The least consequential hockey of the year is underway. The Rangers split their first two preseason games, beating the Devils in New Jersey and blowing a lead then losing in overtime to the Bruins at MSG. We still haven’t seen many regulars suit up yet, so with everything ahead of us, it’s only right to hand out end of season awards for the 2025-2026 season. This is just a stupid way for me to talk out of my ass about how I envision the year going for each player I give an award. Without further ado, my 2025 New York Rangers Preseason Superlatives.
Most Likely to be Anthony Volpe – Alexis Lafreniere
Lafreniere is the guy that we’ve been dying to see take the next step towards becoming a game breaker, and it just never seems to come. Last year was a lot of “one step forward, two steps back” in terms of impact, much like Anthony Volpe, who looks great after a rest day, but disappears for the next 8 games. Laf will score a highlight reel goal, and then go 0-1-1 with a -4 over the next two weeks. You want to love him, you know there’s something there (you saw it with your own eyes those couple of times!), but it just doesn’t stick on a consistent basis. I anticipate we will see more of the same from Lafreniere in this regard, but fear not! His contract will actually age really well in my opinion, his AAV number ($7.45m) will be very digestible for a middle six guy that puts up 50-60 points a year by the end of its term. Not the award anyone dreams of winning, but Laf is the Most Likely to be Anthony Volpe Award winner.
Most Likely to be Jaxson Dart – Gabe Perreault
Despite an impressive start to the preseason to date, I don’t think we’re going to see Gabe make the team out of camp. If anyone in the middle six wing group is to miss any significant time, however, I fully expect Perrault to be the guy to come up from Hartford to fill that spot. What happens next? Who knows. Check in after Sunday once we see how Jaxson Dart does against the Chargers. Hopefully he lives up to his draft pedigree and looks like an impact player so Gabe can eventually come into the lineup and do the same.
Most Likely to Make You Think “Why the Fuck Did We Ever Trade This Guy?” – JT Miller
The Rangers newest captain is a two time 99+ point guy and an absolute honey badger of a player. He was acquired via trade from Vancouver last season, but you might know him from… the last time he was on the Rangers. When he was 25 years old he was traded to the Lightning, alongside Rangers captain at that time, Ryan Mcdonagh. Miller was still developing, had some alleged off ice issues, and the Rangers were entering a rebuild, but Miller matured into one of the leagues more impactful players, especially once he made his way to Vancouver. Whether or not you think it made sense to trade him away at the time all those years ago, JT Miller’s first season as Rangers captain will leave you thinking “Where has this guy been my whole life?” He might be the only Ranger since Panarin was signed that can compete with Panarin’s offensive output, but he also brings a fuck you attitude that the team has desperately needed. You are going to love having Miller back for a full season.
Most Likely to Find a New Boyfriend – Mika Zibanejad
We were all sad to see Kreider leave, signaling the end of an era, reminding us of what could have been. None more sad than Mika Zibanejad, who I would liken to a mourning widow in the immediate wake of Kreider’s departure. Zibanejad wants to stay in New York though, and as such, he naturally will find a new bromance that the ladies of Rangers twitter will spend the year fawning over. It will happen rather quickly, you’d be shocked how quickly some people can move on. Who knows, maybe it will be the awardee of the next superlative?
Most Likely to be Mika’s New Boyfriend – Will Cuylle
I don’t even think the age gap is that problematic. I can see a line of 93 – 8 – 50 being extremely effective for the Rangers, and I’d love to see Cuylle try to emulate some of Kreider’s net front skill that the Rangers lose in his absence. Naturally, the more Cuylle emulates Kreider, the more Zibanejad will become enamored with him, and before you know it they’ll be doing that “hug at the end of the fist bump line after a win” thing that we got so used to.
Everyone’s Favorite New Guy – Vladislav Gavrikov
The big free agent splash of the offseason is going to be one of your favorite players right off the bat. Vladdy had some of the best defensive metrics in the league last year and he’s certainly poised to bring that same game in front of Igor Shesterkin, and he’s certainly excited for that opportunity too. The Rangers have a Russian mafia sort of thing developing with those guys and Panarin, so don’t be surprised if you start hearing rumors about a certain three time cup winner from Russia being traded to New York for one last shot at a cup if things are going well on Broadway.
Everyone’s Favorite New Whipping Boy – Carson Soucy
If things are going poorly on Broadway, don’t be surprised if you see an angry mob outside of MSG demanding this guys head on a platter. His $3.25m cap hit is more than enough to spark outrage if his game is a detriment to the Rangers keeping the puck out of their net, and based on how his abridged stint with the team went last season, Soucy will be an easy target for boo birds if things go sour this year. Hopefully he finds a rounded out game under new bench boss Mike Sullivan. If he can’t do that, expect to hear his name in either trade or buyout rumors next Summer.
Summer 2025 is officially over and the regular season kick off is just two weeks away. I always hate to see this time of year end- the leaves falling, the sun setting earlier, the boat coming out of the water- but it also means hockey is back, and when it comes to silver linings, they don’t get any better than that. As far as I’m concerned, the Rangers could be anything this season. They could look like the team that went to the ECF and won the President’s trophy in 2024 and go and win the Division and go on a run. They could also completely fucking implode and finish dead last in the league. At least in that case we’d have a shot at a potential generational talent in Gavin Mckenna. I’m excited to see what team shows up come October 7th, and I’m just as excited to get back to talking hockey with everyone that reads these and everyone in the morning skate group chat again. Hopefully you didn’t find this blog too stupid, let’s have another great year of NHL hockey.
The Morning Skate 