Where Rangers defensive group ranks ahead of 2024-25 season
By Lou Orlando,
2 days ago
The New York Rangers’ defensive corps is many things — quiet won’t be one of them, however.
Boasting Adam Fox, a perennial Norris Trophy contender and arguably the greatest Blueshirts defenseman since Brian Leetch, is more than enough to draw some attention.
But after a loud and uncomfortable saga surrounding Jacob Trouba this offseason — one in which trade rumors swirled around the Rangers captain in the days leading up to free agency, spawning reports of displeasure from the Blueshirts locker room — it all but guarantees that there’s going to be a spotlight on this unit.
Behind Fox, there’s exciting young talent in K’Andre Miller and Braden Schneider, but also plenty of questions surrounding the more experienced Trouba and Ryan Lindgren. Add to that, 24-year-old Zac Jones, who’s slated to take on an everyday role for the first time in his career.
The Blueshirts may very well boast the top defenseman in the Metropolitan Division, but how does the unit as a whole stack up against the rest of the division?
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Where Rangers defense corps ranks in Metropolitan Division
Here are all the defense corps in the Metro ranked from worst to best.
8. Columbus Blue Jackets — Notables: Werenski, Severson, Provorov
I rated the Columbus Blue Jackets as the worst forward group in the Metro and will bestow the same lowly label upon their defensive corps. It would stand to reason a team that’s finished last in the Metro in back-to-back years would end up pretty low across the board.
In his eighth season in Columbus, Zach Werenski set a career-high with 57 points while playing 70 games for the first time since 2018-19. But the rest of the unit was underwhelming.
The first season with free agent signing Damon Severson fell flat, while Ivan Provorov and Erik Gudbranson graded out poorly defensively, despite a solid season on the offensive end from Provorov. Meanwhile, 2022 No. 6 overall pick David Jiricek struggled in his first full season, playing just 43 games between healthy scratches and a demotion to the AHL.
With Adam Boqvist and Jake Bean departing for new destinations, Jiricek will be expected to play a full season, which even still leaves one more spot to be filled. Perhaps 2022 No. 12 overall pick Denton Mateychuk gets the nod, but after tearing it up in the WHL, he didn’t see AHL action until this June.
So even with Werenski playing top hockey and possibly a stronger year from Severson, this group is significantly weaker and with much less upside than any other team in the division.
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7. Pittsburgh Penguins — Notables: Karlsson, Letang, Pettersson, Graves
10 years ago, a blue line featuring Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang would’ve been the envy of every other team in the League. It’s still a solid top two on the right side, particularly offensively, but the Pittsburgh Penguins are just too lacking on the defensive end compared to other division opponents.
Karlsson tallied 56 points with Letang right behind him at 51, making the Penguins one of two teams with multiple defensemen racking up 50-plus points (the other being the Colorado Avalanche). Both have been offensive-minded defensemen in their career, but their defensive metrics continue to decline as they reach the latter stages of their career. Karlsson will be 35 next season, while Letang will turn 38.
There’s just a lot of uncertainty with the bottom two pairs. Beyond an aging Letang, Ryan Graves is coming off an underwhelming first season in Pittsburgh and a 25-year-old Jack St. Ivany will be expected to take on an everyday role after playing 14 games in his first taste of NHL action.
Matt Grzelcyk will swap yellow jerseys, joining the Pens after eight seasons with the Boston Bruins, where he posted very ugly charts in his final season. He’d posted numerous quality seasons in the years prior to his walk year, so it’s possible he reverts back to that, but he’s coming off a campaign where he ranked in the third percentile overall.
Marcus Pettersson had an excellent season on the left-hand side next to Karlsson, leading the team with a plus-28 rating and posting excellent metrics across the board. He’s shaping up to be their most well-rounded defender going into the season, but it’s not enough to salvage a group that’s trending in the wrong direction.
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6. Philadelphia Flyers — Notables: Sanheim, Drysdale, York, Seeler
It’s a tiny gap between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Penguins, but their younger core and rising trajectory gives them an edge.
The Flyers still have some work to do in building a strong blue line, but the vision is clear, and many of the pieces may already be in place.
Travis Sanheim followed up a disappointing 2022-23 season that almost saw him traded to the St. Louis Blues that offseason with arguably the strongest year of his career, posting a career-high 44 points and positive metrics.
Nick Seeler shined next to Sean Walker, up until the latter was shipped off at the deadline, finishing the year with a team-leading plus-9 rating as their most reliable defenseman.
Youngsters Cam York (24), Jamie Drysdale (22), and Egor Zamula (24) all logged valuable minutes and should be in line to take a leap next season. Drysdale’s career has been littered with injuries, which limited him to 32 games last year, but York and Zamula both played the most games of their young career and showed clear promise.
Even Rasmus Ristolainen, who played 31 games through injuries, was reliable defensively when he was on the ice. Health will be a major factor going into 2024-25, but as this Flyers team continues to develop their identity, the blue-line should as well.
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5. New Jersey Devils — Notables: Hamilton, Pesce, Dillon, Hughes
After allowing the sixth-most goals in the NHL and being plagued by defensive woes all season long, the New Jersey Devils made necessary additions to their defensive corps, bringing in Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon in free agency.
A season-ending injury to Dougie Hamilton, who played just 20 games, certainly didn’t help matters, but the issues were present well before he went down.
GM Tom Fitzgerald needed to add multiple quality defensemen and that’s exactly what he did. Pesce and Dillon do plenty to bolster the blue line with stable and experienced defensive play. A healthy Hamilton gives them an elite defenseman who scored 74 points in 2022-23 and finished sixth in Norris voting.
But don’t expect this blue line to make a complete 180. Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec experienced typical growing pains, as most rookie defensemen do, particularly on the defensive end, while Jonas Siegenthaler was one of the worst-rated blue-liners in the entire league.
In order to become one of the top defensive groups in the Metro, they’ll need to see a substantial leap from Hughes and Nemec and at least somewhat average play from Siegenthaler.
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4. New York Islanders — Notables: Dobson, Pelech, Puloch, Romanov
Led by Noah Dobson, who has a strong case for being a top-10 defenseman in the entire NHL, the New York Islanders have added an offensive wrinkle to their typically sturdy play on the backend.
Dobson finished eighth in Norris voting, scoring 70 points in 79 games, which ranked seventh among NHL defensemen. Entering his age-25 season, he’s just entering his prime, and his production could continue to rise.
Behind him is the ultra-reliable pair of Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock, who remain strong on the defensive end even into their thirties. Plus, don’t underrate the return of Mike Reilly, who played quality defense on the bottom pairing.
The 25-year-old Alex Romanov could tighten it up on the backend after ranking in the fifth percentile defensively, but he’s got clear offensive upside and led the team with a plus-23 rating.
The sixth defenseman situation isn’t great — Scott Mayfield, Robert Bortuzzo, and Samuel Bolduc could all vie for that last spot, which isn’t exactly enticing.
Like Philly, a big concern here is health. Pelech and Pulock were both limited to 58 games last season due to injury. Given the Islanders’ lack of depth on their backend, they can’t afford to lose any of their top five guys for a substantial amount of time.
But if healthy, the Islanders have a mix of playmaking and defensive stability that typically indicates a pretty good defensive corps.
Related: Rangers brief history of trades with rival Islanders
3. New York Rangers — Notables: Fox, Miller, Schneider, Trouba, Lindgren
The Rangers have one thing that no other team in the division can say — they have Fox, the best defenseman in the Metro.
With his third consecutive 70-plus point season, Fox finished fourth in Norris voting, securing his fourth straight top-five finish despite missing 10 games due to an injured right knee. He’s a brilliant offensive playmaker, the backbone of their power play unit, and despite all of his offensive prowess, is consistently excellent on the defensive end as well.
But this isn’t a ranking of individual defensemen — it’s a ranking of the defensive corps as a whole.
After coming to terms with Schneider and Lindgren and holding on to Trouba, this unit is largely the same as it was last year, minus the departure of Erik Gustafsson in free agency. But that’s not the peace of mind that it should be.
The Blueshirts have a couple of giant red flags in Trouba and Lindgren, both of whom are coming off ugly seasons.
Despite a team-leading plus-minus, Lindgren’s analytics were lower than anything he’s ever produced in his career, which affected Fox’s play as well. There are massive injury concerns as Lindgren consistently finds himself taking a beating on the ice, so even at age 26, it’s no sure thing he’s due for a bounce back.
Trouba, too, had a rough 2023-24 that was only exacerbated by a broken ankle. His physicality is a welcome presence on the backend, but if his defensive play continues to slip, it won’t matter.
Jones showed plenty of promise in his 31 games and should be able to take on a larger role, but that’s still an uncertainty.
Miller and Schneider have progressed well and provide crucial depth behind Fox. Outside of Jones, there’s plenty of experience, and it’s more than possible Lindgren and Trouba both have stronger years — it’s just too much of a question mark right now.
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2. Washington Capitals — Notables: Chychrun, Roy, Carlson, Fehervary, Van Riemsdyk
The Washington Capitals attacked the offseason aggressively after sneaking into the playoffs with a negative-37 point differential and getting swept by the Rangers in the first round. It’s most clearly seen by a much improved defensive corps.
Signing Matt Roy in free agency and sending Nick Jensen to the Ottawa Senators for Jakob Chychrun, the Capitals acquired one of the best defensive defensemen from last season and a dynamic offensive playmaker.
Roy recorded a plus-21 rating in over 20 minutes a game with the Los Angeles Kings while ranking in the 92nd percentile defensively. Chychrun tied a career-high with 41 points and while his negative-30 rating isn’t pretty, his defensive metrics were actually positive on a 78-point Senators team.
35-year-old John Carlson is still producing, coming off a 52-point season where he played all 82 games. His defensive numbers are starting to slip as he readies for his 16th NHL season, but he’s still a quality blue-liner.
Even as you go down the line, Martin Fehervary and Trevor Van Riemsdyk graded out very highly on the defensive end, with Van Riemsdyk ranking in the 98th percentile defensively. Rasmus Sandin’s coming off a poor age-24 season, but he’s already had a few quality years and could easily bounce back.
Chychrun should boost an offense that struggled mightily last year and Roy is the elite defender this team was missing. The Capitals could still use more help, but their defensive group is in a pretty good spot entering the 2024-25 season.
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1. Carolina Hurricanes — Notables: Slavin, Burns, Walker, Gostisbehere, Chatfield
The Carolina Hurricanes have the best defensive unit in the Metro — and it’s not close.
For most teams, losing Pesce and Brady Skjei would be a backbreaking loss to the blue line. But after signing Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbehere to team-friendly deals, the Canes shouldn’t miss a beat.
Jaccob Slavin headlines the operation, receiving Norris votes for an eighth-straight year after putting together a brilliant season as an elite shutdown defenseman. He’s partnered with Brent Burns who continues to produce on both ends despite entering his age-39 season.
Gostisbehere reunites with Carolina after enjoying success as a trade deadline acquisition in 2022-23, adding another potential playmaker to the mix. Walker’s coming off the best season of his career, and if he keeps it up, will be an absolute steal at $3.6 million annually.
Rounding it out, Dmitry Orlov and Jalen Chatfield both finished the 2023-24 season ranked in the top 10 percentile defensively, per Evolving Hockey, and Chatfield was praised for his success with a larger workload in the postseason.
The blue line has been a key component of Carolina’s success in recent seasons and it should be again. Despite inconsistent goaltending play, the Hurricanes held opponents to the fourth-fewest goals in the NHL, thanks largely to their stingy defensive play.
With elite defensemen everywhere you turn and capable playmakers to help on the offensive end, this defensive corps is the crown jewel of the Metro and one of the best groups in the entire league.
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