New York Rangers stock up, stock down

Over stints with five previous teams, Laviolette has accrued 752 wins and climbed to eighth all-time. He also has a Stanley Cup on his resume, having guided the Carolina Hurricanes to the franchise’s only championship in 2005-06.

The Rangers clearly needed a new voice in the locker room and they are hoping Laviolette will be that breath of fresh air. New York has the roster to be a perennial Cup contender but took a step back this season after an Eastern Conference Final appearance in 2021-22.

Adam Fox, defenseman: For the second time in the last three seasons, Adam Fox is a finalist for the 2022-23 Norris Trophy for the league’s best defenseman.

And he’s only 25.

Fox won the Norris in his first top-three finish back in 2020-21 and finished fifth in voting in 2021-22.

This season, his 60 points ranked fourth in the league and he played all 82 games for the first time in his career. According to NHL.com, since the beginning of the 2019-20 season, Fox’s 199 assists rank only behind Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, who has 212.

Fox is already one of the best defensemen in the league and he still has time to grow and improve.

Stock Down

Mika Zibanejad, center: Playing as the Rangers’ No. 1 center, Zibanejad piled up a career-high 91 points in 2022-23 and played 82 games for the first time since 2018-19.

But for the second season in a row, he disappeared in the first round of the playoffs.

After scoring at over a point-per-game pace in the regular season, Zibanejad put up one goal and three assists in the seven games against the Devils. Zibanejad’s struggles went hand-in-hand with the Rangers’ potent power play drying up late in the series. Zibanejad did not have a power play goal in the series, while the New York power play went 1-for-18 over the final five games of the series.

Last season, in the opening series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Zibanejad only had four points – all assists – through the first five games but recovered with three goals and our assists in Games 6 and 7 to help the Rangers advance.

Cap flexibility: New York goes into this offseason with just under $12M in cap space but there are some important players to re-sign and holes to fill.

Former No. 1 pick Alexis Lafreniere is a restricted free agent, as is defenseman K’Andre Miller. Igor Shesterkin is in need of a backup goalie, whether that ends up being UFA Jaroslav Halak on a new deal, bringing in another veteran or calling up one of the goalies the team has in the minors.

The Rangers only have eight forwards from this past season under contract for next season. Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko and Tyler Motte were all brought in at the trade deadline and are set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1.