Rangers add toughness with Goodrow, Reaves, hire Gallant as coach
Defensemen Nemeth, Tinordi signed for experience, depth
© Scott Audette/Getty Images
2020-21 season: 27-23-6, fifth in MassMutual East Division; did not qualify for Stanley Cup Playoffs
Key arrivals
Barclay Goodrow, F: The 28-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 17 in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. He agreed to a six-year contract July 22 after scoring 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in 55 regular-season games and six points (two goals, four assists) in 18 Stanley Cup Playoff games last season. Goodrow won the Cup the past two seasons with the Lightning. ... Ryan Reaves, F: The 34-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights for a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft on July 29, and two days later agreed to a one-year contract extension that begins in 2022-23. He scored five points (one goal, four assists) in 37 regular-season games and had one assist in 12 playoff games last season. … Patrik Nemeth, D: The 29-year-old agreed to a three-year contract July 28. Nemeth scored 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 52 regular-season games for the Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche, and had one assist in 10 playoff games last season. ... Sammy Blais, F: The 25-year-old was acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Blues, along with a second-round pick in the 2022 draft, for forward Pavel Buchnevich on July 23. Blais scored 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in 36 regular-season games and one goal in four playoff games last season. ... Jarred Tinordi, D: The 29-year-old agreed to a two-year contract July 28. He had one assist, 56 hits and 30 blocked shots in 21 regular-season games with the Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins, and did not have a point in four playoff games last season. … Gerard Gallant, coach: Gallant was hired June 16 to replace David Quinn. The 57-year-old is 270-216-51 with four ties for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers and Golden Knights. He coached Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final in 2018.
Key departures
Pavel Buchnevich, F: He was traded to the Blues for Blais on July 23 after scoring an NHL career-high 48 points (20 goals, 28 assists) in 54 games last season. ... Brendan Smith, D: He agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 29 after scoring 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 48 games last season. ... Colin Blackwell, F: He was selected by the Seattle Kraken in the NHL Expansion Draft on July 21 after scoring an NHL career-high 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in 47 games last season. ... Tony DeAngelo, D: He agreed to a one-year contract with the Hurricanes on July 28 after he had one assist and a minus-6 rating in six games last season. The Rangers bought out the final season of his contract July 25. ... David Quinn, coach: Quinn was fired May 12 after he was 96-87-25 in three seasons.
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On the cusp
Vitali Kravtsov, F: The 21-year-old scored 24 points (16 goals, eight assists) in 49 games with Chelyabinsk of the Kontinental Hockey League and four points (two goals, two assists) in 20 games with the Rangers last season. ... Nils Lundkvist, D: The 21-year-old, who agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract June 3, scored 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) in 52 games with Lulea of the Swedish Hockey League and was named SHL defenseman of the year last season. ... Zac Jones, D: The 20-year-old agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract April 13 after scoring 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 29 games for NCAA Division I national champion Massachusetts last season. He had four assists in 10 games with the Rangers.
What they still need
Secondary scoring and a captain. The Rangers are going to need more offense from their second- and third-line players, particularly with the departures of Buchnevich and Blackwell. The Rangers haven't had a captain since trading defenseman Ryan McDonagh to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 26, 2018, and general manager Chris Drury has stressed the importance of having one in place prior to the start of the season. Among the options could be forward Chris Kreider and defenseman Jacob Trouba.
They said it
"I'm not signing here to be a player that I'm not. I'm not a guy who is going to score 30 goals or put up a ton of points. I'm going to be a guy who is going to be hard to play against, who is going to kill penalties, who is going to generate momentum for my team, who is going to stick up for his teammates, who is going to have leadership. I've learned what it takes to win at this level. I know the mindset you need to have to win, so I just look to share that as much as I can, to be a leader." -- forward Barclay Goodrow
Fantasy focus
With three players among the fantasy top 25 overall in defenseman Adam Fox and forwards Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad, and another in the top 50 in goalie Igor Shesterkin, the Rangers could be one of the most valuable fantasy teams this season. Hiring Gallant as coach also could make one of the Rangers' young wings, Kravtsov,
Alexis Lafreniere
or Kaapo Kakko, a big fantasy steal. Two of those forwards likely will play in the top six, and one also could land on the top power play following the trade of Buchnevich. -- Pete Jensen
Projected lineup
Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Alexis Lafreniere
Artemi Panarin -- Ryan Strome -- Kaapo Kakko
Barclay Goodrow -- Filip Chytil -- Vitali Kravtsov
Sammy Blais -- Kevin Rooney -- Ryan Reaves
Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller -- Jacob Trouba
Patrik Nemeth -- Nils Lundkvist
Igor Shesterkin
Alexandar Georgiev
