The general manager of the New York Rangers Chris Drury made several moves that shook up the Rangers roster during the 2024-25 NHL season. The most notable of which was trading the Rangers captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks for Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth-round draft pick.
This season did not end up being what many had hoped for from a team that reached the Final Four of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2023-24, as the Broadway Blueshirts finished fifth place in the Metropolitan Division and out of playoff contention for the first time since the 2020-21 NHL season.
While 2024-25 was a disappointing season for the Broadway Blueshirts, that doesn’t mean there weren’t bright spots. Here is a report card for every Ranger who ended up finishing the season on the team and played in at least 10 games.
Igor Shesterkin
Grade: A-
Shesterkin’s 27-29-5 record is misleading as he had a sub par defense playing in front of him. His .905 save percentage is miraculous given that the Rangers gave up the eighth-most High-danger scoring chances in the league this season. Despite this, Shesterkin still performed under the bright lights at Madison Square Garden like the superstar NHL goalie that he is and finished tied for second in the league with six shutouts. However, he just wasn’t as dominant this season as we’ve become used to seeing.
Jonathan Quick
Grade: B+
Jonathan Quick finished the season with a 6-5-1 record and a .900 save percentage. While he was mostly used against lesser opponents, he remained steady and dependable given his age and contract. As Igor Shesterkin’s backup, Quick provided veteran leadership and gave the Rangers solid support when called upon. His solid play earned him another one year contract extension.
Adam Fox
Grade: B
The defenseman continued his strong play, finishing with 10 goals and 51 assists. Although he missed multiple games due to an upper-body injury, he remained consistent throughout the 74 games he did play. However, he began to struggle mid season when being paired alongside veteran defensive partner Ryan Lindgren.
K’Andre Miller
Grade: B-
K’Andre Miller saw a noticeable drop in point production this season despite logging similar ice time. While he showed flashes of strong offensive pressure, his defensive play struggled to keep pace, contributing to an overall underwhelming year for the Rangers blueliner.
Carson Soucy
Grade: B-
After being picked up from the Canucks, Soucy struggled immensely. He appeared in 75 games, recording 4 goals and 9 assists for a total of 13 points. Despite the low offensive output, Soucy brought a physical edge, contributing over 100 hits and blocked shots, but often failed to find consistent rhythm in the Rangers’ defensive system.
Braden Schneider
Grade: A-
Schneider did yeoman’s work playing 80 games, producing a career high 21 points and posting a solid +9 while suffering from a torn labrum. As a result of the injury, he wasn’t as willing to deliver the big open-ice hits that we became accustomed to seeing from him over the course of his first three previous seasons. Schneider underwent surgery and should be healthy in time for 2025-26 which he is signed through at a $2.2 million cap hit.
Will Borgen
Grade: A
Acquired by the Rangers in the trade that sent Kaapo Kakko to Seattle, Borgen stepped right into the Rangers lineup and did what every defenseman who plays well does. Doesn’t get noticed, in a good way. Borgen logged 18:18 average minutes on ice per game which was third among Ranger defenseman and was Mr. Reliable on a team that needed it badly. While the 13 points he contributed weren’t great the Rangers don’t need him to be an offensive defenseman. Just 17 games into his Rangers career, general manager Chris Drury extended the 28-year-old defenseman to a five-year, $20.5 million contract.
Urho Vaakanainen
Grade: B
This writer’s initial reaction when the Rangers traded Jacob Trouba to the Ducks for Vaakanainen in December was that this defenseman would play most of the year in Hartford. Boy, was I dead wrong. The Fin proved he could be a competent stay-at-home defenseman and was even named to Team Finland for the 4 Nations Face-off. Vaakanainen didn’t light up the scoresheet this season but he did score a career high 15 points and was a +8 over 46 games with the Rangers. Vaakanainen ended up holding down a spot on the Rangers third defensive pairing and he deserved it for his smart overall performance this season.
Zachary Jones
Grade: C
The offseason departure of Erik Gustafsson made this season an opportunity for Jones to seize a spot on the Rangers blueline but he came up short playing in just 46 games. Jones made his displeasure with being a healthy scratch this season very clear, telling thescore.com in January: “I’m not a 32-year-old guy collecting a paycheck. I’m a guy who wants to earn my paycheck. I need to play. I have things I need to improve in order to be a full-time player, and that’s what I want to be.” However, the 11 points Jones put up this season doesn’t scream that he needs to be a staple in the Rangers lineup. At times, Jones showed that he could play fairly well offensively, but it was too sporadic to make him into an everyday NHL player. He lacks size so in order to do that he will have to add some snarl to his game.
Artemi Panarin
Grade: B+
This season, the Breadman dropped off from the 120 points he produced in 2023-24 to 89. Was this all his fault? No. The Ranger power play was not as good as it was a year ago, which impacted Panarin in that he got just 26 power play points this season– 18 less than the 44 he had in 2023-24. Panarin thrives on shooting on the power play and this year his eight power play goals were just slightly below his average 9.5 per season. However, Panarin had just 18 power play assists this season, which was well below the 33 he had a year ago. Overall, the Rangers’ main superstar forward underwhelmed by his standards this past season although he still led the team in goals, assists and points.
J.T. Miller
Grade: A
Miller switched teams midway through this season and didn’t miss a beat. Although the 70 points he put up in 72 games this season between both the Canucks and Rangers were significantly less than the 103 he put up in 2023-24, the 35 points Miller scored in 32 games with the Rangers this season made him the only point-per-game player on the team other than Panarin. One area of Miller’s game that won’t show up on the stat sheet was his checking and specifically his forechecking. The 31-year-old had 168 hits this season which ranked third on the Rangers behind only Will Cuylle and Vincent Trocheck. He is the Rangers second-best offensive player and he brings a physical edge that the Rangers desperately need heading into next year.
Mika Zibanejad
Grade: D
This season, the 14-year NHL veteran told the NY Times/The Athletic that the struggles he was having at the beginning of the season were “probably the toughest I’ve ever been through in my career…” He wasn’t kidding. The same player who finished with the second-most points on the team (91) just two seasons ago, had 21 through the first 36 games of 2024-25. While Zibanejad did almost return to form in the second half, scoring 41 points in 46 games, he finished 2024-25 with 62 points, his lowest in a full season since 2017-18. The Rangers can only hope that this season was an aberration and that Zibanejad (who they have over $40 million dollars invested in over the next five seasons) has a lot more left in the tank.
Chris Kreider
Grade: C
Chris Kreider didn’t deliver at the level he did last season, with injuries impacting his performance throughout the year. He missed several games and struggled to find consistency. Now, with his name circulating in trade rumors, questions are rising about his future with the Rangers.
Vincent Trocheck
Grade: B
Vincent Trocheck’s performance was disappointing compared to last season, when he totaled 77 points. Although he finished with the same number of goals as he did in 2023–24, his overall production declined. After hitting career highs in points and assists in 2023-24, his play this season slowed down, even while skating alongside linemates Alexis Lafrenière and Artemi Panarin.
Alexis Lafrenière
Grade: A
Alexis Lafrenière took a major step forward this season, showing more confidence and consistency in his game. In the 2023-24 season, he set new career highs in goals, assists, and points, translating over to this season becoming a reliable presence on the second line. His chemistry with linemates Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck was a key part of his breakout year.
Will Cuylle
Grade: A
The Canadian eclipsed the 20-goal mark this past season for the first time in his two-year NHL career. Not a bad start to a career for a player that no one was talking about when he was selected in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft. The most improved part of Cuylle’s game this season was his offense and his physicality remained a strong suit. He finished with 301 hits during the 2024-25 season which was third-highest in the entire NHL.
Matt Rempe
Grade: B-
The most infamous member of the Rangers lineup for his run-ins with the NHL Department of Player Safety showed improvement this season even if he was suspended eight games for elbowing the Stars’ Miro Heiskanen in late December and early January. He increased his point total from two to eight this season and his plus/minus from +1 to +7. However, the towering 6-foot-9 winger made his biggest jump in the most important area—ice time (from 5:38 to 8:30 minutes). That was because he improved his skating ability and he was more effective on the forecheck. However, Rempe still has major issues when it comes to keeping his body checks clean and this offseason he needs to reflect on how he can avoid such suspensions because he is a “marked man”.
Sam Carrick
Grade: A
Sam Carrick’s first season with the New York Rangers in 2024–25 exceeded expectations as a consistent fourth line center. In 80 games, he recorded 6 goals and 14 assists for a career-high 20 points, along with a +5 rating and 58 penalty minutes. His physical play and reliable presence were needed in setting the tone during games.
Jonny Brodzinski
Grade: B+
Throughout his mid-to-late 20s, Brodzinski just couldn’t hack it in the NHL and played mostly in the AHL. Since he earned himself a two-year contract with the Rangers after setting career highs in goals, assists and points in the middle of the 2023-24 season things have been looking up. This season, the 31-year-old doubled his career high for goals (12) and tied his career high for points (19). What stood out about his game was his defensive effort and accuracy as he finished with a career best +6 and 16.4 shooting-percentage.
Adam Edstrom
Grade: B
After playing in just 11 games during 2023-24, Edstrom became a full time bottom six forward for the Blueshirts this season before he was sidelined for the rest of the season with a Lower-Body injury in February. This season, the 6-foot-7 Swede showed he could be a solid defensive center, as he provided 34 blocks and 94 hits in 51 games this season.
Brett Berard
Grade: A-
With the ice time he was given, Berard had a good showing this year for the Rangers. The former fifth-round pick was impressive, finishing with six goals and four assists. He adapted well to the team and was a strong offensive presence during the 2024–25 season.
Brennan Othmann
Grade: B
After a strong showing in the AHL—scoring 12 goals and 8 assists in 27 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack—he was called up to the NHL in late February. Othmann’s rookie NHL season had its challenges, his performance indicated a promising future as he continues to develop and adapt.
Juuso Pärssinen
Grade: B-
Despite being a healthy scratch in 12 of the final 23 games with the Rangers, the team saw potential in Pärssinen and signed him to a two-year contract extension with an average annual value of $1.25 million. Overall, Pärssinen concluded the season with 6 goals and 10 assists over 48 games and had a strong showing when given the opportunity.
Arthur Kaliyev
Grade: D
In 14 games, Kaliyev potted three goals, but his severe lack of defensive effort is ultimately what stunted his growth with the Rangers. Kaliyev played in 10 straight games in January after being taken off waivers by the Rangers in late December, but he was mostly a healthy scratch after that. He hit the shelf for good when he suffered an upper body injury in mid-March and at his size (6-foot-2, 210 lbs.) he always left you wanting more defensive effort.
