Sam Rosen points out key area Rangers must improve on to make playoffs
TROY, NY — Though Sam Rosen is no longer behind the mic for New York Rangers broadcasts, retiring in 2025 after a four-decade run, that doesn’t mean he’s not dialed in to what’s going on with the Blueshirts these days.
The 78-year-old was seen often at Madison Square Garden last season, hosting numerous ceremonies to commemorate the franchise’s centennial year. And like any loyal member of the Blueshirts Faithful, Rosen was extremely disappointed to see the Rangers struggle to a 34-39-9 record, last-place finish in the Eastern Conference, and miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season.
However, when speaking on the Rink Rap podcast here at the New York State Hockey Hall of Fame 2026 induction ceremony Sunday, Rosen sounded upbeat about where the Rangers are headed after a slew of significant changes this offseason.
“Quite honestly, I like the offseason moves. I think they addressed problems,” Rosen told Forever Blueshirts. “How it plays out remains to be seen, but certainly, on paper, that this is an improved team that now can legitimately compete for the playoffs.”
Upgrading the second defense pairing by adding solid puck distributor Sean Durzi and the reliable Marcuss Pettersson in separate trades stood out for Rosen. The acquisition of Pavel Dorofeyev, in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights, and then signing the 25-year-old sniper to a seven-year, $77 million contract, also was applauded by Rosen.
So, yeah, he’s feeling good about making a serious run at a postseason berth next season. Especially if No. 1 goalie Igor Shesterkin remains healthy and on top of his game.
“It starts with Igor,” Rosen emphasized.
But there is one area Rosen is concerned about.
“I think one of the big needs I’ll be looking at when the season starts is how will those third- and fourth-line players contribute?,” he said. “There wasn’t enough scoring from those two lines [last season]. If the top two lines scored, the Rangers had a chance. And if they didn’t, they lost. So, those are the things I’m looking at.”
Sam Rosen believes Rangers need more production from bottom-six forwards
Rosen’s got a point. The Rangers have a decent top-six forward group, one that looks more dangerous with Dorofeyev in the mix now. And it could be a whole lot better should Alexis Lafreniere and Gabe Perreault build off their strong finishes last season and take major strides with their production in 2026-27. Bounce-back seasons from J.T. Miller and newcomer Oliver Bjorkstrand are a must, and Mike Zibanejad needs to replicate his team-leading 34-goal and 78-point form from a year ago.
The Rangers finished 23rd in scoring last season, despite having the No. 5-ranked power play in the League. The top six must up its collective production, no doubt, next season. And the bottom-six must contribute more too.
Since the trade deadline on March 6, general manager Chris Drury moved out Brennan Othmann, Brett Berard, and Adam Edstrom. Plus, Jonny Brodzinski and Conor Sheary departed in free agency. Each mostly played a bottom-six role last season, though Berard and Othmann spent more time in Hartford of the American Hockey League than in New York.
Sheary, who saw far too much time filling in on the top six, scored seven goals in 62 games. Brodzinski had six in 55. Edstrom, Othmann, and Berard combined for four goals in 65 games. So, the Rangers didn’t exactly lose much bottom-six production from that crew.
As for third- and fourth-line candidates next season, Matt Rempe and Juuso Parssinen combined for three goals in 46 games in 2025-26, with the former hampered by a serious thumb injury and the latter demoted to Hartford despite a $1.25 million salary.
It’s not all doom and gloom production-wise for the Rangers. Mid-season acquisition Tye Kartye had five goals and 14 points in 24 games. Perhaps that’s an unsustainable pace next season, but it does raise hope that Kartye can be an important full-season player next season.
Noah Laba scored nine goals and finished 10th on the Rangers with 24 points over 76 games in his rookie season. The 23-year-old does plenty of important things as a bottom-six center, and there’s hope he’s the most likely player on the third- and fourth-line to significantly upgrade his production this coming season.
Speaking of kids, there’s hope that Jaroslav Chmelar (four goals, two assists in 28 games) and Adam Sykora (three goals, one assists in 11 games) build off strong late-season showings in New York.
Then there’s Will Cuylle, coming off consecutive 20-goal seasons, though mostly scored when playing up in the top six or on the power play. If he, as expected, starts out on the third line next season, the Rangers absolutely need him to jumpstart the offense in the bottom-six group.
More consistency from veteran Taylor Raddysh would help. As would newcomer Joe Veleno finally finding his scoring groove after a strong junior career.
So that breakdown simply supports Rosen’s take about how important bottom-six production is for the Rangers as they try to get back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
