The past week has been a whirlwind for the NHL, beginning with the 2026 Draft on June 26 and June 27 and continuing with a frenzy of free agent signings and trades being made across the league.
As the dust begins to settle, it's time to take a first glance at how the Rangers roster could look next season under head coach Mike Sullivan.
Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury spent much of the past seven months expressing his desire to build a younger, faster, and more dynamic Rangers offense. Drury stuck to his word, and the blockbuster addition of Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights via trade means that the Rangers top forward line should look and play very differently next season.
Dorofeyev is physical, aggressive, and intelligent as a forechecker, gets into dangerous areas off the puck, and puts away goals by the bucketload. The 25-year-old Russian winger is a two-way star who draws plenty of attention from opposing defenses, meaning he should make life a lot easier for his projected linemates, center Mika Zibanejad and winger Alexis Lafrenière.
Elsewhere in the lineup, Will Cuylle, Noa Laba, and Gabriel Perrault are talented young players each entering the final year of their current contracts, meaning they will all be restricted free agents (RFAs) in the summer of 2027. Cuylle is out to prove that he can be more than a decent middle-six forward following two straight 20-goal seasons. Meanwhile, Laba and Perrault should see increased playing time, and with it, the opportunity to break out into reliable pieces of the forward core.
As the dust begins to settle, it's time to take a first glance at how the Rangers roster could look next season under head coach Mike Sullivan.
Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury spent much of the past seven months expressing his desire to build a younger, faster, and more dynamic Rangers offense. Drury stuck to his word, and the blockbuster addition of Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights via trade means that the Rangers top forward line should look and play very differently next season.
Dorofeyev is physical, aggressive, and intelligent as a forechecker, gets into dangerous areas off the puck, and puts away goals by the bucketload. The 25-year-old Russian winger is a two-way star who draws plenty of attention from opposing defenses, meaning he should make life a lot easier for his projected linemates, center Mika Zibanejad and winger Alexis Lafrenière.
Elsewhere in the lineup, Will Cuylle, Noa Laba, and Gabriel Perrault are talented young players each entering the final year of their current contracts, meaning they will all be restricted free agents (RFAs) in the summer of 2027. Cuylle is out to prove that he can be more than a decent middle-six forward following two straight 20-goal seasons. Meanwhile, Laba and Perrault should see increased playing time, and with it, the opportunity to break out into reliable pieces of the forward core.
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