Keys to the offseason for the New York Rangers
Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton of ESPN: The New York Rangers brought in Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko before the trade deadline and things didn’t go as planned as they lost in seven games to the New Jersey Devils in round one.
2023 draft picks: 1st (DAL), 3rd, two 6ths
Kane and Tarasenko are pending UFAs and are unlikely to be back given the results and lack of chemistry. More retooling to their forward group may be needed. Their top-six was quiet for the most part and they could use some more edge and scoring up front.
Defenseman K’Andre Miller is a pending RFA and will need a new deal. Will that cost affect how the rest of the blue line looks next season? Defenseman Niko Mikkola is a UFA and if they could get him at a cost-effective price, he would be worth bringing back.
Have the Rangers lost their identity? There wasn’t a lot of pushback. Any dressing room issues would need to be corrected.
2023 UFAs: Vladimir Tarasenko, Patrick Kane, Tyler Motte, Niko Mikkola, Jaroslav Halak, Anton Blidh, Ryan Carpenter, C.J. Smith, Tyler Nanne, Daniel Bernhardt, and Patrik Virta.
2023 RFAs: Alexis Lafreniere, K’Andre Miller, Zachary Jones, Patrick Khodorenko, Brandon Scanlin, Lauri Pajuniemi, Ty Emberson, Cooper Zech, Libor Hajek, William Lockwood, Timothy Gettinger, and Wyatt Kalynuk.
2024 UFAs: Louis Domingue, Turner Elson, Jonny Brodzinski, Wyatt Kalynuk, Gabriel Fontaine, and Dominik Lakatos.
2024 RFAs: Kaapo Kakko, Ryan Lindgren, Braden Schneider, Bobby Trivigno, Karl Henriksson, Olof Lindbom, and Matthew Robertson.
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Keys to the offseason for the New York Islanders
Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton of ESPN: The New York Islanders had the same issues in the playoffs as they did during the season, they couldn’t score enough.
2023 draft picks: 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th
The Islanders will need to find some more consistent scoring. At the top, they should be okay with Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat, but they need more supportive offensive help.
Ilya Sorokin is their starter, but backup Semyon Varlamov is a pending UFA. Will they be able to re-sign Varlamov or have to look elsewhere?
Will the Islanders make a coaching change? Is Lane Lambert the right guy to lead them? It was only his first season as their head coach but will GM Lou Lamoriello decide a more veteran coach is needed?
2023 UFAs: Pierre Engvall, Zach Parise, Scott Mayfield, Semyon Varlamov, Richard Panik, Cory Schneider, Cole Bardreau, Jeff Kubiak, Petter Hansson, and Yannick Turcotte.
2023 RFAs: Oliver Walstrom, Samuel Bolduc, Parker Wotherspoon Blade Jenkins, Collin Adams, Bode Wilde, and Jakub Skarek.
2024 UFAs: Josh Bailey, Cal Clutterbuck, Matt Martin, Sebastian Aho, Ilya Sorokin, Andy Andreoff, Paul LaDue, and Ken Appleby,
2024 RFAs: Simon Holmstrom, Ruslan Iskhakov, Reece Newkirk, Otto Koivula, Robin Salo, Dennis Cholowski, and Arnaud Durandeau.
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