Why The Rangers Weren't Active This Offseason

There was a lot of money being thrown around this offseason by a variety of teams, but not the New York Rangers.

Despite all of the rumors surrounding the Rangers, general manager Chris Drury didn’t make many moves as the team is relatively the same going into the 2024-25 season.

The Rangers traded for Reilly Smith and signed Sam Carrick to bolster their forward core. Other than those two moves though, Drury stayed quiet.

There are a couple of factors in why the Rangers just weren’t active in both the trade and free agent market.

Firstoff, the Blueshirts were strapped for cash and couldn’t outbid opposing teams for some of the top free agents.

Drury made clear that he was looking to clear cap space at the start of the offseason and was able to get rid of Barclay Goodrow’s contract by waiving him.

The Rangers reportedly attempted to trade Jacob Trouba for financial reasons, but were unable to do so, a big reason why they were unable to go through with any substantial moves.

Another reason New York didn’t push the panic button and make major changes to the roster is because the team had an incredible season despite not winning the Stanley Cup.

In Peter Laviolette’s first year as head coach, the Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Final before losing to the Florida Panthers.

The Rangers showed that they indeed have the right roster to win a Stanley Cup and are just one or two pieces away from reaching their ultimate goals.

It would be foolish to reshape the roster given that the team was two games away from a berth to the Stanley Cup Final.

Over the course of this upcoming season, Rangers management can reassess their options and make the proper moves based on the team’s performance.

For now though the Rangers come into this season with a nearly identical roster, and that’s ok.