NY Rangers Understandably Not Seen as a Contender Right Now

Should the New York Rangers be seen as a contender with how they have performed of late?

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 the New York Rangers in the middle of a nice break, the team will be trying to regroup and get a little bit healthier before a big game against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. 

To start the campaign, the Rangers looked like they had completely turned things around after a busy offseason. New York was aggressive in their pursuit of upgrades this summer, and to start the year, it looked like things were going to work out well. 

Unfortunately, a big injury to one of their star players has changed their trajectory a bit. 

Sara Civian of Bleacher Report recently wrote about some teams who are either contenders or pretenders. For the Rangers, they are now seen as “not a contender” following the loss of Igor Shesterkin for the season. 

New York Not Seen as a Contender 

Oct 24, 2026; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; New York Rangers Dylan Garand (33) makes a save in the third period against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Following the loss of their star goalie for the rest of the year, it’s not surprising to see that the Rangers aren’t being seen as a contender right now. This is a team that has lost three games in a row and five of the last six. 

Furthermore, the goalie situation has become a bit of a mess with Dylan Garand having to carry a heavy workload right now. This is a player who is young and has some talent, but isn’t being put in the best position right now. 

Hopefully, Joonas Korpisalo will be back for the Rangers soon, and he can help relieve some of the pressure on Garand. The 24-year-old has performed well overall, but he is still developing, and asking him to be the starter is a lot. 

With the Rangers on a bit of a break now, hopefully that will help the timeline for Korpisalo’s return. While he isn’t the same caliber of player as Shesterkin, the combination of him and Garand, perhaps on a more even split, could be good for New York. 

However, while goaltending has been a hot topic for the team, they also need more from the players in front of the net. Some of the defensive miscues have set the team up to fail, and they aren’t an offense that is capable of lighting it up. 

As of now, it is fair to say that the Rangers aren’t a contender, but this is still a team that has some good things in place and can break out of their funk.