NY Rangers Have Talented Forward to Build Around This Offseason

The New York Rangers should feel good about having a talented forward to build around.

Nov 16, 2025; New York, New York, USA; General view of a flag being waved by New York Rangers staff during the second period against the Detroit Red Wings at Madison Square Garden. / John Jones-Imagn Images

The New York Rangers are anxiously awaiting the Stanley Cup Playoffs to conclude so they can get to work this summer. 

Following missing the playoffs for two straight years, the pressure is on for the Rangers to get better. With the team publicly saying that they aren’t rebuilding, the expectation is going to be that they contend for a playoff spot next season. 

That is certainly a possibility with how the team is currently built, to go along with a plethora of cap space this summer. Unfortunately, there aren’t going to be too many star players available in free agency, but New York could target quality depth across their lines. 

While the franchise has stated that they want a puck-moving defenseman and more talent for their bottom six forwards, the more likely area that they should be targeting in terms of help at forward is for their top six. 

Offensive production was a major issue for the team, especially early on, and getting some help in that area despite some more success later in the campaign makes sense. With the team likely to look a bit different next year, they still have an excellent offensive weapon to build around, and that is veteran Mika Zibanejad. 

Mika Zibanejad Still Someone To Build Around

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

At 33 years old, there is still plenty left in the tank for the talented center of the Rangers. This season, he totaled 78 points on 34 goals and 44 assists in 81 games played. At nearly one point per game, the offensive production was really solid, especially considering the team wasn’t great in that area for most of the year. 

Where the veteran center really thrived this campaign was on the power play. He was able to total 16 goals and 19 assists on the man advantage, proving to be an excellent player on special teams. 

Due to the team trading Artemi Panarin, it was Zibanejad who led the way for the team in goals and points, For assists, he was tied with Adam Fox for the team lead. As New York enters what is going to be some sort of transitional period, Zibanejad is still the best offensive player on the team, and that isn’t likely to change. 

Since the Rangers hope to be a contender, building around their talented scorer is going to be important. At 33 years old, he still has a lot of game left, and he will be tasked with leading what will likely be a young group next year.