Expectations for the New York Rangers for the 2026-27 season are wide-ranging, depending on who you ask.Some people have liked the moves the team president and general manager, Chris Drury, made this offseason to upgrade the talent level. Others think the team is better, but believe there is something that is still missing for them to be true playoff contenders.Hockey fans don’t see a playoff team either. When polled on which team that missed the playoffs in 2026 will make a return in 2027, the Rangers weren’t listed despite thousands of votes being cast.Alas, outside noise and internal expectations likely vary greatly. And for the team to meet those expectations, especially with some of the moves Drury made, former goalie Martin Biron believes the team has to do more than just qualify for the playoffs.Sep 26, 2013; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; New York Rangers goaltender Martin Biron (43) during the warm up against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. The Vancouver Canucks won 5-0. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect“Making the playoffs should be the very bare minimum,” Biron said during an appearance on the Rangers Recon podcast with Andrew Chelney and Arthur Staple. “You have to win a round this year. That’s what I would deem a successful season for the Rangers coming up.”That would be an impressive feat for a Rangers team that has fallen woefully short of expectations two years in a row. After winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2023-24 with a franchise record 55 wins and 114 points, the team has missed the playoffs two years in a row.The roster teardown that has ensued under Drury has left the team with only six players from the team that took the ice in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2024 against the Florida Panthers: forwards Mika Zibanejad, Willy Cuylle and Alexis Lafreniere; defensemen Adam Fox and Braden Schneider; and goalie Igor Shesterkin.The arrival of Mike Sullivan as head coach was supposed to help turn things around for the 2025-26 campaign, but things actually worsened. After recording 85 points in 2024-25, the team finished in last place this past season with only 77 points.“Playoffs is too easy,” Biron said. “You made the coaching change. You wanted a new culture.”— Andrew Chelney🍊 (@ChelneyAndrew) August 13, 2026The “No B.S.” mantra that was adopted by the team, with a focus on outworking opponents, didn’t exactly come to fruition. Despite grading out positively in some metrics, the team struggled mightily to put the puck in the back of the net.It is why Drury traded three draft picks, including two first-rounders, to the Vegas Golden Knights to bring in Pavel Dorofeyev. And why Oliver Bjorkstrand was signed in free agency. They needed an offensive punch, and those two will provide it.The defensemen group was also upgraded with the additions of Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi. They will fit in perfectly behind the No. 1 pairing of Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov.But if New York is going to meet the expectations that Biron laid out, it will fall upon Shesterkin. His staying healthy and putting together a Vezina Trophy-caliber campaign will help push the Rangers into the playoff picture and give them the best chance to advance a round.