Noah Laba continued sophomore slump exposes Rangers complete lack of center depth

There wasn't much for New York Rangers fans to celebrate during the 2025-26 season, but Noah Laba was a breath of fresh air that provided legitimate optimism for the future. Very few anticipated his emergence, but after a standout performance at rookie camp and an eye-opening preseason, Laba earned an opening-night roster spot and never looked back.

Fast-forward one year, and the picture on Broadway looks far more concerning. While the struggles aren't entirely his fault, the organization is quickly running out of time to get its young center back on track.

Laba spent the majority of his rookie campaign anchoring the Rangers' fourth line before earning sporadic looks in the top nine. While he visibly hit the rookie wall in mid-winter, he rebounded sharply following the February Olympic break. All told, a 24-point rookie season across 74 games was an encouraging foundation, and one that gave President and General Manager Chris Drury the confidence to trade veteran Vincent Trocheck and reallocate cap resources.

From rookie sensation to second-year growing pains

Laba was the direct beneficiary of that trade, sliding naturally into the vacant third-line center role. His average ice time has jumped to 14:59 per game which is an increase of nearly 90 seconds a night against tougher competition.

Through his first 14 games of the 2026-27 season, however, the offensive output has stalled. Laba has four assists, zero goals, and just 11 total shots on net. Nobody expects Laba to challenge for the Rocket Richard Trophy, but he has been remarkably passive. For a player who possesses elite straight-line speed, he simply isn't attacking lanes or driving the net to create chaos for his linemates.

The concern compounds when looking under the hood. Laba currently carries a 35.96 GF%, a 42.38 CF%, and a 35.86 xGF% at 5v5 according to Evolving-Hockey.

There is no sugarcoating those numbers, and this isn't a scenario where he is being dragged down by poor line chemistry. Eeli Tolvanen carries a 57.08 GF% and a 48.99 xGF%, while Will Cuylle sits at a 44.85 xGF%. While those metrics aren't dominant, they are drastically better than Laba’s, making it clear who is losing their matchups down the middle.

The roster construction leaves no safety net

In an ideal world, Mike Sullivan would scale back Laba's 5v5 responsibilities, bump him to the fourth line, or even give him a weekend in the press box to reset. The grim reality for the Rangers is that they have zero alternatives.

Chris Drury constructed a roster completely devoid of center depth, and that resulted in Luke Glendening getting signed off the street to center the fourth line while Joe Veleno remains sidelined. This is not to say that the decision was wrong a year ago, but right now the team could use someone like Sam Carrick. Heck, the same could even be said about someone like Jonny Brodzinski who walked in free agency.

Cole Beaudoin represents the organization's long-term future down the middle, but as his brief early-season look demonstrated, the 19 year old is not ready to handle everyday NHL speed.

If Sullivan strips Laba of his minutes, there simply isn't anyone good enough to take them. Playing Glendening 15 minutes a night against opposing scoring lines is a recipe for disaster. You certainly can't break up your top six by sliding Mika Zibanejad or J.T. Miller down to center a checking line just to cover for a struggling sophomore. The Rangers boxed themselves into a corner where Laba has to play through his struggles regardless of the results.

Half measures won't fix Blueshirts' third line

Adjusting to life without Igor Shesterkin is difficult enough, but the Rangers cannot afford to lose the third-line minutes every night. November features a grueling gauntlet of playoff caliber opponents, and if New York expects to remain in the postseason chase, they need their bottom six to provide positive goal differentials. You may be thinking it is too early to think about playoffs, but traditionally speaking, the team's in a spot at Thanksgiving are the ones who make it to the dance in April.

Laba is only 14 games into his sophomore season. Young players experience slumps, and his skating ability and work ethic suggest he will eventually find his footing. But right now, he is drowning in high-leverage minutes.

Failing to support him risks permanently stunting his growth. For a franchise with virtually no other high-end center prospects ready to step in, finding a way to stabilize Laba's game is one of the single most important assignment facing the coaching staff.

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