NY Rangers Still Have Time to Build Around Star Player

Do the New York Rangers still have time to build around their best player?

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

As the New York Rangers get set for the offseason, there will be a lot of talk about what the plan for the team going forward is. With the team in the middle of retooling, the hope will be that they add some new talent. However, they still have some very good players on the roster as well. 

Coming off a terrible year, the Rangers are expected to make some splashes to improve this summer. New York has now missed the playoffs for two straight years, and the team wants to make sure that next year isn’t a third. 

While things have not been great on the ice, they do have a lot of cap space to use this summer to pursue free agents. Even though this class isn’t great, the Rangers will undoubtedly be pursuing some help on the open market. Furthermore, the team can also use trades to try to address some needs. 

One of the main areas that the team will be trying to improve is their offense. This is a unit that struggled overall and needs to be better. New York is fortunate to have a great goalie in Igor Shesterkin, but with how things have gone of late, it feels like they are wasting him. 

Rangers Have Shesterkin to Build Around

New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

While it might be easy to be pessimistic about the outlook for New York, there is reason to believe that they can turn things around quickly. Even though they came in last place in the Eastern Conference, this is a team that still has some talent. 

Arguably, the best and most important player on the team is their star goalie. Shesterkin has been one of the best in the league for quite some time, and New York has had a lot of success with him in the net. 

Even though they have missed the playoffs the last two years, Shesterkin is still just 30 years old and has plenty of good hockey left in him. This year, even though he missed some time with injuries, he totaled a 2.50 GAA and a .912 save percentage. The metrics were once again very strong for Shesterkin, and the Rangers need to help surround him with some more talent. 

It is every year that playoff teams are eliminated because of poor goaltending, and some franchises have struggled for years to find the answers. Fortunately, New York has one of the best in the business, and there is still more to make the most out of his prime.