New York Rangers

The next team for our team overviews is the New York Rangers. The Rangers had a great season last year making all the way to game 6 in the Eastern Conference finals. Igor Shesterkin, the Rangers' goalie, had a season to remember last year, winning the Vezina Trophy and really carrying the Rangers through the playoffs and being their X-Factor. The Rangers also had one of the deadliest power plays in the league last season. Chris Kreider put up 52 goals, 26 of them coming on the power play, being the most of his career by a long shot. But Kreider wasn't even their best player. They had Mika Zibanejad that put up the most points of his career, Artemi Panarin who tallied 96 points, and defenseman, Adam Fox had the best year of career last year. The stars in New York shined bright last season contributing heavily to their success. This offseason the Rangers kept their team together for the most part, only losing Ryan Strome and two trade deadline acquisitions in Andrew Copp and Frank Vatrano. Each of these players played a big role for the Rangers, but they ultimately found very formidable replacements in free agency and within their organization. The Rangers went out and signed Vincent Trocheck who is a great second line center and an upgrade over the departed Ryan Strome. New York also has young players like Kappo Kakko, who is being slid up to the first line where Frank Vatrano was slated and Vitali Kravtsov take over Copp's spot on the second line. New York has one of the deepest and most talented prospect pools in the league that allows them to make moves like this and not feel much of a loss. Down their forward lines they have a good third line and a 4th line that brings energy through the lineup. The Rangers defense is led by Adam Fox, who has cemented himself as one of the best offensive defensemen in the league through his 3 seasons in the league. Everything runs through Fox, and plays a huge role for the Rangers defensive group. New York also named a new captain this season, Jacob Trouba, who has changed his game to become a bruiser defenseman which the Rangers very much needed. They have some young defensemen starting to blossom as well. Keandre Miller who is a great two way defender that has the ability to make plays on both ends of the ice. Other youngsters on their backend are Charlie Lindgren, Braden Schneider, and Zac Jones. While these defensemen are for the most part inexperienced, they are solid group that will be able to hold down the fort with that elite group of forwards. One thing the Rangers won't have to worry about for a long time is their goaltending situation. Igor Shesterkin is a top 2 goalie in the league and that won't change for a long time. With Igor between the pipes the Rangers are more than likely going to have an advantage in every game they play. While New York lost some key players to free agency, you will not see much, if any, regression from this Rangers team. If they can get hot again, they can make a run in the playoffs.

Record Prediction- 51-23-8

Playoffs- Yes