The New York Rangers play their final preseason game this evening, and shortly afterward, President and General Manager Chris Drury will need to finalize his opening night roster. While there are several directions the front office could take, the best possible move is ironically the one least likely to happen.
If Drury truly cares about the post-Letter 2.0 retool, he will place Joonas Korpisalo on waivers. Doing so immediately solves New York's roster crunch and gives the organization maximum flexibility to evaluate its young talent.
Rangers run risk of losing a useful piece on waivers
Dylan Garand, Scott Morrow, and Matthew Robertson are all players with varying degrees of upside who can help the 2026-27 Rangers and beyond. Robertson held his own as the No. 6 defender last season, and with Alberts Smits in the mix, he's at worst going to be the No. 7 defenseman who rotates in from press row. There really isn't a need to worry about him, but it is still worth mentioning him given his status.
Garand has played well enough to win the backup job outright, and his sub-$1 million cap hit is an asset. He was re-signed before the Korpisalo trade was made, and the timing of it all remains an interesting question that may never be answered. Morrow was the key player return from Carolina in the K'Andre Miller sign-and-trade, and as a 23-year-old former top prospect, he still has time to grow into his own and fill a need on New York's blue line.
There isn't a scenario where the Rangers can comfortably keep all three skaters plus three goaltenders, though Drury has a straightforward path forward. The easiest move is placing Korpisalo on waivers. Waiving him hands Garand the NHL backup job and eliminates the awkward three-goalie rotation, instantly freeing up a 23-man roster spot for a young defenseman.
Morrow is the one who could end up being the odd man out if the club keeps Korpisalo, though there is technically a world where he remains in New York if Smits starts in Hartford or if Drury orchestrates a late Braden Schneider trade. Schneider is 25 and entering a one-year deal at $5.5 million, leaving little mystery about his ceiling.
While Morrow posted a paltry 42.51 GF% in his limited NHL look, his underlying profile was far more encouraging: a 49.11 CF% and a 48.84 xGF%, ranking fourth and fifth respectively among Rangers blueliners per Evolving-Hockey. On underlying metrics, Morrow actually outperformed Schneider (45.45 CF% and 44.61 xGF%). Given that Morrow is younger and significantly cheaper, it stands to reason that the front office should prioritize evaluating his upside rather than burning an asset on waivers.
It all comes back to Korpisalo
Meat Loaf once crooned "two out of three ain't bad," and if the Rangers simply waive Korpisalo, they can keep two of the three young skaters mentioned above. While Korpisalo brings 300+ games of NHL experience, his recent track record does not justify burning a roster spot at the expense of genuine future assets.
It is bad enough that he counts $3 million against the cap. It is even worse that over the last three seasons he has posted save percentages of .894, .893, and .890, alongside goals-against averages of 3.15, 2.90, and 3.27.
The addition of Jonathan Quick a few years ago to back up Igor Shesterkin was initially met with skepticism, but Quick brought championship pedigree before seamlessly transitioning into the front office upon retirement. Korpisalo does not bring that profile. Garand has done his time in Hartford, outplayed the veteran in camp, and proved far more dependable in the organization than previous depth options like Spencer Martin. If the Rangers wanted a veteran netminder for organizational insurance, carrying him in the AHL was always the correct role.
We will know Drury's roster direction shortly. Losing a promising young piece on waivers just to insulate an overpaid, sub-.900 veteran would be an entirely unforced error, putting an unnecessary blemish on an otherwise productive summer of business.
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