Rangers mailbag: Will they add another goalie?
Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues clears the puck during the second period against the Devils on Nov. 5, 2026 in Newark, N.J. Credit: Getty Images/Elsa
The Rangers are in the closing stages of their longest road trip of the year, swinging through Seattle and Western Canada. They’ll hit the quarter-pole of their season in the finale of the trip on Friday, when they play their 21st game, in Vancouver against the Canucks.
And so, we thought it would be a good time to do a mailbag, soliciting questions from readers on social media about the Blueshirts. Here are some of those:
Are the Rangers still looking at acquiring a goalie via trade? Craig Olin
They could probably still use a veteran No. 3 goalie, in case one of their current tandem, Joonas Korpisalo and Dylan Garand, gets hurt, as opposed to a No. 1 guy to replace the injured Igor Shesterkin. Korpisalo, whom the Rangers traded for over the summer to back up Shesterkin, is healthy now, after missing a month with a lower-body injury. So they should probably give him a chance to play some before they just go get someone else. If they do decide they need an upgrade, keep an eye on Jordan Binnington, who’s currently serving as the backup in St. Louis, but who was Canada’s No. 1 at the Olympics, and who won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019. He’s in the last year of his contract, which would make him an ideal rental. However, he’s got an .851 save percentage and a 4.27 GAA right now.
Good, bad or both, what has surprised you about the Rangers so far this season? Ed Helinski
Tye Kartye forcing his way into the top six, and entering Wednesday’s game in Calgary tied for fourth on the team in scoring, with 13 points (six goals, seven assists), is something none of us could have seen coming. This was a guy who was undrafted coming out of junior hockey and signed as an undrafted free agent by Seattle in 2022. The Rangers claimed him off waivers from Seattle by the Rangers last season, and used him primarily on the third line and as a penalty killer. Now he’s playing 20 minutes a night, and playing on the power play. On Saturday, in his first game back in Seattle, he scored a power play goal. He’s been the best story on the team so far.
Do you feel Noah Laba is best suited to be the 4th line center? And what do you think about Will Cuylle so far at 3C? Michael Silvers
In fact, Noah Laba does look like he’d be a really good fourth line center. He’s big (6-3, 218), defensively responsible, good in the faceoff circle (56.2% going into Wednesday’s game in Calgary), and a relied upon penalty killer. As a third-line center, though… ideally, you’d like a little more offensive production. Laba had no goals, and five assists in 19 games entering Wednesday. But the Rangers don’t have a whole lot of options at 3C, which is why coach Mike Sullivan has experimented moving Cuylle, a natural left wing, to the middle for a couple games. How has he looked there? It’s too soon to tell. But playing him at center between wingers Eeli Tolvanen and Oliver Bjorkstrand would be intriguing.
Can Chris Drury be objective about a hard season without Igor, given the SEC filing & comment about playoffs? … UFAs like Bjorkstrand, Tolvanen, Joe Veleno could be deadline assets. A reader with the handle Ballon D’orofeyev
Losing Shesterkin to a season-ending injury was certainly a massive blow that puts a huge dent in the team’s chances at making the playoffs. But whether Drury, the Rangers’ general manager, would opt to sell off assets at the trade deadline, and give up on trying to make the playoffs, well, that would be up to the owners, not him. The team revealed in a filing to the SEC when the Rangers and Knicks were split up into separate companies, that the Rangers lost $30.5 million in fiscal year 2026 and $23.3 million in 2025, when they missed the playoffs. They last made a profit, of $26.8 million, in 2024, when they made the Eastern Conference final.
Ownership signed off on a full rebuild in 2018, and agreed to a “retool’’ in January of this year. But would they sign off on missing the playoffs a third straight year, and losing another $20-plus million?
Has defenseman Scott Morrow earned his spot in the lineup when Sean Durzi (and Alberts Smits) come back? Jeffrey Brauner
When asked last week if there was a way Morrow could stay in the lineup when everyone on the defense is healthy, Sullivan said “of course there is.” Morrow was a scratch for all of the season’s first 14 games before Durzi’s undisclosed injury led to him stepping in Nov. 1. Entering Wednesday, he had played five straight games, posting one assist and a plus-2 plus/minus rating. With Durzi skating with the team in a no-contact jersey, he appears close to returning. Durzi will step back into the lineup when he’s ready, but could Morrow, a righthanded shot, play on the left, while Smits is out? He said he played the left side in college, so yes, he could.
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.
