Rangers' Gabe Perreault picking up where he left off has been catalyst for hot start

The New York Rangers have defied expectations early on in the 2026-27 NHL season, but one of their top players thus far shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who was paying attention last year. Gabe Perreault was a bright spot for the 2025-26 club which ended up in the draft lottery, and he was a player many were excited to see start this year in a top-line role.

It should go without saying that the season has just started when evaluating a player's hot start, but when considering Perreault is simply picking up where he left off, there's no reason to temper expectations for a special player who is living up to the potential that got him drafted in the first place.

Perreault's confidence and impact is driving Rangers' success

Perreault was one of the few young players not to sign a long-term extension before the NHL's CBA rules changed, and thus far the Rangers' decision is looking pretty foolish. You can debate the risk/reward element, whether or not Perreault would have entertained such a deal, but it remains puzzling that a conversation never took place.

Perreault's strong finish to last season was inspiring to see, and the big takeaway was that he was playing with confidence and driving play. It wasn't a case of him riding the coattails of a superstar, he was setting the pace when he took the ice, and he looked dynamic while doing it.

When Rangers hockey returned after the Olympic break, Perreault looked revitalized as he went off with four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in 16 games in March, and he ended the season with five goals in seven April contests.

Prior to that stretch, Perreault had just three goals and five assists in 26 games, so 19 points in the final 23 games is certainly something that fans looked at as a reason to get excited for the upcoming season.

It has been more of the same for Perreault to start the season, and so far he's yet to enjoy a significant minutes bump which just underscores how significant his breakout could be this year. Through seven games he's averaged 15:42 per game, which is actually 17 fewer seconds per game that last year.

Perreault also started the season on the team's second power play unit, but was promoted to the main unit during Sunday's win against the Vancouver Canucks. The impact was felt instantly, as Perreault found Alexis Lafrenière to pick up an assist on the birthday boy's goal.

All in, Perreault's got three goals and three assists for six points in seven games, and he's picked up points in five of the seven games to date. If you want another stat just to give some context to his start, Perreault already has three power play points for the Rangers, and he had six in 49 games last year. His ability to find his teammates' sticks and deliver the puck has been quite impressive, and he could be due for an uptick in production if he remains part of PP1 for good.

Rangers still trying to find right fit in top six

The one constant so far to start the season has been the duo of Perreault and Mika Zibanejad on the top line, and Pavel Dorofeyev was recently added to the line with Lafrenière getting shifted to the second line to skate with J.T. Miller and Tye Kartye. The Rangers are trying to get their offseason acquisition going, and putting him on a line with a playmaker like Perreault is a great compliment.

Dorofeyev's underlyings suggest that he's been a bit unlucky, as he's posted a 54.08 CF%, a 63.14 xGF%, but so far he only has a 49.62 GF% per Evolving-Hockey. It isn't from a lack of trying, as the Rangers' $11 million man has 21 shots on goal to date, but is just shooting 4.8 percent. His career average entering this season was 14.8 percent, and in due time the goals will come.

If Perreault continues to be as efficient distributing the puck at 5v5 as he has been on the power play, Dorofeyev's luck could improve, and that bodes well for him, Perreault, and the Rangers. It's still much a work in progress, as the team's newest top-line trio has logged just over 15 minutes at 5v5, and is rocking a 100 GF%, a 36.73 CF%, and a 40.13 xGF%. The trio that includes Lafrenière had a slash line of 100%, 53.06%, and 53.65% respectively.

Sky remains the limit for Perreault

There's been no shortage of takes about Perreault and his potential, with opinions ranging from him being a Mattias Macceli-esque forward to praise that projected him to have a chance in following in Nikita Kucherov's footsteps. There's no telling how the rest of the season will go, but his progression as a player to date isn't a shock unless you weren't paying attention.

It is worth repeating that this is a player who was star in NCAA hockey at Boston College who went on to finish with a line of 35-73-108 in 73 games across two seasons. This is the same "undersized forward" who set the single-season scoring record for the USNTDP team with a blistering 53 goals, 79 assists, and 132 points, a mark that puts him ahead of elite talent such as Auston Matthews, Jack Hughes, and future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane.

For now fans can continue to enjoy Perreault playing at a near point per game pace, and watch as he looks to follow in the footsteps of other young NCAA talent to have a breakout in their follow up season. Perreault's college teammate Cutter Gauthier had 20 goals and 44 points in 82 games as a rookie, and that's a .54 points per game pace.

He followed that up with 41 goals and 69 points last year for Anaheim. Perreault had 27 points in 49 games last year which is a .55 points per game pace. Given what we've seen thus far, who's to say this season isn't the start of a similar jump, and it will be followed by a similarly lucrative pay day?

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow