Will Mike Sullivan’s second year behind the Rangers bench be better than his first? Have the Rangers added enough offense to replace the loss of Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck? What about the defense, will Sean Durzi, Marcus Pettersson and Alberts Smits be enough of an improvement over Will Borgen, Urho Vaakanainen, Scott Morrow and Matthew Robertson?

What about captain J.T. Miller. Was last year a sign of more to come, or just an aberration. Can the Rangers actually make it back to the playoffs after watching for the last two seasons sitting on the sidelines. I’m here to make up answers to all those questions and more, so read on.

Prediction 1 – Improved Goal Scoring

Last year the Rangers managed just 235 goals, and that was with Artemi Panarin (52 games) and Vincent Trocheck (67). In all, players who scored 64, or 27% of the Rangers goals are gone from the team. That’s okay though, because the guys who’ve been added, plus some improved numbers from others will make up the difference.

Pavel Dorofeyev is a good chance to put up 30-35 goals, which will really help the cause. Through in another 30-40 from Oliver Bjorkstrand and Joe Veleno and you’ve already replaced and potentially added to the total. Gabe Perreault and Noah Laba look like the best bets to add more goals this year, let’s make it +15 for that pair, and throw in another +5 for Will Cuylle who looks more than ready to get things going.

Another 10 from the defense – who scored 39 last season – and the Rangers could have multiple paths to 270 or so, which looks like a borderline playoff team.

Prediction 2 – Fox and Shesterkin Stay Healthier

Last year was a bit of an aberration for Fox, who missed more than 10 games in a season for the first time in his career. He missed 27 in total, or one third of the regular season, and the drop off was substantial without him. Overlapping that was 14 games missed by goaltender Igor Shesterkin, with the aging Jonathan Quick and KHL reclamation project Spencer Martin unable to step in to stop the bleeding.

There’s an argument to say the Rangers season was already on its way out before the two went down on January 5th, but clearly the team would not have been as bad as they were had that not happened.

Having Fox available for 70+ games and having Shesterkin miss only a handful, makes this team stronger.

Prediction 3 – Miller will improve….slightly

J.T. Miller’s game has been on a decline over the past two seasons, dropping from a career high of 103 during the 2023-24 season to just 53 last year. Injuries and the Olympics were distractions last year, and while Miller’s style of play and age are likely to leave him at greater risk for injury, at least Italy won’t be on his mind this season.

Getting back over 60 points seems well within reach for the captain of the Blueshirts, and maybe even as much as 70, though beyond that would be a tremendous bonus. There’s a risk that he only moderately beats his numbers from last year, but 65 seems like a fair number. He’ll be 34 in March, so things are unlikely to get better from here.

Prediction 4 – Smits will look great. Sometimes.

We’ve already seen what Smits can do when he’s on top of his game, as was the case in the second preseason game. We’re likely to see games like that again this year, but we should probably expect more quietness as he adjusts to the smaller ice and play in North America.

Last year he played the most games he had in a season: 57. That’s far short of the 84 he could potentially play this year, and it would be fair to expect that his game might plateau in the last half of the year. There’s also the need to get Matthew Robertson some ice time during the year, so we might see him get breaks as well. At least until injuries begin to set in.

He’ll finish like 8th in Calder Trophy voting. Hard to win it if you’re not dominating offensively.

Prediction 5 – Scott Morrow will replace Braden Schneider at some point

Braden Schneider really struggled last year, and his once positive trajectory has stalled and even regressed. He won the starting spot because Morrow still has plenty of questions to answer himself, particularly on defense. Still, paying $5.5M to a third pair defenseman is probably not the best use of cap space, and as injuries mount around the league, there’s greater potential for a deal to get done.

Morrow had some strong moments in the preseason but has plenty to prove on the defensive side. Even if he wins the spot, or inherits it following a trade, it’s hard to see Drury being content trusting him if the Rangers are in line for the playoffs. His victory may therefore be short-lived.

Prediction 6 – Will Cuylle will score 25 goals

I am pretty high on Cuylle this year, and thing the improvements to the team, particularly the addition of Tolvanen to his line and another year of Laba, will really help him. Assuming no major injuries, I see Cuylle not only getting over the 20 goal mark again, but hitting 25 for the first time.

He just looks that ready.

Prediction 7 – Marcus Pettersson becomes the new whipping boy on defense

If Schneider gets traded as I expect, then the next blueliner that the Rangers faithful will begin to pick on is Marcus Pettersson. It may be that this year he gets a pass, particularly if the Rangers move back into playoff contention. The problem for Pettersson is that he plays a pretty quiet game for the most part, and cost Drury a first-round pick to acquire.

Generating little offense and excitement, Pettersson looks like the poster child for fan ire. Especially true if the team starts to struggle. That extended relationship with Mike Sullivan also probably hurts more than helps him as well.

Prediction 8 – Chris Drury will not do another live interview with the media this season

This might be my easiest prediction ever.

Prediction 9 – The Power Play will worsen

David Quinn came in and improved the Rangers PP by 8%, or one more goal on every 12 power plays. It was enough to move the team from 28th in 2024-25 to 5th last year. It’s hard to stay at the top, and I expect the team will drop a couple of percentage points and end up in more the 8th-12th spot this year.

It’s worth noting that the Rangers were a middle of the pack team on the power play when Quinn was head coach.

Prediction 10 – The PK will get a little better

We’re not talking huge improvements, but a healthy Igor is worth a point or two, moving the Rangers to the edge of a top 10 team from their middle of the pack – 17th – status last year.

Prediction 11 – Chris Drury will still be here at the end of the season

I don’t see an utter collapse for the Rangers this season, so Drury will continue to sit in his chair despite being a mid at best GM. For you stats lovers that’s a WAR of around 0…or maybe a couple of points below. He’s arguably even worse than that, but he had a solid off-season cleaning up his own mess, so he’s probably closer to 0 right now.

Prediction 12 – The Metro will be competitive. Outside of Carolina.

It’s hard to see anyone keeping pace with the Canes right now, with all the other teams with questions hanging over them too. The Caps added a bunch of guys, we’re still waiting for Jersey to break out – and get a reliable netminder, and the Flyers are interesting but incomplete. Pittsburgh continues to age despite a great first year under former Rangers assistant Dan Muse, and the Jackets can’t seem to do anything right. Then there’s the Islanders who seem to be caught in a no-mans land a little similar to the Rangers.

First place might be a tough ask, but the rest of the division is up for grabs.

Prediction 13 – Trade Deadline day will see the Rangers Add.

It’ll be more assets out the door, but the Rangers will be good enough by deadline day to add, even if they’re not really a serious contender for the Cup. Drury will be hoping that they’re the 2027 version of the 2023-24 Florida Panthers, though they’re not, because they don’t have Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk…nor Sam Reinhardt for that matter.

Prediction 14 – Liam Greentree will make his NHL debut

This might be an easy one too, but it appears clear that the Rangers liked what they saw from Greentree. He’s unlikely to become a regular this year, but he did enough to catch the attention. A couple of injuries and we’ll see Greentree get a call-up, particularly likely in the second half of the season

Prediction 15 – Drew Fortescue will be traded

The Rangers still need help at the center position, and Fortescue now stands as one of their better options for addressing that. With Smits, Robertson and even Urho Vaakanainen as options for third pair left defenseman, Drury will be open to options and Fortescue could be part of that deal that brings back a young center.

Prediction 16 – Vincent Iorio won’t play another game for the Rangers

Unless there are significant injuries, it’s hard to see Iorio playing again for the Rangers. He looked pretty lost after being claimed by the Rangers last season off of waivers, and then had that turnover just before he left the game with an injury. This one might come true as soon as tomorrow with him being placed on waivers.

Close friend Macklin Celebrini might like him as a player, but he’s yet to figure it out at the NHL level, and he’s already on his 3rd team.

Prediction 17 – The Rangers will be shutout 4 or fewer times this year

Last year they were shutout TEN times. This year won’t be a repeat. They’ll find ways to score, and will end the year shutout fewer than four times.

Prediction 18 – Igor Shesterkin will be top 5 in Save Percentage among goalies with more than 20 games

He’s due a good season, and I think this year he’ll be a big reason why the Rangers remain in contention. Okay I’m hedging my bets a bit here, because if the Rangers do get to 270 goals and Shesterkin is top five in Sv%, then the Rangers are almost certainly a playoff team.

Both things could come to pass…or maybe one…or maybe neither

Prediction 19 – Gabe Perreault will have his second career hattrick

I don’t think Perreault will be a regular 30 goal scorer, but I think he has in him to hit 20 goals this season, and I think that he’s got a good shot at picking up an opportunistic hattrick to cap off last year’s first one against Detroit.

Prediction 20 – Matt Rempe will have fewer than 30 games and fewer than 50 penalty minutes

Well…Rempe could pick up 50 penalty minutes in a single game, so this is one is risky. I do think that he’s trying to play with more of a measured approach these days, but his reputation precedes him. As to the 30 games. I think Sullivan likes him, but I think that Chmelar will ultimately prove to be more an everyday player, and Rempe’s utility will be against what constitutes a “physical” team now.

Prediction 21 – The Rangers will continue to have a losing record in their third jersey

Why? No idea, it’s bad luck to be superstitious…so there’s probably some scientific reason for.

Prediction 22 – Joe Veleno will flop

Last year in Montreal could easily be written off as a bad year, but Veleno will prove to be more Ryan Carpenter and less Sam Carrick for the Rangers. While he has speed, he won’t come close to his career average of around 9 goals per season. Perhaps he gets injured and just doesn’t win his job back from Cole Beaudoin, who just wants it more.

Prediction 23 – The Wolf Pack make the playoffs

With Dylan Garand safely making it through waivers and Jay Leach behind the bench, the Wolf Pack will be a more organized team and will make the playoffs again. Yay.

Prediction 24 – Multiple Rangers contracted players who aren’t goaltenders will play for the ECHL Bison

Over the past few years the only Rangers contracted players who play in the ECHL are typically goaltenders. This year will see a forward or two, and maybe even a defenseman spend time in Bloomington

Prediction 25 – Panarin and Trocheck will not be missed

Their time in New York had passed. The Rangers had problems with them. They’ll have problems without them too. LA probably will not get full value out of Panarin while he’s there, and Trocheck will be a third line center on a young Utah team that needed some veterans.

Prediction 26 – The Rangers will narrowly miss the playoffs

I left this one for last. I hope I’m wrong.

There’ll be improvement. They’ll get the benefit of a week division, but I could see the Atlantic getting both wildcards this season leaving just three spots for the Metro, and even if there are four spots, I think the Rangers will be only on the edge and not locking down a spot.

They had 77 points last year, and probably need 100 this season to make the playoffs in an 84 game schedule. That’s a 23 or so point improvement and that’s a big jump. I can see them getting very close, but in the end I think they fall just short.