Rangers 2026-27 roster: Way too early projection after offseason moves
Much can still happen between now and Opening Night of the 2026-27 NHL season in less than three months. But it’s probably fair to say that the New York Rangers completed most of their heavy offseason lifting as it pertains to roster retooling, following a flurry of trades and free-agent signings in the past week.
General manager Chris Drury declared he’s “excited” by the changes. But he didn’t shut the door on making more moves before the 84-game regular season begins in late September.
“Certainly not going to sit here and say the job’s done and complete and move on,” he told reporters Thursday. “We’re still tinkering, still looking, and any which way we can help the team between now and Opening Night, we’re going to keep trying.”
Still, this feels like the right time to take a first stab at projecting what the Rangers 2026-27 roster will look like when the games begin for real. So, let’s break it down as we move past the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Rangers projected 2026-27 roster 1.0
Goalies
Igor Shesterkin is the unquestioned No. 1 goalie and, assuming he remains healthy, should start at least 60-65 games this season. But health is an important factor. Shesterkin, who turns 31 in December, remains in his physical and professional prime, but sustained a significant lower-body injury which forced him to miss 13 games last season. The Rangers won just two of those games, their playoff hopes flushed down the drain, and they dropped into last place during his extended absence.
That brings us to a significant training camp battle between Dylan Garand and Joonas Korpisalo to be Shesterkin’s backup in 2026-27. It appeared that Garand, 24, had a leg up on landing the gig after an excellent three-game cameo at the end of last season and signing a two-year contract in June. But on July 1 the Rangers traded for Korpisalo, 32, a veteran with 334 games of NHL experience and a $3 million salary cap hit.
Expect the Rangers to keep Korpisalo as Shesterkin’s backup and hope they get (a likely pissed off) Garand through waivers so he can take on a heavy workload at Hartford of the American Hockey League.
Defensemen
The right side appears set with Adam Fox, Sean Durzi, and Braden Schneider grabbing the three spots. That is unless the Rangers trade Schneider, though that seems less likely now than it did earlier in the offseason. Schneider filed for arbitration after he received a qualifying offer, and could be headed to another bridge contract with unrestricted free agency two years away. The addition of Durzi to play on the second pair puts Schneider in a familiar third-pair role, but those trade rumors won’t go away. So, let’s see how this shakes out. For now, Schneider is here and remains a staple on the blue line.
Vladislav Gavrikov heads the left side, where he’ll once again slot in next to Fox to form a terrific top-pairing. Newcomer Marcus Pettersson is a defensive upgrade on the second pair, though must play better than last season, when he struggled for a terrible Vancouver Canucks team.
As for the third left-side defenseman, first-round pick Alberts Smits will get a long look in training camp, as should Drew Fortescue, who didn’t look out of place over nine NHL games last spring. But it says here that both rookies begin the season in Hartford, and Matthew Robertson slots in to start the season on the third pair next to Schneider.
The seventh defenseman is Urho Vaakanainen. He’ll beat out Vincent Iorio and Dennis Cholowski for the the final spot on the defense corps, and they’ll join Scott Morrow as the next wave of defenders playing in the minors.
Forwards
Following the trade of Vincent Trocheck and signing Joe Veleno to a one-year contract in free agency, the Rangers are set down the middle. They’ll open the season with Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, Noah Laba, and Veleno at center. Keeping Zibanejad and Miller, each 33, healthy this season is crucial to New York’s success, with limited organizational depth at the center position and Trocheck no longer on the roster.
And make no mistake, Trocheck will be missed.
But the Rangers do like their top-six forward group, led by Zibanejad and Miller in the middle, especially after the major offseason acquisition of high-scoring wing Pavel Dorofeyev. Alexis Lafreniere, Gabe Perreault, and likely free-agent addition Oliver Bjorkstrand will fill out the top two lines.
The bottom-six wings should include Will Cuylle and Tye Kartye, for sure. And it says here that Jaroslav Chmelar, Taylor Raddysh, and Matt Rempe land the remaining three forward spots, giving the Rangers 13 forwards. If they want to carry 14 on Opening Night and believe they need another center to fill the Jonny Brodzinski Swiss army knife role after the veteran left for the Washington Capitals this summer, perhaps Justin Dowling makes the team.
But for now, let’s say the Rangers stick to 13 forwards and Dowling starts out in Hartford. Keep in mind that the Rangers forward group may be quite fluid this season with Adam Sykora knocking on the door, and key prospects like Liam Greentree, Nathan Aspinall, Cole Beaudoin, and Jacob Battaglia also growing their games as rookie pros in Hartford.
Projected Rangers opening-night lineup
Perreault — Zibanejad — Lafreniere
Dorofeyev — Miller — Bjorkstrand
Cuylle — Laba — Kartye
Raddysh — Veleno — Chmelar
Gavrikov — Fox
Pettersson — Durzi
Robertson — Schneider
Shesterkin
Korpisalo
Extras: Rempe, Vaakanainen
