Why Rangers could risk losing Garand, Morrow if placed on waivers

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Why Rangers could risk losing Garand, Morrow if placed on waivers

Pat Pickens · Forever Blueshirts

Thu, Sep 10, 2026 ·

5 min read

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There's no question the New York Rangers roster and prospect pool are better as the Blueshirts prepare for training camp than they were a year ago. But The Athletic did not include any Rangers prospects on its list of top-11 young waiver-wire targets.

That means veteran prospect writer Corey Pronman believes goaltender Dylan Garand , defenseman Scott Morrow and others should be able to clear waivers and be sent to Hartford if they don't make the Rangers out of training camp. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the Rangers.

Pronman's top-11 list featured five prospects from the Metropolitan Division — one each from the New Jersey Devils , Columbus Blue Jackets , Carolina Hurricanes , Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers .

NHL: New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning — Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn ImagesCredit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Defenseman David Jirícek of the Philadelphia Flyers and forwards Amadeus Lombardi of the Devils, Ivan Miroshnichenko of the Washington Capitals, Justin Robidas of the Hurricanes and Luca Del Bel Belluz of the Blue Jackets were the five Metro prospects on Pronman's list.

Also included are Nolan Allen of the San Jose Sharks , Carson Lambos of the Minnesota Wild , Matt Poitras of the Boston Bruins , Reid Schaefer of the Nashville Predators and two prospects from the Anaheim Ducks , Nathan Gaucher and Tyson Hinds. Each was referenced as "the current group of waiver-eligible prospects [who Pronman] evaluated their toolkits to see who might be worth a claim."

Neither Morrow nor Garand was mentioned, although each spent some time with the Rangers last season and will be subject to waivers if the Blueshirts want to send them to the minors, which is a likely scenario.

Rangers could lose Scott Morrow , Dylan Garand on waivers

But the Rangers figure to have few, if any, roster openings after general manager Chris Drury reshaped thigs folliweng consecutive seasons missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Drury acquired defensemen Marcus Pettersson from the Vancouver Canucks and Sean Durzi from the Utah Mammoth , and landed veteran backup goaltender Joonas Korpisalo from the Boston Bruins.

The moves could leave Morrow and Garand on the outside looking in when Drury and coach Mike Sullivan cut the roster down to a maximum of 23 players before the season opener against the Bruins in Boston on Sept. 29.

Morrow recently signed a one-year, two-way contract , while Garand signed a one-year, two-way deal in June. This is the first time each is no longer waivers exempt.

NHL: New York Islanders at New York Rangers — Credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn ImagesCredit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Just because Pronman overlooked Morrow and Garand doesn't mean the Rangers will get them through waivers unclaimed.

Morrow is a 6-foot-2, 210-pound, right-shot defenseman — and those certainly don't grow on trees. He was the biggest piece of the package the Rangers received in the K'Andre Miller trade; losing him on waivers would add insult to injury after Miller lifted the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in June.

However, Morrow disappointed a bit last season during his limited time with the Rangers. He had just six assists in 29 games and failed to earn the coaching staff's trust during Adam Fox' s two extended injury absences.

Here for another year 🤝

We've agreed to terms with Scott Morrow on a one-year contract → https://t.co/8NFeyFe8WI pic.twitter.com/cuQGM5peaG

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) August 19, 2026

The Rangers have an excellent first pair with Vladislav Gavrikov and Fox . Pettersson and Durzi are expected to form the second pair, with Braden Schneider and Matthew Robertson penciled in on the third pair. Rookie Drew Fortescue will battle for a job following his impressive nine-game stint after signing late in the season.

Also, it's not impossible that first-round pick Alberts Smits could earn a spot. The Rangers also re-upped right-shot Vincent Iorio , further clogging the blue line. And left-shot veteran Urho Vaakanainen is also in the mix for one of the seven or eight spots on the roster.

Morrow needs to have an excellent camp to have a shot with the Rangers this season. If he doesn't make the cut, there's a chance he doesn't make it through waivers.

Welcome to the Big Apple, Joonas! 🍎 pic.twitter.com/67hbGPztA3

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) July 1, 2026

The acquisition of Korpisalo put a damper on Garand's hopes of being be Igor Shesterkin's primary backup this season. The 24-year-old's performance in his first three NHL games late last season (2-0-1, 1.62 goals-against average, .948 save percentage) was so good it was pretty much assumed after re-signing that he'd be with the Rangers this season.

But the addition of Korpisalo, whom the Rangers acquired from the Bruins on July 1, upset the roster calculus on that a bit, since he carries a $3 million salary-cap charge for the next two seasons and has much more NHL experience.

The Rangers could choose to keep three goalies. But doing so could affect their ability to hang on to Morrow, since they would have one fewer roster spot for a defenseman. Plus, carrying three goalies is far from ideal, especially getting enough practice work for all involved.

If the Rangers opt to stick with Shesterkin and Korpisalo, getting Garand through waivers could be tricky.

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