4 New York Rangers’ Player Milestones to Watch for This Season – The Hockey Writers – New York Rangers

With the 2026-27 season right around the corner, many players on the New York Rangers are close to reaching new career milestones. With this in mind, here are just four of those players who will likely hit those milestones during this season, or at least get very close to doing so.

Igor Shesterkin

Igor Shesterkin is hoping this season goes better than last, especially in the health department. He missed time last season with an injury, and if the Rangers want to get back to making the playoffs this season, he will be a key factor in getting them there. When it comes to career milestones, the one he will achieve this season is 200 career wins. That would tie him with John Vanbiesbrouck for fifth on the franchise’s all-time win list and four wins behind fourth. Shesterkin will likely end the season as the fourth-most-winning goalie in Rangers history, and he should continue to climb that list as the years go by.

Mika Zibanejad

Last season was a bounce-back for Mika Zibanejad, and with how productive he was, it allowed him to hit many milestones in his career. He played in his 1,000th career game against the team that drafted him, the Ottawa Senators. He also set the Rangers’ franchise record for most power-play goals, passing Chris Kreider and Camille Henry, who had the record at 116, with it now being held by Zibanejad with 124. If he is able to score 42 goals this season, he will also pass Kreider for the third-most goals scored as a Ranger. If he records 24 or more points, he will pass Mark Messier for the fifth-most points by a player in franchise history.

J.T. Miller

J.T. Miller, who is entering his second season as Rangers captain, is looking to have a better season. He got injured during training camp, and that impacted his play all season long. He was never the player the team hoped he could be, but with a full offseason of rest, Miller could come into this season better than before and might hit some milestones if he is lucky. If he can score 23 goals this season, he will reach 300 total career goals. He is going to have a chip on his shoulder, and the Rangers need him to get back to being a star player if they want any chance of getting back to the playoffs.

Alexis Lafreniere

One player who is going to be a key factor for the Rangers this season is Alexis Lafreniere. After the team traded away Artemi Panarin last season, Lafreniere became a more dominant player as he got consistent top-line minutes and top-unit power-play time. If he can become an even better player this season, not only will it make the Rangers a better team, but it will also help him reach some milestones along the way. He is 50 points away from 300 in his career, and if he stays healthy and plays in 38 games, he will have reached 500 career games played. While he may never live up to the expectations he had when the Rangers drafted him first overall, he is still a good NHL player, and the team needs him to be great this season.

While these aren’t all the players who can hit milestones for the Rangers this season, these are four of the most important. They all have their roles to play in helping this team win a Stanley Cup, and if they can have some personal success along the way, it will taste even sweeter if they can win it all in 2027.