2026 Season Preview: Vincent Iorio

The New York Rangers decided to take a chance on Vincent Iorio, claiming him off waivers from the San Jose Sharks. But never really gave him one, having only utilized him in six games. He spent more nights in the press box than on the ice. Iorio now needs a new contract and a real opportunity at a crucial point in his professional career. But with a crowded blue line and more questions than answers with the third pairing, the chances of that happening in New York are looking less and less promising.

Previous Performance

In the big picture, the 2025-26 season was a bit of a wash for Iorio. But, at the same time, it was a career high year for him in terms of points and games played at the NHL level.

Beginning the season with the Washington Capitals, Iorio first hit the waiver wire in mid-October where he was picked up by the San Jose Sharks. In need of help on the right side with Timothy Liljegren out with an injury, Iorio would appear in 21 games with the Sharks where he picked up three assists, tripling his career point total established in his three game trial three seasons prior. 

Iorio is a classic case of a player who has done everything he has needed to in the AHL, but just hasn’t proven himself fully at the NHL level. A two-time Calder Cup champion, Iorio spent seven games with the San Jose Barracuda on a conditioning stint where he had seven points (all assists) in six games played. After being placed on waivers for a second time, he was claimed by New York, who needed help with Adam Fox on LTIR. 

Iorio appeared in just six games with the Rangers and, frankly, should have received more of an opportunity. Not only did the Rangers continue to favor Urho Vaakanainen, but they even opted to play Connor Mackey in hockey games over him. We all know that, under this coaching regime, the Rangers don’t like to play guys on their off hand. But for a team that was in lottery contention for the majority of the season, there’s no reason to play career depth players over a 23-year-old right shot defenseman with size and untapped potential. 

Playing in just six games, Iorio was held pointless with an even plus/minus rating, but looked good in a small sample size. As mentioned in his Report Card, this is a player that even...

in his small sample size with the Rangers, did not look out of place in the slightest. He’s not a guy who is going to quarterback your power play or eat up big minutes, but he can match up against a variety of opponents, kill penalties, and has all the tools to play a reliable two-way game. 

It's a bit perplexing as to why the Rangers have been so hesitant to give him more of a chance, but what happens this season with this next contract will certainly give us more clarity as to how they view him.

Expectations

At this point in his professional career, the expectation is for Iorio to be a full-time NHL player. The problem is, it doesn't look like that is going to be an option for him with the Rangers—at least not as currently constructed. Iorio is still a restricted free agent at the time of this writing and is not eligible for arbitration. I can't imagine a world in which his camp is expecting anything north of a $1 million AAV, but surely would like a slight pay raise from the $814,167, two-way deal that paid just $80,000 at the AHL level. That's a huge factor considering, as things stand, it does not seem likely that Iorio has a place on this Rangers roster.

Gavrikov - Fox
Pettersson - Durzi
Smits - Schneider
Vaakanainen - Robertson
Fortescue - Iorio/Morrow

Alberts Smits is the big question mark right now, but you'd have to think with the shortened preseason that Smits will at least get a nine game trial to start the season. If he shows that he isn't fully NHL-ready, the Rangers have Matthew Robertson and Drew Fortescue who could slot in on the left side of that third pairing. But as long as Braden Schneider is here, Iorio won't get a ton of consideration.

In the event Schneider is dealt at some point, that could certainly change things, as Iorio could be a perfectly fine third-pair defenseman, especially if Smits excels from the jump or he has a partner on his left with a little more experience like Robertson, or even Vaakanainen.

Before we can really factor him in to the equation, the Rangers need to get him signed to a new deal. Iorio is not waiver exempt, so in addition to that, we'd also need to see if he clears waivers. If both those things happen, then we can talk about Iorio being a first-pair defenseman for the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Predictions

AHL: 56 GP | 11 G | 28 A | 29 PTS
NHL: 14 GP | 1 G | 1 A |2 PTS

In an ideal world, I’d like to see Iorio clear waivers and start the season on the top pair of Hartford’s blue line. Based on what we saw last year, I would put him above Scott Morrow on the depth chart, and his experience in the AHL—namely the two Calder Cups—would not only make him a welcomed addition to Hartford's blue line, but a potential captain and leader on what is expected to be a highly-skilled, young AHL team.

There are a lot of what-if's surrounding the third pairing and the depth charts of the Rangers blue line. But assuming Iorio signs and clears waivers, I can see him being a leader in Hartford, playing roughly 60 games with about 40 points, and appearing in 10-15 NHL games as injuries call-ups occur. I can really see Iorio being a Dante Fabbro or Alex Carrier-type who, in a pinch, can fill a role in a top four, but is ideally more of a bottom-pair defenseman on a competitive team. I would like to see the Rangers use Schneider in a trade to improve their play-driving and goal-scoring abilities and then give Iorio a proper opportunity to establish himself on that third pairing.

But until that happens, it just doesn't seem like it's in the cards for Iorio and the Rangers.