After coming off a disappointing end to their playoff run in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Blueshirts made a few moves in the offseason and they are ready to run it back one final time. They begin their season in Pittsburgh for a matchup with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins (7:30PM on TNT).
Rangers | Rankings | Penguins |
0-0-0 | Record | 0-0-0 |
N/A | League Rank | N/A |
N/A | Goals For | N/A |
N/A | Goals Against | N/A |
N/A | Power play | N/A |
N/A | Penalty Kill | N/A |
Offseason and Preseason Notes:
Perhaps the biggest note from the offseason was the Jacob Trouba saga. New York allegedly had a deal to move on from their captain in a trade with multiple teams interested including his hometown Red Wings. Trouba’s no trade clause turned into a modified no trade clause this offseason. The American defender pushed hard to stay in New York to remain with his wife who is completing a medical program in the Metropolitan area. Ultimately, it was reported that Trouba allegedly told the Rangers and other teams that he would not report to any other team if he was traded and general manager Chris Drury opted to hold onto his captain. While New York kept their 6’2 hard hitting defender – it put them up against the cap and gave them little flexibility this offseason.
The biggest move the Rangers made was acquiring Penguins right winger Reilly Smith for a couple of draft picks. Smith will be asked to provide some secondary scoring and they’ll hope he can hit the 50 point plateau for the seventh time in his career.
New York has been negotiating with netminder Igor Shesterkin on a new contract extension. According to NHL insider Kevin Weekes – Shesterkin has rejected an eight-year contract with an eleven million cap hit per season. That contract would have made the Russian netminder the highest paid goaltender in NHL history.
Trade deadline acquisitions Jack Roslovic and Alex Wennberg both departed the Rangers in free agency.
The Blueshirts will open the season with Jimmy Vesey on the Long-term injured reserve list and Ryan Lindgren on the injured reserve list. Vesey will be required to miss the first ten games with a lower-body injury and Lindgren will miss at least a week with an upper-body injury. Forward Adam Edstrom and defender Victor Mancini have made the team out of camp and they are both expected to start on the opening night roster. Mancini impressed the coaching staff big time and he overtook multiple guys on the depth chart including Ben Harpur, Matthew Robertson, and Connor Mackey.
“Big, strong, fast, competitive, good attitude,” said alternate captain Chris Kreider prior to the start of training camp. “Seems like a good kid. Not a whole lot not to like.”
The last notable thing to happen to the Rangers this past offseason was the announcement that longtime play-by-play commentator Sam Rosen will retire at the end of the season. The 77-year-old has been the play-by-play commentator for New York since 1984. Kenny Albert is one of the favorite’s to take over for Rosen next season.
Rangers vs Penguins
With all that happened in the offseason, the Blueshirts will look to get off to the right start with a divisional matchup against the Penguins. Looking to build off a career year is Alexis Lafreniere. The former first overall pick had 28 goals and 29 assists last season for a career high 57 points. Lafreniere found a lot of success on a line with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck. He also had 14 points in 16 playoff games last season. Lafreniere has put up impressive even strength numbers and his point total could skyrocket if he can find a way to break through on the top power-play unit. He’ll start though on the second line power-play unit.
Shesterkin is expected to get the start in goal for the Rangers. Shesterkin was brilliant once again for the Rangers last season and he lights out in the playoffs. The Russian netminder is in a contract year and he will be looking to become the highest paid netminder in NHL history.
Notable newcomers to the Penguins include Anthony Beauvillier, Kevin Hayes, Cody Glass, and Rutger McGroarty. McGroarty was the 14th overall selection by the Winnipeg Jets in 2022. He was traded to the Penguins for Brayden Yager who was the 14th overall selection the following year.
Tristan Jarry will get the start for the Penguins. Jarry had the worst season of his career as a starter for Pittsburgh finishing with a record below .500 and just a .903 save percentage. The 29-year-old will be hoping to raise his level of play back to where he once was at.
Filip Chytil will look to stay healthy this season after missing the final 72 games of the regular season. The Czech center was off to a great start before suffering yet another concussion in his young career. Chytil will open on the third line and play on the second power-play unit.
Matt Rempe is slated to be a healthy scratch for the opening game of the season. Expect the fourth line to consist of Adam Edstrom, newcomer Sam Carrick, and Jonny Brodzinski.
“This isn’t about scratching somebody,” said head coach Peter Laviolette. “Sometimes it’s going to be about the opponent…. I think Jonny (Brodzinski) had a really good camp.”
Adam Fox will open the season with K’Andre Miller as his partner with Lindgren out. Braden Schneider will play with Trouba, while Zac Jones will play with Mancini.
Bet of the Night
Let’s start off easy and pick something rather probable. Vincent Trocheck to record over .5 points at -220. A $5 bet would pay $7.27 for a profit of 2.27. Trocheck will play with Artemi Panarin and Lafreniere which was the Blueshirts best line last season. He also will open on the top power-play unit. Last year it was Chytil who opened on a line with Panarin and Lafreniere so the thinking is healthy competition will push Trocheck right from the beginning.
Projected Lineup
Kreider-Zibanejad-Smith
Panarin-Trocheck-Lafreniere
Cuylle-Chytil-Kakko
Edstrom-Carrick-Brodzinski
Miller-Fox
Schneider-Trouba
Jones-Mancini
Shesterkin

Sweatshirts/Hoodies
Subscribe to our newsletter!