NY Rangers Have a Very Specific Need in Free Agency

What is a top need for the New York Rangers in free agency?

May 8, 2025; Tarrytown, NY, USA; New York Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury speaks during a press conference to introduce new head coach Mike Sullivan at the MSG Training Center in Tarrytown, New York May 8, 2025. / The Journal News-Imagn Images

With the Stanley Cup Playoffs continuing on, the New York Rangers are a team that will be hoping to get back into contention following a couple of bad years in a row. However, they will need to make some significant improvements in order to do so. 

For the last couple of years, the Rangers have been doing some retooling with the team, trying to get a bit younger and improve their prospect pool. However, they haven’t completely gone into a rebuild with key players like Igor Shesterkin, Adam Fox, and Mika Zibanejad still on the roster. 

Now, New York has set themselves up well to be a major player this offseason to improve, but they will have their work cut out to achieve that. The Rangers will have multiple needs to address, and they will have two first-round picks and $26 million in cap space in order to improve. 

Arguably, the top need for the team is going to be to improve their top six and get some help in the scoring department. However, improving in that area is arguably the hardest thing to try to accomplish, and New York could have a tough time. 

Rangers Need an Elite Scorer

New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

As expected, when looking at a team that had the worst record in the Eastern Conference, there were some notable flaws for the Rangers. One of the most glaring issues was being able to put the puck in the net, and that was clearly an issue right from the start of the year. 

New York got off to a historically bad offensive start to the season at home, and that carried through for much of the year. Overall, the team had just one player score 30 or more goals, which was Zibanejad. Furthermore, only Alexis Lafreniere and Will Cullye were able to score at least 20. 

With just three players at the 20-goal mark, there is a clear need for more scoring. It was encouraging to see young players like Lafreniere and Cuylle reach the mark, and Gabe Perreault should develop into one following a strong rookie campaign. 

While some of the young players should be able to continue to improve, there really is a need to add a good scorer. Some options might become available on the trade market, but the best option in free agency figures to be forward Alex Tuch. While the price tag might be high, he has been a proven 30-goal scorer, and that is exactly what the team needs.