Can the Rangers Defense Deliver Next Season?
The New York Rangers look to bounce back completely after last season's unfortunate end. To do so, the Blueshirts will need to improve almost in every way, and the moves this offseason have made many fans quite curious. Adding some depth would help this New York team, as well as locking in the youngsters for a few years, which has been done. This team has complete faith in their goaltender Igor Shesterkin when it comes to the postseason, yet they can never manage to go all the way. The real challenge, the problem this team has had for quite some time, as long as many young fans can remember, even. What’s the reason? The answer would be the thing that wins championships more often than most think: defense. With the addition of some defensemen for next season, can they deliver next year?
Although their goaltending, as always, was never a problem, it’s not the reason for last season's collapse. Some fans may describe last season as some of the worst defense they’ve seen in Rangers hockey as of late, which may sound accurate. As the defense only declined, it forced New York to make some heartbreaking trades. Over the last year, New York has lost their captain, Jacob Trouba, and K’Andre Miller. Trouba may have been the captain, but fans thought of him as no less than a liability, putting quite a lot of blame on him for both Eastern Conference Finals eliminations in 2022 and 2024. Miller was such a promising defenseman in 2022-2023, but his next two seasons didn’t do him any better, which was the possible cause of many rough losses last season. Many fans are sad to see them gone, but plenty more think it’s what’s best for New York, so what have the Rangers done to improve?
One defenseman that New York can always count on is their Norris Trophy winner, Adam Fox. Though Fox may have had an off year last season, he’ll have himself a new partner. With the addition of Vladislav Gavrikov, that line may have nothing to worry about. Joining New York just last season, Will Borgen earned himself a five-year extension and looks to start next season with Carson Soucy. That line may be questionable, but let’s see if their new head coach, Mike Sullivan, can change things up. Finally, we have Braden Schneider and Urho Vaakanainen, where the latter was recently extended for two more years with the Blueshirts. Difficult to say about these two, mostly Vaakanainen compared to last season, but fans may just be surprised. These lines may not scream perfect, but they may just in fact, scream the postseason, especially with a coach like Mike Sullivan. Preseason is weeks away, and the fans are ready for more, but can this New York defense satisfy most fans, or are there still more ways to help Shesterkin out in front?
