Colin Stephenson: Rangers' waiver claims strengthening the roster
The Rangers' Tye Kartye skates during the first period against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Madison Square Garden on Monday, Mar. 2, 2026. Credit: Jim McIsaac
When you’re in the process of “retooling’’ a team, as Rangers GM Chris Drury is, not every move you make is going to be seismic.
There are smaller, subtler moves that can improve a roster as well, like claiming forward Tye Kartye off waivers from Seattle on Feb. 27.
In his Jan. 16 letter to the fans announcing the retool, Drury said the team would be “smart and opportunistic’’ in its efforts to improve the roster. And claiming Kartye from Seattle, and defenseman Vincent Iorio from San Jose Jan. 31, would fall under the opportunistic category.
Neither necessarily profiles as a potential future first-team All-Star, but both are young players with attributes the team believes can help. Iorio, 23, is 6-4, 220, and the team believes he has potential as a defensive defenseman. Kartye, 5-11, 202, can kill penalties and forecheck, and coach Mike Sullivan has been impressed with what he’s seen so far of the 24-year-old.
“We've really liked Tye's game,’’ Sullivan said after Monday’s 6-2 win over the Flyers in Philadelphia, where Kartye scored his first goal as a Ranger. “He can skate. He's got a simple game. He plays north-south. He checks well. There's a physical dimension to his game. He finishes checks. He's abrasive, he's willing to take hits to make plays. We've really liked how he's fit in.’’
And Drury surrendered no assets to acquire the two players. Kartye learned at about 11 a.m. Seattle time on Friday the 27th that he’d been claimed, and he immediately packed what he could and hustled to catch a 2:45 p.m. flight to New York.
He was in the lineup for the Rangers’ 12:30 p.m. game the next day against Pittsburgh. It was a whirlwind, but as he spoke to reporters following the game, he admitted that in a way, not having a lot of time to think or prepare for such a major change wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“Honestly, sometimes I think it's better,’’ he said. “Just going out and playing and just having fun, I think, is almost better than overthinking it.’’
He’s gotten off to a fine start with his new team. He played 12 minutes and 39 seconds in the Pittsburgh game, taking two shots on goal, and being credited with a team-high six hits. And in his first five games, entering Tuesday’s home matchup against Calgary, he averaged 14:31 per, a significant bump over the 10:42 he averaged in 40 games for Seattle.
Sullivan has used him mostly on a third line with Noah Laba, and most recently, veteran Conor Sheary. On Monday, Kartye had the second assist on Laba’s goal at 1:04 into the first period against the Flyers, and, with 59.2 seconds left in the second, he tipped in Vladislav Gavrikov’s shot for the Rangers’ sixth and final goal.
As he continues to try and learn more about his young players, Sullivan partnered Kartye with Laba on the first penalty-killing forward duo Monday as well, and Kartye said being a good penalty-killer is something he prides himself in.
“That's a huge role on any team,’’ he said. “If you can prevent the other team from scoring power play goals, you're going to give yourself a chance to win every night.’’
“Those guys have been pretty good (on the penalty kill),’’ Sullivan said of the Kartye-Laba partnership. “Labs has been pretty good in the faceoff circle, so if you can win that first faceoff, it really helps. You know, you get a 200-foot clear, and you're stingy on the entry. It goes a long way to helping you kill penalties.’’
It wasn’t just the penalty kill, though; Sullivan said he was impressed with the Kartye-Laba-Sheary line at even strength against the Flyers, too.
“They were on pucks,’’ he said. “They just play the right way, you know? They win puck battles, they make good decisions. They're hard to play against. They work to get above the attack. They hunt pucks in the offensive zone. I thought they had a strong game.’’
Kartye, who was undrafted coming out of the OHL with the Soo Greyhounds and signed with Seattle as a free agent, admitted it was not a pleasant thing to be waived by the Kraken, for whom he had three goals and eight points. So, he said, he has something to prove over the final 19 games of the season with the Rangers.
“You’re just trying to prove that, when you're getting an opportunity, that you can really play, and you can really help a team,’’ he said.
Notes & quotes: J.T. Miller (on IR with an upper-body injury) skated with the extras Tuesday before the game . . . Jonathan Quick will start in goal against Calgary, his second start in the last three games.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
