With Barclay Goodrow and trade-deadline acquisitions Alex Wennberg and Jack Roslovic gone, and Sam Carrick and Riley Smith in, the 2024-25 New York Rangers will look a lot like the 2023-24 team that won the Presidents Trophy. Carrick will replace Goodrow on the fourth line, and general manager Chris Drury hopes that Riley Smith will be the two-way spark the Rangers need in their top six.
Despite the talent still on the roster, the Rangers' second Eastern Conference Finals loss in three seasons leaves more question marks than ever: Can this team and its core overcome the so-called obstacles and win its first Stanley Cup since 1994?
The core of Mika Zibagint, Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin hasn't yet reached its end goal. Panarin, Zibagint and Kreider have been inconsistent throughout the postseason, and Fox played last season on one leg. It's no secret how underwhelming Shesterkin has been, and the Rangers need other role players to step up and help lift the team beyond what the core can support.
Heading into next season, head coach Peter Laviolette will be looking to get more out of several candidates, and the onus will be on veterans and young players alike to step up, requiring significant improvement across the board if the Rangers want to win the elusive Stanley Cup.
These three Rangers need to step up.
There are many players the Rangers need to step up after their postseason success last season, but if these three players in particular perform better, it could change the course of their season.
3. Zach Jones
Zach Jones' play last season showed dramatic improvement from the previous season, so the question “why is he on this list?” is simply unclear. During the 2023-24 season, Jones played in 31 games, the most games played in his entire NHL career.
Jones has bounced back and forth between the Hartford Wolfpack and Rangers since being selected in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft. He hasn't yet had a chance to stay with the big club, but with veteran defenseman Erik Gustafsson signing with the Detroit Red Wings in free agency, the Blueshirts could turn to Jones for the position.
His ability to carry the puck and skate would be a welcome addition to the lineup, but playing every day for 82-plus games is a big ask for a 23-year-old who is not yet an NHL regular. For the Rangers to be successful in 2024-25, Jones needs to earn and hold the sixth spot. Consistency is paramount to a solid blue line.
Jones scored nine points in 31 games last season, took on a more prominent role when Ryan Lindgren and Jacob Trouba were injured and showed dramatic defensive improvements. Without him, there's a lot of uncertainty about the Rangers' defense, but that's exactly the type of Jones the Rangers need this season.
2. Capo Cuckoo
No Rangers player is more in need of a breakout season than Kaapo Kako, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft who hasn't lived up to draft expectations. He's developed into a solid defensive forward, but the Rangers need more offensive power from the Finnish forward.
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Drury signed Kako to a one-year contract worth $2.4 million in the offseason. Many assumed he would be traded, but as July draws to a close, Kako is likely to see significant minutes on Broadway again. Kako appeared in 61 games last season, missing some with injuries.
In those 61 games, Kako managed just 19 points. In 300 NHL games, he has just 117 points, with a career-high 40 points coming into the 2022-23 season, the only year Kako played all 82 games as the pandemic and injuries shortened much of the season.
The Rangers are looking for more offensive power from the 23-year-old, who is entering his sixth NHL season despite his age. If he stays healthy and improves his production, the Rangers will be a much more dangerous threat in 2024-25. You only need to look at his teammate Alexis Lafreniere and his breakout season last year to see what a return of form from a young forward can do for a team.
This could be Kako's final season to prove to Rangers that he can take that step. There is a lot of pressure on a player, but for Rangers to move forward, Kako must improve his game.
1. Jacob Trouba
With a “C” on his jersey and an $8 million cap hit, certain expectations come with it. Those expectations have not been met since Jacob Trouba joined the Rangers in 2019. This offseason was a sloppy one, with news breaking that Drury was looking to trade the Rangers captain. That deal ultimately fell through because Trouba was not within the 15-team no-trade list.
The incident at the end of June has created a lot of loathing for Trouba among fans that will inevitably continue into the season, and it will be Trouba's job to turn those boos into cheers and get the season going again.
Like it or not, all signs point to Trouba being back on the Rangers' defensive line in 2024-25. We all know his defensive metrics improved dramatically when he was sidelined with an ankle injury at the trade deadline, and we all know that with the cap hit, the Rangers can't afford to force their captain into another unproductive year.
If he can get back on track, the blue line will be deeper and more formidable. If he continues to decline, it will be a costly liability in the second half. If there is a candidate for a bounce-back season, it's Trouba. It remains to be seen if he will be demoted to third-pair minutes next season, but regardless of the situation, the Rangers expect more from Trouba, and he needs to perform better for the Rangers.
As our focus shifts to the 2024-25 NHL season, the Rangers' philosophy of “how far can the core group go” seems to be the mantra again. Improved performance from complementary members will undoubtedly go a long way to boosting their chances. Still, Jones, Caco and Trouba are the players whose play will be the focus of much attention come October.
