Rangers’ glaring roster flaw that must be fixed ahead of 2026-27 NHL season

The New York Rangers had the worst record in the NHL’s Eastern Conference last year, and that’s completely unacceptable for the Original 6 franchise. Rangers fans saw a team that was a step slow and was regularly beaten on home ice — where they struggled to score goals.

General manager Chris Drury has attempted to remake the roster, and he appears to have a top line that can put the puck in the net at a solid pace. Mika Zibanejad has a new right wing in Pavel Dorofeyev, the dynamic scorer who came over from the Vegas Golden Knights.

This is a 1-2 punch that should be cause for some optimism as the Rangers head into training camp. Gabriel Perreault appears to be the left wing on that line, and if the 21-year-old can use his speed and instincts to play with two established players, that will give the Rangers a big advantage that they did not have last year. Even if Perreault is just average, the top line will be a real concern for New York’s opponents.

But don’t expect head coach Mike Sullivan to breathe easy. The biggest problem that the Rangers have to contend with on their roster is the lack of depth on their next three lines. They are depending on J.T. Miller, Alexis Lafreniere and Oliver Bjorkstrand to get the job done on the team’s second line, and that means the Rangers need Miller and Lafreniere to bounce back from ordinary showings a year ago.

Can No. 2 line bounce back?

That’s a big issue. It’s one thing to sit down with Miller and Lafreniere and point out the issues they had last year and identify what went wrong, but it’s quite another to fix those problems and turn them into strengths.

Age is apparently a big factor for Miller at this point in his career. The 33-year-old is preparing for his 15th NHL season, and his production has fallen dramatically over the last two seasons. He scored 22 goals as he split time between the Vancouver Canucks and the Rangers in 2024-25 and he had just 17 goals last season.

Miller scored 101 goals during the three previous seasons with the Canucks, never fewer than 32 goals. His game was based on going to the net and dominating in that area. While he can still do that on occasion, it seems unlikely that he will be able to return to top form.

Lafreniere should be in the prime of his career. The 24-year-old will never be the superstar the Rangers hoped he would become when he was the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL in 2020, and most Rangers observers understand that. However, Lafreniere should be a more assertive player than he has been through his first six years.

He had a career-high 28 goals in 2023-24, and that looked like a breakthrough season for him. However, he had just 17 goals the following season and it looked like he was floating most of the year. He was more productive last year with 24 goals and 33 assists, but can he build off those numbers in 2026-27? He has not put two consecutive seasons together in the past, but that must change this year.

If he doesn’t show a spark early in training camp, the Rangers must make a key roster adjustment.

Sullivan is a world-class coach, so he must make key adjustments

Sullivan won two Stanley Cups during his tenure with the Pittsburgh Penguins. While he had Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on his side, the Penguins had excellent depth and cohesiveness on those Cup-winning teams. He also got the most out of Team USA in the 2026 Olympics as the Americans won Olympic gold over their archrivals from Canada.

Sullivan knows how to get the most out of his team. However, the lack of consistency on the second, third and fourth lines could be his undoing with the Rangers.

The third line appears to be quite vulnerable. Center Noah Laba has demonstrated that he has some talent, but wingers Taylor Raddysh and Will Cuylle will have to mesh quickly. Laba and Raddysh clearly have to demonstrate quite a bit of improvement. Laba had 9 goals and 15 assists last season, while Raddysh had just 9 goals as well. Cuylle was an overachiever with 20 goals and 18 assists. He has the size and strength at 6-3 and 215 pounds to stand up for his linemates, but this group may not have the ability to win the battle against most opponents.

The fourth line of Joe Veleno, Matt Rempe and Tye Kartye is completely unproven at this point, although Rempe’s size — 6-9 and 253 pounds — will always command attention.

The Rangers appear to have one solid line and three others with significant questions. Sullivan must find a way to find the right combinations or the Rangers will find themselves battling to stay out of the cellar once again.

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