It took 74 games for the Rangers to get it right. On a team that started with Mika Zibanejad, JT Miller, and Vincent Trocheck as their top three centers, only two were used as centers. Zibanejad and Miller played about half their time at wing, while Trocheck was the only consistent center. But on Sunday’s win over Florida, the Rangers finally had all three at center with a returning Noah Laba at 4C. There will be changes, but the Rangers center depth in 2026-2027 looks to be stronger than people think.
To be fair, Laba’s emergence likely changed plans. There was no point in having Laba play as the 4C, especially with Sam Carrick still in New York. There was also a need to continue his development as a center, as the Rangers are pretty thin at the position in their prospect pool. To ignore that would be an incomplete review.
We also need to account for JT Miller’s injury from the start of the season and his…actions…throughout the season. Miller probably should have sat for whatever his injury was to start the season, thus ruining all plans for their top three centers. But that has come and gone. There’s also a case for Miller sitting the rest of the year, but I digress.
Rangers center depth in 2026-2027 is stronger than it looks
The Rangers center depth in 2026-2027 will change, specifically with Vincent Trocheck likely traded in the offseason. Mika Zibanejad will still likely be the 1C, and his resurgence this year has shown he’s capable in that role. Noah Laba is still likely the 3C, and he’s also shown he’s capable, especially recently before his injury.
The wild card for the Rangers center depth in 2026-2027 is JT Miller. Maybe I’m being too optimistic, but I can’t imagine him repeating this year’s debacle. Without rehashing everything that’s been discussed about his conduct as the team’s captain, he’s the true wild card. He will be a Ranger next season. If it’s a repeat of this year, then the Rangers center depth in 2026-2027 takes a big hit. If he does what I hope/expect, then he’s a solid 2C that may wind up as a 3C if Laba progresses.
Running Zibanejad-Miller-Laba down the middle is a solid start to the Rangers center depth in 2026-2027, again with the Miller assumption above. There are questions about the 4C and it appears they are seeing if Adam Edstrom can play center at the NHL level. Depth centers are easier to find, and to be fair to Chris Drury, he hit a homerun with Sam Carrick so perhaps he does deserve the benefit of the doubt in finding a replacement via free agency.
Still work to be done
Even though the Rangers center depth in 2026-2027 looks stronger than many project, it’s still old. Zibanejad looks great, but he’s on the wrong side of 30. Miller is a giant question mark and even if he does rebound, he’s starting to show decline if just from recent injury history. Laba still needs to grow into more of a scoring role.
There’s hope, but the Rangers do need a lot to go right for them next year. I don’t think this team can truly compete, even if Drury miraculously threads the needle. The Rangers still need some youth at center, and can hopefully make that happen either at the draft or in the offseason. Dylan Roobroeck is the only young center, and he does not project to be more than a 3C.
The Rangers center depth in 2026-2027 may be enough to salvage more wins and perhaps keep them relevant later into the season, but there are still paths to another disaster. I prefer to be optimistic, even in the face of whatever the last two seasons have been. There’s hope for this team.