With much of the New York Rangers’ offseason business already wrapped up, highlighted by a coaching change, several trades, and a flurry of free-agent signings, attention now turns to how the lineup might take shape. In part one, we broke down the state of the Rangers’ forwards. Now, in part two of this depth chart series, we turn our focus to the blue line. Here's a look at the current state of the defense as of July 6, 2025.
Left Defense
- Vladislav Gavrikov
- Carson Soucy
- Urho Vaakanainen
Gavrikov is coming off an impressive season with the Los Angeles Kings where he was one of the league's top shutdown defenders. This season was Gavrikov's sixth in the league, and the Rangers were familiar with their newest blueliner from his time spent in the Metropolitan Division with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He's logged 435 games to date and on average has played 21:12 per night which will be a welcome addition for a defense corps that needed serious reinforcements.
In terms of his most recent season, Gavrikov posted a line of 5-25-30 in 82 games played while averaging a career high 23:05 per game for the Kings. He was paired with Mikey Anderson, and the duo had a slash line that includes a 50.44 GF%, a 53.87 CF%, and a 56.72 xGF% in 840 minutes together per Evolving-Hockey.com. Gavrikov likely will be paired with Adam Fox, a Norris Trophy winner and top-3 defender in the NHL, and it is fair to say that the duo should post numbers that exceed this pairing.
The Rangers acquired Carson Soucy at the trade deadline and he appeared in 16 games and averaged 16:14 a game. He wasn't a great fit for the team, and currently counts $3.2 million against the salary cap. He stands 6"5", weighs 208 pounds, and brings the size the team is looking for. The hope is is a better fit under Sullivan and can be a better overall fit after a full training camp in which he can better acclimate himself to the team.
Vaakanainen skated in 46 games for the Rangers and logged 16:43 per game while posting a line of 2-13-15 which ended up being a career year for him. In 721 5v5 minutes, he posted an expected goals for percentage of 43.86 which was worst among roster regulars on defense per Evolving-Hockey. He also posted a Corsi for percentage of 46.09 which was eighth worse among defenders (Braden Schneider, Chad Ruhwedel, and Victor Mancini were only ones worse).
He did end up finishing with a 54.6 goals for percentage which was second best among roster regulars on defense, but that was very lucky on his part when you look at the disparity between his GF% and xGF% numbers. His inability to generate offense at 5v5 negates a large portion of the defensive impact he has, and makes him a net negative player overall. He will be deployed in a third pair role, and at this point he can only go up from here.
Right Defense
- Adam Fox
- Will Borgen
- Braden Schneider
Fox posted a 58.19 goals for percentage, a 55.95 Corsi for percentage, and a 55.32 expected goals for percentage per Evolving-Hockey this past season. In terms of goals the Rangers surrendered while Fox was on the ice, opponents generated a paltry 2.29 goals per 60 minutes. In that same span, Fox and the Rangers averaged 3.19 goals per 60 minutes, which results in a net positive.
Fox finished the regular season with 61 points in 74 games which ranked 9th most among defenders, and 40 of those points came at even strength. The distinction here is made because Fox has somehow received the moniker of being a power play merchant, and that area of his game being where he gains most of his value. While he certainly is proficient in that regard, he also happens to be one of the game's top 5v5 rear guards.
He's a player that should benefit nicely from Mike Sullivan being behind the bench, as his system should help make the Rangers a stronger defensive team and that support will put less strain overall on Fox. He also will love playing with Gavrikov, and that could be the addition that enables Fox to take his game to another level.
During his 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 Seattle 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. Hopefully he's better this season because even though he's being paid less than some of the players who were overpaid on July 1st, his deal isn't great for the Rangers.
Schneider appeared in 80 games with the Rangers and logged 1,256 at 5v5 this past season and finished with a 50.37 GF%, a 45.82 CF%, and a 46.82 xGF%. He's played pretty poorly for the team since entering the league, and you really can't point to any development of his game. Schneider had surgery in April to repair a torn labrum that has been bothering him for the past two seasons, so maybe there's a chance he will turn the corner for the Rangers this season. The acquisition of Scott Morrow in the K'Andre Miller trade to Carolina should put him on notice, because the team's newest prospect could become a prime candidate to take Schneider's spot in the lineup.