After four articles and over 3,500 words on the New York Rangers, hopefully you’re still with me as I wrap this series up with some Rangers predictions and final thoughts. The 2025-2026 season is an especially interesting season coming up, as no one truly knows what to expect from the Blueshirts in their first year under Mike Sullivan. A 105 point season seems genuinely not insane, but a 75 point season also feels genuinely not insane. The reality is somewhere in the middle, likely a bottom-tier playoff team as the Blueshirts adjust.

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If I had to make a Rangers prediction, I’d say they finish with 93 points and squeak into the playoffs. My logic is that the team just can’t be as bad defensively as they were last season/under the last regime. That should account for some more points banked. Add in the new coach boost, and bam, you have a likely playoff team.

Still, one thing that irks me about this Rangers team is the lack of offense. The Rangers are greatly counting on the likes of Mika Zibanejad, Will Cuylle, and Alexis Lafreniere to have big seasons. Cuylle was excellent last season, but Zibanejad and Lafreniere both had down years. Counting on all three to play huge roles is a risky approach, but one the Rangers realistically had to make after spending most of their free cap space on Vladislav Gavrikov. 

This is consistent with the Cup winning teams Sullivan had in Pittsburgh, with two scoring lines and two primarily defensive lines that added tertiary offense.

Adding Gavrikov should help the Rangers defense tremendously. Gavrikov is an elite defensive-defenseman on a team that was historically bad at defense last season. Given the Rangers gluttony of defensive-minded defensemen, however, I can’t help but wonder if Scott Morrow gets called up sooner rather than later to help provide some points from the back-end. It will be great to see the Rangers more reliable in their own-zone, but the defense will still need to chip in offensively, especially with the forward corps no longer a big strength.

Another thought that’s been bouncing around my head is the future of Gabe Perreault. If it were up to me, Perreault would be on the opening night roster as the final member of the top six, with Will Cuylle remaining in the bottom six. My logic is that Cuylle has proven to be a huge advantage for the Rangers playing in the bottom six, and removing that advantage will hurt them on the ice. Putting Perreault in the top six would help his development, while allowing Cuylle to continue to shine on the third line.

Still, I do understand the Rangers wanting to do everything possible to get it right with Perreault. It’s a refreshing change of pace from an organization that did everything wrong with the development of Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere. I will only truly believe it when Perreault is called up and gets regular PP time and top six opportunities. A player like Perreault will not develop playing 9 minutes a night and zero PP time on the third line.

My personal proposed lineup would be:

Alexis Lafreniere-JT Miller-Mika Zibanejad
Artemi Panarin-Vincent Trocheck-Gabe Perreault
Will Cuylle-Noah Laba-Brett Berard
Adam Edstrom-Sam Carrick-Matt Rempe

I’m sure Taylor Raddysh is a fine player, but he screams of an acquisition that just isn’t needed and was made with the misunderstanding that the kids weren’t quite ready. With Raddysh in the lineup, two of Noah Laba, Brett Berard, and Juuso Parssinen will have to be out of the lineup. Those players (though you can argue against Parssinen) have futures with this organization that need to be prioritized. Raddysh is who he is at this point. 

I don’t expect to complain in the Mike Sullivan era as much as I did in the Peter Laviolette era, but that’s one area I can see myself being upset. Raddysh is very expendable and the kids need to play. 

As for my final predictions, lets go:

Metro Division

  1. Carolina Hurricanes
  2. New Jersey Devils
  3. New York Rangers
  4. Washington Capitals (WC)
  5. Columbus Blue Jackets (WC)
  6. New York Islanders
  7. Philadelphia Flyers
  8. Pittsburgh Penguins

Atlantic:

  1. Tampa Bay Lightning
  2. Florida Panthers
  3. Ottawa Senators
  4. Montreal Canadiens
  5. Toronto Maple Leafs
  6. Detroit Red Wings
  7. Buffalo Sabres
  8. Boston Bruins

Pacific:

  1. Edmonton Oilers
  2. Vegas Golden Knights
  3. Calgary Flames
  4. LA Kings (WC) 
  5. Anaheim Ducks
  6. Vancouver Canucks
  7. San Jose Sharks
  8. Seattle Kraken

Central:

  1. Dallas Stars
  2. Colorado Avalanche
  3. Minnesota Wild
  4. Utah Mammoth (WC) 
  5. St. Louis Blues
  6. Winnipeg Jets
  7. Nashville Predators
  8. Chicago Blackhawks

Playoffs:

Eastern Conference
  • Hurricanes over Blue Jackets
  • Lightning over Capitals
  • Rangers over Devils
  • Senators over Panthers
  • Hurricanes over Rangers
  • Senators over Lightning
  • Senators over Hurricanes
Western Conference
  • Stars over Kings
  • Oilers over Mammoth
  • Flames over Golden Knights
  • Avalanche over Wild
  • Avalanche over Stars
  • Oilers over Flames
  • Avalanche over Oilers
Stanley Cup Final
  • Avalanche sweep the Senators to win the Stanley Cup.

Awards

  • Hart- Connor McDavid
  • Norris- Cale Makar
  • Vezina- Igor Shesterkin

That’s it for my series. Enjoy the 2025-2026 season!

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