What are the 2026-27 New York Rangers? | The Cutting Edge W/JackKnife

Time to right this ship

It's hockey season! A new year, a fresh start, a clean slate. That's what the New York Rangers have in front of them right now. The Broadway Blueshirts have a chance to right the wrongs of the past couple seasons. A chance to start a new era of success in Rangers hockey. Now, will they do it? That's the question.

Head coach Mike Sullivan has a new roster in front of him put together by general manager Chris Drury, who made just about every right decision one could make this offseason coming off the bad year the Rangers had last year where they finished last in the Eastern conference, which included yet another letter from upper management announcing a retool rather than a rebuild. The Rangers certainly shook things up all right. It was hard not to improve for this upcoming year. So how much better are they?

There's three especially important factors one must take into account when trying to consider what the floor and ceiling for this team is. The Blueshirts made a lot of additions and subtractions. Given how bad the team was last year, they should be a lot better, right? Well, let's see what's under the hood and see what I consider the top three X factors for the Rangers as we drop the puck on the 2026-27 NHL season.

Will we get Norris Fox again?

Perhaps the biggest improvement by the Rangers was on the defensive end. Whether it be drafting Alberts Smits (who made the opening night roster) fifth overall, or trading for Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi, the shakeup was massive. But one thing remains constant, and that's the top defensive pair with Vladislav Gavrikov, and the former Norris Trophy winner, Adam Fox.

Despite putting up almost a point per game (53 GP, 9 goals, 44 assist, 55 points), things were rough for Fox last season. Not only did Fox have a stint on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, but he was snubbed by Team USA as his NHL head coach, general manager, and two other Ranger teammates went on to win gold in Italy. Given the way things were lining up in the weeks leading up to the Olympic break, it didn't even look like Fox was going to make the trip to Europe even if he was healthy. 

Now, Fox hasn't pulled a Martin St. Louis, who was angered by Tampa Bay Lightning and Team Canada general manager Steve Yzerman for snubbing him from the Olympic team in 2014 and demanded a trade that eventually sent him to the Rangers. I guess it makes sense considering Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin was the man in charge and Sullivan and Drury did "go to bat" to get him on the roster. However, Fox was "noncommittal" when asked about his future as a Blueshirt shortly after the new letter. 

Fox is still here, thankfully. We may never fully know what's in his head regarding how he feels towards coaching and management and how things have been handled for Team USA or the Rangers. Maybe he doesn't blame Sully or Drury for his snubbing from the American roster, maybe he thinks they could have done more. Regardless, I hope there's a chip on his shoulder and it's his Herb Brooks moment. For those of you who aren't aware, before coaching the Americans to gold in 1980, Brooks, while he was a player, was sent home from Team USA before they went on to win gold in 1960. 

The mentality Fox needs to carry into this season might not be so much to show Guerin that Team USA could have still won with him, but it should perhaps be towards Drury and Sullivan. If the reports were true that those two vouched for Fox, then his mentality should be showing them they were right to advocate for him, similar to what Tye Kartye said during intermission a few nights ago. If those two could have done more to get Fox on Team USA, then Fox's mentality shifts to showing those two that they're lucky they have him on the Rangers roster. 

We don't know for 100% certainty what happened during those meetings, but Fox should absolutely feel like he's been snubbed. Not only are Fox's standard stat sheet numbers good, but so are his analytical numbers. There's occasional Fox slander on Twitter, but it's safe to say those fans (assuming they are Ranger fans) don't realize how lucky they are to have him.  For the Rangers sake, let's hope the events of last season motivate Fox to play better hockey than he ever has before, and raise his compete to a whole new level. This means that he does not just merely match the point averages he's put up in his time in New York, but he plays better than he ever has before, which should, in turn, put him back in the Norris Trophy discussion for league's best defenseman. If Fox can do that, than that's great for the Rangers.

Does Lafrenière take the next step?

Perhaps no Ranger forward will feel as much pressure to put up points as Alexis Lafrenière. The former first overall pick has had some decent results in New York, but hasn't quite put up the numbers that one would expect from a first overall pick. Now, Lafrenière did not regress last season. In fact he matched his career high in points with 57, which is okay, but again, we want more from someone who was picked so high.

However, looking at those numbers alone does not tell the whole picture. We got a tail of two different Laffy's last year. The first version was with Artemi Panarin. That Laffy was a bit more passenger than driver, putting up only 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) in 56 games. Not ideal for what you want in a top six forward on a team that has Stanley Cup aspirations. But that's not how things ended. 

When the Breadman was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings, we saw a whole new Laffy that took initiative. In 26 games after the trade, mostly playing along side Mika Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault, not only did Lafrenière match his goal total in the previous 56 games with 12, he notched 13 assists for 25 points in that span. 25 points in 26 games. That's much more like the numbers you'd expect from the top forwards of this game. Lafrenière was not being a passenger to Panarin anymore. Laffy became a guy that took initiative and would be a finisher and it showed on the scoreboard in the games that followed the trade.

Perhaps he found his new home alongside Zibanejad and Perrault, who put up some solid numbers of their own in that 26 game stretch. Zibanejad put up 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists), while Perrault put up 19 (nine goals, 10 assists). Bare in mind, Perreault is only 21-years-old, so he'll only get better as time goes, especially if he's found a home with Laffy and Zibby. However, the focus of this segment is Lafrenière. 

This is a great sign for the Rangers because I think, to put it lightly, you want your first overall pick forward to be bare minimum a point per game player. Now it's up to Laffy to put up those numbers on a consistent basis for 84 games (and the postseason if we're greedy). Something that should be a big help for Lafrenière to do those things is consistently getting power play one time, which he's slated to get at the time of this blog.

This is the year for Lafrenière to show he was worthy of being first overall, to finally break through and put up spectacular numbers. If Laffy remains healthy, Ranger fans should be hoping he scores a bare minimum 30 goals, and/or be a point per game player if his finish to last season was an indicator of anything. This is his opportunity to become the guy we hoped he'd be. Now it's time to seize it.

Is Miller good to go?

While we pumped the tires of Lafrenière in the previous section, only this forward might be able to match the pressure that weighs on the shoulders of Laffy. I am talking about team captain, JT Miller, and not only if he can he stay healthy, but can he also put up the point total he's capable of, and be an effective leader?

The way these injuries are handled is not limited to the Rangers. It's common in the NHL for teams to not disclose the specifics on an injury and even to play through it. Look no further than the case Miller last year and how he dealt with an injury during a good portion (if not the entirety) of the season, including the Olympics. It even landed him on injured reserve at one point. Despite the hardships with injury, Miller played 68 games, notching just 17 goals, and 36 assists for a point total of 53. Certainly not what one wants from a guy who once put up a career high of 103 points with 37 goals just three seasons earlier. To make matters worse, there were instances where Miller's effort was lackadaisical, and made fans question whether it was the injuries effecting him, or just a lack of heart. Look no further than this play against his now teammate, Pavel Dorofeyev back in Las Vegas last season. Say for instance that lack of trying was due to injury, I certainly do admire when NHL players play through painful injuries and are still able to help the team, but if said injury is genuinely hindering a player's performance then it's in the player's and the team's best interest to sit and recover. However, the captain is healthy now, and there's no more rationalizing those types of poor efforts.

Miller is coming into this season with no lingering injuries. This is his second full season with the Rangers since returning to New York in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks. There should be no excuses for the Rangers captain, and fans certainly do not want to see any more instances where Miller appears to give up on plays, which is unacceptable for a captain, injuries or no injuries. The fans want the guy that's known for being effective in all three zones while having the capability to put up 100 or more points a season. 

Obviously we know of the drama in Vancouver, and the allegations of Miller being a locker room cancer, and riff between him and Elias Pettersson. However, he's also gotten praise from the likes of former Canucks defenseman and current Boston Bruin, Nikita Zadorov, who described Miller as one of the best teammates he's ever had. Other praise comes from the Tkachuk brothers who described Miller as one of their favorite teammates from their time together on Team USA.

Other insight comes from my favorite hockey player and former Ranger captain, Ryan Callahan, who said Miller is a guy that's, "known to challenge his teammates at times and wear his emotions on his sleeve." That perhaps might rub some players the wrong way, but honestly, if you're not willing to put in that work and do what it takes to win, you probably shouldn't be playing at the highest level. Callahan continued by saying, "He finishes his checks, he blocks shots. He does all those little aspects of the game and he competes at a very high level. If you're doing that you have the right to demand it of your teammates." That is what I want to hear regarding someone in a leadership role. It's why I and many other Ranger fans adored Callahan when he was a Blueshirt. Cally left everything out there and played with so much passion that you never questioned his effort. You'd never get the impression that Callahan was lazy during a shift. With that being said, we need that from Miller. He needs to have the guts to play hard and give 110% every shift like Callahan did. Especially considering Miller has a higher ceiling as a player than Callahan had. I and the rest of the Ranger fanbase want to see Miller go all in on each shift and we never want to see an instance where he is coasting on the ice again. If said instances are because of injury and not so much lack of heart, then he must take a seat and recover. 

Like Goku in this GIF. 

Miller has certainly held his own in the preseason, including this beautifully placed goal, but it's time to put up the numbers, effort, and leadership when it counts. How far this team goes, may very well come down to how Miller rebounds on the stat sheet, and how good of a leader he can be for his teammates. 

The floor and ceiling

There are certainly many other factors to consider with the Rangers and how far they can go or how low they can sink. There's many questions I have myself. How is the newly acquired Dorofeyev going to hold up without playing on a line with Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner? Will Igor Shesterkin remain healthy and be the Vezina Caliber goalie we know he's capable of being? Is the shake up on defense enough to relieve Shesterkin's workload? Will Smits transition well to the NHL? How is the team going to handle the absence of a character guy who did all the little things like Vincent Trocheck after he was traded this offseason? Why the hell is Matt Rempe still here?! Sorry, I was on a roll there. There's a lot to consider with this Blueshirts team.

I'm not even going to go too much into the prospect side of things, for two reasons. One, that's a question for further down the road. Two, while I'm excited for guys like Liam Greentree and Cole Beaudoin, I'm not going to hype them up until I see how they play on a consistent basis in the NHL. I learned my lesson after I initially hyped up Brennan Othmann thinking that he was going to be our Diet Coke Matthew Tkachuk (Matthew is regular Coke and Brady Tkachuk is Coke Zero). Look how well that turned out. Othmann wasn't even close to Diet Coke, he was Aquafina. Thankfully however, the Rangers prospect pool has gone from bottom feeders compared to the rest of the league to middle of the pack, at least according to Daily Faceoff. 

I say the Rangers have the chance to be a relatively competitive team this year.  I'd say the floor is that this team finishes second to last in the Metropolitan, but their ceiling is a wild card spot followed by a first round exit. What makes me nervous about that prediction is that Paul Bissonette thinks that they will achieve that, and if you've been following me the past few years, I've said, when Biz hops on your team's bandwagon, abandon all hope.

This team is definitely better than it was last year, and fans should expect a fun hockey team for the first time in two seasons, but I think what may keep the Rangers from going far is that they're not particularly strong in the top six. Whether it be because we're waiting for Lafrenière and/or Perrault to take the next step, or it's because Oliver Bjorkstrand (who is a fine player) is among the top six, I don't think the Rangers are quite strong enough there yet to compete with the Carolina Hurricanes (who just won the Cup) for the division, or with the Florida Panthers (who are stacked right now) for the Eastern Conference, but I'm fine with that at this moment in time.

The Rangers certainly want to win now, but I think this is a season in which Sullivan and company try to find themselves again. Of course, it's a long season. There's plenty of time for the Rangers to make additional moves if anything peaks their fancy. I am a bit more generous to Drury than many others in the fan base are, but I still think the burner on his seat should be warm at the very least instead of full blast. This is the season for Drury to show that the team is heading in the right direction and that this core can win a Stanley Cup in the next year or so. If this team doesn't take those strides and ends up at the floor I projected for them, then it's time to take the keys away from Drury. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

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