Before getting into predictions, a bit of housekeeping: The New York Rangers put Jimmy Vesey on long-term injured reserve and Ryan Lindgren on injured reserve, then made a series of moves aimed at maximizing their adjusted salary cap with Vesey’s $800,000 added to LTIR.
The team sent Adam Edström, Matt Rempe, Will Cuylle, Victor Mancini and Brett Berard to AHL Hartford and recalled Anton Blidh, Ben Harpur, Jake Leschyshyn and Adam Sýkora. Matthew Robertson, who cleared waivers Tuesday, remained on the NHL roster as well. Some of the players sent down will rejoin the roster after 5 p.m. Tuesday, and likely all of the ones called up will go back to Hartford.
These myriad moves will allow the Rangers to use as much of the added $800,000 in adjusted space since teams can only set their adjusted salary cap when placing a player on LTIR, which also will require Vesey to miss the first 10 games and 24 days of the regular season.
With Vesey on LTIR, the Rangers will have enough cap space to carry 13 forwards and seven defensemen. Based on practice lines Monday, it seems likely Edström, Rempe, Cuylle and Mancini will all be recalled. Artemi Panarin skated and said he anticipates playing Wednesday, so Berard will probably stay in Hartford.
Now, onto the reason you’re here. Two writers, five bold predictions apiece. Here we go:
Igor Shesterkin wins the Vezina Trophy
We’ve seen Shesterkin handle pressure well. He has a career .928 save percentage in the playoffs and was by far the Rangers’ best player last postseason. Well, with his contract set to expire after the season, he’s going to be facing pressure this season. That could of course change with a last-minute deal before Wednesday’s opener or a change in Shesterkin’s camp’s stance not to negotiate during the regular season. But as of now, he’s set to enter the season as a pending unrestricted free agent.
Shesterkin already has the cache to expect to be the highest-paid goalie in the league. A monster season reminiscent of his 2021-22 one will further increase that belief, and the Rangers will have to decide how much they’re willing to pay to keep him.
Mika Zibanejad’s offensive numbers bounce back
This is partially a bet on Reilly Smith, who is an upgrade over any top-line right wing option the Rangers used last season. We also don’t foresee Zibanejad going through as dramatic of a five-on-five goalless drought as he did in midseason 2023-24 (zero in 30 games). We think he will be a point-per-game player once again this year, just as he was in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Adam Fox sets a new single-season Rangers record for assists by a defenseman
Fox hasn’t quite reached the heights his idol Brian Leetch did with the franchise, having maxed out at 63 assists in the 2021-22 season. This year, with a projected full season of health and the Rangers’ continued excellence on the power play, we’re betting Fox cracks not just 70 assists this year but 80 and breaks Leetch’s 32-year-old team record.
The top power-play unit stays the same all year
We’ve already seen coach Peter Laviolette tinker with and move away from splitting up his power play units during training camp. Barring injury, the Rangers seem likely to stick with their top unit from last year: Fox, Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. That would once again mean Alexis Lafrenière is the odd man out. The rationale is simple: It’s hard to split up a unit that had the third-highest success rate in the league last year.
Lindgren plays his last games as a Ranger
The preseason injury Lindgren suffered in a fight with the Islanders’ Scott Mayfield was a very early reminder that the 26-year-old Lindgren, despite being the most heart-and-soul Ranger on the current squad, is starting to break down a bit too regularly. He’s still going to command a decent salary off the $4.5-million deal he signed for this year but injuries and the emergence of a K’Andre Miller-Fox top pair make Lindgren a difficult choice to move on from next summer.
This season’s breakout offensive surprise? Cuylle
Cuylle’s 13 goals as a rookie were a pleasant addition to a team that doesn’t need a ton of help on offense. With Filip Chytil healthy in the middle with Cuylle, the young winger’s five-on-five scoring opportunities should increase; Cuylle will also get some penalty-kill time. Scoring 20 isn’t out of the question in his second full season.
The deadline trade addition is an old nemesis
You know Chris Drury won’t be idle at the trade deadline in March, so let’s take a shot at guessing who the big add will be. Our money’s on Alec Martinez, the veteran left-handed defenseman whom Rangers fans need no reminding of from the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. Martinez signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks and could be a nice depth addition on the left side for a playoff run. Hey, if you guys can get over Jonathan Quick in Rangers colors, you can handle Martinez too!
Edström plays at least 5 playoff games
Perhaps we’re overly influenced by preseason hockey, but Edström looks ready to make the jump from borderline NHLer to a regular contributor this year, even if he spends chunks of the season in the AHL. At 6-foot-7, he brings added size to the fourth line, and my guess is Laviolette will try him with Rempe and Sam Carrick at points throughout the season. The coach spoke bullishly of that trio following the Rangers’ penultimate preseason game.
New York will presumably add at the deadline, and more players means more competition for playoff roster spots. But our early guess is that Edström impresses the Rangers enough to get at least a look when the games matter most.
A second straight Metro Division title
Heading into the season, the Rangers are clearly in the upper echelon of not just the Metro but the league and they’ll play like it once again, flirting with the franchise records for wins and points they set in 2023-24. But there’s competition this time from the New Jersey Devils, so it won’t be a runaway title.
Devils and Rangers meet again in the playoffs — and the result is the same
New Jersey went from one of the best regular season teams in 2022-23 to a non-playoff club last season. Tom Fitzgerald’s aggressive offseason could change that. Most notably, the team has Jacob Markström in net, a monster upgrade over anyone on the club in 2023-24.
Another rivalry showdown come playoffs would be electric, and we think it would go seven games once again. We’ll pick the Devils to win this second-round matchup.
(Top photo of Mika Zibanejad: Dennis Schneidler / USA Today)
