The start of the 2025-26 NHL season for the New York Rangers is sooner than you think, and new bench boss Mike Sullivan is already thinking about how he wants to shake things up for a squad that missed the playoffs this past season.
There is no replacing Chris Kreider, the player and the person, but the team will likely look to fill the void in the aggregate, and one young forward is already being looked upon as a top option to take on an even larger role this season.
Will Cuylle has been working hard for this moment
Cuylle is the forward that is currently primed to assume many of the opportunities that were once afforded to Kreider, and the budding star will enter his third season as a Ranger when the team hits the ice in October for the start of the season.
Cuylle is coming off a career year with the Rangers, and his continued development and production led to him inking a two-year extension what carries a cap hit of $3.9 million per season. The rugged power forward in training scored 20 goals, recorded 25 assists, and tallied 45 points in 82 games. What makes this level of production impressive is that he average just 15:05 per game, and the majority of his points came at even strength.
Cuylle's rookie season saw him post a line of 13-8-21 in 81 games while averaging 11:08 per game, and you can see a link in his efficiency increasing with his minutes. He averaged 2.10 points per 60 at 5v5 which was up from 1.23 the previous season per Evolving-Hockey.
Sullivan is impressed, and doesn't need Cuylle to be Kreider
NHL dot com has a series called 32 in 32 in which they look at teams throughout the month of August to get ready for the upcoming season. Dan Rosen spoke with Sullivan for the Rangers' 32 in 32 in feature, and Cuylle's name came up.
"His power game, his ability to go to the net, his physical edge that he brings to the line that he's on is impressive. He's a different player than 'Kreids,' so I don't know it's going to be an identical role, but it'll be similar."
How Cuylle is different than Kreider
Speed has been a big part of Kreider's game, and he was in the 82nd percentile of speed bursts over 20 mph per NHL Edge data last season while being hurt. The year before that, he was in the 92nd percentile of speed bursts over 20 mph, and the 89th percentile for top speed. It will be interesting to see what his numbers look like this season in Anaheim.
Cuylle isn't as gifted as a straight ahead skater, and he was in the 70th percentile for speed bursts over 20 mph. In terms of top speed, his 22.51 mph was in the 62nd percentile, and he clearly has some work to do there.
How Cuylle is similar to Kreider
There is a part of his game where Cuylle has been very similar to Kreider, and that's having a strong net front presence. Since the league starting tracking it in 2009-10, Kreider leads the league with 95 goals off a tipped shot, and he has another 8 classified as a deflection. This past season, Cuylle had two goals off a tip in, and four goals off a deflection which were the most in the league. During the 2023-24 season, Cuylle had three tip in goals which was third on the team behind Vincent Trocheck (5), and Kreider (15).
Cuylle's been effective because of his 6'3" and 212-pound frame, and he's the same height as Kreider while being 18 pounds lighter. There's no need for Cuylle to bulk up when it would be better for him to get faster, as he's already built enough to absorb and initiate contact. He was fourth in the league last year in hits with 301, and it will be interesting to see if that changes this season with him deployed in more of an offensive role.
What a good season could look like for Cuylle
Cuylle's offensive output increase by 0.87 points per 60 between 2023-24 and 2024-25. It was a nice step forward, and it leads to the question of, "what does a good season look like in 2025-26 for Cuylle?"
Ideally, if Cuylle is in a consistent top-six role, a good year for him would be anything over 60 points. The Rangers went with a line of Cuylle-J.T. Miller-Mika Zibanejad to end the season, and that may very well continue into this season. If that's the case, Cuylle getting to, and potentially exceeding the 60 point mark, is very realistic. There is going to be a lot of pressure for players to step up in Kreider's absence. That is something that could be felt by Cuylle, but that's also true of someone like Alexis Lafrenière. The Rangers' 2020 No. 1 overall pick will feel a little more heat given how poorly things went last year, plus his new contract extension has kicked in.
In any case, Cuylle has a great opportunity in front of him. He has a coach who believes in him, and is realistic in that he doesn't expect him to completely replace Kreider. That sounds like a recipe for success, and hopefully Cuylle is able to take full advantage of what's in front of him.