NY Rangers Have One Major Reason to Believe They Can Make the Playoffs

Here's one major reason why the New York Rangers can make the playoffs this coming season.

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan speaks to reporters after an 8-1 win against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With training camp and the regular season right around the corner for the New York Rangers, the team will be hoping to make the memory of last year a thing of the past. 

The 2025-26 campaign got off to a bad start, and the team was never able to recover. With it being clear they weren’t going to be in the mix for a playoff spot, they traded away Artemi Panarin, in a clear move that the team was waving the white flag on the campaign. 

However, as the team started to think about the future, they did get to see some encouraging performances from young talent. Even though Alexis Lafreniere has a plethora of experience now, he is still just 24 years old and had one of the best stretches of hockey of his career at the end of last year. 

Furthermore, the emergence of former first-round pick Gabe Perreault into a top-six forward was also encouraging to see. Now, even though they were in last place the previous season, the goal will be to make the playoffs. While that type of turnaround is not easy, there is reason to believe they can do so. 

Why NY Rangers Can Make Playoffs

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin (31) guards the net against the Washington Capitals during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When looking at why New York can make the playoffs, the easiest thing to point out is that the roster is simply better. Chris Drury made a lot of moves to improve this summer, and the depth and talent of the team looks better on paper. 

Bringing in players like Pavel Dorofeyev, who has been a 30-goal scorer each of the last two years, provides a major jolt to their offense. Furthermore, adding players like Oliver Bjorkstrand and Eeli Tolvanen will help round out spots in the top nine on the wing. 

For the blueline, the team added quite a bit. New York traded for Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson to completely revamp the defense. Furthermore, with the fifth overall pick, they selected Alberts Smits, who could be ready to make an impact in the NHL this coming season. 

Overall, there is a lot to like about how the offseason went, and as long as they stay healthy, they should be a playoff contender. New York still has two of the better players in the league at their respective positions in Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin. 

With both of these stars still in their prime, it is a key reason why they can make the playoffs this coming season.