NY Rangers' Gabe Perreault Wisely Seen as Potential Breakout Candidate

Will New York Rangers forward Gabe Perreault have a breakout season?

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers right wing Gabe Perreault (94) skates against the Washington Capitals during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As the offseason continues for the New York Rangers, the team will be anxious to get back on the ice soon for the start of a new campaign. 

Following a last-place finish in the Eastern Conference last year, the Rangers will be happy to put that bad season in the rearview mirror and start something new. 

This summer, New York really worked hard to reshape this roster, and the results appear to be promising. Chris Drury was able to add some young players to help for the future while also making the team better for next season. 

There is certainly a reason to believe that a healthy roster can contend for a playoff spot if things go right. Furthermore, while there are a lot of new players coming in, the Rangers will also be relying on the development of some of their young talent. 

This hasn’t been a strength of New York, but with some changes being made, the hope is that their talent development will be much better. 

Mike Gould of The Daily Faceoff recently wrote about some potential breakout candidates around the league. For the Rangers, their young winger Gabe Perreault was mentioned as a candidate. 

Perreault Wisely Seen as Breakout Candidate

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers right wing Gabe Perreault (94) skates against the Washington Capitals during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While some of the players who were on the roster for the Rangers last season might get overshadowed by all of the new faces, Perreault is one of the more promising young players for the franchise. 

Last year, the former first-round pick was given an opportunity to succeed, and he ran with it. Perreault was able to get on the first line with Alexis Lafreniere and Mika Zibanejad, and he really saw his game grow. 

The young forward overall totaled 27 points with 12 goals and 15 assists in 49 games, but it was the last two months of the season in which he really shined. Between March and April, he totaled 19 points with nine goals and 10 assists in 23 games played. 

Those are some impressive numbers for the young winger, and he appears like he could be a key piece of the team going forward. There will be some questions regarding who he should be paired up with. 

The addition of Pavel Dorofeyev has made that conversation a bit tricky, but it is a good problem to have for head coach Mike Sullivan. 

Overall, if Perreault performs as he did down the stretch, the Rangers will certainly have one of the breakout stars in the league next season.