NY Rangers Will Have Major Problems if New Additions Don't Produce

Will the new additions for the New York Rangers pan out?

NY 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. / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

With the offseason being a bit quiet right now, the New York Rangers are preparing for training camp and the upcoming campaign. Following a busy offseason, the team will be hoping to be much improved. 

Coming off a forgettable season, the Rangers are hoping to be a playoff contender and go from the cellar in the Eastern Conference to being in the conversation for some playoff hockey. 

New York came into the summer with a lot of draft capital and a good amount of cap space to get aggressive and try to improve. That was seemingly accomplished in both the draft and on the trade market, with the team getting a bit younger as well and improving their prospect pool. 

However, while the moves made this summer look good and most grades for the franchise have been solid, there could be issues if the team struggles. 

Rangers Will Have Major Problems if New Faces Don’t Live Up to Hype

Jun 4, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Vegas Golden Knights right wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) warms up before a game against the Carolina Hurricanes in game two of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While it was a successful offseason for New York on paper, the team will now have to go out onto the ice and prove what they can do. There is certainly reason to believe that with a very good coach in Mike Sullivan, this will happen, but there is also reason to be concerned that the offseason plan might not work out. 

This was a team that was in last place in the Eastern Conference last season, and it isn’t often that a team in that situation will trade away three first-round draft picks. 

Of some of the major additions that the Rangers made, the team elected to trade two of those draft picks for Pavel Dorofeyev and then another for Marcus Pettersson. 

While both of these players should come in and help the team, there is some risk that if they don’t move the needle enough and New York struggles without draft picks, some dark times could fall on the franchise. 

Furthermore, the pressure is going to be on Drury to make sure that the decisions he is making are the right ones. Two straight years of missing the playoffs and a last-place finish in the conference should have warmed up his seat, and with all of the moves he made this year, the pressure will be on. 

While the additions made look good for the Rangers, there is always the risk that it might not work out and they could fall into some problems if that ends up being the case.