New York Rangers fans have received a significant piece of good news about the future of the club. On the ice, there has not been much to celebrate in New York. After all, the club currently has the fewest points in the entire Eastern Conference. Because of their sluggish start to the 2025-26 season, GM Chris Drury revealed that the team will undergo a retooling of the roster.
Star winger Artemi Panarin was the first major piece to be offloaded after the exec’s comments. Fellow forwards Sam Carrick and Brennan Othmann were also dealt by New York ahead of the March 6 trade deadline. Vincent Trocheck and Braden Schneider were both heavily linked with moves away from the club as well. They, however, remained on the roster. Nevertheless, they are still expected to be traded in the summer.
While Trocheck and Schneider are likely on the way out in the offseason, Adam Fox and Mika Zibanejad are seemingly not going anywhere. NHL reporter Emily Kaplan recently discussed the situation during an appearance on Vince Mercogliano’s The Flying V podcast.
Mercogliano asked Kaplan if Rangers fans can expect any big surprises this summer. “I think the only curveballs I can envision right now are, again, if Mika Zibanejad and his family somehow change their mind and say, ‘You know what? We’re good in New York. We’re done with this chapter. If you put us in another city that makes sense for us, we’ll go.’ I don’t foresee that,” explained Kaplan. But that’s a curveball.”
Adam Fox Also Unlikely to be Traded by the New York Rangers
GettyAdam Fox and Mika Zibanejad are expected to remain on the Rangers.
Ahead of the aforementioned deadline, there were reports that the Rangers may be willing to listen to offers for Zibanejad. After all, the star will soon be 33 and only potentially has a few good years left in the tank. With New York retooling, it seems fairly unlikely that the club will become contenders in the near future. Despite this, the Swede has previously made it clear that he loves New York.
Fox’s future may appear to be a little more precarious. The defenseman previously raised eyebrows when he hinted that he would need to reassess his future during the offseason. He even doubled down on the claim during another interview. Fox was immediately linked with multiple teams following the comments. Nevertheless, Kaplan believes that Fox will remain with the Rangers during the retool.
“My hunch, knowing this league, knowing Adam Fox a little bit, knowing the Rangers a little bit, he’ll stay,” Kaplan continued. “He’ll be a part of the solution here, and he’s got a lot of control in the situation, like Panarin did. So it’s not necessarily like the Rangers are going to wheel and deal on this one.”
New York Must Nail the Draft This Summer
Mercogliano agreed with Kaplan’s overall assessment of the situation. The Rangers beat writer did, however, admit that Fox does want Drury to explain the team’s future plans once the current campaign ends.
Assuming these conversations go well, the Rangers will seemingly move forward with Fox, Zibanejad, and Igor Shesterkin as their veteran leaders. According to PuckPedia.com, New York does have significant money to work with this summer.
With a relatively poor 2026 free agent class, the team may have to rely on a successful draft, though. The Rangers have 11 total selections in the upcoming draft, including seven in the first three rounds.
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