The NHL kicks off its 2026-27 season with five contests on Tuesday. One of the three games airing on ESPN has the New York Rangers in Boston to face the Bruins. That triple header and overall schedule begins with Florida in Carolina as the Canes raise their Stanley Cup banner.
New York set their Opening Night lineup yesterday. Alberts Smits officially was named to the team and was the recipient of the Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award winner for top rookie in camp. Smits, who now is wearing #12, will open the season on the third pairing opposite Braden Schneider.
Both Dylan Garand and Taylor Raddysh passed through waivers and were assigned to Hartford. Raddysh was no surprise. Garand, however, was. Several on social media took this move as a way to puff out their chest and remark, see – we were right – no one wanted him.
The process, not the end result, is the key. Putting Garand on waivers is somewhat due to cap mismanagement, which I will get into more below. Adding Jonas Korpisalo to have a veteran presence may make some sense, but why not go with the young player who showed somewhat that he may be up to the task. In addition, GM Chris Drury and the team were fortunate that Winnipeg claimed Clay Stevenson from Washington, and a handful of other teams recently added netminders.
New York, despite the presence of Mike Zibanejad, JT Miller, and Korpisalo are a young team. Evidence of this can be seen below, as New York is the fourth-youngest team in the league. The addition of Smits, coupled with Noah Laba, Gave Perreault, and Will Cuylle, certainly lowers the average age. If Garand eventually is promoted, that number will decline.
Puck Pedia Rangers cap status
This is where criticism can be lobbed at Drury. New is carrying 23 players. Scott Morrow and Matthew Robertson both would need to pass through waivers to be demoted. Currently, both are on the active roster, eating up cap space. Each was impacted by Smits making the active roster and Braden Schneider not being dealt.
Matt Rempe, also non-waiver exempt, parlayed a strong camp and health into a fourth-line role. This left Jaroslav Chmelar as the 13th forward and paved the way for Raddysh to be demoted. In addition, the injury to Adam Sykora, which sidelined him for 4-5 months, also benefitted Rempe.
Korpisalo making $3 mil is a ridiculous amount for a backup netminder, especially one that’s in and that good. The extra $2 million in salary between Korpisalo and Garard robs New York of current and future cap space. This is why I think Korpisalo’s hold on the job is tenuous at best, despite Drury’s and Sullivan’s love/desire for a veteran backup, despite the impact on a young player’s psyche.
NY Post Rangers’ preview
I miss Larry Brooks’ sarcastic take. Mollie Walker predicts the Rangers will make the playoffs. She is the only one of the three Hockey “scribes” in the paper with that opinion. The Metro and East are relatively strong compared to the divisions and the Western Conference.
The Rangers should be right in the playoff mix. Scoring might be an issue, meaning Perreault needs to continue the ascent we saw late last year while Pavel Dorofeyev, acquired just before the draft, must help replace what was lost from Artemi Panarin. Miller has to show last season was a fluke and not the beginning of the effectiveness decline.
Adam Fox may be the most important Ranger. Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson, both acquired via trade, make up the new second blueline pair. Smits was thought of as the most NHL-ready at the draft and did little to change that opinion in the preseason. But if Fox can stay healthy, he is an elite d-man who makes the team better on both ends of the ice.
I expect Igor Shesterkin to also have a bounce-back campaign. Health is a key here as well. When he is healthy, Igor can win games on his own, which likely will continue to be needed. A Vezina Trophy-type season would not shock me completely.
All gets underway tonight in Boston.
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