NHL Free Agency is quickly approaching, and the New York Rangers are going to have some holes to fill on their roster going into next season. Most notably, they are going to be looking for a player who can play in their top six and play on the right wing alongside Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. Looking at this year’s free agent class, four former Rangers could fit the criteria for what the team is looking for. In this piece, we will look at these players and see whether the Rangers should consider a reunion or if they should look at other players to help fill the void.
Vladimir Tarasenko
Let’s start with the former Rangers that just helped to eliminate them from the Eastern Conference Final. That player would be Vladimir Tarasenko, who currently plays for the Florida Panthers. He was very quiet throughout the series, and his only goal turned out to be the game-winning goal in Game 6 that helped move the Panthers on to the Stanley Cup Final. The Panthers brought him in at the Trade Deadline from the Ottawa Senators for just a 2025 third and 2024 fourth-round pick.
Tarasenko scored six goals and 14 points in 19 regular season games and three goals and six points in 17 playoff games. He is now four wins away from getting his second career Stanley Cup and will likely be hitting free agency for the second year in a row. The Panthers have bigger players like Sam Reinhart and Brandon Montour to worry about signing first, so Tarasenko isn’t going to be a key player for them to bring back.
After being traded to New York before the 2023 Trade Deadline, Tarasenko entered free agency, and it seemed that he was waiting for the Rangers to make him an offer to come back. Still, the team did not have the money, and he had to settle for a one-year deal with the Senators later in the summer. Now, the Rangers have more cap space and have a need on the right wing and when he played for the Rangers, that is where Tarasenko was positioned. He had some success with Kreider and Zibanejad, but they weren’t together long enough to see the true impact of what that line could do. Could Tarasenko take a bit of a discount and return to a team he didn’t want to leave? It could be an option, and if he is available, the Rangers should consider bringing him back.
Patrick Kane
Patrick Kane is another former Ranger who was with the team in 2022-23 and could be testing the free-agent market again. He forced his way to New York before the 2023 Trade Deadline and made the Rangers a super team loaded with offensive talent. For Kane, he wasn’t at his best; it was well-known then that he was playing with a hip injury. He scored five goals and 12 points in 19 regular season games and had one goal and six points in the seven-game first-round series against the New Jersey Devils, which the Rangers lost. He had surgery in the offseason, and when he was ready to choose a team to sign with for this season, the Rangers had interest but could not make the money work, and Kane went on to sign with the Detroit Red Wings. He scored 20 goals and 47 points in 50 regular season games and almost helped get the Red Wings to the playoffs, but they just missed out.
Now, Kane is heading towards free agency again, and while there is a chance he could sign an extension with the Red Wings, he could test the market and see what other teams have to offer. If he does choose that option, there will likely be interest from the Rangers, and Kane would likely have interest in a return as they were the only team he wanted to be traded to last season. The Rangers need a right winger and would be getting a much healthier version of Kane this time. Do they retake the chance on Kane, or should they look for a different kind of player who isn’t all about skill, as they have plenty of players like that? It will be interesting to see if Kane hits the open market if he wants to bring “Showtime” back to Broadway.
Anthony Duclair
The last time Anthony Duclair was a Ranger was during the 2014-15 season, and he was traded at the deadline that season to Arizona in the trade that brought Keith Yandle to New York. He has since bounced around the league and has played on eight teams. He was traded from the San Jose Sharks to the Tampa Bay Lightning at this seasons’ trade deadline, and he was a great fit for them. He scored eight goals and 15 points in 17 regular season games but didn’t play quite as well in the playoffs, with just two assists in the five-game first-round loss to the Panthers. With the Lightning having cap problems and a player like Steven Stamkos who needs a new contract, Duclair, like Tarasenko with the Panthers, won’t be a primary player the Lightning look to bring back, and he will test free agency.
He is only 28 years old and will bring goal-scoring and tons of speed to whatever team he goes to. The Rangers need fast players who can score goals, which is why Duclair would be a perfect fit for what they need right now. They need to inject the lineup with more speed, and he can bring that. His offensive game is good, as well. He scored 31 goals two seasons ago and was good for the Panthers last season on their run to the Stanley Cup Final, with 11 points in 20 games. It would be quite the story for him to return to the team that drafted him, and he would be the kind of player they are looking for.
Jonathan Marchessault
This last player might confuse some people because, technically, Jonathan Marchessault never played a game for the Rangers. However, he played his first season of professional hockey in the Rangers’ organization as a member of their AHL team back during the 2011-12 season. So he was a member of the organization to start his career, and right now, he is one of the top players in the league and will be one of the top players on the free agent market if he doesn’t re-sign with the Vegas Golden Knights. He is coming off a season where he scored 42 goals and 69 points in 82 regular season games and two goals and four points in seven playoff games. He is one of the Golden Knights’ core players, and with their cap concerns, they might be able to sign him, and one of the original “Golden Misfits” could be on his way out of Vegas.
If he does go to free agency, the Rangers should be all over him, and they need to try to bring him back to where he started his professional career. He plays a style of game that the Rangers lack, and he is a proven goal scorer in both the regular season and the playoffs, as he has 36 goals and 76 points in 102 playoff games. He is also a former Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP. The Rangers could use a player like him because he brings skill but also can play with an attitude, and he won’t back down from anybody. Marchessault will be looking for a big contract as he is 33 and could be looking at the last big contract of his career. If the Rangers can make the money work, they need to bring him, and he would be the perfect fit for what they are looking for.
There will be plenty of other players that the Rangers could target as free agency approaches. So, while these four players have connections to the organization, it does not mean they will be coming back. However, the Rangers should look into each of these players if they hit the open market, as they all bring unique skills that this team could use next season.
