3 NY Rangers players who won’t be back next season
The NY Rangers are among the top teams in the NHL, but it doesn’t mean they won’t be immune to some roster turnover following a successful season.
The NY Rangers have been the class of the NHL overall this season, sitting atop the league standings in points and putting themselves in first place for the Presidents’ Trophy down the stretch. And when you look at their overall numbers prior to their March 28th matchup with the Colorado Avalanche, they are in the top 10 in goals scored with 246 and in the top five in goals against with 199.
They have a legitimate Hart Trophy candidate in Artemi Panarin, whose 102 points and 43 goals so far are a huge reason behind the Blueshirts success. But Panarin isn’t the only reason this team has clicked all year, with the likes of Vincent Trocheck, Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, and Alex Lafreniere all putting up or are at least on pace to record at least 25 goals.
And let’s not forget about the dynamic duo of Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick, both of whom have, overall, played well enough all year to catapult this hockey team into serious Stanley Cup contention. But just because the Rangers have played better than anyone else this season, from their skaters to their netminders, it doesn’t mean the entire team would, nor should, stick together.
NY Rangers will nevertheless see player movement this coming summer
The Rangers, like every NHL team, will inevitably see a few players go elsewhere this summer, as it’s impossible to keep the same team around year after year, good as they may be. Luckily for the Blueshirts, they will keep most of their players for the 2024-25 season, as only four of them in the active lineup will be unrestricted free agents.
Another pending UFA could be finishing what has been an unforgettable NHL career, and another hasn’t quite worked out during his time with the Rangers. So, who will New York need to find replacements for when the 2024 offseason rolls around in a few months?
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Blake Wheeler’s time in the NHL has probably come to an end
Blake Wheeler’s season came to an end back in February when he sustained a knee injury, and it’s something the 37-year-old may have a tough time returning from. Even before his injury, Wheeler wasn’t the same player that he was in previous seasons, scoring just 21 points and nine goals in 54 games with an average total ice time of 12:43, far from what we have seen from players of a similar age like Joe Pavelski of the Dallas Stars.
However, this doesn’t mean Wheeler completely dropped performance-wise. Thanks to the names mentioned in the first slide, he didn’t need to be the top-tier talent that he was during his time with the Winnipeg Jets. Wheeler was still consistently getting in front of shots, taking away pucks, and landing the occasional body check, even if his overall possession metrics dropped.
We still don’t know if Wheeler will make a full return from what was a serious knee injury next season, but if he does, look for him to enter a role as a fourth-liner or even as a 13th forward. It won’t happen in New York, but his veteran leadership this season will nonetheless have a lasting effect on the Rangers.
Erik Gustafsson has been productive, but New York was a one-year stop
Since he debuted in the NHL for the 2015-16 season, Erik Gustafsson’s two-way game has been a staple. But he’s also been a journeyman over the past nine years, which explains his small, six-figure salary for one season.
Gustafsson has been the perfect stopgap for teams like the Rangers over the years, and that will continue next season when he’s playing in a different uniform. We won’t see him return to the Blueshirts next season, thanks to the younger rotation that is already in town. Adam Fox is the top player here, while Jacob Trouba has been a fixture in New York for five seasons now. The rest of the rotation, while young, has a bright future ahead of them.
K’Andre Miller’s two-way game wasn’t there for his first couple of seasons, but it’s shined since his breakout year in 2022-23. Miller won’t match his career-high of 43 points from a year ago, but he’s excelled in about any situation the Blueshirts put him in.
They also have younger options in Braden Schneider, Ryan Lindgren, and the up-and-coming Zachary Jones. This leaves players like Gustafsson and also Chad Ruhwdel free to head elsewhere after the season ends. Both players are serviceable enough to land on another contender or to take a veteran leadership role on a rebuilding team.
Kaapo Kakko has got to be out of chances at this point
Kaapo Kakko was one player the Rangers should have traded earlier in the month at the deadline, and while they will still have the first right to sign the pending restricted free agent, is he even worth attempting to bring back?
Kakko has just 10 goals and 15 points on the season in 51 games, and his 13:18 of average total ice time remains the lowest of his career. It should foreshadow the Rangers not even bothering to extend a qualifying offer to Kakko.
One would have hoped that at some point, Kakko would have ventured over 50 percent in the Corsi or even contributed more to the Rangers scoring - just 19 on-ice goals for this season at 5-on-5 - but here we are with 10 games left in the regular season as of March 28th, and that hasn’t happened.
This wouldn’t be as much of an issue if Kakko’s current AAV sat lower than $2.1 million (base salary this season of $2.4 million). He’s still been consistent defensively, and that should continue throughout the playoffs, but extending Kakko to a higher price tag would have only been a good idea if he showed at least a little improvement offensively following the deadline.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)