The Columbus Blue Jackets finished the 2024-25 season four points ahead of the New York Rangers in the Metropolitan Division. Hardly anyone saw this possibility coming before the season.
But now as we look ahead to 2025-26, a different question is being asked. Are the Blue Jackets able to finish ahead of the Rangers again?
Welcome to Part 4 of our 2025 Summer Series in which we are comparing the Blue Jackets to other teams in their division and in the Eastern Conference. You can check out the first three parts of the series below in case you missed them.
To say the Rangers are a much different team than the start of last season would be a major understatement. Jacob Trouba is gone. Chris Kreider is gone. K’Andre Miller was traded to the Hurricanes.
The changes didn’t stop there. Perhaps the biggest and most expected move of the offseason came behind the bench. The Rangers went out and hired Mike Sullivan to be their head coach. He will be tasked with trying to get the Rangers back on track for the playoffs after undergoing a year of intense drama.
It was not only the changes themselves that made waves, it was the way the changes were executed that got the hockey world talking. GM Chris Drury used any means necessary to make the moves he felt were needed when the team was struggling. In a market like New York, expectations will always be at the level of winning the Stanley Cup.
The question we will consider today is will the bevy of changes be enough for the Rangers to get back to the postseason. And then how do the new-look Rangers compare to a Blue Jackets’ team that finished better then them in the standings?
In short, it’ll be like flipping a coin. The teams are actually really close.
Forwards
For as much drama as the Rangers went through in 2024-25, they still finished the season as a top-12 team in the league in goals for. A big reason for that was the play of former Blue Jacket Artemi Panarin.
There are some who believe Panarin had a down season for this standards. That depends which lens you want to look through. Although his 89 points was his worst full season with the Rangers, he scored 37 goals which was his second-best season for goals in his career. He was still by far the Rangers’ MVP up front outscoring second-place Mika Zibanejad by 27 points.
Panarin will once again be the focal point of the Rangers’ offense. But if 2024-25 proved anything, it showed that he needs a lot of help from his teammates.
One player that will be expected to do that is J.T. Miller. He came back to the Rangers in a trade that saw Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini and a 2025 first-round pick go to the Canucks. The drama in Vancouver couldn’t go on any longer. Miller now gets the new season as a fresh start that he’s long desired.
Miller did his part with the Rangers last season scoring 35 points in his 32 games. He knows what to expect in the New York market and won’t be fazed by its demands. He combined to score 70 points between the two teams in 2024-25. The question to consider is just how much will he need to produce in order to have this season be a success?
Along with Miller, Vincent Trocheck makes up the Rangers down the middle in their top-six. Coming off a 26-goal, 59-point season in 2024-25, Trocheck will be asked to do more of the same. He’s still one of the best faceoff guys in the league, something the Blue Jackets do lag behind despite their depth down the middle.
Perhaps the most interesting player up front for the Rangers and one that will have a microscope on him is former first-overall pick Alexis Lafreniere. He followed up a strong 2023-24 season with one last season that saw all his offensive numbers go down. Was it the pressure? Was it all the drama surrounding the team? Was it his own mental battle? Whatever the case is, he must show everyone why he was taken first overall.
The most noticeable things that dropped were both his shot totals and his shooting percentage. Lafreniere dropped from 217 shots to 153 shots. He also had the worst shooting percentage of his career at 11.1%. We’ll talk more about Sullivan shortly. But he’s the kind of coach that can find higher levels of play within his players. How will he be used and what adjustments will be made are two key questions to consider for Lafreniere.
Another mainstay that needs a bounce-back season is Zibanejad. Although he finished second on the Rangers in scoring (not counting Miller’s Vancouver stats), it was Zibanejad’s worst offensive output in four seasons. Many wondered if he would be heading out the door with the fire sale that was happening. It will be interesting to see how the new season impacts him as well as where he’ll play in the lineup.
The other notable thing about the Rangers up front is their youth movement. Will Cuylle had a breakout season in 2024-25 securing his first 20-goal season in the NHL. There’s a more than good chance he will start in the Rangers’ top-six this season. He’s one of their most interesting players who has some good power-forward upside. His 301 hits was tied for third in the NHL last season.
Juuso Parssinen was acquired last season to help in their bottom-six down the middle. He signed a two-year extension in the offseason. He averaged under 10 minutes a game in his 11 appearances for the Rangers after the trade. What will his role look like in 2025-26?
The other interesting player within the Rangers’ youth movement is Gabe Perreault. He appeared in five games at the end of last season. Assuming no other moves are made, he could see himself in an immediate top-nine role when this new season starts.
The Rangers have significant questions up front. Can their veterans rebound? Will their youth take another important step? Can Sullivan implement his systems to help get the most out of the Rangers?
Sullivan brings an up tempo style that emphasizes quick transitional play. Remember how fast the Penguins with Sidney Crosby and others attacked the Blue Jackets? Expect a lot of pressure when the opportunity is available.
Overall, the Blue Jackets compare well to the Rangers up front. The Blue Jackets were a higher scoring team and are bringing most of their core back that helped them become one of the highest goal-scoring teams in the NHL. They should be able to put a lot of pressure on the newer-look Rangers’ defense. Given the center depth and young talent on the wings, the Blue Jackets hold the edge up front.
Defense/Goaltending
Like the teams we’ve talked about before in this series, the Rangers hold the edge from the blueline back. They will run back a goaltending duo of Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick.
Shesterkin shutout the Blue Jackets in both of his appearances against them in 2024-25. He is one of the elite goaltenders in the NHL who will begin the first year of his massive eight-year contract extension. The Blue Jackets have significant questions in goal as we’ve talked about at length.
As for the Rangers’ defense, the worst-kept secret in hockey came to pass when Gavrikov signed a seven-year contract in free agency. He’s become widely known as one of the better shutdown defenders in the NHL. He is expected to play with Norris Trophy contender Adam Fox. They could become one of the more formidable pairs in time.
#NYR have agreed to terms with defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov on a seven-year contract.
Welcome to New York, Vladislav! pic.twitter.com/kaawGy4Xnb
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) July 1, 2025
As for the rest of the defense, Carson Soucy, Will Borgen, Urho Vaakanainen and Braden Schneider should each have a significant role. Soucy, Borgen and Schneider each play the kind of stay at home game that doesn’t get a lot of attention but it is effective. Vaakanainen is a good skater and will be depended upon to help get the puck out.
Their 255 goals against last season was 19th in the NHL. For their standards, it simply wasn’t good enough. That’s why the likes of Trouba and K’Andre Miller were dealt. They needed to change their look. Expect them to be more aggressive as well under Sullivan. You won’t see many man-on-man’s here. But you will see them attack the puck carrier as quickly as possible. They will force the opposition into quicker decisions.
The question for the Rangers’ defense will be how quickly they can learn Sullivan’s systems and adjust. The Blue Jackets will have the double task of not only figuring out ways to beat Shesterkin, but also beating an aggressive style in which the puck carrier will be limited with the amount of time they have.
Conclusion
The Blue Jackets hold the edge up front. The Rangers hold the edge on the blueline and in goal. That’s what makes the two teams a coin flip.
The winner of this race will be the one who answers the most pressing questions. Will the Blue Jackets get enough of a bump in net? Can the Rangers start getting the most out of their best players on a consistent basis?
Having Sullivan will make the Rangers better. But don’t discount how improved the Blue Jackets will be too with another year together and a coach in Dean Evason that will make key changes to help limit their goals against.
Don’t be surprised if these two teams fight each other for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Stay tuned for Part 5 of our series when he head over to Long Island and look at the rejuvenated New York Islanders.
