TARRYTOWN, N.Y. (AP) — There was not a lot of joy around the New York Rangers last season, when struggles at home mixed with injuries to prominent players sunk them to the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
“There was probably more negative than positive that went around,” captain J.T. Miller said.
Missing franchise goaltender Igor Shesterkin and No. 1 defenseman Adam Fox for periods of time exposed a lack of depth, which general manager Chris Drury endeavored to fix as part of a busy summer of changes that included acquiring goal-scoring winger Pavel Dorofeyev and defensemen Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson and trading away Vincent Trocheck. Those fresh faces are behind the renewed optimism around the Rangers as they opened training camp Thursday.
“They come in with some positive life into this room,” said Mika Zibanejad, the team’s longest-tenured player, who is going into his 11th season with New York. ”You get a set of new eyes to kind of see it in a different way, and you stop thinking about the negatives and you find the positives again that you had once seen when you came here. I think that’s a great impact with new players coming in."
Dorofeyev scored 37 goals last season and 12 in the playoffs on Vegas’ run to the Stanley Cup Final after 35 in 2024-25. He’s in his prime with his 26th birthday in late October and should provide some offensive boost to a team that ranked 22nd in the NHL in goals a game.
Durzi and Pettersson upgrade the second pair behind Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov. Trocheck going to Utah likely makes Miller a full-time center in a retooled lineup that has the 33-year-old feeling good.
“It’s a new year,” Miller said. “I’m ready to turn the page from last year. It seemed like the season never ended. But there’s a lot of excitement around the room right now.”
The Rangers have missed the playoffs two seasons in a row since going to the East final in 2024. Coaching was not to blame for things falling apart last year, and two-time Cup-winner Mike Sullivan being back behind the bench is reason for hope.
As is a wide-open Metropolitan Division behind defending champion Carolina, with a whole lot of uncertainty hovering over rivals such as Pittsburgh and the crosstown Islanders. Outside expectations are not high, but players believe they can overachieve and surprise the doubters.
“We’ve always been a confident group in what we could do,” Fox said. “I think we trust the talent we have.”
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Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
