2024 in a deal that sent 2019 No. 2 overall pick Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken, and it was a move made by President and General Manager Chris Drury in an attempt to overhaul the defense. Borgen was a player that Drury really liked, and after just 17 games he was inked to a five-year contract with an annual cap hit of $4.1 million per season.
Expectations
Borgen was a targeted addition for the Rangers, and given the price they paid, the role he was deployed in, and the fact he was extended almost immediately, it is fair to say the team had lofty expectations for him to be a transformative top-four defender. At the time of the trade, Borgen had appeared in 33 games with the Seattle Kraken, and via Evolving-Hockey, posted an advanced stats line which included a 32.96 goals for percentage, a 44.16 Corsi for percentage, and a 40.18 expected goals percentage while skating 15:12 per night. His role grew with the Rangers, and by all accounts the team is happy with their newest investment on the back end.
Performance
In 51 games as a Ranger, Borgen didn't do anything flashy to stand out. In 849 minutes at 5v5, he posted a 50.33 GF%, a 46.75 CF%, and a 45.14 xGF%. All of these numbers are an improvement from his numbers with the Kraken, but he still finished the season towards the bottom of the table amongst Rangers defensemen in many of these metrics.
Among all defenseman that skated up for the Rangers during the 2024-25 season, Borgen finished 8th in xGF%, 6th in CF%, and 6th in GF%. That's not good for a player being utilized in a top-four role, and it's disappointing for a player that was signed to a deal that keeps him under contract for the next five seasons. Analytically speaking, Borgen has graded out as a third-pair defenseman since entering the league, and that remained the case in a short sample with the Rangers.
If you wanted to put a positive spin on Borgen's performance, you could say that he scored four goals and added nine helpers to finish with 13 points in 51 games after just putting up a line of 1-1-2 in 33 games with the Kraken. He's not known for his offensive contributions, as his career high in points in a single season is just 25, but every little bit helps.
Where They Go From Here
Borgen is here to stay, because not only does he have a five-year contract... Drury gave him a full no-trade clause for next season, a 15-team NTC for year 2, a 10-team NTC for year 3, and a 6-team NTC for year 4. The goal for Borgen is that he can improve under a new coach with better overall structure, and provide some value for the Rangers. The ideal situation would be one in which the Rangers acquire a bona fide top-four defender to play above Borgen, and that would allow him to hold down a spot on the third pair. That situation seemingly hinges on what the Rangers do with restricted free agent Braden Schneider, another third-pair defender who had a bit of an underwhelming season.
Overall, there's nothing wrong with Borgen. Simply stated, he's a "guy". A player that is generally available in free agency, and can be had for relatively cheap. He isn't the type of defender you rush to sign ahead of time, and had the Rangers waited till the end of the season they'd have had more leverage to sign him to a cheaper contract, or they could have just not signed him at all. In any case, with a new coach, and hopefully deeper roster should come a fresh start for Borgen, and for the Rangers' sake hopefully there's more for him to give.