Rangers Daily: Blueshirts polling booths open; Wild, Marco Rossi at contract standstill
Our Forever Blueshirts intern this summer is a terrific young talent, Ryan McInerney. He’s a massive New York Rangers fan who’s built a solid following on TikTok and proven to be a great addition to our staff.
His fingerprints are all over what we do at Forever Blueshirts. His writing and reporting are top notch — you can find each of his stories here on his author’s page — and Ryan’s contributions improving our graphics and social media presentation have been game changers.
He’ll be returning to Penn State, where he’s a communications major, in a few weeks. But until then, he’s taking the pulse of Rangers fans with a series of poll questions on X (@4verBlueshirts). Last week, his poll about who should be New York’s 3C was a close battle, with many fans voting and commenting. This week the polls focus on projected point totals next season for specific players — Artemi Panarin was first up Monday. Find out which player is the focus of the poll today.
Next week? Who knows? Well, probably Ryan does. That’s the thing about him, like a true pro, Ryan is always thinking ahead, planning for the next story or topical poll question or which graphic might grab the viewer’s attention.
He’s working hard this summer, so the least our readers can do is take part in his polls — oh, and enjoy his articles, as well. I know that I do.
New York Rangers
The Rangers have two key prospects taking part in the 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase in Minneapolis this week. Here’s what the Rangers need to see from EJ Emery (United States) and Malcolm Spence (Canada) at the showcase.
Now that he is healthy after playing with a torn labrum last season, Brett Berard has his sites set on making the Rangers’ opening-night roster. Our Eric Charles breaks down Berard’s chances.
One of Berard’s competitors for a spot on Broadway is veteran forward Conor Sheary. Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of the Rangers signing him to a PTO.
Worth another look: our John Kreiser presents his version of the Rangers’ Quarter-Century team — 20 players to fill out the lineup (12 F, 6 D, 2 G).
NHL rumors and news
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman reports that the Winnipeg Jets and defenseman Dylan Samberg are $3.5 million apart in their arbitration numbers. Samberg submitted a $6 million salary figure, and the Jets came in at $2.5 million. The arbitration hearing is set for Wednesday.
TSN: Travis Yost takes a deep dive into the underlying numbers to get a handle on how Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews could be affected — or not — by Mitch Marner leaving the team to sign with the Vegas Golden Knights this summer.
The Athletic ($$): Michael Russo and Joe Smith report that the Minnesota Wild have not spoken to star RFA forward Marco Rossi about a new contarct since June. That appears to be an off strategy for such an important player, but it’s also in line with the trade rumors that have been swirling around Rossi for months.
NHL.com: Mike Morreale is all over the World Junior Summer Showcase with his latest Daily Notebook.
Washington Post: Nicklas Backstrom played eight games the past two seasons — none in 2024-25 — with the Washington Capitals because of a debilitating hip issue. Monday, it was announced that the 37-year-old will return to the ice — to play for Brynas back home in Sweden.
Florida Hockey Now: Defenseman Aaron Ekblad admitted he was sweating out whether he’d get a deal done with the Florida Panthers before he could become a UFA on July 1. But in his mind, he never wanted to hit the open market because “It was always Florida” for him.
Philly Hockey Now: Jett Luchanko is a legit NHL prospect. But is he ready to make an impact next season with the Philadelphia Flyers? William James breaks down his chances.
