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Why Rangers must fix this issue: ‘their top 6 is not frightening’
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- Why Rangers must fix this issue: ‘their top 6 is not frightening’
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Based on comments made by Chris Drury and Mike Sullivan last week, the top-six forward group is not an area the New York Rangers plan to prioritize when they look to upgrade the roster this offseason.
Sullivan, the Rangers coach, pointed out that another puck-moving defenseman and some bottom-six forward help were areas of need, when speaking with reporters at breakup day. Drury did the equivalent of “Yeah, what Sully said,” when the general manger faced the same question later on Friday.
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“I’m like, what about the top six? And [Sullivan] used so many words talking around that, it was really, really funny,” Newsday beat reporter Colin Stephenson told Forever Blueshirts on the Rink Rap podcast. “But, yes, their top six is not frightening to anybody. If I’m an opposing coach I am not losing any sleep worrying about that top six.”
The Rangers averaged 2.87 goals per game, and finished 23rd in the NHL in scoring. They were shut out 10 times, tying a dubious franchise record in their centennial season.
That doesn’t fall solely on the shoulders of the forwards in the top six. But at the end of the day your best players need to be your best players. And the Rangers didn’t get nearly enough production from their best forwards, even despite an outstanding bounce-back season from center Mika Zibanejad , who led the Rangers with 34 goals, 78 points, and 16 power-play goals in 81 games.
Zibanejad, voted Rangers MVP, was their best player all season. And down the stretch, he formed serious chemistry with Alexis Lafreniere and rookie Gabe Perreault . Lafreniere had 28 points in the final 26 games, and tied his career high with 57 points. Perreault tied for 17th among NHL rookies with 12 goals, and 20th with 27 points, despite playing only 49 games.
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Stephenson acknowledged the positives there, but stuck to his belief that the Rangers need more high-end talent atop their lineup.
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“There were [positive] signs post Olympic break. You had to like what you saw from Gabe Perreault, you had to like what you saw from Lafreniere, I think Mika had a great year all year long. That’s three guys, you now what I mean?,” he said. “Give me a Jason Robertson or someone, and I’m not throwing him out there as a rumor or anything like that. I mean somebody like that. Somebody that makes that opposing coach have to really work hard and sweat to try and figure out ‘what are we going to do to stop this guy?’ They don’t have that guy.”
Colin Stephenson questions how Rangers can replace Artemi Panarin’s production
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Of course, the Rangers did have that guy as recently as three months ago. But the Rangers traded Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings for forward prospect Liam Greentree and a third-round draft pick because they didn’t want to re-sign the 34-year-old, who was a pending unrestricted free agent at that time. The trade kick-started the retool the Rangers now work under, trying to improve the roster without it turning into a full-on rebuild.
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Stephenson, for one, was never on board with trading Panarin, who had 607 points (205 goals, 402 assists) in 482 regular-season games with the Rangers. His 1.26 points-per-game average is best in franchise history
“I don’t understand it,” Stephenson stated. “My thinking is always, OK you have this, maybe you think he’s not good enough, but you have to replace him somehow. And I don’t feel like they’ve replaced him, and I don’t see how they can replace him. And I’m sure we’ve all gone to the web site to see what available free agents are going to be out there this summer, and it’s not an appetizing list.
“So, I don’t know how you’re going to replace, I mean you had a 90-point guy every year, led your team in scoring for the first six years and would’ve led them in scoring again this year. So, how do you replace this guy? You haven’t yet, and what’s the plan?”
Drury told reporters last week that the Rangers don’t want to be “relying on one person” to be the go-to offensively. Perhaps that was a shot at Panarin? Or simply that, say, six 25-goal scorers is better than having one 45-goal scorer, and the rest of the group lagging far behind in production.
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“As far as scoring and looking at the top six, I do think we have a lot of really good players in the top six that got a lot more opportunity down the stretch and produced at a good rate,” Drury contended.
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In that mix is Will Cuylle , who scored 20 goals for the second consecutive season, and might be a third-liner on a real Stanley Cup contender. Then there’s Vincent Trocheck , an absolute all-situations dynamo, who scored 16 goals in 67 games and is a prime candidate to be traded this summer, all things considered. And captain J.T. Miller , a 100-point player two seasons ago, who dropped to 53 in 68 games in 2025-26.
Before acquiring anyone this offseason, the Rangers next best top-six forward options within the organization are a pair of 20-year-olds just finishing their junior careers — Nathan Aspinall and Greentree. No one in Hartford of the American Hockey League or on the current roster is a real top-six threat.
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The Rangers do have a top-five pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, which could wind up being No. 1 overall if they win the draft lottery on May 5. So, there is the chance the Rangers could land a top forward prospect like Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg. That could alter the equation some. But considering their history with Lafreniere, the No. 1 pick in 2020, the Rangers shouldn’t pin all their hopes on a lottery win turning into a superstar addition, or at least not right away.
“You need some top-six players. You need to draft a 50-goal guy, or a 40-goal guy. Go get a 90-point player,” Stephenson said. “You can have draft picks, but you better hit on those draft picks. Just to have [lots] of draft picks just because is not anything.
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