In the 19th of a 32 part series leading up to the start of the 2025-26 National Hockey League regular season, we will look at the key off-season transactions made by all NHL organizations with an overall grade. Here are the New York Rangers.
There were two teams that underachieved big time in 2024-25. We featured the Nashville Predators earlier in the week in the Western Conference, and now it is time to focus on the Rangers in the Eastern Conference. Both teams have made some changes. The big difference between the two is the fact the Rangers made a change at head coach. Mike Sullivan of Marshfield, Massachusetts has replaced Peter Laviolette. Sullivan had coached the Pittsburgh Penguins over the last decade.
The two newest Rangers expected to be on the ice opening night on October 7 against the Pittsburgh Penguins are right winger Taylor Raddysh of Caledon, Ontario and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov of Yaroslavl, Russia. Let’s take a look at each player.
Taylor Raddysh
Raddysh signed a two-year deal worth $3 million on July 2. He is expected to be on the Rangers number one line with Artemi Panarin of Korkino, Russia, and Vincent Trocheck of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The Rangers said goodbye to forwards Chris Kreider and Reilly Smith, while bringing in Raddysh. The Canadian winger is joining his fourth NHL team after three seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, and one season each with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals.
In 2024-25, Raddysh had seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points. He was a -7 with 18 penalty minutes, one game-winning goal, one power-play point, 93 shots on goal, nine faceoff wins, 28 blocked shots, 59 hits, 11 takeaways, and 44 giveaways.
The game-winning goal came in a 3-2 Capitals win over the Dallas Stars on October 17. Raddysh scored an unassisted marker to break a 2-2 tie with two minutes and 41 seconds left in the game.
The power-play point came in a 8-3 Capitals over the Pittsburgh Penguins on February 22. Raddysh set up defenseman Martin Fehervary of Bratislava, Slovakia on a goal that put the Capitals up 2-1.
Vladislav Gavrikov
Gavrikov signed a whopping seven year deal worth $49 million. He played four seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets and three seasons with the Los Angeles Kings. In the Big Apple, Gavikrov is expected to be part of the Rangers number one defensive pairing with 2021 Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox of Jericho, New York.
With the Kings this past season, Gavrikov had five goals and 25 assists for 30 points in 82 games. He was a +26 with 28 penalty minutes, one shorthanded point, 112 shots on goal, 140 blocked shots, 50 hits, 22 takeaways and 69 giveaways.
Gavrikov’s shorthanded point was a shorthanded assist that set up Adrian Kempe of Kramfors, Sweden in a  4-1 Kings win over the Montreal Canadiens on October 17 with 48 seconds left in the third period. The shorthanded point closed out the scoring.
Offseason Grade
Quite frankly, I was expecting the Rangers to do more after a disappointing season where they missed the playoffs by six points. They overpaid for Gavrikov, brought in a first line forward that has not had a great career, and hired a head coach that simply has not done much lately. My offseason grade for the Rangers is a D-.
