After their most disappointing season in over a decade, the New York Rangers are aiming to regroup and reestablish themselves as Stanley Cup contenders next year. They’ve already taken a major step by hiring Mike Sullivan, a two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach who also led Team USA at the 4 Nations Faceoff this past February. With their coaching situation resolved, President and General Manager Chris Drury can now turn his attention to reshaping the roster and determining which players should stay and which ones need to go after the disappointing 2024-25 campaign.
In general, Drury has limited flexibility when it comes to the team’s larger contracts. Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox, J.T. Miller, and Igor Shesterkin aren’t expected to be moved anytime soon. Mika Zibanejad holds a full no-movement clause that he’s unlikely to waive. Meanwhile, Vincent Trocheck, Alexis Lafrenière, and Will Borgen all carry contracts that are too long or costly to easily trade, and they were signed relatively recently. That leaves Drury with little wiggle room. Still, he’s proven resourceful in the past—and changes must be made. With that in mind, here are three realistic candidates from last season’s roster that Drury should consider parting ways with this offseason (and no, Chris Kreider is not one of them).
3. Carson Soucy
The Soucy trade last season never really added up for me. Giving up a third-round pick for a fairly average defenseman with limited offensive upside, especially when the team wasn’t a clear playoff contender, seemed like poor asset management on Drury’s part. While Soucy wasn’t a liability after joining the Rangers, he didn’t significantly impact the team’s performance either. Ultimately, the main reason to move on from him now should be to free up cap space. With both Will Cuylle and K’Andre Miller due for new contracts (and yes, Rangers fans, Miller absolutely should be re-signed), the team is currently tight against the cap. Trading Soucy and his $3.25 million cap hit would give Drury some much-needed flexibility to retain those key players—though it would create a gap on the blue line. Re-signing Zac Jones and bringing in a more affordable veteran free agent, like Mike Reilly, might be a workable solution.
2. Matt Rempe
I know this might be an unpopular opinion, but based on the Rangers’ current bottom-six depth, Rempe doesn’t make the cut. There’s a bit of a logjam in the bottom half of the forward group heading into next season. In my view, Zibanejad, Cuylle, Sam Carrick, and Adam Edstrom should be locked into the lineup, while Brett Berard and Brennan Othmann deserve the inside track for the final two spots. That would leave Matt Rempe, Juuso Pärssinen, Jonny Brodzinski, and Arthur Kaliyev as healthy scratches. Of that group, I’d rank Rempe fourth. He hasn’t proven he can consistently handle more than eight and a half minutes a night and has a tendency to take undisciplined penalties. Brodzinski and Pärssinen are already signed, and I’d prioritize re-signing Kaliyev, who I still think has more potential. If GM Chris Drury can fit Rempe under the salary cap, I’m fine with him going back to the AHL—but he shouldn’t be on the NHL roster when the season begins.
1. Jonny Brodzinski
The final step in ensuring Othmann and Berard get consistent playing time next season is phasing Brodzinski out of the lineup. While his $787.5K salary is manageable and he isn’t a liability, his upside is clearly limited. He’ll be 32 when the season begins, and at this stage, the Rangers need to prioritize giving those minutes to younger talent. Brodzinski lacks physical presence, often goes unnoticed during games, and struggles in the faceoff circle, winning under half of his draws. I’m skeptical he can replicate last season’s scoring—he tallied 12 goals (twice his previous career high) on a 16.4% shooting percentage, well above his career average of 8.4%. Like with Rempe, I’m fine with him remaining in the organization as a depth option in the AHL, but he shouldn’t be on the NHL roster to start the season.
