Condensing a player’s season into a few paragraphs is a difficult task, but I’m going to try to do it in the form of Rangers player grades. A few notes before digging in:
- Each grade is based on expectations for the given player. A regular season “B” for Mika Zibanejad, the Rangers’ No. 1 center, looks a lot different than a regular season “B” for Jonny Brodzinski.
- I graded only forwards who appeared in postseason games. Apologies to the likes of Tyler Pitlick and Nick Bonino.
- The players in this story are sorted by regular season scoring.
- This story looks only at New York’s forwards. I’ll do a story looking specifically at defensem*n and goalies next week.
Let’s get to it.
Artemi Panarin
Regular season: 82 games, 120 points (49 goals, 71 assists)
Playoffs: 16 games, 15 points (5 goals, 10 assists)
Regular season grade: A+
Playoff grade: C
Panarin put together one of the greatest regular seasons in New York history. His 120 points are the second-most in a single season by a Ranger behind only Jaromir Jagr (123 points in 2005-06). Playing alongside center Vincent Trocheck and right wing Alexis Lafrenière, Panarin helped drive one of the best five-on-five lines in the NHL, and 75 of his points came at even strength.
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Panarin’s big test was always going to come in the playoffs, especially after he had only two assists in seven games against the Devils in 2023. He certainly showed more than that this go-around, scoring four game-winning goals, including an overtime winner against Carolina. Still, his production dipped from the regular season. He had only four points in six games against the Panthers, and his lone goal of the series didn’t come until there were less than two minutes left in Game 6. He mentioned how he felt Florida made it hard to gain space and take risks, and though he said he felt better than he did after the Devils series, he still wished he could have scored more. Overall, he had a serviceable playoffs but ultimately didn’t raise his game as much as New York needed.
Vincent Trocheck
Regular season: 82 games, 77 points (25 goals, 52 assists)
Playoffs: 16 games, 20 points (8 goals, 12 assists)
Regular season grade: A
Playoff grade: A
Trocheck’s second season with the Rangers went swimmingly. He averaged more ice time than any of the team’s forwards in the regular season, playing high-pressure minutes at even-strength, on the power play and on the penalty kill, and he represented the Rangers at the All-Star Game. His 77 points were a career high, and he raved about playing with Panarin and Lafrenière at breakup day.
“The most fun part about it was just the chemistry that we built over the year,” he said. “We got to talk about our game daily and continue to make ourselves better every day. Just hearing their thought processes was really cool to me.”
Trocheck’s snarl was ever-present in the postseason, and he contributed some of the Rangers’ biggest moments. He scored an overtime winner against Carolina and assisted two others (Panarin’s against the Hurricanes and Barclay Goodrow’s against Florida). He averaged a point per game against the Panthers, raising his play when the games mattered most, and he was the Rangers’ best skater in the playoffs.
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Chris Kreider
Regular season: 82 games, 75 points (39 goals, 36 assists)
Playoffs: 16 games, 12 points (8 goals, 4 assists)
Regular season grade: B
Playoff grade: C+
Once again, Kreider proved to be one of the Rangers’ most reliable goal scorers, and he became the third player in team history to reach the 300-goal threshold. He and Zibanejad are mainstays on the Rangers’ top line, but New York never found a consistent right wing to play alongside them. Some of that falls on Chris Drury and the front office, but the two longest-tenured Rangers carry some of the responsibility, too.
Kreider’s playoffs were highlighted by his magnificent Game 6 against Carolina. His natural hat trick in the third period that night will go down in Rangers lore. But he struggled to produce against Florida, scoring only one goal and adding only one assist. Both of his points came in a Game 5 loss and neither were at five-on-five. Florida led in five-on-five expected goals with Kreider on the ice; the Panthers’ best players were better than the Rangers’ best in the series.
Mika Zibanejad
Regular season: 81 games, 72 points (26 goals, 46 assists)
Playoffs: 16 games, 16 points (3 goals, 13 assists)
Regular season grade: B
Playoff grade: C
Zibanejad’s scoring was down from the previous two seasons, and he at one point had a 30-game drought without a five-on-five goal. Still, he was one of the Rangers’ most productive players, had a strong defensive impact and played in all situations. All in all, he had a solid but not excellent regular season.
Playoff grades are difficult because they are heavily influenced by the Florida series. Zibanejad, like Kreider and to some extent Panarin, struggled against the Panthers. But he, along with Trocheck, was one of the team’s two best forwards through the first two rounds, posting 14 points through 10 games.
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Zibanejad had the difficult task of playing heavy minutes against Florida’s Aleksander Barkov, the Selke Trophy winner, and had zero five-on-five points in the series. Though Zibanejad had a minus-1 rating in the series, Barkov’s line had zero goals with him on the ice at five-on-five.
“I knew (Barkov) was going to be a tough matchup to try to create offense,” Zibanejad said. “The way I’m wired, if I don’t get any offense then I want to make sure I close it down defensively. I don’t think they scored a goal against us either. We kind of canceled each other out.”
But, he added, “when you don’t win, you can’t see that as a positive.” That was especially true during the Eastern Conference final, when the Rangers were often in need of a big goal.
Alexis Lafrenièreflourished in the playoffs. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
Alexis Lafrenière
Regular season: 82 games, 57 points (28 goals, 29 assists)
Playoffs: 16 games, 14 points (8 goals, 6 assists)
Regular season grade: B+
Playoff grade: A-
Lafrenière, the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft, finally broke out for the Rangers. Only his linemates, Panarin and Trocheck, had more points than him at even strength. The 22-year-old wasn’t on the top power-play unit, so there’s room for his point production to increase if coach Peter Laviolette chooses to move him up at some point next year.
Lafrenière’s game continued to flourish in the postseason. He was one of New York’s best players in the team’s run to the Eastern Conference final and was one of the few Rangers’ players who elevated their game against the Panthers. He had four goals in the series. There’s lots to look forward to with him.
Jimmy Vesey
Regular season: 80 games, 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists)
Playoffs: 12 games, 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists)
Regular season grade: B
Playoff grade: B-
With an $800,000 average annual value contract, Vesey is on a team-friendly deal and successfully brought the Rangers depth scoring. His 13 goals were the most he’s had in a season since 2018-19, and he did it averaging the lowest ice time of his career. Vesey’s playoffs ended prematurely when a Ryan Lomberg hit separated his shoulder in Game 2 against Florida. New York missed him in the final four games of the Panthers’ series; he would’ve given Laviolette another option to try on Zibanejad’s right wing.
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Blake Wheeler
Regular season: 54 games, 21 points (9 goals, 12 assists)
Playoffs: 1 game, 0 points
Regular season grade: C-
Playoff grade: Incomplete
At 37 years old, Wheeler’s production dipped mightily after signing a one-year deal with the Rangers. The long-time Winnipeg captain had a career low in points per game and averaged a career low in ice time, even though he spent a chunk of the year on a line with Kreider and Zibanejad. His season was ultimately cut short after a gruesome leg injury Feb. 15.
Wheeler, about whom teammates raved, attacked the rehab process and was cleared to play in the postseason. His playoff Rangers debut did not go as planned, though. He took a penalty after a Zibanejad giveaway in overtime of Game 4 against the Panthers — one that was perhaps necessary to prevent a Barkov breakaway chance — and Florida scored thewinning goal on the ensuing power play. Laviolette took Wheeler out of the lineup the rest of the series, and now the veteran will decide whether he wants to keep playing.
Will Cuylle
Regular season: 81 games, 21 points (13 goals, 8 assists)
Playoffs: 16 games, 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist)
Regular season grade: B
Playoff grade: C
The Rangers appear to have hit on Cuylle, the No. 60 pick in the 2020 draft. He tied for ninth among rookies in goals and brought added physicality and forechecking to the bottom six. His game should continue to grow.
“I know what to expect now going into training camp and into the season,” he said of his outlook going forward. “Just making sure my body is right, making sure I’m healthy and strong and ready to work come September.”
Kaapo Kakko
Regular season: 61 games, 19 points (13 goals, 6 assists)
Playoffs: 15 games, 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist)
Regular season grade: C-
Playoff grade: C-
As long as he’s on the Rangers, Kakko will be viewed in the context of his draft position: No. 2 in 2019. That, paired with his promising 40-point campaign in 2022-23, made his low-production 2023-24 season disappointing. He’s reliable defensively, but at some point he has to produce more offensively if he’s going to be a top-six winger. Laviolette still believes Kakko can be that level of player, and the coach took responsibility at breakup day for not helping Kakko unleash his game more.
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The postseason was difficult for Kakko. He had only one point the final two rounds, and Laviolette made him a healthy scratch for the first time since the 2022 playoffs. Now, as he enters restricted free agency, the Rangers have to make a decision about his future with the club.
Jonny Brodzinski
Regular season: 57 games, 19 points (6 goals, 13 assists)
Playoffs: 3 games, 0 points
Regular season grade: B
Playoff grade: Incomplete
Brodzinski did his job for the Rangers. He was a sufficient fill-in whenever New York needed and chipped in a bit offensively. He earned a two-year extension in February, so he will likely fill a similar role for New York going forward.
Barclay Goodrow
Regular season: 80 games, 12 points (4 goals, 8 assists)
Playoffs: 16 games, 8 points (6 goals, 2 assists)
Regular season grade: D
Playoff grade: B+
Goodrow had a trying regular season that included a 56-game goalless drought, but he showed his worth with a productive postseason. His season highlight came in Game 2 against the Panthers. He ripped an overtime shot past Sergei Bobrovsky for the Rangers’ penultimate win of the year. His $3.641 million cap hit is too high for his regular season production but fair for a player who can produce the way he did in the playoffs.
Jack Roslovic
Regular season: 59 games, 31 points (9 goals, 22 assists); 19 games, 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) with Rangers
Playoffs: 16 games, 8 points (2 goals, 6 assists)
Regular season grade: C
Playoff grade: C-
Though Roslovic’s final postseason numbers look OK, the deadline addition didn’t contribute much against the Panthers. He had only one secondary assist in six games. The 27-year-old has a top-six skillset but couldn’t find consistency in that role with the Rangers. Drury acquired him with hopes he could fill the top-line right-wing role, but Laviolette had him on the fourth line by the end of the postseason.
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Filip Chytil
Regular season: 10 games, 6 points (0 goals, 6 assists)
Playoffs: 6 games, 0 points
Regular season grade: Incomplete
Playoff grade: Incomplete
It’s impossible to make a full evaluation of Chytil’s season because he missed more than six months with a concussion. He came back for the playoffs but was in and out of the lineup as the Rangers tried to limit his workload.
Alex Wennberg
Regular season: 70 games, 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists); 19 games, 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) with Rangers
Playoffs: 16 games, 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist)
Regular season grade: C+
Playoff grade: C
The Rangers needed a 3C, and Wennberg filled the role after the trade deadline. He’s a reliable two-way player, but ultimately New York could’ve used more offense than he was able to bring in the postseason.
Matt Rempe
Regular season: 17 games, 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist)
Playoffs: 11 games, 1 point (1 goal, 0 assists)
Regular season grade: B-
Playoff grade: C
If anyone claims to have predicted Rempe would play 11 postseason games in the preseason, they’re probably lying. The 6-foot-8 winger brought undeniable energy to the Rangers, winning over fans, teammates and coaches in the process. Ultimately, though, Laviolette usually didn’t trust him in close playoff games. That contributed to his lower playoff grade, even if Rempe’s ice time was not fully in his control.
(Top photo of Mika Zibanejad: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)
