Gallant, who coached the Rangers from 2021-23 with Kelly as one of his assistants, has two of his former players back with him — center Greg McKegg (2019-20 and 2021-22) and defenseman Ben Harpur (2022-23). The other ex-Rangers are defenseman Adam Clendening (2016-17) and center Ryan Spooner (2018). Harpur signed with Shanghai this week, and McKegg joined the team in early October and was scoreless Tuesday in his first game, a 7-6 shootout loss to Spartak.

Despite the loss, the Dragons are off to a good start, espite playing thousands of miles from their ostensible home city. The franchise, which entered the KHL as Kunlun Red Star in 2016, hasn’t played in China since 2019-20 due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in that country. The Dragons play their home games in St. Petersburg, Russia, this season but plan to return to Shanghai for 2026-27.

The Dragons sure know how to make a head coach announcement in style pic.twitter.com/4Y1EY3UXaY

— Uggg (@Uggg_uggg) August 13, 2025

It’s been a whirlwind couple of months for the 62-year-old coach. Gallant went to the KHL after he failed to draw any interest from NHL teams. He is 369-262-70 with four ties in an NHL career that has seen him coach the Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights, as well as the Rangers. He won the Jack Adams Award as the top NHL coach in 2017-18, when he guided the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season.

“I’ve been out for two years … and nothing’s happened yet,” Gallant said in August on TSN 1050 in Toronto. “Am I a little pissed off? Yeah. But that’s the way it goes and you wait for your turn and your opportunities.

“So, I took this job. I’m going to Russia, going to St. Petersburg. I have a two-year contract and I’m going to honor that contract.”

Gallant’s .662 points percentage in his two full seasons is second-best in Rangers history, behind only Mike Keenan (.667), who coached them to the Stanley Cup championship in 1993-94, his lone season in New York. Keenan, who turned 76 on Tuesday, is also the first man to coach a Stanley Cup champion and a Gagarin Cup winner in the KHL (with Metallurg Magnitogorsk in 2014).

In mid-August, Gallant agreed to a two-year contract, tasked with filling out a roster in less than six weeks and running a franchise that hasn’t made the Gagarin Cup Playoffs in eight years.

So far, so good. Despite the shootout loss to Spartak, the Dragons have won nine of their first 16 games and are tied for second in the Tarasov Division of the Western Conference. They are four points behind first-place Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, which has played two more games, and even with Severstal, which has played one more game but has 10 regulation wins to seven for Shanghai. The Dragons play their next game at Dinamo Minsk on Friday.

Rangers reunion takes place in KHL

Clendening has been the most impactful of the former Rangers. He is tied for third in scoring among defensemen with 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) in 16 games and averages 22:54 TOI.

This is his second season with the Dragons franchise; he had 22 points (five goals, 17 assists) for Kunlun last season. Clendening played 31 games for the Rangers in 2016-17, his only season in New York, finishing with 11 points (two goals, nine assists).

The Rangers, who signed him as a free agent, didn’t re-sign him. He had brief stints with the Arizona Coyotes in 2017-18 and Blues Jackets in 2018-19, then played with four AHL teams before joining Ilves of Liiga in Finland for the 2023-24 season and switching to the KHL last season.

Spooner, a 33-year-old center, was part of the package the Rangers received when they traded Rick Nash to the Boston Bruins on Feb. 20, 2018. He had 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) for the Rangers in the 20 remaining games that season. But after a slow start in 2018-19, Sponner was traded to the Edmonton Oilers for center Ryan Strome on Nov. 16, 2018.

He’s played with four teams since coming to the KHL in 2020. Spooner has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 15 games this season.

The Rangers signed Harpur as a free agent on Oct. 27, 2022, and he had six points (one goal, five assists) in 42 regular-season games with them. He did not dress in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs and was injured much of the past two seasons with Hartford of the American Hockey League.

New York was also the last NHL stop for the 33-year-old McKegg, who had five points (two goals, three assists) in 43 games during his second stint with the Blueshirts in 2021-22. He also had five goals and nine points in 53 games in 2019-20 before signing with the Bruins as a free agent.

The Rangers did not re-sign him after his second stint on Broadway ended in the summer of 2023. He joined the Edmonton Oilers but spent the next two seasons with their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield before sitting out last season.

Here are the latest rumblings around Rangerstown.

Vladislav Namestnikov

The Rangers didn’t make a lot of noise on the first day of NHL free agency, but they did re-sign C/W Vladislav Namestnikov to a two-year deal.

The Rangers are hoping that Namestnikov can regain the level of play he had while in Tampa. Granted that he was playing on the same line as Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, but he does have the talent to last in the NHL.

Fredrik Claesson

The Rangers made one UFA acquisition yesterday, signing former Senators defenseman Fredrik Claesson to a one-year deal. Claesson is a stay at home blue-liner that saw time playing alongside all-star defenseman Erik Karlsson.

This is a low-risk move by Gorton with the Rangers blue-line uncertain coming into training camp. Aside from Kevin Shattenkirk, Brady Skjei, and Marc Staal, the opening night defense corps is up in the air. Will Neal Pionk, Tony DeAngelo, or John Gilmour be able to extend their stay on Broadway? Will Brendan Smith have a good camp and get back to MSG? Time will tell, but bringing Claesson aboard gives the Rangers another NHL-level defenseman.

Rangers Alumni On The Move

There was plenty of action yesterday involving former Rangers heading to a new club for the 2018-19 season.

Michael Grabner, who the Rangers traded to the Devils at the deadline, signed a three-year contract with the Coyotes. Former Rangers teammate, and now current teammate, Derek Stepan welcomed Grabner in the most hockey way possible; by chirping him.

https://twitter.com/DerekStepan21/status/1013510871409184768

Former Rangers blue-liner John Moore signed a five-year contract with the Boston Bruins. A mobile defenseman, Moore will give the Bruins another great skating defenseman who knows how and when to jump into the play.

Adam Clendening, who spent 31 games on the ice for the Blueshirts, was signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Clendening’s roster spot won’t be guaranteed for John Tortorella’s club, but he could crack the opening night lineup as the team’s sixth defenseman.

Paul Carey was signed by the Senators after spending last season with the Rangers. Carey was a solid fourth-liner last-year and will bring hard work and consistency to Ottawa, even if they thought he was a defenseman.

The Penguins are bringing back Matt Cullen who, once upon a time, spent a season with the Rangers.

Aside from signing John Tavares, the Maple Leafs signed two former Rangers in Josh Jooris and Adam Cracknell. Neither player spent much time with the Blueshirts, but as they say: “once a Ranger, always a Ranger.”

Finally, the Vegas Golden Knights signed defenseman Nick Holden to a two-year deal. Holden started off well with the Rangers back in 2016, but his play declined significantly and he became an asset that needed to be moved. Vegas also brought back Brandon Pirri on a one-year deal.

In non-NHL signings, David Desharnais has signed with KHL club Lokomotiv. There had been rumors that Desharnais was heading over to the KHL when the Rangers season ended, and now it is official.

Pavel Buchnevich has always been this enigmatic icon among Rangers fans. Even before he ever took the ice for prospect camp, fans all over were drooling over his YouTube highlights; instantaneously warranting the viewpoint that Buchnevich had to be a talent the likes of Vladimir Tarasenko. His first season with the New York Rangers organization was a roller coaster, one marked by highs and lows alike.

The Good

Buchnevich began the 2016-17 season on the opening day roster and through his first six games only managed two assists, despite getting ample playing time of roughly 15 minutes per game. He then turned on the jets in his next four games, scoring four goals and 2 assists. Putting his ten-game total at eight points. Not a bad start to a rookie campaign, eh?

The Bad

However, that’s when the New York Rangers made the decision to shut him down for an extended period in order to strengthen his core, as he was having some back pains. A lot of that has to do with the NHL way of training versus the International. It’s why you see more growing pains with international players coming over to the NHL.

For comparison’s sake, the KHL season lasts 56 games, but unlike the NHL who plays 82 games beginning in October and ending in April, the KHL season plays those 56 games beginning in late August. That’s an eight-month season with roughly seven games per month, as opposed to the NHL average of twelve games per month. Breaking it down a little bit more, a KHL team will usually play 1-2 games per week, whereas NHL teams play 3-4 game per week. It’s very similar to training for a marathon versus a sprint.

The Ugly

Buchnevich then returned to the Rangers lineup in January and over the course of the final 31 games only managed to record another four goals and eight assists. He finished his rookie season with a stat line to 41 GP, 8G, 12A and 20 points. Many fans were disappointed by this, blaming his lack of production on what they perceived to be poor coaching decisions by Alain Vigneault planting him on the fourth line.

Even when given an opportunity in the playoffs, Buchnevich was held to a measly one point over the course of six games and was infamously taken off the roster during the Montreal series in favor of Tanner Glass.

Note: It didn’t help fans’ narrative of blaming lineup decisions for Buchnevich’s perceived shortcomings when Tanner Glass sparked the team’s turnaround vs. Montreal and famously snarked “If you mess with the bull, you get the horns.” Glass also had this comment for fans to pour a little salt on the wounds of those opposed to the move. Despite most initial reactions to this reference, it does hold relevance in this evaluation.

The Current

Pavel Buchnevich has returned with a vengeance. Many will credit this resurgence to Buchnevich finally getting what they have been pleading for, a top line assignment alongside Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. Buchnevich has four goals and three assists for seven points since the promotion. So far this season, Buchnevich has 8 goals and 7 assists for 15 points.

The contrarian view might say that despite his 15 points, eight of them have come on the man-advantage and the issue remains that he’s a -2 on the season. (a stat which I personally don’t love, as it doesn’t tell the whole story usually).

Success Breeds Questions

All signs now point to Pavel Buchnevich becoming the player so many fans hoped he would be when the team first drafted him and brought him over from Russia. His performance forces us now to have two conversations though. The first is, can Buchnevich be a building block piece for the Rangers going forward and in the future? Doug MacLean recently agreed with this point on Sportsnet Hockey Central, mentioning Buchnevich alongside Mika Zibanejad and Brady Skjei as possible core building pieces for this team going forward.

First things first though, and the other conversation we need to have is to take a step back and take an alternate look at the narrative that’s surrounded Buchnevich. Fans for so long have been pleading with beat writers and pleading with Alain Vigneault that Vigneault was hurting the team by not placing Buchnevich in a more prominent role. The perception of Alain Vigneault not trusting young players was something I recently took a look at here on Forever Blueshirts, when I posted the question, “Maybe we’re wrong about Alain Vigneault.”

I’ve seen all the Corsi stats that explain why Buchnevich needed a top line role, and many of them were absolutely compelling. The really interesting part is we will never truly know whether it was the chicken or the egg in this scenario. However, there are a few key points that need to be examined when making your conclusion on this topic.

The Truth

Alain Vigneault employs a very structured system. It’s very unique among NHL standards in that he employs a “man” defensive zone structure as opposed to a “zone.” The Rangers played a zone defense under John Tortorella. The striking difference between the two and the complexity of the “man” defensive zone structure directly correlates to the Rangers ugly start to the 2013-14 season. The “man” defensive zone structure can make even the most skilled defensemen look silly. This could also have a lot to do with the reasoning behind AV’s choice to play guys like Nick Holden and Steven Kampfer over younger players. It’s necessary for the Rangers to play a “man” defensive zone system as it compliments the transition and counter-attack game the Rangers employ much better than a “zone” structure would.

Pavel Buchnevich has always had high-end talent, but top-six players play against the opponents’ top-six players. If you aren’t buttoned up enough in the defensive zone, the holes in your defensive game are more glaring and easily exposed. It’s a big reason why the Corsi numbers don’t truly apply to that narrative. They don’t prove why a guy who has had a certain level of performance on the 4th line will automatically have that same success on a top line (See: Adam Clendening, Emerson Etem).

The Difference

There’s also the adjustment from the KHL/International rink to the NHL ice. In the NHL, the space between the goal line and the boards is 11′, whereas a KHL rink has 13′. The surface in the NHL is significantly smaller in width as well (85′ wide versus the KHL 100′). Most notably, while both rinks are 200 feet in length, the NHL defensive zone from the goal line to the blue line is 64 feet, 7 feet longer than the KHL’s 58 feet. That’s a lot more room to cover defensively north and south in a tighter space east and west.

The Reality

This all comes down to being able to not be a detriment in the defensive zone. Alain Vigneault is tasked with the responsibility of putting a team on the ice that has the best understanding of his system, both defensively and offensively. He also has the luxury of being able to find scoring throughout most of his lineup. The biggest concern really was making sure that he wasn’t putting the team in harm’s way defensively by giving Buchnevich those minutes. Not only did Buchnevich play his entire life on international ice, he never before played in any defensive zone structure until he came over to New York.

In sports like football, coaches are heralded as a genius and disciplined when they take a talented young player and give him time to learn their system in a lesser role (see Aaron Rodgers). Yet somehow, a large contingent of fans ignore the same fact and learning curve a young player goes through coming over to the NHL. At least in football, the playing surface is the same.

To further this point, in football you get the luxury to put players in where they succeed while they develop where they don’t. You’re able to use a running back who hasn’t developed his blocking game well enough yet as a 3rd down back. In hockey, even if you only start a player in the offensive zone, odds are the play will end up in your defensive zone at some point during his shift. It’s the reason why through all levels of USA Hockey and Hockey Canada, coaches emphasize the importance of being a good “200 ft player.” I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve personally witnessed a highly talented player (at times, the most talented player) get cut from a team because he didn’t play three zones and the team was better off for it.

The Future

Now that Buchnevich has begun to show signs of defensive zone reliability, as well as displaying his scoring ability for all to see, it does seem like he’s here to stay. He isn’t perfect in the defensive zone, but he has been noticeably better. It’s key to point out that during this Rangers six-game winning streak, they have come up large against three very special talents named Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and most recently Connor McDavid. Against Edmonton, where Vigneault had the last change, he consistently matched the Kevin Hayes line up against McDavid, not the KZB line. He also did the same against Tampa Bay, and you’ll most likely continue to see it against other teams.

Buchnevich has made his biggest impact though on the Power Play, as evidenced by more than half of his points coming on the man advantage. The Power Play as a whole has been a revelation for the New York Rangers and has become an area where they can punish teams.

This isn’t all to Kevin Shattenkirk’s credit though. No matter how you draw it up, a good Power Play needs three elements. A quarterback, a sniping threat, and a net-front presence. Shattenkirk has been that quarterback, and so was Yandle and many who came before them. The biggest difference I’m seeing is that teams can’t overcommit to Shattenkirk because of the threat Buchnevich’s, and by extension, Mika Zibanejad’s, shot poses. This keeps the opponent’s PK honest and ultimately gives Shattenkirk more room to move or shoot the puck.

Only time will tell what Pavel Buchnevich develops into. I see a really good talent in him, but I don’t see a Nikita Kucherov or Vladimir Tarasenko just yet. The thing is, nobody saw Nikita Kucherov coming the way he has (also another offensively gifted player who’s coach brought him along slowly over the years.)

For more on this topic, hear The Tilted Ice’s take on the matter below.

https://soundcloud.com/user-200365995/tilted-ice-north-of-penn-short-is-pavel-buchnevich-a-building-block-for-the-future

Buch Makes His Debut and Holden Returns

Pavel Buchnevich was a surprise on the ice today, but it was clearly evident he belongs there. His stick and puck handling are a beauty of a thing to watch, and even though he didn’t score, his efforts made a difference. He also seemed to spark some life back into Kreider and Zibanejad, both who have been sorely missing since the playoffs started.

On the defense, Klein was removed in favor of Holden (WHY!) again, and somewhere Adam Clendening sits collecting dust. Will he see a playoff game? That’s left to be seen.

Two Goals Sealed the Win

Fast lit the lamp, and then double checked to make sure it went in.

https://twitter.com/hayyyshayyy/status/854486605167566848

Goal number two came in the second period. It started with McDonagh, who kept the puck inside the blue line, giving Nash the opportunity for a mulligan on his earlier disallowed goal.

https://twitter.com/BlueSeatBlogs/status/854488881013673985

Dismal Officiating

The Rangers couldn’t buy a penalty tonight, there were so many “missed” penalties that it was astounding. Elbows flew, skates were kicked, and slashing commenced, but no whistles blew.

Smith, in particular, took a wallop of a beating with an elbow to the face and a chop to the wrist. He stuck it out and that’s the definition of a true hockey player.

Hank Continues to Shine

After facing 118 shots in three games, he faced only 24 in Game 4, making 23 saves. He even bailed out the defense on a few critical breakaway attempts.

The only goal Montreal scored should’ve been disallowed; the play should’ve been blown dead due to both sides having too many men on the ice. In all seriousness, it should’ve been another shutout. Nevertheless, they got the “W.”

I think we’re all with Hank on this one:

https://twitter.com/BlueSeatBlogs/status/854512765159059456

The Blueshirts head back to Montreal for Game 5, which takes place on Thursday.

I joined John and Bryan (two former FTNYR writers) on their podcast.

Give it a listen below.

NEW:Garden Faithful Pod

Ep16: FullTilt Rangers visits the Garden Faithful

iTunes: https://t.co/Fem8XSaoRU

A-Boom: https://t.co/t0o7c2sXd8 pic.twitter.com/Q9J6j3n5ax

— GothamSN (@GothamSN) March 15, 2017

Overshadowed in the all the noise initiated by the new age hockey crowd and stats lovers over Tanner Glass, is the play of Steven Kampfer. The two time Ranger acquisition has finally been given a chance and he is making the most of it.

Here, Gone, and Back Again

The Rangers signed Kampfer on July 1st in 2014, but was moved in October with Andrew Yogan for Joey Crabb. I bet you totally forgot about that. This season he was re-acquired with a conditional pick for Dylan McIlrath in November. Playing solid hockey in Hartford, he got the call after mounting injuries, and the defensive ineptitude of Adam Clendening. Now he has been given a real shot to show he can play in the NHL for NY.

At a solid 5’11” and 192 pounds, the much needed right handed defenseman plays bigger than his size. He makes the simple play in and out of his zone which has really stabilized Brady Skjei‘s game. No longer is Skjei being put into a bad spot to cover for his partner’s shortcomings. That has allowed him to become an even more integral part of the offense without being a defensive liability.

So far in 5 games with Kampfer as his partner, Skjei is averaging 2.4 shots per game. In the 5 games prior, it was just .80! That is a notable difference. The addition of Brendan Smith has also had a solid impact to the defense, but that is a story for another time. The focus here is on Kampfer and needs to be.

Simple is Better

During this 5 game stretch where Kampfer has become a permanent fixture in the lineup over Clendening, he has a goal and an assist. The offensive contribution has been an added bonus, but his play in the defensive zone is what the Rangers needed him to bring.

During this stretch, the Rangers have only allowed a stingy 2 goals against per game. In the 5 games prior (excluding Caps where Kampfer played) it was closer to 3 (2.8). When it comes to the offense he and Skjei have produced so far, their goals for 60 is 3.40 versus 1.94 the Skjei and Clendening pair produced. It should be noted that Skjei and Clendening gave up less goals per 60 against but the differential is in the favor of the Kampfer and Skjei unit (1.14 vs. .32).

The corsi for percentage, if you like to look through that lens was better for the Clendening/Skjei pairing at 59.9%. That was driven by Clendening firing every puck he could, most of them wide that still results in his corsi numbers. Of all Rangers defenseman to play 5 games or more this season, Clendening shot thru percentage is the lowest at 44%. So for all the praising about his corsi which is just shot attempts for and against, that’s a lot of missed net that no one talks about. Skjei and Kampfer have a rock solid 54.2 CF% for what it’s worth.

NYR ShotThru%

• Skjei 53.9%
• Smith 50%
• Staal 48.5%
• McDonagh 47.5%
• Girardi 47.3%
• Klein 47.1%
• Kampfer 45.5%
• Clendening 44%

Steven Kampfer hammers home a one-timer for his first as a Ranger! pic.twitter.com/p9vzkjUAk6

— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) March 13, 2017

Depth, Flexibility, and Stability

Dan Girardi is healing up as per the latest reports. His ankle should be ready to resume skating next week. That likely means that Kampfer will be coming out of the lineup then. Which begs the question, of how the pairings will constructed?

The simplest thing to do is put Girardi on the third pair with Skjei. If healthy, Girardi can prove to be a similar partner to Skjei as Kampfer. Girardi’s stay at home style will allow Skjei the confidence to continue to join the offense. Should Girardi falter, AV knows that Kampfer can slot right on Skjei’s right with immediate success.

There also hasn’t been any promising news on Kevin Klein‘s back to date. That makes the emergence of Kampfer that much more important. Should the Rangers suffer an injury in the playoffs, they have a defenseman they can trust in the defensive zone. It should be noted that Kampfer is least likely to get DZone starts being on the third pair. However, AV has already shown more confidence in him than Clendening (24% DZS versus 22.9%) and that’s a small but significant sign.

Amazing how a player no one even gave a second thought to in 2014, and this past November has become an important piece in March. The beauty of sports…and something no advanced stat will ever be able to predict.

“Their energy level doesn’t seem to be where it was (early in the season)” – Joe Micheletti

NEXT GAME: The boys will look to get back on track on Monday when they face the Lightning. Puck drops at 730!

LETS GO RANGERS!!

NEXT GAME: The Rangers will head off to Boston on Thursday to take on the Bruins. Puck drops at 7!

LETS GO RANGERS!!

“Goalies when they’re standing on their heads, you don’t get the tic-tac-toes to go in. I thought we did a good job of getting guys to the paint and getting numbers on the forecheck.” – JT Miller

https://twitter.com/NHLDaily365/status/834949148004794369

NEXT GAME: The Rangers head off to New Jersey on Saturday for the Battle of the Hudson when they take on the Devils. Puck drops at 5!

LETS GO RANGERS!!