Why the Rangers Can’t Wait on Their Pending Free Agents

There was lots of uncertainty heading into this New York Rangers season. After two disastrous campaigns, the need for a step in the right direction was dire, and with that came plenty of changes to the roster. With back-to-back seasons of disappointment in the rearview mirror and head coach Mike Sullivan at the helm of the team for a second year, we are finally beginning to see the new identity this front office has promised the fan base, and the early signs point to it not only meeting expectations, but possibly exceeding them.

The Rangers entered the 2026-27 season with seven new additions to their roster, eight if you include Joonas Korpisalo, meaning roughly one-third of their lineup was entering a new situation, playing in a system different from the one they were in the year prior, and doing so with new teammates. In most cases, that can lead to slow and sloppy starts, but from what we’ve seen through the first 10 games of the season, it appears this group is already gelling and finding success.

Now, under normal circumstances, there would be plenty of reason to believe this team is capable of getting back into the playoffs this season, but the injury to Igor Shesterkin changes everything. While that outcome is still a reasonable possibility, there is valid concern remaining, knowing they don’t have one of the league’s best goaltenders to bail them out. Nonetheless, in the early stages of overcoming that adversity, Dylan Garand has been excellent, and the team has rallied around him. I’m not here to say this team is once again a definite contender, but there is early evidence to pencil them in as a playoff team capable of making noise.

It’s still early, but as they say in hockey, it gets late quick. We are living in unprecedented times in many ways, and the NHL is no exception to that. The salary cap has skyrocketed, players are making significantly more money than they were in the past, and many teams aren’t waiting to get their guys signed long term. We already began to see the effects of this during the most recent offseason. Building a team through free agency—which is something the Rangers have historically tried to do—is no longer going to be an option. Players simply don’t reach free agency anymore, and the ones who do are expecting the sun and the moon because of the scarcity.

President and general manager Chris Drury and the Rangers need to get to work and get their pending free agents signed to extensions.