Pros and Cons of NY Rangers Pursuing Free Agent Patrik Laine

Here are some pros and cons for the New York Rangers pursuing Patrik Laine.

Oct 16, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens right wing Patrik Laine (92) looks on during warm-up before the game against the Nashville Predators at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Rangers have had a very busy offseason with a lot of new faces coming over. However, the team might not be done just yet. 

Coming off a last-place finish in the Eastern Conference, the Rangers were a team that had to improve this summer. The seat was undoubtedly getting a bit hot for Chris Drury, especially considering he stated the team would be retooling and not rebuilding. 

This summer, a lot of credit has to go to Drury for seemingly doing a strong job of addressing a lot of needs for the team. Scoring was certainly a need for the team, and they were able to land Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights in a blockbuster draft night trade. 

While Dorofeyev will help with a lot of the issues that the Rangers had on the scoring front, there still figures to be one spot in the top nine that could be addressed. 

With options being limited in free agency, one player who could be an option for them is veteran Patrik Laine. Here are some pros and cons for New York to pursue him.

Oct 14, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine (92) prepares for a face off against the Seattle Kraken during the first period at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Pros

With a need in their top nine and options in free agency being limited, Laine is an appealing option. While injuries have certainly impacted his career, he is a capable player when on the ice. 

During the 2024-25 campaign, when he was pretty healthy and played in 52 games, he was able to total 33 points with 20 goals and 13 assists. As a pretty good goal scorer, he would certainly fill a need for New York. 

There feels like there could be an option spot on the right side of the middle six, and a healthy Laine could be a strong fit for the Rangers. 

Cons

When looking at the potential cons in pursuing Laine, most rely on his ability to stay on the ice. Over the last three years, he has only played in 75 games. That is certainly not an encouraging sign, especially since he played in just five games last year. However, he is still just 28 years old and could get healthy once again.

If the Rangers do end up signing him and he was only able to play in a few games, it would undoubtedly be a failure. Overall, as long as the cost to sign him is a fair one, the pros do seemingly outweigh the cons in this case.