It’s easy to find a lot of negative with the Rangers, so we try to focus on the positive. Though it’s only 11 games, the Rangers have a lot of both going on. The defensive process as a whole is strong, with the Rangers looking like a top-10 team in terms of puck possession and play driving at 5v5. The problem is the offense is non-existent due to a number of factors, some that will work themselves out and some that won’t. One that won’t is roster construction, which needs to change. So when will the Rangers make roster changes? And if they do, what are we going to see?

First things first, yes the Rangers are a top-10 team in play driving and puck possession at 5v5. That’s not the whole story to a team–something we’ve been trying to drive home when the Rangers were a bad 5v5 team–but you can’t argue with the stats.

  • CF/60: 60.81 (9th)
  • CA/60: 54.73 (11th)
  • CF%: 52.63% (7th)
  • xGF/60: 2.63 (13th)
  • xGA/60: 2.11 (2nd)
  • xGF%: 55.42% (4th)
  • HDCF/60: 13.49 (6th)
  • HDCA/60: 7.96 (1st)
  • HDCF%: 62.89% (1st)
  • SV%: 93.01% (5th)
  • SH%: 6.56% (31st)
  • HDSH%: 11.94% (28th, though Edmonton is at 9.26% and dead last)

Looking at the big picture (small sample size warning), there are two clear conclusions:

  1. Despite inconsistency and a need for an upgrade or two, overall team defense is stellar.
  2. The offense is snakebitten, with some mild concern over following up plays to generate more quality chances.

While it’s only 11 games, this all matches with what we’re seeing on the ice. The Rangers can’t finish, but overall have generated a good amount of chances with good puck movement in the offensive zone. Defensive mistakes have wound up in the back of their net, but the overall product has been solid.

Unfortunately, a lot of this nuance is lost because the horrid shooting percentage is masking some solid process. Much in the way a shooting bender masks bad process or hot goaltending masks bad defense (just as Henrik Lundqvist), bad shooting and bad goaltending can mask good process. It’s a two-way street.

It’s not just a SH% problem

The lazy analysis is that the Rangers just need their shooting percentages to rebound, especially for Mika Zibanejad, JT Miller, Artemi Panarin, and Alexis Lafreniere. That’s a true statement, but it doesn’t address some of the roster construction concerns.

There is not enough talent in the top-six. No disrespect to Conor Sheary, but if he’s a top-six winger then we know this team needs some changes. Ditto for the trio Carson Soucy, Urho Vaakanainen, and Matthew Robertson as the 2LD and 3LD on this team. That just won’t cut it. Neither will Juuso Parssinen or Taylor Raddysh as everyday players. They are fine in a vacuum, but the team needs more skill to go with their solid process.

There a few different ways for this to change, but the question is when will the Rangers make roster changes? And what changes will they make? They must see the same thing we do, right?

So when will the Rangers make roster changes, and what will they be?

I am of the belief that we won’t see anything drastic (note: non-injury related) until after Thanksgiving. It’s exceedingly rare for major changes to happen before coaches have an opportunity to let some of the early season jitters and adrenaline run their course. So if you’re sitting here, upset with the club and wondering when will the Rangers make roster changes, you may be somewhat disappointed.

There are really three options for the Rangers to make upgrades: Waivers, trades, or call ups. Teams have struck gold on waivers before, but it’s a rare occurrence. For Chris Drury and Mike Sullivan, trades and call ups are likely their strongest options.

Call ups

Everyone, and I do mean everyone, is watching Gabe Perreault in Hartford. After a goal and two assists last night, he’s up to three goals and four assists in Hartford’s first seven games. He’s putting in the work and showing the results. Perreault is the easiest answer to the skill question and moves Sheary out of the top-six while Vincent Trocheck is still out.

There’s no need to rush Perreault. He’s not a savior. He’s a very skilled top-six winger that fills a big hole on the roster. Even when Trocheck comes back and Mika Zibanejad shifts back to wing, his Perreault’s presence in the top-six allows Will Cuylle and Noah Laba to feast on lesser competition on the third line, perhaps with Sheary or Raddysh, who are miscast as primary scoring wingers but could certainly help a pair of kids in offensive zone starts on the third line.

Brett Berard (0-3-3 in 7 games) is another name to watch. Berard was the final cut from camp and he, like Brennan Othmann, struggled a bit to start the season in Hartford. The whole team has been somewhat sloppy so it isn’t isolated to just Berard.

Scott Morrow would address some defensive concerns, but as a RHD the Ranger would need to move either him or Braden Schneider to LD. Doable, but I’m sure the Rangers wouldn’t like that as the first option.

Trades

There aren’t many good options in Hartford to address the defense concerns for this season. Morrow is the strongest option, with Jackson Dorrington an interesting dark horse. So a trade is where we will most likely see improvements on the back end. And to be clear, even though they are looking fine with their overall numbers, the Rangers need upgrades on left defense.

Mario Ferraro is the option that seems to have the most legs, and quite frankly the only option that seems viable right now. The 27 year old puck moving defenseman certainly addresses a big need, but he’s a pending UFA so the fit may not be there this season. It’s interesting that his name is appearing everywhere with a semi-high price tag associated with him, since he’s never eclipsed 21 points in a season and has just a goal and one assist this season.

I don’t see the Rangers making any trades of this magnitude for a while. Maybe they get a prospect swap with Brennan Othmann. I’d be intrigued by Lian Bichsel in Dallas, but I doubt Dallas has any interest in Othmann or moving Bichsel. The Rangers would need to find a defense prospect in a similar situation to Othmann, and those guys are hard to pinpoint so early in the season.

Be patient

The theme of the season thus far has been be patient. It’s only 11 games, and while the offense is most certainly a concern, some of these concerns will be mitigated by shooting percentages returning to normal. That won’t alleviate the roster construction problem, but it provides a clearer view of the true holes on the Rangers.

So when will the Rangers make roster changes to address some of these issues? Honestly, maybe not until 2026. They need a healthy roster and perhaps some shooting percentage regression to the mean first.

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