Why Rangers glaring lack of center depth could bite them in 2025-26
The New York Rangers appeared to find a very nifty solution to the problem of Mike Zibanejad’s declining production last season. They took him out of the middle and put him on the right wing of center J.T. Miller’s line.
The pair thrived together after Miller was acquired Jan. 31, and new coach Mike Sullivan recently indicated that the arrangement will have every chance to continue in 2025-26. Though that seems to be a good strategy, Zibanejad’s move out of the center spot comes with some worry as well.
That’s because it has fully exposed the Rangers’ glaring lack of young depth at center, not just on the NHL roster, but throughout the organization. After years of failing to draft and develop players at that position, the Rangers find themselves in a precarious position. There’s plenty of age in the middle and few, if any, realistic candidates to fill in should injury or ineffectiveness strike, let alone be viewed as the organization’s long-term future in the middle.
Rangers missed on drafting quality centers for many years
To be fair, the Rangers thought they hit on a long-term answer at the center position with Filip Chytil. But recurring concussions and head injuries marred his development, and the Rangers moved him to the Vancouver Canucks to acquire Miller last season.
Chytil looked like a find at 21st overall in the 2017 NHL Draft – one who could have helped the Rangers eventually overcome the disaster that was the seventh overall pick that year, a selection they used on center Lias Andersson. That pick will go down as one of the biggest draft busts in recent franchise history. Andersson had three goals, six assists and a minus-20 rating in 66 games for the Rangers before he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings.
Andersson has been out of the NHL since 2023. Meanwhile, some of the centers who were available at No. 7 in that draft — Nick Suzuki, Robert Thomas, Gabriel Vilardi and Josh Norris — are either stars or above-average NHL contributors.
That year’s miss on a potential cornerstone center is only the most notable lost opportunity, however. Since then, the Rangers were either not in position to address the problem or failed to prioritize it.
Starting with the 2018 draft, the Rangers selected only one center as high as the second round. That player, Karl Henriksson, the No. 58 overall pick in 2019, played in his native Sweden last season after two decent seasons with the Hartford Wolf Pack. At 24, he doesn’t look like a player with an impactful NHL future.
The Rangers selected four centers in the third round in that time frame: Oliver Tarnstrom (2020), Jayden Grubbe and Ryder Korczak (both in 2021) and Bryce McConnell-Barker (2022). The quartet appears to be a near-total flop.
Tarnstrom, now 23, never made it over from Sweden to North America, and the Rangers’ rights to him expired. Grubbe was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in 2023 and he spent two unremarkable seasons with Bakersfield of the American Hockey League. The Rangers dealt Korczak to the Tampa Bay Lightning in January, and after 10 games with Tampa’s AHL affiliate, he signed to play this season in Slovakia.
There’s still hope for McConnell-Barker. He scored seven goals and had eight assists in 68 games as a rookie pro with the Wolf Pack last season. None of the four players have made it to the NHL.
There are a few bright spots. The organization is high on 2022 fourth-round pick Noah Laba, who could be an option to be called up to the Rangers this season. The club added impressive prospect Carey Terrance, a second-round selection in 2023 by the Anaheim Ducks, in the Chris Kreider trade in June. There’s also Dylan Roobroeck (sixth round, 2023), who boasts size at 6-foot-7 and 205 pounds and is coming off an impressive rookie pro season with Hartford, when he had 20 goals and 14 assists in 72 games.
That trio, however, are viewed as future bottom-six contributors at best. Without a rising center prospect pushing toward the NHL who might be capable of eventually graduating into the Rangers top six, the club’s deficiencies down the middle have become apparent.
Juuso Parssinen, Noah Laba, Dylan Roobroeck questionable candidates to center third line
While top two centers Miller and Vincent Trocheck remain highly effective players, each is 32 years old. Zibanejad, who is also 32, may well have begun a later-career resurgence moving to the wing, but that has be qualified by the fact that it happened because he apparently couldn’t handle the demands of playing center effectively anymore.
Also, with Zibanejad on the wing, there’s a sizeable hole in the middle of the third line.
The organization might be high on Juuso Parssinen, acquired last season in the Ryan Lindgren trade with the Colorado Avalanche, but he’s largely unproven. The 24-year-old is on his third team and has never played more than 48 games in any one NHL season. After he was acquired by the Rangers late last season, Parssinen was a healthy scratch 12 times, which is more than the number of games he played with them (11).
If Parssinen fails to nail down the 3C spot in training camp, the Blueshirts could perhaps turn to Laba or Roobroeck (Terrance is only 20 and has yet to play in the AHL), but asking either rookie to handle such an important role feels like a crapshoot. Perhaps with more experience, Laba projects as a bottom-six answer at center.
The other options for Sullivan look very much like the ones that predecessor Peter Laviolette had: Put Zibanejad back in the middle, which might significantly weaken the top six, or move up someone like veteran Sam Carrick, an effective fourth-line player who’s completely miscast on the third unit.
There’s always the Jonny Brodzinski option, too. The 32-year-old seems best suited as the 13th forward, trusted to step in as needed. He did score a career-high 12 goals last season, so maybe he could hold down the 3C spot — or share it with Parssinen — until an upgrade is available ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline in early March.
To be sure, most organizations aren’t exactly overflowing with future top-six center prospects. Elite centers represent one of the biggest premium assets in the NHL, and the best ones tend to be drafted fairly high. Such players are difficult to find.
That said, obtaining them lower in the draft certainly can be — and is — done. Lightning stars Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli were picked in the third round. Logan Stankoven of the Carolina Hurricanes was a second-rounder. There’s also Shane Pinto of the Ottawa Senators (second round) and on the older side, the Calgary Flames’ Blake Coleman (third round).
But where the Rangers stand at the center position right now has the potential to become a full-blown crisis, perhaps as soon as this season.
Bruins' Jeremy Swayman faces make-or-break season: Will he rebound or crumble under pressure?
The Boston Bruins' 2025-2026 season may hinge on the performance of one player: Jeremy Swayman. After an abysmal year in 2024-2025, which saw the 26-year-old goaltender posting career-worst numbers, Swayman finds himself in a do-or-die situation. If he doesn’t rebound, the Bruins could be staring at another season in the basement of the Atlantic Division.
The struggles were undeniable last season. From missing training camp due to a financial stalemate to failing to find any consistency in net, Swayman finished with a dismal 3.11 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage in a career-high 58 games. While injuries to key defensemen like Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm certainly didn’t help, the spotlight shone brightest on Swayman’s inability to deliver when it mattered most. Add to that the criticism surrounding his $8.25 million contract, and the pressure is now at an all-time high.
For Swayman, this season is not just about proving himself to the Bruins organization. It's about proving his worth to Team USA, with a coveted spot on the U.S. Olympic team for the 2026 Winter Games on the line. With elite goaltenders like Connor Hellebuyck and Jake Oettinger competing for the same spot, Swayman can't afford to falter early. Any struggles could push him out of the Olympic conversation entirely.
“That's always the hardest problem with being a goalie,” Hellebuyck explained at the U.S. Olympic orientation camp. “There are multiple guys but only one net.”
Indeed, Swayman knows that if he doesn't perform, others will take his spot. But the pressure doesn't end there. Without no-trade protection on his contract until next season, Bruins GM Don Sweeney may be forced to make a decision on Swayman’s future sooner than expected.
“We have an endless belief mindset,” Swayman said, trying to stay focused on the present. “We can’t predict what’s going to happen, but the thing is that we can control what we can control, right here, right now.”
However, with backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo hardly posing a challenge to Swayman’s role, it’s clear that the onus is squarely on the young goaltender. A slow start could easily sink the Bruins’ playoff aspirations and seal Swayman’s fate.
"This season is make or break for me. I've had my fair share of struggles, but I’m not backing down. The pressure is on, and I’m ready to prove that I belong at the top. It's time to take control of my career and show the world that I’m not just the goalie of the past—I’m the future of this team," Swayman declared, putting his focus on bouncing back and earning the trust of both his team and his fans.
With a season packed with both personal and team-related stakes, this is undeniably a boom-or-bust year for the young goalie. Will Swayman rise to the challenge, or will this be the season he gets lost in the shuffle?
One thing’s for sure: Swayman’s performance will be under the microscope all year long, and his every move will be scrutinized. The future of the Bruins—and his career—could very well be determined by how he handles the immense pressure.
