A promising end to the 2025-26 season has helped Rangers fans buy into the possibility of a Gabe Perreault breakout season. Still, some experts doubt that Perreault, an undersized winger and mediocre skater, can live up to the hype.
Perreault, the all-time leading single-season scorer in the history of the U.S. Men's National Team Development Program, enters the new season set to play a major role for the New York Rangers. His play at the end of last season drew eye-popping praise from prospect experts like Chris Peters of FloHockey and Scott Wheeler of The Athletic . However, it's one of Wheeler's colleagues who is trying to pump the brakes on the Perreault hype.
Corey Pronman, senior NHL prospects writer for The Athletic , threw cold water on the Perreault hype in his latest annual NHL Pipeline Rankings.
The refrain among the Perreault supporters usually comes back to his size. The suggestion is that if Perreault were an inch or two taller or perhaps a slightly better skater, nobody would question his never-ending production. And, to be fair to Perreault, his production is remarkable. The 5-foot-11, 179-pound winger has scored at every level. After the USNTDP record, Perreault dominated in two seasons at Boston College, finishing with 60 points in 36 games as a freshman. He scored 48 points in 37 games as a sophomore. He also lit up the U18 World's (18 points in seven games) and the World Juniors (20 points in 14 games across two tournaments).
After turning pro, Perreault scored for a struggling AHL Hartford team, with 17 points in 20 games. He bounced back and forth early between Hartford and New York, but Perreault got into a groove late in the season. Playing on a line with fellow breakout candidate Alexis Lafreniere and resurgent center Mika Zibanejad, Perreault scored 19 points across his final 25 games. He ended his rookie season with 27 points in 49 games.
Also, Perreault is young. He's still only 21. The trajectory he's on screams NHL player and, potentially, a very good one. It's certainly not a lock that he scores 100 points in a season, as Peters suggests could happen. Still, Perreault looks like he could make a major impact on a Rangers team in desperate need of offense.
Some doubts around a Gabe Perreault breakout season are to be expected. He's not likely to play on the first power-play unit except as an injury replacement. Plus, his NHL sample size is still very small. The part of that sample that was good came during a stretch run where the Rangers were no longer playing meaningful hockey. Late-season scoring isn't meaningless, but it can certainly be deceptive.
For Pronman, part of his concern is tied to Perreault's offensive output. Essentially, because of other deficiencies in his game, Pronman thinks Perreault has to score at a rate higher than typical to offset potential drawbacks in his game.
"I have concerns about his long-term projection unless the offense is so off-the-charts good, which I'm on the fence about whether it will be or not."
It shouldn't surprise anyone that there are still doubts about a Gabe Perreault breakout season. Perreault's total professional sample size is 54 NHL games and 20 AHL games across two partial seasons. To quiet the doubters, Perreault needs to lock down a spot in the Rangers top six forward group.
Perreault playing big minutes next season is expected. Consequently, he's going to have to be a big contributor to the Rangers' five-on-five offense to quell the concerns. The Rangers spent the ninth-most time in the offensive zone last season. Conversely, they were near the bottom of the league in goals and shots.
The Rangers finished 11-12-9 in games decided by one goal last season. They're expected to play in many close games again this season. As a result, the Rangers need a Gabe Perreault breakout season to help change course this season.
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