Why it’s time for Gabe Perreault, Rangers’ kids to prove their worth
Artemi Panarin is no longer a member of the New York Rangers. Carson Soucy is gone as well. Vincent Trocheck could be next — and there could be other veteran players moved before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 6.
Such is life on a team whose hopes of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs are all but gone. The Rangers (22-29-6) are last in the Eastern Conference and 30th in the NHL standings as they prepare to return to action after the Olympic break when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 26. It’s the first of 25 games in the final 49 days of the season.
With nothing to play for but pride, it’s time for coach Mike Sullivan and his staff to start looking toward the future – and for the young players on the roster trying to establish themselves to show their worth as NHL players. The departure of regulars such as Panarin and Soucy opens up playing time for the kids; now it’s up to them to do something with it.
Here’s a look at some of the young players who need to seize the opportunity to make an impression in the final weeks of a disappointing season.
Forwards
Gabe Perreault, RW
The 20-year-old son of longtime NHL center Yanic Perreault is the Rangers’ top prospect – and the only one in The Athletic’s ranking of the top under-23 players in the League. He came in at No. 120 and is projected to be a middle-six forward.
The Blueshirts, who took Perreault in the first round (No. 23 overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft, are hoping he’s more than that. But his early results are underwhelming.
Perreault has just eight points (three goals, five assists) in 24 games with the Rangers this season after he was scoreless in five games following his signing late in 2024-25. Two of the three goals came in New York’s 8-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 14; he hasn’t scored in nine games since then.
There’s no doubting Perreault’s hockey smarts and skills. But his size (he’s listed at 5-11 and 180 pounds) is much more of an issue at the NHL level than it was when he excelled during two seasons at Boston College and helped Team USA win back-to-back gold medals at the World Junior Championship in 2024 and 2025. His speed, or lack thereof, is also an issue in a league that gets faster every year.
The Rangers must play Perreault in a top-six role on an every-night basis to let him show that he’s ready for the NHL. Perreault must seize the opportunity that exists for an offense-first forward on a team that struggles to score and just traded away its top point-producer in Panarin.
Brennan Othmann, LW
Othmann is close to joining players such as Lias Andersson and Vitali Kravtsov as a first-round bust, something the Rangers couldn’t have dreamed of after they chose him with the 16th overall pick in the 2021 draft and he scored 50 goals the following season in junior hockey. He also scored 21 goals with Hartford of the American Hockey League in 2023-24, his first pro season, and 12 in 27 games for the Wolf Pack last season.
But in 41 NHL games during the past three seasons, Othmann scored just one goal (on Jan. 17 against the Flyers). That’s his only point in 16 games with the Rangers this season; he had two assists in 22 games on Broadway in 2024-25.
Othmann, who didn’t even make it to the final cut at training camp, has just six goals in 23 games with Hartford this season and isn’t showing anything that would lead the Blueshirts to think he’ll be an NHL regular. Sullivan’s only trusted Othmann with fourth-line minutes for the most part and scratched him for the Rangers final game before the break. The coach remains open about the fact that Othmann’s play isn’t up to his standards thus far.
The Rangers figure to give him another chance to build trust with the coaching staff, but it’s not impossible that the 23-year-old will be included in a trade package – his name has popped up in rumors nearly all season.
Brett Berard, LW
Original expectations were much lower for Berard, a fifth-round pick (No, 134 overall) in 2020. But he scored 23 goals for Hartford in 2023-24, his first full pro season, and skated his way into 35 games with the Rangers last season, putting up six goals and 10 points, averaging 10:43 of ice time, and impressing management with his speed and drive.
However, Berard didn’t make the Rangers out of training camp and hasn’t done much during his 13 games with the Rangers during three callups. He plays a bottom-six role, but no points in 13 games while averaging 10:33 of ice time is no way to make an impression on a new coach and his staff.
With three forwards still in Milan for the Winter Olympics, the Rangers recalled Berard from Hartford earlier this week. Whether he sticks around after they get back is in question. But Berard deserves to get another chance to show he can contribute in a limited role. The Rangers don’t have a major investment in the pending restricted free agent, so the pressure is on Berard to make an impression.
Matt Rempe, RW
There’s no question that Rempe can fight at the NHL level — and 20-30 years ago, that alone might have been enough to earn him a spot on the roster.
But today’s emphasis on speed and skill rather than pugilism means that players like Rempe must show they can do more than fight. Rempe has shown spurts of being a useful fourth-line forward – and learning that his size (6-foot-9, 261 pounds) means he has to be more careful in how he plays in order to avoid penalties and suspensions.
The 23-year-old was off to an OK start this season as right wing on a fourth line with Sam Carrick and Adam Edström. The trio led opponents 75-59 in shot attempts and had 55.37 percent of the expected goal share at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick, before he broke his left thumb in a fight with Ryan Reaves of the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 23. The injury required surgery, and when Rempe returned after six weeks he still wasn’t healthy. He returned for a few games before the Olympic break, but the Rangers put him back on injured reserve Friday, and he’ll reportedly have a second procedure on the thumb.
Sullivan likes Rempe’s ability to disrupt opponents and “create momentum for our team.” Before the injury, Rempe played a simple, responsible game and was an effective bottom-six player. If the thumb heals in time for him to play this season, he’ll have to do more of that if he’s going to convince Sullivan he’s going to be more than just a big guy who gets into occasional fights.
It should be noted that Edstrom needs to show more, too, when he returns to the lineup sometime after the break. The 25-year-old hasn’t played since Nov. 29 due to a lower-body injury; but he’s another towering forward (6-foot-7, 232 pounds) who’s got good speed and shown over 86 NHL games that he can be an intriguing fourth-line option. But he’s been injured the past two seasons, so he must show he can stay healthy and more productive.
Defensemen
Scott Morrow
The trade that sent K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes last July 1 brought back first- and second-round draft picks plus Morrow, their second-round pick in 2021. Morrow was coming off an excellent first pro season that included an AHL All-Star berth, 14 regular-season games with the Hurricanes and five in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Morrow, now 23, looked overmatched in those postseason games, and he hasn’t done much to impress Sullivan and his staff this season after a solid training camp. He wasn’t impressive early in the season at AHL Hartford, and showed little when given the opportunity to play on Broadway, after a pair of longer-term injuries sustained by Adam Fox. Sullivan initially opted to use a five-forward alignment on the power play rather than have Morrow as quarterback, and he didn’t do much when given a shot at that role.
In all, Morrow has six points, all assists, in 28 games while averaging 15:40 TOI. The offensive skills he showed in college and Carolina’s AHL team in Chicago haven’t been much in evidence. Though most of his ice time has come in a fairly sheltered role on the third pairing, Morrow’s been on for 15 goals against at 5-on-5 and 12 goals for.
Fox is likely to return when play resumes next week, so the Rangers have a decision to make with Morrow. There could be a return trip to Hartford in his future to give him more playing time and responsibility.
Matthew Robertson
Few things have gone right for the Rangers this season, but Robertson’s development into a viable NHL defenseman is one of them.
The 24-year-old, New York’s second-round pick (No. 49 overall) in 2019, looked like he was on track to become a career minor-leaguer after spending four full seasons with Hartford, not getting an NHL opportunity until dressing for two games last season. But he made the Blueshirts out of camp and moved up from an extra to a regular role on one of the bottom two pairs.
Robertson has four goals and 11 points in 47 games, averages 17:15 TOI, and is capable of playing in the NHL. His highlight was a brilliant overtime goal that gave the Rangers a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Jan. 26.
With another season remaining on a contract that pays him $775,000 annually, Robertson must continue to build on his impressive showing to keep his job.
