Rangers remain good, but rival might be better, NHL analyst believes

The New York Rangers had a historic season in 2023-24. It was their first under coach Peter Laviolette, and the Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy, finishing with a League-best 114 points. New York went to the Eastern Conference Final in the postseason before falling to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers in six games.

Artemi Panarin was in the Hart Trophy conversation with 120 points. Vincent Trocheck set NHL career highs with 52 assists and 77 points. Alexis Lafreniere scored 28 goals and took the next step as a player playing with Trocheck and Panarin. Igor Shesterkin was brilliant in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Chris Kreider recorded 39 goals and the Rangers played a good defensive structure to get them to the top of the NHL and home-ice advantage in the playoffs.

There is no reason to think these performances cannot happen again. However, the Metropolitan Division is getting tougher. One of the Rangers’ fiercest rivals, the New Jersey Devils, improved dramatically this offseason. And they’ve toughened-up their lineup as a response to being pushed around by the Rangers and Matt Rempe last season.

So, are the Rangers still the team to beat in the Metropolitan Division?

Not quite, according to former NHL coach and current NHL Network analyst Bruce Boudreau.

“You know, I do believe it should be the Devils. But we thought this last year,” Boudreau said on a recent edition of NHL Tonight. “They addressed needs by getting Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon and then a healthy Dougie Hamilton to go along with their offense.”

The Devils also acquired goalie Jacob Markstrom in a trade with the Calgary Flames. That means they solidified their two biggest weaknesses from last season — goaltending and defense.

As for their offense, Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt and Co. did help lead the high-flying Devils to a franchise-record 112 points in 2022-23. So, new coach Sheldon Keefe has all of the pieces in place to make a big rebound after the Devils dropped to 81 points and finished seventh in the Metro last season.

“They can still score. Sheldon Keefe knows that. But now they’ve added defense and a goaltender,” Boudreau explained.

With Dillon now providing some snarl on the defense corps, the Devils also added bigger rugged forwards Stefan Noesen and Paul Cotter, and re-signed tough guy Kurtis MacDermid.

Rangers are ‘great team’ but needed to improve, Bruce Boudreau believes

Boudreau seemed taken with the fact that the Devils addressed their biggest needs. Conversely, his concerns about the Rangers stem from the fact that they didn’t make any truly significant moves this offseason. Then there’s the chance that some of the players who had career years in 2023-24 could drop off and not approach their lofty stats from last season.

“Well, I mean, they may just well be close, but I just don’t think they did a lot to improve their team. They’re hoping for inner growth like, I mean, from the guys like [Filip Chytil and Alexis Lafreniere], to even continue to get better,” Boudreau explained. “But, I mean, can Trocheck have a better year? Can Panarin have a better year? I don’t know. If these guys can stay to the same status, then, yes, if they keep improving, yes, they can be very, very easily be the best team in that division.

“They’re going to be definitely good, and they can score, and they and they got maybe the best goaltender, they got a Norris trophy defenseman, they got the All-Star forwards.”

Due to salary-cap restraints, the Rangers biggest move this offseason was acquiring forward Reilly Smith from the Pittsburgh Penguins. They also signed center Sam Carrick. Barclay Goodrow was waived and claimed by the San Jose Sharks, and Alex Wennberg, Erik Gustafsson, Jack Roslovic and Blake Wheeler will not return to Broadway this season.

So, yes, the Rangers will bring back largely the same roster as the one that set franchise records for most wins (55) and points (114) in a season. That doesn’t stink.

“Look it, I think the Rangers are a great team. And, I mean, they’re going to be great again with a healthy Chytil and LaFreniere back into that lineup. He was grooving, you know?,” Boudreau said. “But I do believe, on paper, I’m looking at the Devils, and I’m going, man, they should be hard to beat if they’re healthy.”

Two seasons ago, the upstart Devils finished second in the division behind the Carolina Hurricanes, five points up on the third-place Rangers. Then they rallied from 2-0 down and defeated the Rangers in seven games in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

So, it’s not a leap to think the Devils can bounce back following an everything-that-could-go-wrong-did-go-wrong season in 2023-24.

In fact, we’ve already pegged the Rangers and Devils to battle for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division this season, Especially with an expected drop off by the Hurricanes, who lost many key pieces this offseason.

We know where Boudreau stands. Let’s wait and see how it plays out over 82 games.