5 Rangers to watch the rest of the season

There may not be a whole lot of meaningful hockey left for the Rangers this season, but they do have 25 more games to play when the NHL returns from its Olympic break. Practice for the players (and coaches) who aren’t in Milan-Cortina for the Olympics resumes Tuesday afternoon, and their first game back will be Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. against the Flyers at Madison Square Garden.

With no real hope of making the playoffs, the Rangers will be using their remaining games to get a good look at their roster and trying to get a head start on next season. Which players on the current roster should remain in — or join — the core going into next season? Which young players should get a chance to prove they are worthy of a bigger role than they have now? Where are the roster upgrades most badly needed?

Here are five players on the existing roster to keep an eye on in the final two months of the season:

Gabe Perreault

The 2023 first-round draft pick is by far the best prospect the Rangers have in their system, and his development will be critical for their success. He showed glimpses of his talent and his potential while playing on the first line with J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad in the last eight games before the break. But as with all young players, the key for him is to be a standout player on an every-game basis as opposed to an every-so-often basis. Perreault will get more and more minutes and more and more matchups against top defenders every night the rest of the season. He needs to grow in these last 25 games.

Will Cuylle

Coming off a 20-goal, 45-point season in 2024-25, Cuylle signed a two-year, $7.8 million bridge deal as a restricted free agent last summer. With Chris Kreider having been traded to Anaheim, the third-year winger was expected to take another step up toward potential stardom for the Rangers, but he hasn’t quite done that. Instead, he’s been just OK, producing 13 goals and 27 points in the first 57 games, which projects to 19 goals and 39 points over the 82-game season. Some have started to wonder if he’s already hit his ceiling and if perhaps he’s just a really good third-liner as opposed to a legit top-six power forward. Well, with Artemi Panarin traded away, Cuylle will get plenty of top-six ice time the rest of the season, so he’ll get a chance to show if he’s a top-six winger or not.

J.T. Miller

The whole season was built around this guy. He was supposed to be the true No. 1 center the team was missing most of last season, and because of that and his strong personality, they named him captain. But a lower-body injury in training camp slowed him at the start of the season, a couple of upper-body injuries have caused him to miss games, and even though he’s playing for Team USA in Milan right now, he’s still probably not fully healthy.

With the season lost, is it time to just shut him down (which might help the team secure a higher draft pick), or does he need to continue playing, even at less than 100%, to provide leadership?

Noah Laba

The former fourth-round pick wasn’t supposed to be here this season, but he came from out of nowhere in training camp, had a strong preseason and forced his way onto the team. The rookie has maintained his spot all season, adding some much-needed speed, size (6-3, 214) and grit and filling that third-line center role admirably.

If the Rangers trade No. 2 center Vincent Trocheck, as most assume they will, there will be an opportunity for Laba to take on an elevated role. There will be more minutes available on the penalty kill and the power play and some key faceoffs that need to be won. Is the 22-year-old ready for that?

Igor Shesterkin

When their No. 1 goaltender was helped off the ice midway through the first period against Utah on Jan. 5, the Rangers still were battling for a playoff spot.

That battle is now long over. The Blueshirts have gone 2-11-1 without Shesterkin (and 2-11 without defenseman Adam Fox), and on Jan. 16, general manager Chris Drury declared his intention to concede this season and “retool.’’ Drury has since traded Panarin and defenseman Carson Soucy; most observers presume he’ll trade Trocheck, too, and who knows who else? As competitive as Shesterkin is, how will it sit with him coming back to a team that is playing out the string? He’s been skating on his own for a little while now and could rejoin his teammates for practice this week; if not, then soon after. But how much should he play once he’s back? Once he proves himself healthy, what else do the Rangers need from him?

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

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.