The 2025-2026 season has ended for the Rangers, but that doesn’t mean everything is all set for the offseason. The playoffs matter, especially for draft position. The Rangers have a second 1st round pick, belonging to the better pick of Dallas or Carolina. Rangers fans playoff rooting interest is probably in one of those two teams to lose early, but draft position also factors in standings and points of those eliminated teams. Plus there’s also a pride factor about rooting for some teams over others, and there are a few obvious favorites.
16. Pittsburgh Penguins: I know everyone will say the Philadelphia Flyers belong in this slot, but I disagree. The Flyers don’t have any players who have given the Rangers reason to hate them recently, whereas the Penguins feature Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang. While it would be great for Dan Muse to make a deep run, just by merely making the playoffs, he’s had a great season.
15. Philadelphia Flyers: There’s no way to rank them any better. While the rivalry isn’t as strong as it once was, the Flyers are still one of the primary rivals of the Rangers. That alone is reason to root against them.
14. Boston Bruins: Like the Flyers, the Bruins are rivals with the Rangers. Like the Flyers, the rivalry isn’t quite as strong. Still, they don’t play in the Rangers division, so we’ll give them the third to last spot.
13. Montreal Canadiens: While Jeff Gorton wasn’t terrible when in charge of the Rangers, he certainly wasn’t anywhere as good as he has been with the Montreal Canadiens. On the other hand, it would be nice to see some success for Martin St. Louis. Honestly, I don’t care much either way about the Canadiens.
12. Carolina Hurricanes: The Rangers have had plenty of run ins with the Carolina Hurricanes in the playoffs, with the Rangers consistently coming out on top. While seeing K’Andre Miller go on a deep run would be cool, there isn’t much connecting the Rangers to the Hurricanes. Plus the Canes winning rounds means their pick gets worse.
11. Los Angeles Kings: The Kings were responsible for knocking out the Rangers in their run to the Stanley Cup Final back in 2014, and the Kings also have Artemi Panarin, who devalued himself in trade negotiations, harming the Rangers in the process. Of the Western Conference teams, the Kings are the least worth rooting for, even if it means that 3rd round pick doesn’t become a 2nd round pick.
10. Vegas Golden Knights: John Tortorella was a good Rangers coach, but otherwise there isn’t much to root for here. None of the Rangers connections played well on the Rangers.
9. Ottawa Senators: The Senators and the Rangers have little to no connection. In fact, there isn’t a single player on the Senators who has played a game for the Rangers. Still, if Brady Tkachuk gets knocked out early, maybe the Rangers have a shot at acquiring him?
8. Tampa Bay Lightning: I will always root for Ryan McDonagh, who I believe is one of the most underrated players and captains in Rangers history. Still, the Lightning have won plenty of games, including over the Rangers, so it’s not worth putting them in any better position here.
7. Dallas Stars: The Stars have essentially no connection to the Rangers, but I suppose it would be cool to see them finally get over the hump after so many years of contending. They lose points for facing the Wild, who we will discuss shortly. They also lose points because we want one of Carolina or Dallas out early for draft purposes.
6. Edmonton Oilers: I thought about putting the Oilers in much worse position for the reason that if Connor McDavid never wins a Stanley Cup, it’s possible he decides he wants out, and then it’s possible he decides he wants to be a Ranger. That’s a lot of ifs, though!
5. Colorado Avalanche: Not many connections to the Rangers, but the Avalanche are fun to watch and an incredible team, so this pick would be just to maximize the fun.
4. Utah Mammoth: No real connections to the Rangers, but the Mammoth are fun and silly enough to create a chaotic postseason. Why not!
3. Anaheim Ducks: This will be the most controversial pick here by a wide margin, but while Chris Kreider is reason alone to root like crazy for the Anaheim Ducks, Jacob Trouba is reason enough not to. Trouba was a terrible Ranger and an even worse captain, setting the Rangers back on defense and contributing heavily to the Rangers failing to get over the hump in 2024. I would be thrilled for Kreider, but bummed about Trouba if the Ducks won it all.
2. Buffalo Sabres: Sam Carrick! But more importantly, it would be a lot of fun for the league if the Sabres made a long run.
1. Minnesota Wild: Mats. Zuccarello.