The New York Rangers and general manager Chris Drury are banking on their moves this offseason paying off, believing they could be enough to bring them back into the playoffs. Some of the gambles that Drury made were trading Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings and Vincent Trocheck to the Utah Mammoth, to bring in both pro-ready young players and top prospects they can bank on in the future.
The Rangers need to bank on getting off to a strong start to the 2026-27 season, as opposed to their drop off of a cliff last season. But for the first month of the season, the Rangers will be facing off against a variety of ex-players. They have the chance to immediately prove the Rangers wrong in trading them away in the past calendar year.
Rangers will face off against Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Will Borgen in first month of 2026-27 season
The Rangers are officially set to open the season on the road on Sep. 29, where they take on the Boston Bruins. The Rangers notably acquired goalie Joonas Korpisalo from the Bruins in exchange for forward prospect Kalle Vaisanen and a 2028 fourth-round pick. The Rangers also made a separate move with the Bruins, trading defenseman Will Borgen in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick and a conditional 2028 third-round pick.
Borgen was expected to be a top four defenseman for the Rangers. He was brought over from the Seattle Kraken in the Kaapo Kakko trade during the 2024-25 season. After a promising start to his stint, Drury signed Borgen to a five-year, $20.5 million contract extension. But last season, Borgen's play dipped, and his on-ice time and responsibilities dissipated. It was no secret that he fell out of favor with head coach Mike Sullivan. Hence why he was traded a year after signing an extension. Now, he'll look to start off the year with the chance to get revenge on the Rangers. Sure, he'll have to secure his spot on the Bruins roster, but considering the capital they gave up, it's hard to see them not put him on the opening night roster.
Trocheck was the Rangers' top player they could dangle in trade talks after they sent out their retool letter. The thing was, Drury had a high asking price for him, which is why he stayed with the team beyond the March trade deadline. Given the moves the Rangers made in the draft, including trading for Pavel Dorofeyev, it was not the most outrageous idea to think he could remain on the team.
But then, Drury received a call from the Mammoth and accepted a deal. In return, they got a top four defenseman in Sean Durzi, a much-needed center prospect in Cole Beaudoin, and a 2027 third-round pick. It was an offer too good to pass up. But, they gave up Trocheck, who can not only produce on offense, but also contribute on the penalty kill and win face-offs. It was a gamble by Drury, and he can learn of his mistake pretty quickly in the Oct. 4 matchup. It should be noted that Trocheck has been nothing but complementary of Drury and his time with the Rangers.
Then, there's Panarin, who was the first big domino to fall after the retool. It was evident the Rangers had no intention of re-signing Panarin, who was set to hit free agency this past summer. Given that Panarin had a full no-trade clause, the Rangers couldn't exactly wait things out for the best offer. Panarin wanted to go to the Kings and he intended to sign a contract extension. The move was essentially Panarin for prospect winger Liam Greentree. Panarin then signed a two-year, $22 million extension with the Kings as soon as the trade went through.
Yes, Panarin did make his first return to Madison Square Garden as a member of the Kings last season, where he recorded one assist in a 4-1 victory over his former team. But by Oct. 26, he'll be more comfortable with the Kings given he has some playing time logged with them. Oh, and ex-Rangers coach Peter Laviolette will make his return to MSG as the new bench boss for the Kings.
Rangers can't lose out on revenge games for second year in a row
The Rangers had plenty of negative themes surrounding them last season. Whether it was falling into last place in the conference, or struggling a bunch on home ice. But when it came to revenge games, the Rangers only added fuel to the fire.
At one point last season, the Rangers went 0-for-5 against former players making their return to Madison Square Garden. Those players were Panarin with the Kings, Carson Soucy with the Islanders, K'Andre Miller with the Carolina Hurricanes, Kakko and Ryan Lindgren with the Kraken, and Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba with the Anaheim Ducks. Talk about losing the battle of messaging, especially when it comes to Drury.
This offseason, the onus was on Drury to get the Rangers out of the proverbial pit of despair. Fans, who have shown to not be the biggest fans of the general manager via surveys, will bring out the pitchforks if the Rangers lose out to the players he willingly gave away this year.
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