The 2025-26 New York Rangers season is slowly dragging on to its underwhelming conclusion. No postseason action for the Blueshirts was warranted after the kind of performance they put on the ice this season.
Looking ahead to next year, there are many decisions to be made. President and General Manager Chris Drury is going to have a busy summer, with the NHL Draft and free agency, to push this re-tooling phase into hyperdrive.
The fans do not want sub-par hockey, and frankly, they don’t deserve it after how these last two seasons have gone. With all of the decisions to be made coming before next season, there is one that sticks out like a sore thumb and is basically impossible to mess up.
Dylan Garand has earned the backup role for the goaltending room. At least for the 2026-27 season, and potentially beyond.
A bright spot in all the mess
Garand has a record of 1-0-1 in his two career starts with the Rangers, and he has a 1.44 goals against average and a save percentage of .954. A small sample size for sure, but it is a glimpse at what he could become in the long run.
Jonathan Quick is approaching the end of a historic and memorable career, and it might be time for the now 40-year-old to hang it up this summer. There are not many players, let alone goaltenders, who can have the kind of run Quick has had and retire for the team that he grew up rooting for.
That leaves an open spot behind the starter, Igor Shesterkin, and Garand might be the perfect fit. Shesterkin is the bona fide starter, through and through, but what if he had a little competition behind him? For the longest time, it has been No. 31 trying to just best himself, as the Rangers are not going to sit a record-breaking contract for a goaltender.
Garand can make Shesterkin sweat a little if things continue going the way that they are. There is no doubt that the easiest decision that Drury has to make this summer is going to be naming Garand as the backup for next season.