5 questions facing the Rangers as training camp opens
Gabe Perreault of the Rangers takes his rookie lap at Madison Square Garden on April 2, 2025. Credit: Getty Images/Bruce Bennett
It was a second straight long summer for the Rangers, and this one brought with it a lot of change, from the re-organizing of the ownership/management structure that saw James Dolan turn over day-to-day duties of overseeing the Rangers to his son, Quentin, to general manager Chris Drury’s extensive remodeling of the roster.
On Wednesday, the Rangers’ veterans report to what will be a very short training camp – they open the regular season in Boston on Sept. 29 – with hopes that coach Mike Sullivan can lead the Blueshirts back to the playoffs. He’ll have a beefed-up roster to work with, but getting into the postseason is hardly guaranteed.
With a mere 13 days to get ready for the newly expanded, 84-game season, here are 5 questions facing the Rangers.
1. Does Pavel Dorofeyev fill the hole left by Artemi Panarin?
No. At least, not by himself. Dorofeyev, whom Drury acquired from Vegas in a blockbuster trade at the NHL draft in June, is a totally different player than Panarin, whom the Rangers traded to L.A. in February. Where Panarin was a creator,who had the ability to make teammates better, Dorofeyev is a finisher who is more reliant on having teammates set him up. That said, there’s nothing more important in hockey than the ability to score goals, and Dorofeyev certainly can do that. But other players are going to have to step up to help fill the void left by Panarin’s departure.
2. What will the top two forward lines look like?
Sullivan will have about 10 days and four preseason games to figure that out. The line of Mika Zibanejad between Alexis Lafreniere and Gabe Perreault looked really good at the end of last season, so does Sullivan keep those three together, and start Dorofeyev with J.T. Miller and someone else? Or does Sullivan play Dorofeyev with Zibanejad and Miller with Lafreniere? Does six-time 20-goal scorer Oliver Bjorkstrand complete the top six? And where do Will Cuylle and late-summer signing Eeli Tolvanen fit in? Stay tuned.
3. How much better will the defense be with the new second pair of Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi?
At Breakup Day, Sullivan said the Rangers needed “to add some puck moving ability on our blue line.’’ Drury traded a first-round pick to Vancouver to get Pettersson, who played for Sullivan in Pittsburgh, and got Durzi back from Utah in the Trocheck trade to address that. Durzi has 30 goals and 114 assists in 302 career games, and is a clear offensive upgrade over Will Borgen (18 goals, 65 assists in 373 games). Durzi, 27, will be an offensive threat on the second pair, and the point man on the second power play unit, giving the Rangers two elements they lacked last season. Pettersson, 30, is a plus-66 over 604 career games for Anaheim, Pittsburgh and Vancouver. Last year, though, was the first time in his 10 NHL seasons where he finished with a minus rating.
4. What is Matt Rempe’s status with the team?
A broken thumb suffered in an early season fight with ex-Ranger Ryan Reaves torpedoed last year for Rempe, who ended up having two surgeries on the thumb and was limited to 26 games. The emergence of 6-4, 226-pound Jaroslav Chmelar late last season makes him a challenger to Rempe for that fourth-line right wing role. Yes, the 6-9 Rempe can fight, and he isn’t waivers-exempt, so the Rangers would run the risk of losing him if they try to send him to the minor leagues. But is that enough to earn him a spot on the opening night roster?
5. Will they miss backup goaltender Jonathan Quick?
The all-time leader in wins for an American-born goalie was more than just a backup to Igor Shesterkin. He was a respected and valuable leader in the locker room, as well. And after losing leaders in Panarin and Trocheck, Quick’s retirement further shrinks the leadership group. Joonas Korpisalo, acquired in a trade from Boston, can handle the 25 to 30 games Shesterkin won’t start. But he can’t replace Quick’s leadership.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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