There’s little doubt that the New York Rangers’ roster is in a better place today than it was at the beginning of the summer. Colleague Dom Luszczyszyn recently ranked them as the NHL’s second-most improved team, with an added net rating of plus-26.It’s clear that team president Chris Drury wasn’t blowing smoke when he declared his intention to retool in his Jan. 16 letter to fans. He’s attempting to put a more competitive product on the ice in 2026-27 while simultaneously pushing the Rangers in a younger direction.That’s a difficult needle to thread, with much more than one good week needed to complete the task. The floor has seemingly risen for the team that finished dead last in the Eastern Conference last season, but Drury will ultimately be judged based on whether he can push New York to the championship ceiling that’s eluded the franchise for 32 years.What will be required to get there? We’ll assume that star goalie Igor Shesterkin remains among the best at his position and detail six other ways the Rangers must build on this offseason’s progress to execute a successful retool:Can Gabe Perreault get to Nikita Kucherov’s level?Scott Wheeler, Corey Pronman and moreMake the defense a strengthWhen comparing the 2025-26 lineup to the one we project for this coming season, it’s fair to question whether the Rangers’ top-six forwards have taken a step back by replacing Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck with Pavel Dorofeyev and Oliver Bjorkstrand. But there’s no disputing that the upgraded D corps looks like a deeper, stronger unit.The Rangers made structural gains in their first year under coach Mike Sullivan, but the defense still struggled to get out of their own zone and chip in secondary offense. It was telling that Sullivan identified puck-movers as a top offseason need, then Drury went out and added Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson. That gives them a brand-new second pair that brings complementary skill sets and should allow the rest of the group to slot into more suitable roles.Adam Fox may not rise to the elite level of fellow Norris Trophy winners such as Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar and Zach Werenski, but don’t let the overstated criticism fool you: He remains one of the better No. 1 defenseman in the league, with a 58.2 percent expected-goals-for rate that ranked fourth among D-men who logged at least 1,000 minutes last season, according to Evolving Hockey. Having him and Shesterkin in their primes is the main reason the Rangers feel they should still be going for a title, rather than making a full-blown rebuild.With Fox atop the defensive depth chart, followed by Vladislav Gavrikov, Durzi and Pettersson, New York’s top four has a chance to be sturdier than at any point since its 2014 Stanley Cup Final run with Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal and Anton Strålman. It also shouldn’t be long before No. 5 pick Alberts Šmits enters that conversation, with the potential of turning an improved back end into a perennial strength. That would be a great first step.Prospect hit rate must improveGetting the Šmits pick right will be critical — as will making the most of their 2027 first-round selection, wherever it may land. But to build something sustainable, the Rangers will need several prospects to hit following years of bad picks and mismanaged development.They have a chance for a home run in 21-year-old winger Gabe Perreault, the No. 23 pick from 2023 who arrived as a lineup regular last season and has the makings of a dynamic playmaker. New York is counting on him emerging as a homegrown top-sixer from a pipeline that’s produced too few of them. Still, it will also require support from a new wave of young forwards, including Liam Greentree and Cole Beaudoin, who were acquired in trades for Panarin and Trocheck, respectively. They were targeted in return for two of Drury’s primary trade chips and must become contributing players to make those deals worthwhile.