In the midst of their worst stretch of hockey in memory, the Rangers, 4-15-0 in their past 19 games and last in the Metropolitan Division, lost again Tuesday. And they didn’t even play a game on New Year’s Eve.

But they did lose No. 1 goalie Igor Shesterkin for at least the rest of the week with an upper-body injury. Placed on injured reserve, Shesterkin must miss at least three games, which means the earliest he can return is next Tuesday, Jan. 7, against the Dallas Stars at MSG.

Even though the 29-year-old is struggling with his game — just like the Rangers as a whole — Shesterkin is a fairly invaluable member of their roster. He is 11-15-1 with a 3.10 goals-against average and .906 save percentage, the worst numbers of his stellar six-year NHL career. He’s allowed four or more goals in 10 of his 27 starts and was pulled in two of his past six starts.

But Shesterkin is still one of the best goalies in the world — and the Rangers’ most important player. There’s no two ways about this; it’s another blow for the Blueshirts.

Having Jonathan Quick available to step into the starting role softens the blow somewhat. The three-time Stanley Cup champion who’s two victories away from become the 15th goalie in NHL history to win 400 games is a solid option to fill Shesterkin’s skates for the time being.

That’s especially so if Shesterkin misses just a few games. If this is a prolonged absence, there would be concerns about how Quick’s play holds up at age 38.

The Rangers are back at practice in New York on Wednesday. So let’s see if coach Peter Laviolette shares more information on Shesterkin’s condition.

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New York Rangers news

Let’s start here with our breakdown of what’s next for the Rangers in the wake of Shesterkin’s injury.

As for the bigger picture of what’s going on with the Rangers, there’s the Rink Rap podcast, which was recorded hours before the Shesterkin news. Here’s a link to the Forever Blueshirts YouTube page and here’s a link to the audio-only podcast. Give it a listen!

Timed for the calendar flipping to 2025, we have our suggested New Year’s resolutions for the Rangers.

We also take a look back at the Top 10 Rangers moments in 2024. And before you get snarky, yes there were good things that happened with this team in the previous calendar year!

Top Rangers prospect Gabe Perreault was held off the score sheet again, but the United States was still able to defeat Canada 4-1 to finish first in Group A with 10 points (3-0-1-0) at the 2025 World Junior Championship in Ottawa. Rangers defenseman prospect Drew Fortescue logged 18:56 TOI and was plus-1 for the U.S. Next up for Team USA is a quarterfinal game against Switzerland, and another Rangers prospect, forward Rico Gredig.

NHL news

Not a bad New Year’s Eve for Cam Fowler. The 33-year-old became the first defenseman to score two goals in an outdoor NHL game, and did so in his 1,000th game in the League, helping lead the St. Louis Blues to a convincing 6-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks in the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field.

On the same night the Colorado Avalanche finally got forward Jonathan Drouin back in the lineup following his second upper-body injury of the season, forward Valeri Nichushkin was knocked out of their 5-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets with a lower-body injury.

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews was placed on IR with an upper-body injury. The move was made to add another player to the roster and Matthews can be activated at any time. He’s been practicing with the Maple Leafs, who defeated the Islanders 3-1 on Tuesday.

Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon left their 5-3 win against the Nashville Predators in the second period after being the victim of a slewfoot and falling awkwardly into the boards.

Don’t look now but the Montreal Canadiens have won three in a row and are back to NHL .500 with a 17-17-3 record. Cole Caufield scored his 100th NHL goal in a 3-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Todd McLellan won his 600th game as an NHL coach when the Detroit Red Wings doubled up the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2. With that win, the Red Wings moved past the Rangers in the standings, dropping New York to 15th in the 16-team Eastern Conference.

Connor McDavid extended his point streak to 12 games and passed Mark Messier for third place on the Edmonton Oilers’ all-time scoring list (1,036 points) in a 4-1 home win against the Utah Hockey Club.

Chew on that before you toast to the New Year.

Or better yet, don’t. Put hockey and the Rangers out of your mind for a few hours at least and enjoy a bit of celebration. Because there’s not much to celebrate with the Rangers these days.

Sure, the Rangers (16-19-1) played much better Monday in Sunrise. But the Rangers still lost 5-3 to the Florida Panthers, their fourth straight defeat and seventh in the past eight games. They closed out 2024 by losing 15 of 19 games (4-15-0).

It’s surreal to see how far they’ve fallen, how completely they crumbled since winning the Presidents’ Trophy last season and coming within two wins of reaching the Stanley Cup Final in June.

Yet here we are.

On the bright side, what are the odds that the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks each wins Tuesday to create the scenario listed above? Then again, what would’ve been the odds that the Rangers would be in their current predicament?

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New York Rangers news

Filip Chytil’s excellent performance leads our three takeaways from the Rangers’ latest loss Monday.

Elliotte Friedman had plenty to say about the Rangers on his latest 32 Thoughts podcast, including why Vincent Trocheck is the most coveted player on their roster.

Daily Faceoff wrote a piece on why 2023 Rangers top pick Gabe Perreault is “quickly becoming one of the best prospects in the NHL.”

NHL news

Connor Bedard, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, is fired up to play in the Winter Classic on Tuesday at Wrigley Field. The Chicago Blackhawks center told NHL.com, “It’s one of the coolest experiences of my life so far, and obviously the game hasn’t even started yet.” Puck drops at 5 p.m. ET against the St. Louis Blues.

Talk about cool things. Blues defenseman Cam Fowler, recently acquired from the Anaheim Ducks, will play his 1,000th NHL game in the Winter Classic on Tuesday.

Not so cool is that Winnipeg Jets forward Mason Appleton is week to week with a lower-body injury.

Jonathan Toews gave an in-depth interview to GQ detailing the health-related issues that forced him to leave hockey and the chance that he could return to the NHL.

The NHL fined the Dallas Stars $100,000 for violating the CBA by conducting an optional practice during the League’s holiday break.

The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward Jesse Puljujarvi on waivers.

Connor Hellebuyck made 22 saves to lead the Jets to a 3-0 shutout win against the Nashville Predators. It was Hellebuyck’s NHL-high fifth shutout this season.

For sure, the Rangers seek a better result when they skate against the St. Louis Blues to begin a three-game road trip Sunday. But that starts with having a better effort. Yes, their compete level was that lacking against the Kings, who chased Igor Shesterkin after he surrendered five goals on 21 shots in just 25:04.

It’s a winnable game against a mediocre opponent Sunday — and one that had to travel after losing 2-1 in overtime at Dallas on Saturday night. But the Rangers (15-13-1) must find the resolve and will to actually win the contest. Tightening things up defensively wouldn’t hurt either.

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New York Rangers news

Here are three things to look for when the Rangers skate against the Blues on Sunday, including issues with New York’s depth on defense.

And here are three Rangers takeaways from that loss to the Kings at MSG, including a horrid all-around effort.

We also posted a list of the all-time most expensive goalie contracts in NHL history, highlighted by Shesterkin at the top of the list.

Related: How to Watch the NHL Winter Classic in 2024

NHL news

A week after reportedly being offered to the Rangers, defenseman Cam Fowler was traded to the Blues by the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday. He made his Blues debut, playing 17:57 TOI, in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Stars.

Oliver Wahlstrom was claimed off waivers by the Boston Bruins from the Islanders, who selected the forward in the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft. Pierre Engvall cleared waivers Saturday but was in the Isles’ lineup Sunday; Bo Horvat didn’t play because of a lower-body injury.

Vancouver Canucks president Jim Rutherford appeared on Sportsnet and said that they are still “evaluating” Brock Boeser and their plans for the impending unrestricted free agent.

The New Jersey Devils erupted for four goals in the third period to rally past the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1.

WATCH Brady Tkachuk scores an overtime game-winner to lift the Ottawa Senators past the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Florida Panthers were shut out for the second straight game, this time by Dustin Wolf and the Calgary Flames, 3-0 at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Fowler was passed over by the Rangers in the 2010 NHL Draft. Sitting with the 10th overall pick in the first round, the Rangers selected hulking defenseman Dylan McIlrath instead of the highly-rated Fowler, who’s also a defenseman.

That move, of course, famously backfired. McIlrath played 38 games over four seasons with the Rangers and has totaled 85 NHL games with four teams in his career. Fowler, selected two picks after McIlrath at No. 12 overall, has 988 NHL games on his resume, each with the Ducks.

Given a second chance, though, at the 33-year-old, the Rangers reportedly passed when his name was brought up by the Ducks in trade talks. Instead the Rangers traded captain Jacob Trouba to the Ducks for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth-round draft pick.

“I heard that Anaheim wanted Fowler in this deal. I have no doubt Fowler wanted to be in this deal,” NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said on his 32 Thoughts podcast. “It’s been out there: he wants to be traded, he wants to play for a contender. I never heard [Frank] Vatrano’s name in it, but I did hear Fowler’s. At the end of the day, they couldn’t get it done. I think one of the reasons is New York wanted the flexibility for both this year and next.”

Like Trouba, Fowler is owed a significant salary through the 2025-26 season. One of the main reasons the Rangers wanted to part with the Trouba was to open up salary cap space by moving the entirety of his $8 million annual cap charge. Fowler is on the books for $6.5 million annually.

So, the Rangers would have added an older defenseman and saved just $1.5 million against the cap. Vaakanainen, who’s 25 and currently on IR with an upper-body injury, makes $1.1 million per season and is an RFA at season’s end.

Related: Igor Shesterkin ‘so happy now’ after birth of daughter, massive contract extension

NHL Insider believes Rangers didn’t seek reunion with Frank Vatrano in talks with Ducks

Friedman mentioned Vatrano’s name because recent rumors suggested that the trade with the Ducks could have been expanded to include the forward. The Rangers sought a reunion with Vatrano ahead of last season’s trade deadline, but settled on winger Jack Roslovic instead.

Vatrano scored an NHL career-high 37 goals last season with Anaheim. Two seasons before, after New York picked him up ahead of the 2022 trade deadline, Vatrano was an excellent fit on Mika Zibanejad’s line with Chris Kreider. Vatrano had 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in 22 games and then added five goals and 13 points in 20 Stanley Cup Playoff games, when he helped the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Final.

Since he’s owed just $3.65 million this season, the final one before he becomes an unrestricted free agent, Vatrano’s name will be all over NHL trade rumors the rest of this season. The Rangers could have interest again, if they seek an upgrade over Reilly Smith in the top six, though the 33-year-old does have goals in consecutive games after a slump.

Vatrano has six goals and 12 points in 24 games for the Ducks, who are 10-12-3 and last in the Pacific Division.

Fowler has three assists in 14 games this season. He missed a month of action with an upper-body injury.

The 20 year old Halverson was not making the team this year, so he is better off preparing for the AHL season. Antti Raanta has the backup spot locked up. Any longterm injury to either he or Lundqvist means a Mackenzie Skapski or Magnus Hellberg call up.

Goalie, Jeff Malcolm was also sent down.

Trade Possibilities?

We’re all well aware that the Rangers are loaded with forwards at the moment, need a top pairing defenseman, and have about 3M in cap space to play with. So is there a trade partner out there?

The Winnipeg Jets are being somewhat forced to trade defenseman, Jacob Trouba. I explained here why the price will be too steep and not worth it. Let’s not forget that there could be help at a lesser price come the deadline, as Kevin Shattenkirk will be a UFA in July.

Now we are hearing more out of Anaheim, who are up against the cap and still have yet to sign their own standout RFA defenseman, Hampus Lindholm. Could this lead to the Ducks trading Cam Fowler?

I’m on the record of how I think he could help the Rangers this year. He may not be the perfect fit, because he is a left handed shot which the Rangers have plenty. That is why everyone is ready to sell the farm for Trouba who is right handed. Still, Fowler would immediately jump into the top 4.

A move for Fowler, would likely have to include Brady Skjei who is also left handed and projected to only play 3rd pairing minutes. Again, not a perfect fit but he will be cheaper to acquire and could eventually make it easier to move Marc Staal.

Tonight’s Lineup includes Vesey again

Here is the projected lineup and it has Jimmy Vesey in it again. This time he is on a bit weaker line, but I expect him to be the offensive catalyst for this unit and will fire pucks at will.

OFFICIAL: #NYR expected lines for tomorrow:

Kreider-Zibanejad-Miller
Vesey-McRae-Jensen
Grabner-Gerbe-Fast
Gropp-Lapierre-Brown

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) September 30, 2016

OFFICIAL #NYR expected pairings and goalies for tomorrow:

Skjei-Clendening
Bodie-Girardi
Gilmour-Paliotta

Raanta
Hellberg

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) September 30, 2016

The Rangers rumor mill is still running at high speed despite the lack of actual movement. Here’s the latest from around the web.

Rangers Looking at ex-Islander UFAs

Larry Brooks is suggesting that the Rangers will likely look into speedy winger Michael Grabner who played last year with the Leafs. The ex-Islander is a PK specialist but could be too costly. Grabner is coming off a contract that had a 3M AAV on the cap. The 28 year old is also coming off of some terrible seasons, so he could still come in at a bargain.

The Fourth Period also tweeted out the Rangers have spoken to Matt Martin.

Several teams reaching out to pending UFA Matt Martin. Rangers, Maple Leafs among teams with a level of interest.

— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) June 25, 2016

Cam Fowler to the Rangers

Dennis Bernstein who is an editor at the Fourth Period was asked where he believes Cam Fowler will land. Here are a series of tweets:

My guess is Rangers because they can send a left shot LW back. https://t.co/kEIYjJIRFw

— Dennis Bernstein (@DennisTFP) June 26, 2016

When someone suggested Rick Nash, he shot it down because of the contract and indicated it will likely be Chris Kreider.

Nope. Ducks budget team and Nash Cash 8, 8.2 M next 2 seasons. Chris Kreider. https://t.co/W1cX771ksk

— Dennis Bernstein (@DennisTFP) June 26, 2016

Rangers in running for Stamkos but Buffalo will offer most money

Dennis also gave his top Stamkos destinations on twitter:

Detroit Buffalo Montreal Toronto Rangers https://t.co/zirmZhIV2q

— Dennis Bernstein (@DennisTFP) June 26, 2016

Ultimately when pressed he stated:

Pegula will not be outbid for Stamkos. Period. That is not the sole factor in the decision. https://t.co/BsOnwLtw6I

— Dennis Bernstein (@DennisTFP) June 26, 2016

So this is the latest big rumor surrounding the New York Rangers. It has Rick Nash going to Anaheim for young blueliner, Cam Fowler.

Hearing reports that Anaheim is going after Rick Nash, not clear on all details but Cam Fowler is in the mix

— Nick Forrester (@NickForrester13) June 21, 2016

When I first saw the rumor it was coming from a rumor mongering website that makes Eklund’s Hockey Buzz look like the Evening News with Walter Cronkite. However, the above tweet is from SI which means there could be some smoke to this fire.

The Ducks are looking to move a defenseman and if Nash has Anaheim on his list it could be a fit. Fowler is on the books for 4M AAV through the 2017-18 season. The 24 year old d-man is 6’1″ and 207 pounds. He has offensive ability as well and a decent shot from the point. Fowler has 17 PPG in his career and shoots around 6%. If that’s a possible deal involving Nash, I can live with it. Gorton also has his eyes on Kevin Shattenkirk, but so do 6 other teams and that’s probably going to make that an impossible deal to get done.

This is all well and good, but how true is it considering we haven’t heard the Rangers even request Nash to submit his trade list yet. For validity, I turn to Bob McKenzie who tweeted this out.

I always stand to be corrected if wrong, but I don’t believe ANA and NYR are talking about this rumored deal: https://t.co/Ah3uSzX5U3

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 21, 2016

So there you have it…more to come this week I’m sure.

P.S. The Rangers passed on Fowler to draft Dylan McIlrath. Just a trivia tidbit.

He came, he went and all we got for it as Rangers fans was a lousy tee shirt…or at least that’s how it feels. Keith Yandle‘s negotiating rights were traded away today to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a 6th round pick in this year’s draft. If he signs with Florida, Rangers get a 4th round pick in next year’s draft. Whoopty Damn Doo!

In what was a go for broke deal in 2015, the Rangers shipped young promising forward, Anthony Duclair, disappointing defenseman, John Moore and their 1st round pick for Yandle, Chris Summers and a 4th round pick. Just a year and a half later, Yandle is gone.

[su_quote cite=”Tom Rowe via NBC” url=”https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2016/06/20/panthers-gm-acquiring-rights-to-pending-ufa-yandle-was-a-risk-worth-taking/”]“We wouldn’t have made the trade if we weren’t confident we could come to a conclusion and get him into our system,” said Rowe. “I thought it was a risk worth taking given the ability of the player, the way the game’s going and the way we were able to increase our possession numbers under (head coach Gerard Gallant) was real impressive. And we thought adding a player of Keith’s ability was going to make us that much more a playoff team and a serious contender going forward.”[/su_quote]

It never really panned out in NY for Yandle. Sure, he had a great 1st pass out of the zone and was excellent at moving the puck, but he was soft in front of his own net. On the PP, he had vision and sadly a shot that wouldn’t break a pane of glass. Maybe if the Rangers had a real finisher up front, there would have been more success for Yandle. It also would have helped if Alain Vigneault wasn’t so damn stubborn, taking nearly half the season to put Yandle on the top power play unit as well.

In 103 regular season games, he scored 7 goals and 58 points for the Blueshirts. He had a terrible 3.4 shooting percentage in NY, almost a full 2 points less than his career average of 5. Top defensemen like Drew Doughty, Shea Weber, Erik Karlsson and Dustin Byfuglein usually shoot in the 6’s and up. For what Yandle is likely to get on the open market (6+), maybe the Rangers could spend their money more wisely elsewhere.

When it counted most, Yandle put up only 12 points in 24 NYR playoff games and was a basic no show against the Penguins with just 1 goal and a -4 rating. This past playoffs was probably just the icing on cake for GM, Jeff Gorton and Head Coach, Alain Vigneault to decide to move on.

The problem here is that the Rangers still lack a PP QB and top puck moving defenseman. Ryan McDonagh can do those things, but he is not at the caliber of the top blue-liners in the league just yet. To me that signals at least an earnest attempt to find that defenseman at some point this summer.

There are some rumblings about a Rick Nash deal to Anaheim for Cam Fowler. The Ducks are looking to move him and if Nash has Anaheim on his list it could be a start. Fowler is on the books for 4M AAV through the 2017-18 season. The 24 year old d-man is 6’1″ and 207 pounds. He has offensive ability as well and a decent shot from the point. Fowler has 17 PPG in his career and shoots around 6%. If that’s a possible deal involving Nash, I can live with it. Gorton also has his eyes on Kevin Shattenkirk, but so do 6 other teams and that’s probably going to make that an impossible deal to get done. We will have more on that this week.

So here we are, Yandle-less and much worse, Duclair-less. Still, there is a slim possibility that the Rangers make all the moves they can by July 1st and sign Yandle anyway, but the odds are likely slim. Actually, you’d be just kidding yourself, so it is best to move on.

Hey! At least the Rangers still have Chris Summers. WOOHOO!