2025 Rangers Report Card: Will Borgen

This post is part of an ongoing series of Rangers Report Cards, grading the performance of each member of the 2024-25 New York Rangers. To view more report cards in this series, go here.

Expectations

You have to wonder if Will Borgen stunned with the Rangers this season simply because the bar was on the floor when he arrived in New York. It was a terrible look for the team to finally part with their former 2nd overall pick, Kaapo Kakko, for such a paltry return. Comical, actually—squandered potential cast aside for third, a fifth, and a 28-year-old defensive defenseman who was going strong with a -13 rating and 2 points all year on the Seattle Kraken. The “Fire Drury” chants had never been louder at the Garden.

It’s unclear what Chris Drury saw in Borgen that no one else did at the time, but it’s one of the few things we have to give the general manager credit for this season. The same cannot be said for the rest of his defensive acquisitions, but I digress.

For his first few months with the Blueshirts, Borgen acted not unlike a younger news anchor who a network tests as their veteran broadcaster sits and watches her career come to an end. The veteran in this case is Ryan Lindgren.

Drury knew a breakup was brewing with the bleeding heart of the Rangers D-core—not to mention the departure of Jacob Trouba—so Borgen appeared to be backup insurance in that style. The team has also notably found themselves laden with playmaking, puck-moving defenders in recent years. Shutdown security is not exactly something one thinks of when the New York Rangers are discussed, so all anyone hoped for with this utterly lackluster acquisition was some emphasis on shoring up the backend.

Performance

Totals: 51 GP, 4G, 9A, 13 PTS, +9 +/-

With Trouba out of the picture, K’Andre Miller was in need of a new defensive partner. Borgen slotted onto the second pairing alongside his fellow Minnesotan, and the two quickly found some chemistry. By the end of the season, they rose to the de facto top pair and logged the most ice time in the D-core, playing 708 minutes together.

It seems to be an 'opposites attract' situation between the two defenders. Miller likes a little creative license, often going out of position to take advantage of offensive opportunities and exploit gaps. This risky behavior, however, can lead to giveaways, a lack of coverage, and subsequent goals against. Miller learned this style from Trouba, but that pairing frequently struggled, as you simply cannot have two defensemen free-wheeling it on the ice. Someone has to stay at home and take care of the kids (Igor Shesterkin). 

“Loved it,” Borgen said of his partnership with Miller. “Key is a great player and he makes it really easy for me to play out there too. He communicates well, skates well, he could exit the zone by himself. He’s unbelievable. Once we got our chemistry and got used to each other, it made everything easier.”

Borgen acts as a foil to Miller’s ingenuity. He is locked in position, staying by the net in the Rangers’ zone or at the blueline when his team is on the offensive. If you look at goals against when Miller and Borgen are on the ice, the chance usually comes from someone else leaving their designated players uncovered, not Borgen failing to provide backup. He is one of the only skaters on the team who found his footing under Peter Laviolette’s man-on-man system, and he’s one of three defenders (alongside Urho Vakainaanen and Zac Jones, who both had limited ice time) that ended the year with more goals for than goals against while on the ice (48 vs. 47, via NaturalStatTrick).

Miller worked well with Adam Fox at the start of the year when Fox’s offensive game took a bit of a backseat. It’s clear that he benefits from a more defensively-focused partner, who can be there to clean up the mistakes that may arise from his style. Borgen fulfills that role even more aptly than Fox, because his own game does not have to suffer to compensate for that of his partner.  

While Borgen isn’t focused on playmaking or scoring, he isn’t limited to a brutish shutdown role, à la Ryan Lindgren. Miller’s 108 total hits this season dwarfed Borgen’s 74, as did his number of blocked shots, at 110 vs. 80, respectively. Borgen isn’t small by any stretch of the imagination—at 6-3 and 204 pounds—but he’s not quite a behemoth like Miller, or say, Chris Kreider and Matt Rempe. He can definitely throw hands if necessary, but there is a certain agility to his build, giving him a little more flexibility on the forecheck and during shorthanded stretches. 

In his 64 minutes on the penalty kill this season, Borgen allowed some of the fewest goals against for skaters playing significant time (only 8, the third-best count on the team, via NaturalStatTrick). He even scored shorthanded during a game against the New York Islanders in early March, flexing that ability to be dynamic when the opportunity presents itself.

Borgen did surprise us a few times this season, with each of those four goals he scored looking impressive for someone in his position. He's capable of a great wrister from the point—a skill he should utilize more often.

You can see shades of this energy even when he's helping others. He works pretty well with the forwards, as demonstrated by this goal from Sam Carrick against the Washington Capitals, just a game after Borgen's shorty. His ability to hold onto the puck while giving his teammates the chance to set up bodes well for expanding his playmaking skills.

The one thing Borgen needs to work on is honing that adaptability. He can break out of his defensive focus when needed, but it is not consistent in his play. His transition game could be better, as sometimes he seems to vanish when the opposing team goes on the rush, struggling to keep up as play shifts down the ice. When he’s carrying the puck over, he maintains a much higher speed than someone like Trouba or Lindgren ever could. But when the puck is out of his hands, he can fail to match that pace. 

He also doesn’t do well when faced with high-paced and high-pressure situations in general (but who on the 2024-2025 New York Rangers did?). This goal by Pierre Luc Dubois—from the same game as that Carrick goal—comes from a quick setup by the Capitals off the face-off within the first minute of the first period. The whole team is overwhelmed by the sudden action, scrambling to keep up, but Borgen particularly seems lost in the fray. And unfortunately, he’s the closest player to the net, the only one likely to prevent that chance either through a block or a quick deflection with his stick.

As with most Rangers defensemen this season, it is difficult to tell whether these issues stem from the player’s own sensibilities or Laviolette’s lack of defensive strategy. If you’re arriving on a new team and your new coach is barking at you to stay put and not pull stupid sh*t at the blueline (to borrow a phrase from another New York head coach) you’re probably going to listen to him over your gut instinct. Borgen’s skating ability, shot, and size should allow him more opportunities to break out and jump on play when needed, so his offensive edge may improve under Mike Sullivan.

Grades

Grade: A- (I’m grading on a curve, personally)
Banter Consensus: B- (Ok, fair)

Evaluation

Regardless of his room for improvement, Borgen was a bright spot in the pit of hell that was the Blueshirts’ defensive core this season. So much so, in fact, that Chris Drury quickly signed the 28-year-old to a five-year, $20.5 million contract extension just four weeks after he arrived.

Some have taken issue with the rapid re-signing, the contract’s $4.1 million annual cap-hit, and its trade protections. Borgen has a full no-trade clause through the 2025-26 season, which converts to a modified no-trade from 2026-2029, before one final year completely unprotected. It is, admittedly, a big investment in a player we barely know. But to be perfectly frank, who cares right now? 

Borgen is a solid defender in a struggling core, and paying $4.1 million per year for a right-handed defenseman in the modern NHL is practically a bargain. The concern about this extension seems more informed by the deal in a broader context. Alongside an extension for Urho Vaakanainen and the acquisition of Carson Soucy, the Blueshirts do seem to be overpaying for rather middling defensemen.  

Borgen’s deal in isolation, however, makes a lot of sense. His presence probably saved K’Andre Miller from further discussions of a summer trade ahead of his own contract extension. With someone steady at Miller’s side, his game bounced back somewhat, and it is much harder to give up on him now than it was in December. Ultimately, it's perfectly reasonable to lock up a player who elevates your core’s skills like that and prevents a total collapse of your blueline. 

Borgen’s game is in a decent place during a nightmare-inducing era for the Blueshirts, so his potential after the roster is reworked and Sullivan begins his tenure seems fairly promising. He will be one to watch next season.