This season did not go as planned for the New York Rangers. A team that was hoping to fight for a playoff spot finds itself as the only team in the Eastern Conference eliminated from playoff contention at the time of this writing. With the season lost, younger players have been getting the chance to show what they can do at the NHL level. What these past few games have shown is that the Rangers have good young players who could have bottom-six futures with the team, but no young top-end talent to help lead the way going forward.
Plenty of Bottom-Six Options to Choose From Going Forward
As this season has gone along, the Rangers have given a number of younger players a chance to show what they can do at the NHL level. While some have shown more than others, it has shown fans that maybe the future isn’t as bleak as they thought it would be. While most of these players will likely top out as third or fourth-line players, every team in the league needs those kinds of players to help build and fill out the roster. It also means the Rangers don’t have to go out and spend money or trade for players to fill those spots in the lineup if they already have players they trust to play in those roles.
Some of the younger players who have stood out the most for the Rangers this season are Noah Laba, Matthew Robertson, Adam Sykora, and Jaroslav Chmelar. Laba has been the third-line center most of the season, and he has shown that he can be a quality bottom-six center in the NHL. Sykora and Chmelar have brought an energy the Rangers were missing and they have been fun to watch together over these last few games, with Sykora scoring two goals in his first three-career NHL games. Robertson has been with the team all season and has shown he can be a solid third-pairing NHL defenseman going forward after spending the last four seasons in the American Hockey League.
Rangers Still Lack High-End Young Talent
While it is good for the organization to have these younger players filling out roles in the bottom of the lineup, the big issue is the Rangers lack the young high-end talent up front teams need in order to win championships. The Rangers don’t have a player like Macklin Celebrini or Connor Bedard that they can build around for the next decade. Their core is still built around players who are either already over 30 years old or getting very close. If the Rangers want to be successful in the near future, they are going to need to try to find a younger player, whether through the draft or trade, that they can build the franchise around.
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The two forwards that have the most potential are Alexis Lafreniere and Gabe Perreault. Fans have started to turn against Lafreniere, as he has yet to show a consistent high level of play in his six seasons with the team. He has taken his game to another level since Artemi Panarin got traded, however, with 22 goals and 51 points in 74 games played so far. This is the second-best offensive season in his career so far; it’s just a shame he turned it on when it was already too late.
Perreault has gotten more comfortable as the season has gone along, but he seems more likely to turn into a complementary player rather than a franchise-altering one. While it still means that he could turn into a good player going forward, he isn’t projected to be a top-end player like Bedard or Celebrini.
Upcoming Draft Is Very Important for Rangers
As of this writing, the Rangers have the third-best odds to win the first-overall pick in the upcoming 2026 NHL Entry Draft. With how poorly the season has gone, getting a top-three pick would be a great way to help kick-start the retool. Getting a top-two pick and drafting a player like Gavin McKenna, who is projected to be a game-changer for whatever team drafts him, would be the boost the Rangers need as they could build around him and complete their retool very quickly. They need to draft and develop well, but they also need luck to be on their side.
The Rangers need to draft a forward with whatever pick they get. If McKenna is not available, a player like Ivar Stenberg or Caleb Malhotra could be a great second option. While they might not make the jump to the NHL next season like McKenna likely will, they could be great pieces for the future, and the Rangers need as much high-end young talent up front as they can get.
Perhaps this season turning into a disaster was actually a blessing in disguise for the Rangers. The team they had built was obviously not good enough, and changes needed to be made in order to move in a younger direction. Letting younger players get playing time and hopefully adding more youth during the draft and offseason shows the fans and the organization which current players could be part of the solution going forward. While it might be painful now and in the near future, if it helps the team add high-end young talent and helps them become contenders in a few years, it will all be worth it.
