There was a lot of excitement when the Rangers got Scott Morrow as part of the package for K'Andre Miller. He was a young defenseman with a ton of upside, ranked the 3rd-best prospect in the Hurricanes' system before the 2024-25 season, according to Daily Faceoff. It had appeared the Rangers had gotten a potential replacement for Miller. Considering how much success the defensemen have had in Mike Sullivan's system, it looked like Morrow was entering the perfect situation. But how did he do in his first season with the Blueshirts?
Expectations
Morrow was coming off a solid 2024-25 season. He spent most of the season down in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves. In 52 games for the Wolves, he racked up 13 goals and 26 assists for 39 points. He also earned a call-up to the NHL, appearing in 14 games, registering one goal and five assists for six points. He also played in five playoff games for the Hurricanes but failed to record a point. It was a step in the right direction and had many excited to see what was what.
With this successful 2024-25 campaign, his first season with the Rangers was a big opportunity to step up his game. Morrow would battle for a spot on the bottom pairing and from there try to take the next step in his development. Ideally, he would play the whole season in the NHL and earn a promotion to a hiring pairing. But regardless of where he played, fans just wanted him to develop and show flashes that he can succeed at the next level.
Performance
Morrow did not make the opening-night roster with Urho Vaakanainen getting that spot. He started the season in Hartford getting top-four minutes. For the first month and a half of the season, he played exclusively with the Wolf Pack, having a goal and an assist in 11 games. He gets the occasional call-up to the NHL, but would be there more for depth. He only appeared in one NHL game during this stretch on November 16th, where he didn't record a point against the Red Wings.
But just a few days after his Rangers debut, he would get consistent playing time in the NHL. With Adam Fox on injured reserve, there was an opening on the Rangers' blueline. He played the rest of November as well as most of December and January with the Rangers. He was primarily a bottom-pairing player getting under 15 minutes of ice time a night. He was sent back down to Hartford in early January and would spend most of the season down there. He only played in one NHL game the rest of the season.
Over his 29 games in the NHL this season, Morrow was only able to tally six points. While his counting stats were not great, his advanced metrics were decent. According to Natural Stat Trick, he had a 50.67 CF%, a 49.35 SCF%, and a 50.38 xG%. This shows he was more effective on ice than the stats show. His counting stats were much better in the AHL, having logged five goals and 14 assists for 19 points. This was more along the lines of what was expected from him.
Grade: C-
Where do they go from here?
Although Morrow did not have the production fans hoped for, there is still a lot to like from this past season. He showed flashes of being a reliable defenseman at the NHL level. He will also turn 24 in November, meaning he still has a lot of time to develop as a player. With all the experience he has right now and him maturing, we could see him take a big step forward next season. It could be the breakout season we were expecting him to have this year.
The only thing he has to do is earn a spot on the Rangers roster. With the emergence of Matthew Robertson and Drew Fortescue, there will be competition for those spots. There is also the possibility of the Rangers landing an NHL-ready defenseman in the draft. So Morrow will have his work cut out to earn a spot on the roster. But if he is able to, we could see him blossom into a staple of the Rangers defensive core.
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