While the New York Rangers’ forward group faces plenty of question marks entering the season, the defensemen and goaltenders appear to be areas of strength for Chris Drury’s club after the president and general manager’s flurry of July 1 moves.Drury acquired Sean Durzi in the Vincent Trocheck deal and also traded a 2030 first-round pick for Marcus Pettersson. He also moved on from Will Borgen, trading him to Boston for a 2027 second-round pick and 2028 conditional third-round pick (becomes a second-rounder if Boston reaches the Eastern Conference final in the next two years and Borgen plays in more than 50 percent of its playoff games). In a separate deal with the Bruins, Drury acquired goalie Joonas Korpisalo for a 2028 fourth-round pick and Kalle Vaisanen.Let’s go position by position and dig into where the moves leave New York entering a high-stakes season for both Drury and coach Mike Sullivan.The New York Rangers are in limboVincent Z. Mercogliano and moreLeft defenseNHL-bound1. Vladislav Gavrikov
2. Marcus Pettersson
3. Matthew RobertsonNext in line4. Alberts Šmits
5. Urho Vaakanainen
6. Drew FortescueGavrikov, now 30, was the Rangers’ big offseason splash in 2025. Drury signed him to a seven-year deal with $7 million average annual value. His first year in Manhattan did not go as planned for the team, but Gavrikov provided what the Rangers were hoping for. He was strong defensively, played major minutes (a career-high 23:44 a game) and gelled with Adam Fox. When those two were on the ice together at five-on-five, the Rangers outscored opponents 32-25 and had 58.49 percent of the expected goal share, per Natural Stat Trick. Offensively, Gavrikov more than doubled his previous career high in goals (14). That will likely regress in 2026-27; his 11.8 percent shooting percentage last year was nearly twice his career average (6.4).With Fox missing 27 games to injury last season, New York had to rely on Gavrikov more in offensive situations than was ideal. Thanks to some of the offseason-minded additions, the defenseman should play more of the role he’s best suited for: a stable, defensive-minded presence who isn’t counted on too much to generate offense himself.Pettersson, acquired from Vancouver, brings another veteran defensive presence. The 30-year-old has averaged at least 20 minutes of ice time each of the past five seasons and has familiarity with Sullivan, whom he played for in Pittsburgh from 2018-25. Though known more for his defensive contributions, he’s shown offensive ability in the past, scoring 30 points in 2023-24, his final full season with the Penguins. His underlying numbers were also encouraging in Pittsburgh, so there’s hope he can bounce back from a down year with a Canucks club that struggled last season.Robertson, now 25, was a pleasant surprise for the Rangers in 2025-26. He appeared in 72 games in his first full NHL season and didn’t look out of place. He appears to be someone the Rangers can trust in a third-pair role. In an ideal world, he’s probably a team’s No. 6 or 7 defenseman, and that’s what he could be for the Rangers.Šmits, the No. 5 pick this past summer, is the Rangers’ top prospect. All of New York’s decisions around him should center on what benefits him most long term. That will likely involve him getting some NHL time at some point this season, but that might not come on opening night. Especially with the Rangers’ depth, they can make sure he’s fully ready before throwing him into NHL action. If he has a strong camp, however, he could push to debut immediately.Vaakanainen, who won gold with Finland at the world championships this summer, fell out of favor under Sullivan and appeared in only 34 games last season. He’s entering the final year of a $1.55 million AAV deal and could be a trade or waiver candidate if the Rangers don’t see him in their 2026-27 plans.Fortescue, ranked No. 9 in our recent prospect series, turned pro after his junior year at Boston College ended. The 21-year-old played nine games for the Rangers and didn’t look out of place, though Sullivan sheltered him in his minutes. He will likely benefit from some AHL experience.The Rangers also added Dennis Cholowski and Marc Del Gaizo this past season. Both appear likely to start in the AHL but have recent NHL experience. Cholowski, a 2016 first-round pick by Detroit, even appeared in postseason games with the New Jersey Devils in 2025. Because of how the depth chart lines up, they could also get time on Hartford’s right side if injuries require it.William Trudeau, acquired in the Brett Berard trade with the Montreal Canadiens this summer, is another organizational depth option. He’s yet to play in the NHL but has played at least 60 AHL games each of the past four seasons.Right defenseNHL-bound
